Betty Pierre - Murder.Com

He jumped up and grabbed his notebook from his jacket pocket. That young intern Bud hired. He just might be the key after all. He flipped through the pages and glanced at the clock. It would be seven back east. Better wait an hour or more before calling. He went into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee, then paced the floor.

If the kid had discovered something and told Bud about it, Bud could have turned around and approached the accountant or Ken Weber. Would one of these men have gotten scared enough to murder Bud? With Cliff's constant haggling over how clean that company seemed, it all began to slowly take form in Tom's mind. Is the company keeping dummy books? If that's the case, where are the real ones?

He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. He drummed his fingers thoughtfully. Those locked files on Bud's computer; could they possibly hold the key? If Ken happens to be guilty, he'd have access to Bud's office. He could have corrupted the files. Damn, let's hope we get to them before someone else does.

Tomorrow, after the visit from the computer whiz, he'd know. Excitement whirled in Tom's gut. He felt that for the first time on this case he was finally on the right track. Now, find the culprit and hang him by his toes. He picked up the phone and called Cliff, rattling off his ideas.

Suddenly, Cliff came awake. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It hit me this morning. The kid that Bud hired during the summer. He's our key. I'm going to call him this morning."

"Well, why in hell's name didn't you wait until you did before you woke me? See you in the office in a few hours."

The phone went dead.

*****

When the fire alarm upstairs sounded, Angie dashed down the stairs. Smoke poured from the kitchen and circled above her head. Coughing, she spotted the source immediately and hurried to the toaster oven, pulled the plug, grabbed the two charcoaled pieces of bread with a hot mitt and tossed them into the disposal. After turning on the ceiling fan, she opened the doors and windows, then walked the kitchen floor, waving a tea towel in the air. The smoky odor finally cleared and fresh air filled the room.

Marty dashed in the back door and headed straight for the toaster. When she saw what had happened, she whirled around and faced Angie. "Oh, Mrs. Nevers, how terrible of me. I completely forgot I'd put on the toast and ran over to the cottage for a second." She covered her face with her hands.

Angie put her hands on her hips. "Marty, you could have burned the house down with me in it."

Marty ducked her head and turned away, as she pulled out two more pieces of bread from the loaf and placed them into the toaster. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Angie shut the door and closed the windows, then sat down at the table in the breakfast nook. She glanced through the newspaper until Marty brought in her meal, then decided enough had been said about the near disaster and changed the subject. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Much better. I slept most of yesterday and through the night. I guess I really needed that extra rest."

"I'm glad to hear it." She glanced up at Marty. "You look much better." However, Angie saw the hollow look in her eyes. "Marty, is something bothering you? You haven't been yourself lately."

"Don't you worry about me. You've got enough to think about. I'm fine."

Knowing the woman's stubborn nature, Angie figured no amount of prodding would reveal what was on her mind unless she wanted to tell you. She turned her attention back to her breakfast. "I'm going into town and won't be home for lunch. But plan on dinner unless I call."

Marty nodded and disappeared from the kitchen to perform her other duties.

Angle left the house at ten, dropped off the legal papers at the lawyers, then walked into Doctor Parker's office at ten forty-five. Melinda had not yet arrived. The doctor poked his head out of his private office door and motioned for her to come inside.

"I don't want to be nosy, but what's this all about?" He adjusted his glasses. "You say this young woman, Melinda Smith, claims to be Bud's daughter?" He looked over the top of the half-rims. "Is she blackmailing you?"

Angie sat back in her chair and exhaled. "Well, she's trying, but it isn't going to work. Regardless of whether she's Bud's daughter or not, the woman is twenty-three years old with a college degree. I'm going to take this a step at a time. First, I need to find out if she's telling the truth. If so, I'll handle it the best way I see fit."

Parker took off his glasses and chewed on one of the ear pieces as he studied Angie. "The DNA test results take about two weeks. Are you prepared to wait that long?"

She nodded. "Yes." Then she checked her watch and raised a brow. "Of course, if she doesn't show, I'll know my answer much sooner."

But, at that moment, the receptionist buzzed the office. "Melinda Smith is waiting."

Doctor Parker and Angie exchanged glances and stepped from the office. Angie met Melinda's stare. And for a split-second, Angie thought she detected a tinge of fear in those devastating eyes.

Chapter Twelve

In the waiting room, Angie glanced up from her magazine when Melinda, eyes blazing, stormed out of Dr. Parker's small lab and stopped in front of her.

"You'll be hearing from me in two weeks."

Before she could speak, the young woman had slammed out the door. Angie laid the magazine aside, stood and watched through the window as Melinda marched toward her car.

Dr. Parker stepped up beside her. "There goes a beautiful young woman with quite a chip on her shoulder."

"Yes, I know," she whispered. "Such a shame."

"Do you know her mother?" Parker asked.

"No, she wouldn't tell me. Did she tell you?"

He shook his head. "If she's Bud's daughter, she must have taken after her mother, because I don't see any resemblance to him." He touched Angie's shoulder. "I've got to get back to work. I'll call as soon as I get the results."

*****

Tom decided to make the call to the intern from work, and had just hung up when Cliff walked into his office. This morning he sported a golf hat and grumbled loudly about the traffic. Putting on his best smile, Tom nodded. "A good morning to you too, Detective Maxhimer. You need to get up earlier so you can beat the traffic."

Cliff fired a look at him that could have burnt a hole in his chest. "Some people get rude calls in the wee hours of the morning and have a hard time getting back to sleep." He slouched down in the chair next to the desk. "So, did you make the call?"

Getting serious, Tom shoved his sheet of notes toward Cliff so he could read them. "Yes. The intern's name is Bill Crane. The news of Bud's death shocked him. But once he composed himself, he told me he'd found an unusual entry in the Nevers company's financial books. An ABC Wafer Company had been receiving a hefty check each month from the Nevers company. He researched the name on the web and on the stock market, but couldn't find anything about them, so he brought it to Mr. Nevers' attention. He thought Bud took the news pretty seriously, but he never learned of the outcome of the audit because he left for school shortly thereafter."

Cliff stared into space as he listened. "I knew that company smelled too sweet." Then he turned toward Tom. "Your computer man gonna make it today?"

"Supposed to be there now. I gave him clearance."

"Let's get over there." Cliff stood and straightened his wrinkled coat. "It's going to be interesting to see what's locked up inside that computer."

The two detectives drove to the Nevers building and went straight to Bud's office. Cliff pulled a chair over to the front of the desk where William Bird, the computer expert, sat transfixed. His round-rimmed glasses were perched on the end of his nose as he stared at the monitor. The printer hummed, spitting out one sheet of paper after another.