Lisa Gardner - Touch & Go

“Tell us about Justin. When did he take over the company?”

“He was twenty-seven when Dale died—”

“How did his father die?”

“Heart attack. Dropped dead in the office. Dale was a work-hard, play-hard kind of guy, with the play-hard side of the equation including copious amounts of red meat and hard alcohol.”

“Women?” Tessa spoke up from the couch.

The COO flicked her a glance. For a second, Tessa thought she’d refuse to answer, but then: “Given that Dale himself hardly kept it a secret,” Anita said tightly, “yes, he maintained a pretty active social life outside his marriage.”

“How’d Justin’s mom take it?” Tessa asked curiously.

“Drank a lot. Martinis mostly. Then would come to the office and scream at Dale over the latest discovery. At which point, he’d promise her a new car, or a fur coat, or a trip to the Bahamas to patch things up.”

“You seem to know a lot about the couple’s marriage,” Special Agent Adams observed.

Anita smiled again but was not amused. “Like I said, Dale hardly kept things a secret. I suppose also, it’s the nature of a family-run business. The employees get to know the family, almost as well as the business.”

“Is Justin like his father?” Tessa again.

“Yes and no. Dale groomed Justin. From the time the boy could walk, he was the designated heir to Denbe Construction. Other sixteen-year-olds went to the beach. The summer I started with Dale, he’d just shipped his son off to work eighty-hour weeks with a drywalling firm. Dale believed firmly in hands-on education. And learning the trades inside and out. The more you know, he’d say, the less they can rip you off.”

“Justin didn’t mind?” Special Agent Adams.

“Best any of us could tell, he loved it. So, yes, from that perspective, Justin is very much like his father. He’s a hands-on boss. Extremely dedicated and hardworking, which in turn inspires the loyalty of that bunch of reprobates that pass as his crew.”

Anita uttered the term reprobates with a touch of affection. So apparently, they had inspired her respect in return.

“So he maintained his father’s work ethic.” Wyatt finally spoke up, pushing away from the wall. “That’s how he’s like his father?”

“Yes.”

“And the ways he isn’t?”

Again, that faint hesitation. Tessa was noticing a trend: Denbe employees seemed very comfortable talking about the business, say, Chris Lopez explaining the business model, or Anita talking about the company’s history. But those same insiders suddenly clammed up tight when it came to talking about their boss’s personal life. Loyalty? Fear? Or an almost cult-like need to never violate the code of the inner sanctum?

“Justin’s parents hardly had a happy marriage,” Anita said at last. “Then, when Dale died and Mary learned that he’d left the entire company to Justin, well, she didn’t take that very well. In fact, she’s never spoken to Justin since.”

“Dale disinherited his wife. Gave it all to his son?” Special Agent Adams, frowning.

“Yes, which she took personally. Except, rather than hate Dale, which would’ve made sense, she took out her rage on Justin. Moved to Arizona and cut him out of her life completely. She’s never met Libby, let alone her granddaughter.”

The office fell silent as the three investigators digested this.

“Meaning,” Anita said after another moment, “that Libby and Ashlyn are the only family Justin has left. He…he valued them. Maybe even placed them on a pedestal. His daughter, Ashlyn…he worshipped her. Brought her to the office, taught her personally how to use power tools. In fact, last I heard, they were taking shooting lessons together. Daddy-daughter day on the firing range. Go figure.

“As for Libby, I’ve never heard him speak of her except in glowing terms. He took pride in how she arranged their home, her success with her jewelry, then the dinner parties she’d host on his behalf… I always felt that he genuinely loved her, was openly appreciative of how lucky he was to have her. But that’s not to say he didn’t make mistakes.”

Anita’s gaze was on Tessa now, no doubt recalling her earlier question about the company’s future in the event of a divorce.

“He cheated on Libby.” Tessa stated it as a fact, not a question.

“Yes.”

“You knew?”

“Most of us heard about it eventually. Late spring, early summer? Justin started showing up late at work, looking haggard, not himself. Eventually, the story came out.”

“What did he have to say?” Special Agent Adams.

“He didn’t. I mean, certainly I never heard him…make excuses. He screwed up. He knew he screwed up. He was raised in that kind of marriage. He had a firsthand seat to just how damaging infidelity can be. Though, of course…”

“Yes?” Special Agent Adams pressed.

Anita sighed, gazing at the two female investigators as if they had the best shot at understanding: “In the immediate aftermath, he sent Libby a diamond necklace. A rather large and flamboyant diamond necklace. Just because you know better doesn’t mean you can’t be stupid.”

“What did Libby do?” Tessa asked.

“Being a jewelry designer with a nice collection of tools, she apparently took the necklace apart, link by link, and left it in a pile on the front seat of his car. After that, I believe he got the message.”

“Were they going to counseling?” Wyatt again.

“I don’t know those kinds of details. But they were working on their marriage. Justin had moved back into the house. And certainly, all day Friday he kept talking about their upcoming dinner at Scampo. He sounded excited for it.”

Tessa leaned forward. The COO’s face seemed open enough, as if she’d joined their program of full disclosure. And yet…

“When did Justin first start cheating on his wife?”

Anita stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, a guy as good-looking as him. Had a job that kept him on the road. Plus, like you said, grew up with a father who apparently thought a hard day’s work justified a hard night’s play. Did Justin really believe in being more faithful to his wife, or was he just better at covering his tracks?”

“I don’t get involved—”

“Sure you do. You’re the chief of a family-owned business. In your own words, that involves dealing with the family, as much as the business. Six months ago, this family fell apart. Libby discovered Justin had been cheating on her with a travel agent downstairs. What else did she finally figure out?”

“Ashlyn,” the COO said abruptly.

“What about Ashlyn?”

“She came to the office, three months ago. She confronted the girl Justin was rumored to be involved with. And she made quite a scene.”

ANITA HAD JUST BEEN ENTERING THE BUILDING when she’d heard the commotion. Ashlyn Denbe, still clad in her private-school uniform of green-and-blue plaid, was screaming at one of the dark-haired young travel agents. Words such as slut, whore, cunt .

The travel agent was standing there, shell-shocked, when Anita had intervened. She’d dragged Ashlyn upstairs to the relative privacy of Anita’s office—Justin had been out of town on business, thank goodness. Anita had barely gotten the door shut when Ashlyn had burst into tears.

She hated travel agents. She hated this building. She hated Denbe Construction. But most of all she hated her father. All these years, preaching honor and loyalty, then he’d gone and cheated on her mother. Now their family was a mess, and her mom was a mess and it was all his fault. She wished he were dead.

Anita sighed heavily. “Teenage girls,” she murmured. “Thank God, I have three boys instead.”