I met Alice Brenner the next morning in her office above a bakery.
The city's charities commission had acknowledged the complaint but wouldn't suspend the Briar Point payments without a fuller review. Alice said the board's failure to approve an outside examiner had made the case harder.
"Harder, not impossible," she said.
Tessa sat across from me with a glass of water. She was pale but determined.
"The files show where the money went," she said. "We need the ownership records."
Alice opened a folder. "Those records are available through the state business registry. The issue is showing that the foundation's payment benefited Graham's friend rather than a legitimate consulting project."
"Can we subpoena them?"
"Not yet. The commission can request them. A court can compel them if it
