Jennifer Morey - Mission - Colton Justice

“Good morning, Mr. Kincaid,” the receptionist greeted from behind the marble-plated half wall from her desk. She wore her black hair pulled tight into a bun. A vase of white lilies and a large round bronze clock added a touch of warmth. Light streamed through windows on each side, and irregularly placed tables with white chairs provided books and magazines catering to a variety of interests.

Jeremy guided Adeline down a hall between cubicles to the west side of the floor and his corner office.

His assistant rose from her chair when she saw him. “Oscar said to get him as soon as you arrived.”

“Send him in.”

“I’ll wait out here.” Adeline stopped near the assistant.

She and Jeremy were going to go over Tess’s accident this morning and strategize on how to take his lead further. But now they had another meeting with Oscar to squeeze in.

“Oscar said to include your PI,” the assistant said.

That brought both his and Adeline’s head turning.

Was this related to Tess?

“I’ll go get him.”

Jeremy met Adeline’s eyes, hers likely less astounded than his. She might expect the unexpected while working cases. In business he could handle that. This was personal, though. Oscar never insisted on talking to him so urgently. If something important came up, he usually just stopped by his office.

He remained standing with her as Oscar appeared at his assistant’s desk. A shade over six feet, Oscar dressed in a suit and tie every day and kept his body in good physical condition. He wore scholarly glasses and still had a head of dark hair, clipped short and peppered with gray.

He came into the office with a curious glance at Adeline.

Jeremy introduced them.

“The PI,” Oscar said, shaking her hand and giving her form a quick, purely observational once-over. “Not quite what I expected.”

“Did you expect a man, Mr. Biggs?”

Jeremy couldn’t tell if she sounded defensive. She didn’t strike him as a woman who’d let anyone get away with treating her with anything other than respect.

“I’m not sure what I expected, Ms. Winters, but it wasn’t a woman with such a fine presence.”

She had a way of balancing social etiquette with a serious question, her smile engaging and, yes, her presence was fine...very fine. Whatever she’d sought to find out must have satisfied her.

“Thank you... I think.”

Oscar put his hands together in a soft clap. “On to the purpose of this meeting.”

“Coffee.” Jeremy’s assistant entered with a tray and put it down on a conference table.

Jeremy sat at one end, Oscar to his right, Adeline to his left. She didn’t take a cup of coffee, just a glass of water. Oscar sipped from a steaming cup and Jeremy waited for his to cool.

Then Oscar put his cup down and, after a lengthy silence, finally turned to Jeremy. “What I have to say isn’t easy, Jeremy.”

Jeremy didn’t get uptight over that announcement. He’d already anticipated something big. That it wasn’t easy to say suggested this was personal. Nothing related to his business would be that shocking. Oscar must know something. No matter what, Jeremy preferred he tell him.

“You know how people talk around here. I heard you suspect Livia Colton may have something to do with Tess’s accident,” Oscar said.

Jeremy grew instantly more alert. Did Oscar know something about Livia that could help his case? “Yes.” Why had he brought that up? Had he found a connection? Jeremy contained his flaring hope.

“How long have you suspected her?”

“Not seriously until recently. Why?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Oscar asked.

Why would he? “I had nothing to go on, only a hunch.” He waited for Oscar to tell him what he’d come to say, which seemed more and more to be a confession of some sort—a confession related to Livia’s involvement in Tess’s accident.

Oscar lowered his head briefly, uncharacteristic of such a powerful man. He had major difficulty with his declaration. He must have kept this secret for some time and something had compelled him to come forward.

“Before I came to work for you, I was involved with Livia,” Oscar finally said, not sounding or seeming proud.

“You had an affair?” Adeline asked.

He nodded. Jeremy could see how Oscar might be ashamed of that.

“What might make you think that is related to Tess’s accident?” Adeline asked.

The way Oscar turned to her and then slowly, reluctantly, met Jeremy’s eyes, warned of what was about to come next.

“I was the man your witness saw meeting Tess the day of her accident.”

Of all the things. Jeremy leaned back against his chair, needing the support to keep steady. Beside him, Adeline leaned over and removed her padfolio and a pen from her case. Putting them on the table, she began to write, asking, “Did you tell law enforcement this, Mr. Biggs?”

“No. I didn’t see the need. Tess’s accident wasn’t determined to be a homicide.” He turned to Jeremy. “But I see a need now. The next day when I heard she died in a car accident, I felt I was to blame.”

“Her blood alcohol level was well over the legal limit,” Adeline said, jotting down more on her notepad, her handwriting neat and uniform. He read her observations on Oscar’s appearance. Well-groomed. Anxious but forthright...

Jeremy got the idea she didn’t do anything halfway. Her attire was as neat and precise as her writing. Her blond hair was down but combed to a smooth, silky shine. Even her pen had the stamp of detail, with a monogram of her initials.

“Why did you meet her?” she asked, bringing Jeremy’s attention back to the purpose of this meeting.

Oscar looked intent, as though working up to plead his case. “Tess asked me to. I refused the first few times, but she wouldn’t stop until finally I agreed to meet her for a late lunch.”

A few times? She’d had a relationship with Oscar before Jeremy met her. Had she wanted to get back together with Oscar?

Jeremy was stunned. How had he missed her unhappiness? Sure, her drinking had caused problems in their marriage. She had gone to rehab but Jeremy had always worried she might relapse. It wasn’t until she died that he’d he realized she had. She hadn’t been dissatisfied with him as a husband...had she?

“Jeremy, I didn’t get involved with her.”

“Why did she meet you?” he asked again.

In his side vision he saw Adeline carefully put down her pen, pausing in taking notes and only listening intently now.

Oscar’s breath sighed out long and full of reluctance. “She wanted to start up with me again. When I refused, she left upset. I didn’t know she was drinking until I heard about her accident. If I’d have known, I would have stopped her.”

Looking straight ahead, Jeremy searched his memory for signs that Tess had drifted away from him to the point where she’d seek out other men. None came to mind, but the idea stung. He’d always been busy at work. Sometimes he didn’t get home until after eight. They had shared many evenings together, though. She hadn’t seemed unhappy.

Then he began recalling the weeks leading up to her accident. They hadn’t talked much. They’d had family dinners and done things together on the weekends, but now that he thought back in more detail, he and Tess hadn’t said much to each other. When they’d first met, they’d talked all the time. She hadn’t had to work and used to wait for him to get home so she could eat dinner with him. Somewhere along the way she’d stopped doing that. After they brought Jamie home, the sex had almost stopped, too.

“She was drinking again, Jeremy,” Oscar said in his lengthy silence. “She wasn’t thinking straight.”

Jeremy turned to him, a trusted employee, a trusted top executive. “You’ve been a good friend to me, Oscar. If she strayed, it wasn’t your fault.”