Is anyone as curious as I am about the tight-lipped attitude that’s holding the Better Business Bureau and its 3,500 members hostage?

Consider the following:

A regular audit was conducted earlier this year. The audit apparently turned up unspecified “discrepancies” in some office procedures. Whatever the audit found, it must have been serious because the organization’s president and chief executive of 16 years, Mary Kruger Eyler, was placed on paid administrative leave by the Bureau’s board of directors.

A second audit was held to figure out exactly what was going on. What it found is anyone’s guess. Teri Wood, chairwoman of the organization’s Des Moines office, said no money was missing and there was no evidence of criminal behavior. She refused to reveal anything further.

“I can’t disclose specifics of the audit,” she said.

Eyler resigned last week in frustration after a freeze-out from the organization’s board. She said no one would tell her what was happening.

“Everyone is keeping this very close to their chests,” Eyler said. “I still haven’t have any explanation from the board. I wish I had more answers, but I don’t. I know that brings questions to your mind.”

She’s right. It does. First among them is why an organization that, among other things, sponsors an annual “Integrity Awards” program to celebrate companies that operate with high ethical standards is acting so cagey. At the least, the group should be the standard bearer for frank talk and transparency.

During a conversation I had with Wood last week, she appeared for a moment to open up. “It’s tough for everyone,” she began, then she stopped abruptly. “I can hear that you’re typing what I am saying. I am just not going to go any further.”

What kind of behavior is this? What is there to hide?

I am beginning to think that Eyler made some enemies on the board. After 21 years at the organization, it’s possible. Maybe one or several offended board members was looking for a way to put a knife in her back and the audit provided the perfect opportunity.

Either that, or there was criminal activity, or evidence of it, and a deal was struck under which Eyler agreed to leave quietly. Without more openness, we may never know.

There was at least one parting agreement.

Eyler said she and the board “made an agreement that we wouldn’t say anything inflammatory” about each other. Wood, too, referred to an agreement in our brief conversation, though she said Eyler requested that details of her departure not be released. “Out of respect to Mary, I can’t talk about it. She asked that we not discuss it.”

How convenient.

The Better Business Bureau has an annual budget of less than $1.5 million a year, according to Eyler. In the big picture, this isn’t a massive deal.

But its influential imprimatur is of great concern to its members. At the least, they deserve to be let in on whatever game is being played. So, too, do the BBB’s 15 employees.

In an attempt to sweep the events of the past month beyond view, Wood said the organization is conducting a search locally and across the nation for Eyler’s successor. She wouldn’t say how much the position paid. She expects the job to be filled within the next six weeks.