Chapter 6

It hadn't been entirely by accident that Fred Holden made a spot-check on The Camera's Eye account being handled by his company. He had seen the name in the long list of small business accounts, and since he had visited the place, taking those beautiful color shots of that luscious blonde, he had a natural curiosity about its finances. Twenty dollars for an half-hour session, plus the camera rental and the cost of the film, was a pretty good tab. Hell! The woman who runs the place must be making a bundle out of it!

About ten minutes of work showed him that there was something definitely wrong with the books. Part of his job was running spot-checks like this, and it bothered him that somebody working under him would take such chances. He knew, also, that if anything went wrong, his own job could be in jeopardy. He called in the junior accountant, who had been servicing the account for Miss Sloan.

"Damn it, Leon, if an IRS man ever went over this, he'd hang everybody in sight!"

"What do you mean, Mr. Holden... ?"

"Look! After about five minutes of checking, I knew there was something fishy... and in ten minutes I found where the smell was coming from!" Fred explained. "There must be two sets of books!"

"That's impossible!"

"It's got to be! I've been out there myself. I know how many studios she has, the number of models working there... and business is booming. The figures in this audit don't even begin to add up to what Miss Sloan's taking out of the place... and I figure you must be helping her to cover it up!"

"Well..." Leon Canfield fidgeted. "She's got heavy overhead expenses... and..."

"That's crap, Leon, and you know it!" Holden exploded. "What's in it for you... to make false audits like this?"

Canfield knew he'd been caught. He'd expected it for some time. Looking at the floor, he mumbled, "Nothing... She's not paying me anything!"

"It isn't money... ?" Fred had been sure that that was the answer. "Then, what in hell is it that would make you stick your neck out like this... not to mention mine and the company's?"

"Well... it's kind of a deal between Miss Sloan and me..."

"What kind of a deal, Canfield?" Fred was becoming exasperated with the man's evasiveness.

"It's kind of... well, you know... personal..."

"With her?" Fred barked. "You've got something going with her... ?"

"No... not with her!" Leon admitted. "If you knew her, you'd know that that's out! She goes for other women..."

Christ! The answer he was fishing for had been too obvious. "Then... it must be women? Those models working there... ?" Fred queried.

"Yeah... that's it," Canfield mumbled. "Linda feeds me names, addresses and telephone numbers..."

"Is that all... ?"

"No... She makes sure the girls are... well, you know cooperative!"

"How does she do that?"

"Oh, she's got ways... and they don't balk..."

"... So... you get to lay almost any one of them you want?"

"Just about..."

In a way Fred couldn't blame Leon Canfield for what he was doing; it was just that he hadn't been careful in the method of covering up. Damn! A real smart accountant could have come up with better ways of making her books look good... even to the IRS!

"Under the circumstances... I'm going to have to take this account away from you!" Fred told him. "It stinks... and it's going to have to be done, again... before somebody gets wise, and we both lose our jobs!"

"You mean... you're going to let me off the hook, Mr. Holden?" Leon's bland face broke into a semblance- of a grin.

"Yeah... Yeah, I think that's the best thing. I'll take care of it... after I go out there and have a nice long talk with Miss Sloan!"

The junior accountant left the office and Fred's mind raced, figuring some angles. Hell! I just might be able to make it work... for me!

Picking up the telephone Fred called The Camera's Eye, and made an appointment with Miss Linda Sloan, owner and operator of the Rent-a-model studio; then, he leaned back in his comfortable swivel chair and thought it all out.

An hour later he was seated across the desk from the green- eyed, strawberry-blonde woman with the striking figure, fore-armed with the knowledge that she was a lesbian and therefore not fair game. It would be more like making a deal with another man, he decided, for he was sure that she was a shrewd one, when it came to business matters.

"Canfield's out!" Holden told her flatly.

"I'm not sure I understand... ?"

"He was doing a cover-up job for you... one that was done so badly, it could have been smelled a mile away!" Fred explained. "As a matter of fact, he was too stupid to do it right!"

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Your books... and certain favors in exchange for trying to make your books look good!"

"Then, you found out... ?"

"Yes! In about five minutes!"

"... And, what do you want... Mr. Holden... ?" Her green eyes surveyed him shrewdly, knowing that he was after something. "Can you do a better job than Leon... ?"

"Damned right I can... and since he's out of the picture, I'll just take over where he's leaving off!"