Trust No One (Devlin & Falco), page 25
“I don’t believe Sela was involved.” The man was stuck on that idea, and Keith couldn’t adequately convince him otherwise.
“Your misplaced loyalty has not persuaded me, Keith. Unless you can prove this scenario to me, then we must continue to operate under the assumption that her involvement is not only possible but probable.”
Keith wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. The police had discovered her purchase of a car. They had also uncovered her illegal purchase of a handgun—one the same caliber as the murder weapon. No doubt Sela now fell firmly into the suspect category. What a mess.
“I’ll do all I can. But I’ll tell you now, I don’t expect to find anything new.”
“Hire another investigator, for God’s sake.”
For men like Daniel Abbott, this was a simple matter. But in the real world, trusted investigators were hard to find. Right now Keith would love to hear from the one on his payroll. Ramsey had gone dark on him. Keith didn’t know what was going on with the man, but he had a very, very bad feeling.
“We’ve talked about this before,” Keith ventured, “and you said Ben had not spoken to you about any concerns or worries he had in regard to Sela. Have you remembered something that you had perhaps forgotten?”
Daniel drained his glass, then leveled a glare at Keith. “Are you asking me if I conveniently forgot a discussion with my son about his wife?”
Keith met his glare without wavering. “Yes. That’s what I’m asking.”
Another of those subtle hand signals, and the waiter whisked the empty glass away and quickly returned with another sporting more of that expensive liquid sunshine.
The older man indulged in a long swallow, then placed his glass back on the white-linen-covered table. “Two weeks ago we had a short discourse regarding Sela and my concerns.”
Keith had known the old bastard had been lying to him when he’d denied such a conversation.
“Ben said that he had everything under control and that I should not trouble myself with worries about his wife.”
“He was right,” Keith announced, renewed fury blazing inside him. “Obviously, Ben was the one who should have been worried.”
“Find her,” Daniel said. “She’s out there. I feel it in my gut. Find her, and bring her to me. I will know why my son had to die. Bear in mind, Mr. Bellemont, that I always have a backup plan—it is one I hate to use, but if you fail, I will not hesitate.”
Keith gave him a nod; then he stood. There was nothing more to say. He was afraid the old fool had already set that backup plan in motion, which was in all likelihood the very reason the entire situation had gone to hell.
He turned and walked out of the house of cards that had stood as a symbol of greatness in the city for far too long.
It was all about to come crashing down.
43
1:00 p.m.
York, Hammond & Goldman Law Firm
North Twentieth Street
Amelia had sent a text to Diana saying that she was at work. She’d said the same to Kerri. But Diana could not take it anymore. She needed to see her daughter with her own eyes. She hadn’t seen her since Sunday night.
Downtown parking was always at a premium. Luckily, she found a spot on the same block as the firm. Not that she minded a nice walk, especially in this pleasant weather, but she didn’t want to get all sweaty. She already felt a little embarrassed by her jazz pants and tee. She should have taken time to change rather than taking off on impulse.
She had been here once before. The lobby always threw her off balance. The marble floors and towering ceiling. It really was a beautiful place. She had asked Amelia if the offices upstairs were as pretty, and she had raved about how luxurious the entire place was. The conference rooms. The law library. Diana drew in a deep breath. This was the life her daughter would have. Elegance and affluence. Not struggling from paycheck to paycheck like her parents had most of their twenty-year marriage.
The receptionist looked up as Diana approached. “May I help you?”
Diana smiled. “I’m here to see my daughter, Amelia Swanner. She’s an intern with the firm.”
The receptionist frowned. “I don’t think she’s here today. Let me check.” She picked up the phone and pressed a series of keys.
There had to be a mistake. Amelia had said she was here. Surely she wouldn’t fail to show up for work and risk the future she so badly wanted.
When the receptionist placed the receiver back in its cradle, she said, “Mrs. Swanner, please have a seat. Miriam Foster, our personnel director, will be down in just a moment to speak with you.”
Fear welled inside Diana. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Swanner, I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“I’d like to see Mr. York,” Diana blurted, desperation rising inside her. He could help her. They had been friends for all those years she’d given his daughter private dance classes. He’d stopped by her house just the other day.
“I’m afraid Mr. York isn’t in the office just now.”
Diana’s heart sank.
An elevator on the other side of the lobby dinged, and the doors opened.
“There’s Ms. Foster now. I’m sure she can explain everything.”
Diana couldn’t move. She told herself to walk toward the other woman to find out what was going on, but her body refused to cooperate. As the woman approached Diana, the words everything is fine echoed in her head. Of course everything was fine.
“Mrs. Swanner.” Foster smiled one of those polite, not real smiles. “Let’s step over here”—she gestured to the seating area—“a moment so we have some privacy.”
Diana glanced at the receptionist and then did as the other woman asked. “What’s going on?” she finally found the wherewithal to ask. “Amelia should be here. I—”
“Frankly, Mrs. Swanner, we don’t know where Amelia is, but she isn’t here. We thought she had quit, which as you know will not look good on her resume.”
The woman was still talking, but Diana interrupted her. “What do you mean you thought she quit?”
“Mrs. Swanner, Amelia hasn’t been here since last Friday.”
44
2:30 p.m.
York, Hammond & Goldman Law Firm
North Twentieth Street
“You can’t go in there half-cocked, Devlin.”
Kerri stared at her partner. When had she become the one on the edge and her partner the steadying force?
“All I want to do is find out what’s going on. We were at his house last night. He asked me if I was Amelia’s aunt. He could have told me something was wrong. That she hadn’t shown up for work all week.”
Saying the words out loud only made her angrier. When Diana had called and then calmed down enough to explain what was going on, Kerri had been cool and levelheaded. There had to be a reasonable explanation.
But sometime between hearing the news from Diana and the fifth time her call to Amelia had gone unanswered, Kerri had lost control.
Diana was right. Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Maybe York, despite his claims, had used his charm and intellect to convince Amelia it was okay to spy on Sela. That it wasn’t wrong—and now Amelia was in trouble.
Didn’t make sense. Amelia was not that naive.
“Let’s go over what we know, Devlin.”
They were sitting here in his damned car parked at the curb halfway down the block from the law office, and he wouldn’t shut up.
“We’ve been over this before.”
“We have, yes,” he said calmly, so calmly she wanted to punch him. “But,” he argued, “we’re under a lot of pressure to solve this case. Your ex is giving you hell about custody. Your daughter is pushing for her independence. Now you’ve got your niece going rogue. There’s a lot happening, and some of those things intersect. Like your niece working for York. Bellemont telling us that York might be involved in this homicide case. Ramsey stalking Amelia and then disappearing. But you just have to back away from all that and go after this one thing. Did something happen at work to cause Amelia to quit?”
“You’re right. I need to cool down and look at this one thing. Leave all the rest out of it for now.” Kerri took a breath. She could do that.
“Good. All right.” He reached for his door. “We’ll go in together and talk to York.”
“No. I want to do this alone. He might say more with only me in the room. No matter how calmly I present myself, he’ll know my emotions are in a knot. If he’s as overconfident as I suspect, he may try pushing my buttons if I’m alone.”
Falco started to argue, but she held up her hands. “I’ll be calm. Don’t worry. You keep prodding the crime scene folks to give us something from the unauthorized access of the Abbott home.”
“Okay, but if sirens start blazing and I see SWAT barreling down the street, I’m coming in.”
He almost made her smile. Almost. “Deal.”
Kerri climbed out of his car and headed for the law office. She focused on deep, steadying breaths. At the entrance to the lobby, she cleared her head once more and walked in.
The receptionist looked up as she approached her desk. “Welcome to York, Hammond & Goldman. How may I help you?”
Kerri showed her badge. “I’m here to see Mr. York. It’s urgent police business.”
“Please have a seat, and I’ll call his office and see if he’s available.”
Kerri couldn’t sit. Containing the wild mixture of worry and adrenaline long enough to be still was impossible. She wandered to the grouping of sofas and chairs and waited. She watched as the receptionist made the call and then placed the handset back in its cradle. The woman rose from her chair and walked over to where Kerri waited. She couldn’t help holding her breath.
“Mr. York can see you now. Take the elevator to the eighth floor, and his assistant will be waiting for you.”
“Thank you.”
While she waited for the elevator, Kerri studied the numerous cameras installed for security. She imagined no one entered or left these offices without being captured on camera.
The doors opened, and she stepped into the car and selected the floor number. When the doors opened once more, another young, attractive woman waited for her.
“Right this way, Detective Devlin.”
Kerri followed her along the lushly carpeted corridor, left into another corridor, and to the fourth door on the right. The woman opened the door and waited for Kerri to enter, then closed the door behind her.
“Detective Devlin.” York stood behind his desk. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a second visit in the same twenty-four-hour period? I feel like Mr. Popular. Please, sit.” He held up a hand. “Of course, yes. You’re here about the employee roster.”
“No. I’m here about my niece, Amelia.”
He frowned. “Yes, we talked about her last night. At the time I wasn’t aware she hadn’t been in this week. Can you tell me if there was a problem with someone here at the office? I can assure you if there was, I will personally take care of the problem.”
How generous. The offer almost seemed genuine.
Kerri reminded herself of all that Bellemont had told her about this man; then she softened her voice and settled into a chair. “I honestly don’t know what happened. I was hoping you could tell me.”
York lowered into his own chair. “I spoke with Ms. Foster, our personnel director. She talked with Amelia’s colleagues here, and no one is aware of any sort of problem. They’re all quite shocked that she stopped showing up. We thought she was very happy to be a part of the team.”
“Is there anyone who was particularly close to her that I might be able to speak with?”
He seemed to consider the question for a moment. “Ms. Foster didn’t mention anyone, but I have to say that I saw Amelia a couple of times in the lounge with Finn. Would you like me to have him come to the office? I’m sure he would be happy to speak with you. He’s our intern from my old high school. He’s heading off to Harvard, his father’s alma mater, this fall.”
“I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with him.”
“Let me round him up.” He stood. “Would you like coffee or water while you wait? Perhaps something stronger?”
Kerri shook her head. “No thanks.”
York walked out of his office, leaving the door open. Kerri didn’t have to look to know there would be cameras in all the offices as well. A minute, then two, elapsed, and she couldn’t help feeling restless. She pushed out of her chair and walked to the man’s extensive praise wall. His credentials and too many honors to count lined the wall. Amid all the acclamations were a few framed photos. She surveyed each. York and the mayor. York and the chief of police. York and the governor. York and Senator T. R. Thompson. York and Daniel Abbott. Anyone who was someone in Birmingham was photographed with York, shaking his hand or passing along some award.
She turned to his desk. Spotted the framed photo of the man with a young woman who looked to be around Amelia’s age, most likely his daughter. Another framed photo sat next to it. In this one York was considerably younger, maybe in his early twenties. Kerri’s gaze narrowed as she moved closer. She picked up the photo and stared at the second man.
A new shot of adrenaline fired in her veins. The second man in the photo looked very much like the one in the photo with Janelle Stevens . . . the one in Kerri’s pocket. He was younger in this photo, but she was certain it was Theo Thompson.
When she would have replaced the framed photo where she’d found it, York walked in. He looked surprised to find her at his desk.
“I was admiring your wall of fame.” She mustered up a smile. “Then I spotted this photo. Who is the man with you? He looks so familiar.”
York accepted the photo from her and smiled down at it, as if remembering the day it was taken. “This is back in my college days, and that is my old friend and frat brother Theo Thompson. I’m sure you’ve seen him all over the news. He’s following in his father’s footsteps to the Alabama State Senate. Of course, he’s a wee bit older now, like myself.”
“That’s probably why he looks familiar.” Barely able to restrain the need to rush out to tell Falco she had confirmation, Kerri surveyed the wall once more. “You have quite a number of impressive awards, Mr. York.”
“Just doing my job, Detective. Like you.”
A young man entered the office, almost stumbling over his own feet. Tall, thin. Dressed impeccably. Dark hair. “Sorry.” He righted his glasses and then extended his hand toward Kerri. “I’m Finn Garrett. You’re here about Amelia? I was wondering why she hadn’t come back to work. Is she all right?”
“This is actually my nephew,” York said. “We’re very proud of him.”
Kerri shook the boy’s hand, noting the two had the same nose. She should have noticed that already. “Thanks for talking to me, Finn. We actually don’t know where Amelia is, and we’re very worried about her. She’s been out of pocket for a few days, and now we’ve learned that she hasn’t been coming to work. That was quite a shock to us all.”
He blinked twice, three times. “Amelia did mention that she had a friend who was experiencing a bit of trouble. Maybe she’s helping her.”
Since he referred to the friend as her, Kerri asked, “Do you know which friend it is?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t. We’re always busy at work, so we don’t have a lot of time for social conversations. I really hope she’s all right. Amelia is a great intern and a really nice person. Everyone loves her.”
That was Amelia. Everyone always loved her.
Kerri withdrew one of her business cards and handed it to Finn. “Could you call me if you remember anything at all she might have said that would give us some idea what’s going on with her?”
“Of course.” He tucked the card into the pocket of his button-down shirt. “When you find her, please tell her that we miss her.”
Kerri thanked Finn and York for their help and got out of the building as quickly as possible. Falco was leaning against his car, waiting for her. He didn’t ask any questions until they were inside and driving away.
“York and the others insist they don’t know what happened. She just stopped coming to work. I did speak to another intern, and he said the same thing.” Kerri leaned back against the headrest. “I don’t like this, Falco.” Her gut was in knots. This was wrong, wrong, wrong.
“We’ll find her.” Her partner glanced at her. “While you were in York’s office, we got a callback from the crime scene tech.”
“Any hits on the prints?” She doubted they would get so lucky, but she could hope. She rubbed at her temples, wished away the headache forming there.
“Sela’s, Ben’s, the mother’s, and some others that didn’t match anything in the system.”
“Damn it. I was hoping for more.”
He glanced at her, a grin cutting across his face. “The rushed analysis we asked for on the crib linens was a different story. They found traces of mineral oil, alkaline salts, and some kind of acid that I can’t remember the name of as well as a couple different alcohols along with benzyl acetate and a vegetable oil of some type.”
She groaned. “Is there something more specific all that tells us?”
He braked at a red light and turned to her. “Gun cleaner and lubricant.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” She shook her head. “There was a gun hidden in the crib.”
“Yep, and we missed it.”
“We just . . . shit.”
“Yeah. We just gave the crib a pass. Like everyone else.”
Kerri shook her head. “Of all the dumb-ass bad moves.” She turned to her partner with her own news flash. “One good thing did come of my visit with York.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense, Devlin.” He glanced at her as he slowed for the next intersection.
“The guy in the photo with the older sister is Theo Thompson. No question.”
