At 5:52 the next morning, he made coffee and went to the public library when it opened.
The plant was closed for the holiday schedule.
He searched Blackidge.
Trade publications.
State filings.
Industry newsletters.
Eventually he found an announcement.
Blackidge was negotiating a multi-year supply agreement with an Indiana medical-device manufacturer.
Estimated contract value:
$42 million.
It would be the largest commercial agreement in Blackidge’s history.
The article quoted language from preliminary financing disclosures.
Closing depended on representations concerning financial condition, labor obligations, pending wage disputes, and compliance matters material to operations.
Evan sat back.
The certificates suddenly belonged to a larger system.
He still did not know whether anyone had committed fraud.
He did know Blackidge had a strong incentive to make year-end cash and payroll numbers look cleaner than they actually were.
An incentive was not proof.
He closed the browser.
Went home.
Called Curtis Bell.
“Did you get certificates?”
Curtis laughed bitterly.
“Got fourteen.”
“Any actual pay?”
“No.”
“Did you try redeeming them?”
“My wife looked online. The nearest Becket says the numbers are expired.”
“How much were they supposed to cover?”
Curtis gave him the amount.
Evan wrote it down.
Next call.
Mara.
Then Renee.
Then Hollis Grant.
Hollis answered immediately.
“You too?”
“Yes.”
“My wife drove to Union Road Saturday.”
“What happened?”
“Cashier scanned three. Dead.”
“Manager?”
“Same thing.”
“Did you keep them?”
“Of course I kept them.”
“Good.”