Culprit

‘Maybe you should stay home and rest,’ Kingsley said. ‘I’m fine.’ I waved off his suggestion. He meant well, but I couldn’t afford to stay home. Claire needed me. ‘About the scam, I’ve found something.’ ‘That’s good!’ Relieved to finally hear some good news, I looked at him expectantly. Kingsley hesitated briefly. ‘The company’s a shell. You already know that much. But it’s not just one shell. It’s more like a…Do you know what Russian nesting dolls are?’ I nodded. ‘One doll inside another inside another and so on.’ ‘Right. That’s what the company is like. My men traced its registered owner to another company, which is owned by another offshore entity, and it goes on.’ This was why the police were having trouble with the case. They knew it was a scam. They knew it was illegal. But they couldn’t find the culprits. ‘We’ve peeled back enough layers to know the identity of its true owner, the one behind the scenes. It’s a woman.’ Kingsley paused and looked at me meaningfully. I caught on. ‘