“Steven suffered a pretty severe hearing loss when he got sick in college. Mono? Meningitis? I can’t remember the reason. All I know is that it meets the definition of disability. Which complicates the issue for us. The bank doesn’t like to get sued by former disgruntled employees. When we do, we want to make sure that we win the case easily. Good documentation is our friend. But just as importantly, from my perspective, is that I’ve earned a reputation here as somebody who gives people a chance. I’ve turned around poor performers. I really wanted him to succeed. But he just gets in his own way.”

“How’s he do that?”

“I’d be speculating and I don’t want to do that.”

A.L. shrugged. “I won’t think less of you. In fact, right now, I’m thinking that you’re pretty smart and talented and that you’re a high performer, which is how you got to a VP position at what seems to be a fairly young age.”

She smiled. “I have worked hard.” She drummed a perfectly polished index finger on the table. “The bank does preemployment drug testing and four years ago, Steven Hanzel passed his. We only conduct ongoing testing when the work performance is such that we suspect that alcohol or drugs are affecting performance. I want to test him, but thus far my human resources department has put the brakes on that.”

“You think he’s a drug user.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. My ex-husband was an addict and I see some of the same behaviors.”

“Like?”

“Steven is a smoker so he makes a beeline outside every break and lunch hour. He stands near the south entrance, smoking and talking on his phone. Twice now, when I’ve walked by on my way to a midday meeting off-site, he’s stopped talking. Not stopped as in listening. He was midsentence both times that he saw me and boom, he goes silent. I think he’s making drug deals. But I’ve been told to manage him out of the bank based on his performance. So I’m biding my time.”

Steven Hanzel was on thin ice and he knew it. It made A.L. wonder if he’d shared that information with his best friend, Troy Whitman. And while it could not be disputed that it was a good thing to get the fund-raising going, perhaps Steven would have been better served to focus on his job.

“Do you happen to know the balance of the fund-raising account?” A.L. asked.

“I saw Steven in the employee break room yesterday. He couldn’t wait to tell me it was close to $160,000. I wish he watched his own numbers so closely.”

That was real money. People were very generous. “I appreciate your time, Ms. Federer.”

“I hope you find Emma and the person who is responsible for this.”

“Me, too.”