Flight of Aquavit by Anthony Bidulka Read Free Book Online Page B

any sign of smugness, simply as a
    54 — F l i g h t o f A q u av i t
    matter of fact.
    “Oh? How do you know that?” Should I sug-
    gest a guest spot on Alberta’s late night TV psy-
    chic show?
    “You said the envelope was presented to ‘him,’
    so your client is male. Only the winners of the
    Businessperson of the Year Award are presented
    with an envelope. The other winners receive only
    an engraved plaque. The tradition of physically
    presenting the cheque on the evening of the cere-
    mony—rather than at a later date—began only six
    years ago,” she told me. “I hope you don’t mind, I
    just don’t wish to pretend to not know something
    that I do.”
    I smiled. “Thank you.”
    She managed a thin-lipped smile in return.
    “Obviously I am interested in who could have
    known the identity of the winner and also had
    access to place the blackmail note into the enve-
    lope that was presented to that winner. It’s an
    issue of physical access as well as access to specif-
    ic knowledge.”
    A curt nod from Lois. “I understand. First, let’s
    discuss physical access.” Lois Vermont was not
    the president of a business association for nothing.
    She got right to it. “I have been with the SBA for
    over ten years and I can tell you with a high level
    of certainty that in the last six years, since we
    began presenting the envelope along with the
    plaque to the Businessperson of the Year, the
    process has remained unchanged. We do things
    exactly the same way, year after year. It works, so
    why change it? I prepare the envelope in question.
    Anthony Bidulka — 55
    The cheque is actually a dummy cheque. It looks
    real, but it isn’t. It’s only for show. We do that for
    security reasons, because we know there are
    opportunities when the cheque is not under con-
    stant surveillance, that it could be stolen. We are a
    small organization and we are not in the financial
    position to maintain a fleet of security guards dur-
    ing the awards ceremony or any other time.”
    “Of course, that makes sense.”
    “I’m glad you think so.” I wasn’t certain if she
    meant it or was patronizing me. I decided I didn’t
    need to know the answer. “As I mentioned, I pre-
    pare the dummy cheque. I always do it the morn-
    ing of the ceremony.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Absolutely. I am a firm believer in lists and a
    system of check-off procedures. Preparing the
    dummy cheque is on my morning of the ceremo-
    ny procedure list. There would be no reason for
    me to vary from this list.”
    I had no doubt this was true.
    “So as early as the morning of the ceremony
    someone might have access to the cheque in its
    envelope?” I asked.
    “No, I don’t believe so. After I prepare the
    cheque and place it in its envelope…which, by the
    way, remains unsealed. We don’t want winners
    having to fumble around with a sealed envelope.”
    “Very sensible.”
    “Yes. After the cheque is prepared and I put it
    in the envelope, I place that envelope in my office
    safe along with several other pieces of important
    documentation that I’ve prepared for that
    56 — F l i g h t o f A q u av i t
    evening. So, unless your blackmailer is also a safe
    cracker, they would not have access to the enve-
    lope at that time. In the past six years my safe has
    not been broken into, or at least not in a manner I
    could detect. No one else has the combination for
    that safe.”
    “I think your conclusion is a sound one.
    When’s the first time the envelope is available for
    someone to tamper with without someone else
    noticing?”
    “At the end of my business day I retrieve the
    documents, including the envelope, from the safe
    in my office and I take them home with me as I do
    not return to the office before going to the hotel
    where the event is held. So, indeed, if you care to
    suspect members of my family, I suppose it is pos-
    sible that my husband, daughter or babysitter
    could have slipped a blackmail note into the enve-
    lope while