Betty Pierre - Murder.Com

He smiled slightly. "We're in this thing together. Maybe it will help with the investigation."

"That's possible," she said, shrugging. She sat forward and related Marty's confession about being Melinda's mother and how it had come about. When she finished, she let out a long sigh. "It doesn't seem possible this could have happened right under my nose."

Tom observed her relaxed disposition during the story and surmised she'd sorted out the upsetting news and accepted it. "You seem to be handling the problem. Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head. "No. Just being my sounding board has helped."

Their meal arrived and after the waiter left, she looked at him and smiled. "Well, I've pretty well monopolized the whole conversation. So how's the investigation going? Any new leads?"

"I wish I had something concrete to tell you. Right now we're working on problems with the Nevers Company accounting books. Something fishy is going on within the company but the auditor can't find it. He feels that it's possible he's dealing with altered records. Whoever used the ABC Wafer Company in the beginning has since dropped that name and gotten more sophisticated in eluding the law."

"Is that the company Bill Crane discovered and told Bud about?"

"Yes."

"I wish I could tell you Bud kept records at home. But I've found nothing so far."

"He might have put them on a CD or a disk."

"I haven't gone through everything yet." She shook her head. "I get too emotional. But I'll check through the CDs. He has a bunch I stored in a box for the time being. I'll go through them again and examine each one carefully."

"Would you mind if I took a look?" Tom asked cautiously.

"Not at all. In fact, why don't you come over tonight after dinner and we'll sort through them," she said smiling. "I'd love your company."

The thought made his blood surge. "Great."

Later that evening, back at Angie's house, she and Tom sat on the floor with the box of CDs between them, taking turns sticking them into the computer and verifying the titles. After checking twenty-five, Angie stretched her arms above her head and complained of her eyes getting tired. Tom took the hint. "Why don't I take the rest home with me?"

"Better yet, why don't you just come back tomorrow afternoon? I can help you finish."

Guessing she didn't want the box out of her sight, Tom nodded. "Sounds good. But I don't want to interrupt your day."

"I've nothing planned. It would be perfect. I'll have Marty fix dinner for us here."

"You're sure it won't put you out?"

She grinned. "Positive."

*****

Angie lay in bed that night, thinking about Tom. Such a wonderful and kind friend, so thoughtful. Never wearing out his welcome and genuinely interested in her well-being. Bud had always regarded Tom highly and now she could see why. Not only was he a good, down-to-earth cop, but a wholesome person as well. With those pleasant reflections, she drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Angie found herself looking forward to Tom's visit. In preparation, she searched through Bud's office for any extra disks or CDs that he might have stuffed into the desk drawers. She found several and added them to the ones they hadn't gone through. Something nagged at the back of mind, but not being able to put her finger on it, she brushed it aside.

Angie headed for the study to check the wet bar supplies, but stopped at the kitchen door and observed Marty preparing their dinner. The strained relationship between the two women had relaxed somewhat, but she knew their friendship could never be the same. However, Angie didn't want to lose Marty and hoped that they could eventually resolve most of the problems.

Marty must have felt her presence, and turned. Smiling, she removed a pan from the cabinet. "I like Detective Hoffman; he's a nice man. I enjoy fixing a dinner for someone who's so appreciative."

Angie strolled into the kitchen. "Yes, he's very nice and considerate. And not having a wife, he enjoys a good home-cooked meal."

Marty leaned against the cabinet, twisting the pan in her hand. "I don't mean to bring up unhappy memories, but has he made any progress in finding Bud's murderer?"

Angie shook her head and sighed. "No, they keep running into a brick wall. But I feel something will open up soon."

Marty nodded and continued her preparations.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Angie asked.

"No, thanks. I've got everything ready so all I have to do is stick it in the oven."

When Tom arrived, Angie led him into the study. They finished going through the box of CDs but found nothing. Tom leaned back on the couch, his brow furrowed. "I thought we'd find something. My gut tells me Bud made a copy of the original records with the ABC Wafer Company on it. Crane said Bud showed a big interest in his findings. Where in the hell would he have put it?"

Angie shook her head.

"Do you have a safe-deposit box?"

Suddenly, Angie's face lit up. "Dear Lord, why didn't I think of it before? No, we don't have a box at the bank, but we do have a wall safe here in the house. And just the other day when I pulled out some legal papers to take to the attorney, a CD fell out of the vault onto the floor. I didn't think much about it, just figured it to be one of Bud's favorite songs that he didn't want to accidentally record over. I wasn't in the mood to deal with it at the time, so I tossed it back inside."

Tom jumped up. "Where's the safe?"

Inside Angie's bedroom, Tom stood back as she worked the combination. She finally opened it, retrieved the CD, then rummaged through the rest of the contents, making sure she hadn't overlooked anything.

They hurried back to the study, where Tom slid the CD into the computer. Angie felt his anxiety as a folder popped up on the monitor. He glanced at her. "Keep your fingers crossed."

When he double-clicked, several folders filled the screen. Angie knew he was excited as he studied each one intensely. Suddenly, he touched her arm and pointed. "There it is. The ABC Wafer Company." He slapped his thigh. "By damn, I knew Bud wouldn't let us down." He clicked through several of the pages. "I'm going to copy these files onto this computer, then onto another disk. When I finish, I want you to store this original CD back in your safe."

Angie shook her head in silence, her stomach knotted. She knew in her heart that they were a step closer to finding Bud's killer.

Chapter Fifteen

On Sunday morning, Sandy called. "Angie, have you got anything planned for this beautiful day?"

"No, just paying bills."

Sandy laughed. "How boring. Why don't you come over for a barbecue this afternoon? Ken is fixing chicken on the spit. The twins will be gone for the day, which means we can get caught up on all the gossip. It's been ages since we've talked."

"It sounds wonderful. What time?"

"Say between one and two o'clock."

"I'll see you then."

The invitation lifted Angie's spirits. They hadn't seen each other for a couple of weeks, and she'd missed their visits. So much had happened and she knew a decision had to be made on how much she would tell her friend.

She stared out the kitchen window as she sipped her coffee and thought about last night. After Tom had left, she'd gone into the computer to study the Nevers Company financial records. Not much made sense and it all looked like a foreign language. But she continued to search anyway, in hopes of finding some entry that might indicate a payment toward Melinda's welfare. But all she found that made any sense were salary statements. They didn't help. Bud had always taken care of their money matters. He'd once told her she didn't need to worry; there would always be money to run the household and to take care of any personal items that she desired.