Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

“You’re not going to do anything,” he growled. “We’ve got
to figure this out from our end. The dude is dead and you’re
putting through updates on the residents under his signature.
They could haul you in for fraud and a zillion other things.
You’re going to be looking at a lot of time, and it’s not going
to be in a place as pretty as Molokai.”
“Who would prosecute? They wouldn’t dare,” Bernard
objected. “Nobody would risk the public exposure.”
“Hell, there’s some crusader out there who would love to tie
you to a stake. Me, I’m just a hired hand,” Johnson reminded
him. “It’s on your shoulders, but I want to help you. So let’s
just think.”
Johnson took his seat slowly, ready to spring in case
Bernard Reynolds needed some extra convincing. He didn’t.
He was envisioning his federal trial, his conviction, his
incarceration. Johnson, was envisioning how they were going
to get out of this mess. He didn’t necessarily need Bernard
Reynolds to keep his little enterprise going but it made things
a whole lot easier. The last thing either of them needed was an
investigation. Thankfully, Bernard was coming around.
“You’re right. Okay. You’re right.” Bernard took a deep
breath. “Who contacted you?”
“It was a computer generated checklist asking me to
confirm sender’s viability,” Johnson said.
“That’s good. It was just kicked off and some clerk
forwarded it,” Bernard said.
“But it’s not going to stay that way if they go back through
the records. You’ve been faking Ian’s reports for years. How
many quarterlies does that add up to? A whole, helluva lot,
Bernard. Taking it all off the table is the easiest solution.”
“What do you mean take it off the table? What does that
mean?” Bernard demanded.
“Shut the place down, Bernard. Just shut it down. Those
goons in Washington don’t care what happens to you and some