Quest For Justice. Kathleen Tailer

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СКАЧАТЬ police department still hadn’t returned her father’s computer, and since the paper files were missing, she was now following the only lead she had. Her father’s coffee cup on his desk had been a fancy new mug emblazoned with the Gates Industries design. She had never seen that cup before, so she was hoping her father had gotten it when he’d taken on Gates as a new client. The lead was really weak, but it was all she had.

      Bailey knew a bit about Gates—they were a large pharmaceutical company in both the American and the international markets. What her father could have been doing for them was anybody’s guess, but she was hoping that there was a connection, however thin, that would give her some insight into that terrible night of her father’s death. Gates’s vice president had agreed to see her, but his last meeting was running late. She gave up the pacing and sat back down again and checked her watch.

      “Sure is a surprise meeting you here.”

      She jumped at the voice and dread filled her. Franklin Kennedy sat down in the seat beside her, and she warily glanced his way.

      “What are you doing here?”

      He pursed his lips and then spoke. “I think the real question is, what are you doing here?”

      She bristled. “I’m here investigating my father’s death, just like I told you I would.”

      Kennedy’s eyes narrowed. “And I told you to stay away from this. Do I have to arrest you to keep you out of the way?”

      “Yeah, I guess you’d better because there’s no way I’m sitting at home while you track down whoever caused his death. I need answers.”

      She saw his eyes grow cold at her defiance, but she meant what she’d said. She wasn’t going to sit by and let others chase down his murderer when she was perfectly capable of investigating the crime.

      She watched Kennedy carefully, ready to jump and run if she needed to. His eyes showed that he was considering his options and she watched his hands as well, waiting to see if he started to reach for his handcuffs. When he shifted, she jumped to her feet, and the tension in the room seemed palpable. She swallowed hard.

      “Well?” she challenged.

      “You haven’t told me what you’re doing here yet.” He gave her a smile, but his demeanor was anything but friendly. Still, he stayed seated and didn’t look like he was about to arrest her for obstruction. “Care to share?”

      She considered this. She knew Franklin Kennedy was a good cop. It still irked her, however, that he expected her to share when he wasn’t willing to let her help with the investigation. Hiding clues from him was foolhardy, though, especially when they were after the same thing—justice. “I saw a new mug from Gates on my father’s desk. I’m guessing they hired him, and I’m here to find out why. It’s not much of a lead, but it’s all I’ve got since the files are missing and I can’t access my father’s computer.”

      Kennedy studied her for a few moments and his scrutiny made her even more nervous. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision and leaned back in the chair.

      “Smart deduction. Gates is one of his newest accounts, and it was the last file that was open on his computer before his death. We think he was about to update his notes when he was interrupted, so we wanted to check it out, as well. In this case, your instincts are pretty good.”

      She breathed a sigh of relief at his words. “So I can stay?”

      Kennedy’s pause made her nervousness return, but he finally nodded at her. “For now.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to join you for your appointment. But let me ask the questions, okay? Do you think you can do that?”

      Could she? Keeping her mouth shut was not her forte, but if the choices were staying silent during the interview or occupying a jail cell, she’d definitely choose the former. She nodded and took her seat again, just as a secretary came to announce that the VP was ready to see her. Kennedy stood, introduced himself and explained that they needed to see the VP together. After seeing his badge, the secretary accepted his request and led them both past reception into the hallway. Bailey turned and looked over her shoulder one last time at the dark-haired man. Now he was watching her, and his eyes seemed to bore right through her as she walked. She didn’t know the man, but his expression was so intense that she was glad to get away from him. If looks could kill, she’d be lying dead on the floor right now.

      * * *

      The secretary led them to Mr. Johnson’s office, where a tall, graying man was seated behind a desk, working on a laptop. He closed the computer as they entered and rose before motioning toward the chairs in front of his desk.

      They all shook hands before Frank spoke up. “Thank you for seeing us. I’m Detective Kennedy, and this is Bailey Cox. I had an appointment with you later today, but Ms. Cox and I thought we’d save you some time and talk to you together. We have a few questions we’d like to ask you.”

      “I’m happy to help in any way I can,” Johnson said smoothly. They all sat and Kennedy opened up his iPad and started taking notes. “You’ve probably heard that Matt Cox was killed a couple of nights ago. We were hoping you could tell us about the work he was doing for you.”

      “Sure,” Johnson said as he leaned back in his chair. “Gates Industries is headed for change. Our current CEO and president is stepping down at the end of the year, and we’re in the process of vetting the applicants for the position. Mr. Cox was investigating the backgrounds of the five finalists. He was due to give us his full report at the end of the month.”

      Frank’s fingers flew over his iPad screen, documenting Mr. Johnson’s answer. “Had he told you anything he’d discovered yet?”

      Johnson nodded. “He sent us a preliminary report about two weeks ago. I scanned it but unfortunately didn’t have time to read through the whole thing. As far as I know, though, nothing odd stood out on any of the applicants. Mr. Cox had completed the basic checks and was beginning to dig deeper. You know, interviewing references, that sort of thing.” He shifted. “Do you really think that his murder is related to the work he was doing for Gates?”

      Frank shrugged. “We’re exploring every avenue at this point. Do you think we could get a copy of his initial report? We found one on his computer, but we want to make sure they match up.”

      “Of course,” Johnson answered. “If you give my assistant your email address, I’ll have her send it to you.”

      “That would be great. Did Mr. Cox have contact with anyone else here at Gates?”

      Again, Johnson shook his head. “Not that I know of. I’m the one who hired him, and I had an appointment set to meet with him once he’d finished the job. Then I was going to present his report and findings to the board.”

      Frank glanced at Bailey, who looked like she was about to burst. He had to give her credit. She was doing a good job of keeping quiet and fulfilling her promise. He looked back at his notes. “Is it standard procedure to hire a private investigator to do background checks on your prospective employees?” he asked.

      “I can’t speak to other companies and their procedures, but it’s standard for upper management positions here at Gates. You’d be surprised by how many people lie on their applications. I guess they figure that companies don’t check, which is exactly why we do.”

      Frank wrote down a few more СКАЧАТЬ