Betty Pierre - Murder.Com

Tom gave him a knowing look. "The day before Bud died." He removed a plastic bag from his pocket and carefully placed the bottle inside.

Cliff took the bag and held it up. "Let's hope the goddamn bottle is covered with fingerprints."

*****

Sandy lay on the couch with her eyes half-closed. The women had taken turns going through the files, jotting down entries that looked suspicious so they could have Tom, Cliff or the auditor decipher their meanings.

Suddenly, Angie shouted. "Sandy, I think I've found something!"

*****

Autumn slowed down as she came to a stop sign. Her insides trembled with anger. But she mustn't lose control. Keep cool. A bunch of dummy cops invading her privacy. Did they think for one minute they'd be able to open her files on the computer? In college she'd stunned them all with her knowledge of the technology. Even Bud Nevers had taken her idea and used it. But he never paid her enough for its worth. Big deal, a little check each month for whatever they sold. She'd tried to tell him she could work at home and do lots of things for them on the computer, but he vetoed that idea. He wanted his employees at the big building. Said it helped morale and made for one big happy family.

What the hell did he know about family? His prissy little wife in a big mansion, surrounded by a big wall and guarded gate. Housekeepers and garden muckers to keep the place nice. Well, what they needed were a couple of kids to drive them nuts.

She glanced in the rear-view mirror at her two little girls in their car seats. "Ain't that right, my little ragamuffins?" Both girls nodded and laughed. "Well, you just wait, Mama's going to see to it that we don't live like scum forever. I've got it all planned and no one's getting in our way. Your dad was a chicken, but we didn't need him anyway. Mr. Weber will help us out." A sly grin curled the edges of her mouth. She glanced back into the mirror again. "Do you little munchkins like our new car?"

"Yeah, mommy, it's really pretty," they said in unison.

Suddenly, she noticed the car behind her. Her eyes narrowed. "Damn tail. Hope he enjoys going to McDonald's for breakfast."

Chapter Thirty

Cliff followed Tom into his office. "Think you can get that computer whiz to help us again?"

Tom nodded as he picked up his messages. "No problem. I'll get right on it. But first," he waved one of the slips of paper, "I want to return John Graves' call."

"I'll be right back." Cliff headed down the hall to the men's room. When he returned, Tom had just hung up. Cliff closed the door and pulled a chair up to the desk. "So what'd he want?"

"To let me know that the company would be willing to take on the Nevers auditing case for twenty-five thousand dollars."

Cliff raised his brows and let out a whistle. "What are they going to do, use gold pens?"

Tom grinned. "No, but it would involve Holmes & Goode going to each of the companies that did business with Nevers and collecting their invoices so they could compare them to the entries in the records. Very time consuming and costly."

"Yeah, that would definitely take time." Cliff stuck his little finger in his ear and wiggled it. "But you know what still bothers me?"

"No, what?"

"How the hell did Bud's computer get changed? Did Weber know his didn't have the original records in it? Both those guys had separate lines into their offices. Whoever changed them had to know something about computers and how to get into them."

"Good question. Bud's could have been changed the night he was murdered. Think I'll give Ken a call." Suddenly, Tom got up and went to a file where he pulled out a long white envelope.

"Something clicked, huh?" Cliff said, his mouth twitching.

Tom pulled out what looked like six credit cards. "Found these in Ryan's desk drawer. I just figured they were keys to his office and they change the code on them about every six months. I didn't think a lot about it until just now. Bet a couple of these would fit Bud's and Ken's office doors."

Cliff frowned. "Yeah, but I'm sure the codes were changed after the murder. Any idea who does the work?"

Studying the cards, Tom slid one over to Cliff. "Yeah, there on the bottom, KeyTech." Tom pulled out the phone directory and found the company. "Couldn't be easier. They're located right downtown on Balsom Avenue." He quickly noted the address on a slip of paper.

Checking his watch, Cliff stood and put out his hand. "Give me the address and those keys. I've got time to get there before they close. Call them. Make sure the boss stays around in case I get into traffic. While I'm gone, give Weber a call."

Tom picked up the phone as Cliff bounded out the door.

After notifying KeyTech, Tom placed a call to Ken Weber.

"Hello, Ken. This is Tom. I need to ask you a couple of questions."

"Sure, shoot."

"I know you have the accounting files on your computer at work. Do you recall seeing an ABC Wafer Company listed?" Tom could hear Ken repeating, "ABC Wafer...."

"You know Tom, it sounds familiar, but I don't remember seeing it."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "But you said you knew about the dummy company?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know what it was called."

"Okay. I understand. Before Ryan's death, did you ever notice any changes in the accounting system?"

"I have to really study those files. Concentrating on rows of figures is not my thing. If there were any changes, I never spotted them."

"So you're saying you pretty much trusted Conners to do the right thing?"

"Not really, but I couldn't catch him. When he discovered I'd taken that money, he immediately turned me in to Bud. He probably breathed a sigh of relief, figuring I'd be his fall guy for all the money he'd embezzled. And with Bud dead, it would just be my word against the accountant's."

Tom shifted in his seat, knowing this would be hard to prove for Ken. He could still be in hot water. "I notice the company has security on all the doors of the building. Does each person have his own code?"

"Oh yeah."

"Could your office be entered without your knowledge?"

"Easily."

"Why's that?"

"Because I seldom closed my door. The security keys were mostly for night after everyone left. I didn't have anything in the office that I worried about, and I always left my card on the desk. In fact, I had them make me an extra one."

"How did Bud feel about that?"

"Oh, he did the same thing. We were always misplacing our cards. We didn't keep stuff that required security in our offices. True, we didn't want any of our ideas stolen; but they were kept in a different area where we installed high security."

"That pretty much solves that problem," Tom mumbled.

"What did you say?" Ken asked.

"Nothing, not important. Thanks, Ken, I'll keep in touch."

"Wait, have you found anything in the records that might clear me of embezzlement?"

"Not yet, but we'll keep looking."

Ken let out a long sigh. "I told Sandy I'd talked to you. Told her everything. I pray she'll forgive me."

"Give her time. She's going through a lot right now."

"Thanks, for all you're doing."

Tom had barely hung up when the phone rang. Figuring it to be Cliff, he answered. "Yeah."

"Tom, is that you? This is Angie."

He felt a warm flush fill his cheeks. "Oh, sorry about that. I expected a call from Cliff."

"I won't keep you. Just glad I caught you before you left. Do you think you could drop by? I think we've found something in the accounting records that will clear Ken."

"Hold on to it. But it will probably be an hour or a little longer before I can get away."

"That will be fine. Don't eat and we'll have something here."

"Sounds great."

It dawned on Tom that he hadn't contacted his computer man. Locating William Bird's card in his Rolodex, he set up an appointment for the following morning. Then he leaned back in his chair, exhaled and wondered what Autumn Conners would be doing about now. He called his tail man.