Beautiful Storm (Lightning Strikes Book 1) (26 page)

"I am, but I'm also involved in this case."

"I told that lawyer everything I knew. I can't go through it again."

"What lawyer?"

"Lieutenant Valdez. She asked me a bunch of questions a few months ago."

Her breath caught in her chest. "What did you tell her?"

"That I didn't think Professor Bryer was banging that woman who was killed. She wasn't into him at all."

"Are you sure? Several witnesses saw them together at a bar in town and also at his house."

"Everyone at MDT and the university has had a drink at the Flight Deck. It's a hugely popular bar. I don't think it was unusual that they were there."

"So you don't think his wife killed him because he was cheating on her?"

"I don't know what happened exactly, but I think you should leave it alone, and I know I should stay out of it. I work at MDT now. I don't need to get into the middle of anything."

"I understand, but Lieutenant Valdez is missing, TJ. It's been two months since anyone saw her. We think her disappearance has to do with the murders, so if you can tell me anything else, I would really appreciate it."

Silence followed her words and then TJ said, "Lieutenant Valdez seemed to think that someone else killed Professor Bryer and the woman he was with, that there might be a link between his death and someone at MDT."

"Someone like who?"

"She didn't say. She just asked a lot of questions, which was something she and Professor Bryer had in common. He asked a lot of questions, too. I'm beginning to think one of those questions got him killed."

"What kinds of questions would the professor have been asking?"

"Probably something about the technology he was helping them with, and, no, I don't know what he was working on exactly. It's a big company and they have at least a dozen product lines. I'm working on GPS trackers. Professor Bryer was doing something with aeronautical engineering, but everything is highly classified. I don't know what the person in the cubicle next to me is working on.

"Can you give me the name of someone else at MDT I can talk to?"

"The only person I know who worked with Professor Bryer was Reid Packer, one of the co-owners of MDT. Reid and his older brother Alan run the company, but Reid is more hands-on with the technology. I know he testified at the trial, but he's way above my pay grade, so I can't give you any more than that."

"If something else comes to you that might help us follow the same path that Lieutenant Valdez took, will you call me?"

"Sure, I guess. If you're trying to follow her trail, then you should also go to the Flight Deck. A lot of MDT employees go there. The owner used to work for the company, so he gives everyone with an MDT badge half off their drinks."

"We'll definitely go there. Thanks, TJ."

"You're welcome, and if you can get your mom to help my mom, I'd appreciate that."

"I know she'll help," she said confidently. "Bye." She ended the call and looked at Michael. "Reid Packer could be the name that Liliana referred to in her notes when she wrote MDT-RP. What did he say in his testimony? Do you remember? I have to admit some of it got so tedious, I started to skim."

"He didn't say much of anything. He couldn't disclose what Connie or the professor was working on because of national security. I believe he played that card several times. And I don't think it's going to be easy for us to get the owner of MDT on the phone. I doubt Liliana would have been able to get to him, either."

"Unless she had someone to give her an introduction."

"Like who?"

"Like your grandfather. Maybe he knows him. His name was in Liliana's notes right next to MDT-RP. I think you should try him again."

Michael frowned. "It's a little odd that he hasn't called me back. He's usually good about that." He pulled out his phone and made the call. He listened for a moment and then hung up. "He's not answering."

"You don't want to leave another message?"

"I already left one. I'll try him again tonight. I think we should go talk to Melissa's sister and then hit the bar up later this afternoon or evening. There will be more people there later in the day."

"Good idea. There might be more information here than we've realized but it's a lot to take in at one time."

"I agree. My eyes started glazing over with the legal language."

"Exactly. I'd rather follow the same trail Liliana was following. If we talk to the same people, maybe we'll figure out what she discovered. Let's start with Cheryl."

* * *

Cheryl Alton was a busty, loud redhead, whose voice could be heard clearly above the chatter in the hair salon. After the receptionist told Cheryl that some people wanted to talk to her about her sister, she'd asked them to wait for five minutes, then left her client sitting in a chair with foil-stripped hair and joined them in the lobby.

"Who are you again?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm Alicia Monroe and this is Michael Cordero," Alicia said. "We're friends with the attorney who was looking into your sister's appeal."

"Which one?" Cheryl asked. "It's been musical chairs where lawyers are concerned. No one seems to care that every time the music stops, my sister's case loses ground."

"Lieutenant Liliana Valdez," Michael said. "She went missing two months ago, and the police believe there was foul play."

"I heard about that, but I don't know what I can tell you. I only spoke to her once. I thought she was going to help me. She actually listened to me, not like the other lawyers who could barely give Melissa the time of day."

"What did you talk about with Lieutenant Valdez?" Alicia asked.

"My sister's innocence." She waved them toward the couch. "Sit down. I've got a few minutes while my client's color sets." After they were seated, she added, "I told Lieutenant Valdez that my sister could have never shot her husband, no matter what she thought he might be doing, and I don't believe for a second he was having an affair."

"What do you think happened?" Michael asked. "If your sister is innocent, who is guilty?"

"I wish I knew, but I think it was someone at MDT. Thomas was working long hours there. He was only supposed to be consulting, but he was there every night in the weeks before he died."

"Are you sure he was there for work and not to be with Connie?" Alicia asked, thinking that those long hours might back up the affair.

"That's what the prosecutor asked me. No matter what I said, he twisted it to support his theory, but that doesn't make his theory the truth," she said hotly. "He didn't know Thomas; I did. The man was obsessed with work, whether it was teaching or consulting. He was an intellectual. His whole focus was on what he could learn and what he could teach. He barely noticed women on a sexual level. My sister said they'd go months without having sex because Thomas just wasn’t that into it. Does that sound like a man who would try to juggle another woman on the side?"

"Maybe he wasn't into sex with your sister," Michael suggested. "That's why he got another woman on the side."

Cheryl shook her head, annoyance in her eyes. "I don't believe that. They were together for fifteen years. They met when they were teenagers. They loved each other. My sister came home and found Thomas dead. She's not lying about that. And she's been in prison for over a year for a crime she didn't commit. Her first attorney quit. Her second attorney had barely graduated when he got into the middle of the case, and now the attorney who was reviewing her appeal is missing. Doesn't that sound odd to you?"

"It does," Michael agreed. "But the problem is that there isn't any evidence pointing to anyone else but your sister, unless you know something we don't."

"Someone set her up really well," Cheryl said. "But I can't believe whoever did it committed the perfect crime. There had to be a mistake somewhere. I think that Lieutenant Valdez got close to finding that mistake and now she's gone."

Alicia thought the same thing. "Do you know anything about Thomas's work at MDT?"

"I know MDT is a defense contractor, and that they work on systems for the military. Thomas wasn't allowed to speak to my sister about what projects he was working on, but I know there were weapons involved. I believe that whatever Thomas was working on is tied to his death. I told the police that, but they never seemed interested in questioning anyone at MDT. I suspect that's because the company brings a ton of money into the community. I wouldn't be surprised if they bought off the local police." Cheryl paused. "I've tried to get in there and ask questions, but I can't get past the front gate. It's a huge compound with several buildings, an airplane hangar and even a runway for small planes. It's like a small city."

Which would probably make it impossible for them to get in there, either, Alicia thought.

"The other person I thought should have been investigated more thoroughly was Brian Randolph, Connie's ex-husband," Cheryl continued. "Just because he had an alibi doesn't mean he didn't send someone to kill her. I also told Lieutenant Valdez that she should speak to Paul Sandbury. He was one of Connie's coworkers at MDT. I watched him testify, and I thought he was fidgety as hell. I told that to the defense attorney, and he said he thought Mr. Sandbury was nervous because the head of MDT was sitting in the audience watching his testimony."

"The owner?" Alicia queried.

"Reid Packer. He testified, too, but he didn't say much. Every answer was classified for national security." She paused, glancing back at her client. "I have to go. Take my card," she said, getting up to retrieve a business card from the reception desk. "Call me if you have more questions about anything. I don't know what is happening with the appeal now that Lieutenant Valdez is missing. Last I heard a few weeks ago, they were going to get another attorney. I think her name is Erin Hodges. I called her last week, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet."

After Cheryl returned to her client, Alicia and Michael walked out of the salon, pausing on the sidewalk.

"We need to find an in at MDT," Alicia said.

"We already have an in—your friend TJ. He works there. Maybe he can get us to Paul Sandbury."

"I'll call TJ back," she said, pulling out her phone.

"Alicia, I don't know anything else," TJ said before she had a chance to ask a question.

She cut right to the chase. "I need information on Paul Sandbury. He works at MDT and was in Connie Randolph's department. Do you think you could give me his phone extension?"

"Hang on."

She let out a breath as she looked at Michael. "He's checking."

TJ came on the phone a moment later. "Paul Sandbury doesn't work at the company anymore."

Her heart sped up at that piece of information. "When did he leave?"

"About two months ago."

The same amount of time since Liliana had disappeared.

"Where did he go?"

"Texas A&M. He teaches in the engineering department."

Her nerves jangled at that piece of news.

"I've got to go, Alicia. Don't call me back. I can't get any more involved. I need to keep my job so I can take care of my mother."

"All right." She hadn't even finished speaking when TJ hung up.

"Sandbury quit MDT two months ago," she told Michael. "Now he's working at the university. It feels like a weird circle. Professor Bryer was at the university then MDT. Paul Sandbury goes the other direction."

"And Sandbury quit the company around the time Liliana goes missing. That's a hell of a coincidence. Looks like we're going to the university next."

As they walked back to the car, she said, "What do you think about the ex-husband?"

Michael shrugged. "I'm not sure. But we should talk to him, too."

"So basically we're going to follow Liliana's trail."

"It's the only way we'll figure out what she knew."

"You do realize that if we follow her trail, we could end up—"

"The same way she did," he finished, a hard expression entering his eyes. "It's a risk I'm willing to take, but once again, any time you want out, just say the word."

"Not yet." She fell into step with him as they proceeded to the car. "The other thing I find odd is that Lieutenant Hodges hasn't really gotten into the case. She told us that it was being reassigned to her, and Cheryl had the same information. So why isn't Lieutenant Hodges working on the appeal? Is she leaving it for Liliana? Is she gun-shy? What? And I keep going back to the fact that she's the only one who knew what hotel we were staying in."

"We can't worry about that now. Let's go to the university and see if we can find Paul Sandbury. After that, we'll hit up the bar and then look for a hotel for the night. We can talk to Lieutenant Hodges tomorrow if we need to."

"Okay." As they got into the car, she couldn't help thinking about how many days more she could possibly give to this search. "I hate to bring this up, but I need to be back at work by Thursday at the latest."

"Then we'll get you back. If we're not done here, you can return to Miami without me."

She knew that; she just didn't want to go back without him. She didn't want to go anywhere without him and that was a scary thought for a woman who'd been very comfortable on her own—until now.

Nineteen

When they got to the university, they stopped in at the admissions department. Joanna looked surprised but also happy to see them. She got up from her desk and came over to the counter.

"I wasn't expecting to see you again, Alicia."

"Unfortunately, we didn't come here just to see you," Alicia said. "We need to talk to Paul Sandbury. He's a teacher in the engineering department."

"Yes, he started a few months ago. Is he involved in this case, too?" Joanna asked, worry entering her eyes.

"He used to work at MDT," Alicia replied. "Do you know if he's here today? We really want to talk to him."

"I can look up his schedule," she said, stepping up to the computer on the counter. She punched a few keys then said, "He's finishing a class at four o'clock."

Alicia glanced down at her watch. "We have about twenty minutes, probably just enough time to get across campus."