Chapter 7: The Ghost in 2019
Gerald got a name by two o'clock that afternoon.
He came back into the room and closed the door and stood at the foot of the bed with the look of a man who had just confirmed something he'd hoped was wrong.
"The 2019 claim," he said.
"Raymond didn't invent it.
Someone gave it to him."
"Who?" Jonathan asked.
"A former employee of yours.
His name is Dennis Paulk.
He worked in your Milwaukee plant's finance department for eleven years.
You let him go in March of 2019 as part of a restructuring."
Jonathan remembered Dennis Paulk.
Quiet man.
Meticulous.
Had disagreed loudly with the restructuring and had been right about two of the three concerns he'd raised.
Jonathan had let him go anyway because the board had wanted the headcount reduced and Paulk had become difficult.
"What's the claim?" Jonathan asked.
"Paulk says that during the 2019 Milwaukee zoning dispute, you authorized a payment to a city official to expedite the permit approval.
He says he has a ledger entry and an email."
Jonathan was quiet.
"Is it true?" Gerald asked.
"There was a payment," Jonathan said.
"It went through a consulting firm.
I was told it was a legitimate facilitation fee.
I signed off on it because my operations director told me it was standard practice." He paused.
"I didn't ask enough questions."
"Did you know it was a bribe?"
"I suspected it was irregular," Jonathan said.
"I didn't confirm it.
I chose not to."
Gerald sat down.
"That's not nothing, Jonathan."
"I know."
"Raymond is using this as leverage.
He's sent a message to your board chair through a third party.
He's suggesting that if the investigation into Victoria proceeds, he'll take the 2019 information public."
Jonathan looked at the ceiling.
"He thinks it cancels out."
"He thinks it gives him a negotiating position."
"It doesn't," Jonathan said.
"But he doesn't know that yet."
"What do you want to do?"
Jonathan thought about it for a moment.
Not long.
"Call Dennis Paulk," he said.
"Directly.
Not through a lawyer first — just call him.
Tell him I'd like to speak with him."
Gerald frowned.
"Jonathan—"
"He worked for me for eleven years," Jonathan said.
"He raised concerns I dismissed.
He was let go when he shouldn't have been.
He's angry, and he has a right to be." Jonathan looked at Gerald.
"I'm not going to fight him.
I'm going to talk to him."
Gerald studied him.
"And if he still wants to go to the board?"
"Then he goes to the board," Jonathan said.
"I made a mistake in 2019.
I'm not going to compound it by threatening a man who's telling the truth."
Gerald was quiet for a moment.
"That's either very principled or very dangerous," he said.
"Probably both," Jonathan said.
"Make the call."
Dennis Paulk answered on the third ring.
Gerald handed Jonathan the phone.
"Dennis," Jonathan said.
"It's Jonathan Mercer."
Silence on the line.
"I know why you're calling," Paulk said.
His voice was tight.
"And I know what you're going to say."
"You don't," Jonathan said.
"I'm calling to tell you you were right.
About the payment.
About the restructuring.
About most of it." He paused.
"I should have listened to you in 2019.
I didn't.
That's on me."
Another silence.
Longer.
"Why are you telling me this now?" Paulk asked.
"Because someone is trying to use your information as a weapon against a criminal investigation," Jonathan said.
"And I don't think that's what you want.
I think you want to be heard.
I think you want someone to acknowledge that what happened was wrong."
Paulk said nothing.
"I'm acknowledging it," Jonathan said.
"Publicly, if that's what you need.
I'll go to the board myself."
"You'd do that."
"Yes."
"Even though it could damage the company."
"Yes," Jonathan said.
"Because it's true.
And because the alternative is letting Raymond Castillo walk free to protect myself, and I'm not willing to do that."
The line was quiet for a long time.
"I don't want to go to the press," Paulk said finally.
"I never wanted that.
I wanted someone to admit they were wrong."
"I'm admitting it," Jonathan said.
"Right now."
Another pause.
Then, quietly: "Okay."
"Okay?" Jonathan said.
"I'll pull back from Castillo," Paulk said.
"But Mercer — fix it.
Whatever you need to do.
Fix it properly."
"I will," Jonathan said.
"You have my word."
He handed the phone back to Gerald.
Gerald looked at him for a moment without speaking.
"Raymond has no leverage," Jonathan said.
"Let the investigators know."
Gerald picked up his own phone.
But before he dialed, he said: "Jonathan.
For what it's worth — that was the right thing."
Jonathan looked at the window.
May you like
The afternoon light was flat and grey over the city.
"It was overdue," he said.
