Deep in Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (11 page)

I stepped inside and smiled with confidence, giving the receptionist my name and appointment time. She ushered me into the company president’s office where he shook my hand and offered me a plush leather chair in which to sit.

“Hi Ms. Nichols, I’m Craig Hanley.” He was thinking I looked like someone he could work with and hoped he could make the sale. His perfectly white teeth could have glowed in the dark when compared to his handsome tanned face. He gave me his spiel about what his company could do for me and how his program could easily double my revenue. “How many people do you employ in your consulting business?” he asked.

“Um…just me,” I replied, knowing that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “But I can always hire more once my business takes off. I could probably use a new website too.”

“Great. You’re just the kind of person I think we can help.” He explained his marketing process and, I had to admit, I was seeing all kinds of dollar signs behind my name…I mean…
brand
. It was amazing how quickly my business could grow in just a few months. I was ready to sign up right then, until he named his starting price. At least I kept my jaw from dropping to the floor. Still, he must have caught something from me because he got quiet and pursed his lips. He was thinking he hoped he hadn’t just wasted his time. What did I expect? His rates were reasonable, even if they seemed high, and you got what you paid for.

“That sounds good,” I said, surprising him. “But before I commit to anything, can I meet your staff and the marketing manager who’d be helping me?”

“Of course,” he replied.

He led me to a small space of cubicles where several people were busy at their computers. Besides the receptionist and the woman who was head of sales, the rest of the employees were men. He took me around to each desk and explained who everyone was in relation to the accounts they managed. “We work as a team, and a lot of times we help each other with our accounts, so at this point, I can’t tell you who would be handling your account specifically.

I managed to meet every person there, but didn’t get a read on anything that would lead me to a serial killer. None of these people seemed inclined to do anything like that. So what was the connection? Why had Darcy wanted me to come here? It didn’t make any sense unless there was something I needed to pick up, but what?

My time came to a close and I had to tell the president that I wasn’t ready to sign up yet. Maybe I shouldn’t have come under the pretense of wanting to hire his company since I couldn’t ask any questions about Darcy and her disappearance. Now I couldn’t do that without giving my real motive away.

As a last-ditch effort I asked, “Is this everyone in your company?”

Craig thought that was a weird question, but maybe I was one of those people who liked to be thorough. He might as well tell me the truth. “Actually…no, my brother Sean isn’t here, and we have people who work remotely as well. But let me assure you, we have clients not only in the United States, but all over the world.”

“What does your brother do?”

“He’s involved with developing and upgrading our platform and the systems we use.”

“Oh, so…he’s your computer guy?”

“Yeah, mostly.” Craig was thinking his brother was a royal pain in the butt, mostly because he was too smart for his own good. But it was Sean’s program they used, so Craig had to pay him the big bucks and pretty much let him do his own thing, which irritated the hell out of him.

“I’d like to meet Sean before I make my decision. Is that possible? Does he come in to the office?”

Craig couldn’t understand why meeting Sean was important, but if it got my business he was willing to see what he could do. “Yes, he comes in at least twice a week, sometimes more.” He was lying about that. Unless there was a problem, they were lucky to see him once a week. “Let me have our receptionist set up the appointment for you.”

“Great.” I followed him back to the receptionist’s desk and waited while she got Sean on the phone. He answered, and from what I could hear from her thoughts, Sean was not happy to come into the office to meet a potential client. Wasn’t that what his brother was supposed to take care of? He finally gave in, but said it had to be Monday because he was going to be unavailable for the next two weeks.

“Would Monday work for you?” she asked. “I’m afraid that’s the only free day he’s got until November.”

“Uh…sure…what time?”

She put the phone back to her ear and told me ten a.m. At my nod, she told Sean I had agreed and quickly disconnected. “Here’s a card with the appointment time on the back in case you need it.”

“Thanks.” I turned to Craig who’d been waiting politely during the exchange. “I guess I’ll see you Monday then.”

“Good.” He smiled and nodded, thinking he’d better make sure Sean’s office was dusted and tidy. He couldn’t remember the last time Sean had been there. Maybe he could get the receptionist to do it this afternoon.

I walked back to my car, hoping that meeting with Sean wasn’t going to be a waste of time. But he sounded like a smart recluse with lots of money. That could mean something. Plus, he’d said he was unavailable for the next two weeks. Did that mean he was busy planning an abduction and murder?

A chill went down my spine. Maybe by Monday, I’d know what had happened to Darcy. But then what would I do? Without evidence I couldn’t do much. I’d probably have to spend time watching and following him. If I could find the bodies that would do the trick, but just thinking about how I’d do that gave me the creeps.

I checked the time, realizing I only had fifteen minutes to get downtown to the Attorney General’s office. I hoped Billie wouldn’t be too mad if I was a little late. I had to circle the block twice before I found a parking space, and I ran a half-block to the building, out of breath and a little sweaty. I spotted Billie, relieved to find she was still seated in the waiting area.

“Hi, sorry I’m late,” I said.

“It’s okay. It might be a few more minutes before we get in.” She was thinking that her ploy hadn’t worked, and she felt a little guilty for asking me to come when she didn’t exactly have an appointment.

I stared at her, more than a little put-out. “You don’t have an appointment do you?”

Her head snapped toward me, a guilty flush creeping up her neck. “Uh…well…not with Grayson Sharp…but I thought maybe we could talk to someone in his office.”

“Like who?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know…probably his secretary…I mean…his executive assistant. I figured with you here, it didn’t matter because you’d pick up on something.”

I took a deep breath and let it out, trying not to get too upset with her. A woman came down the hallway and glanced our way. Billie jumped up and smiled. “Hi Addie, I’m Billie Jo Payne. Thank you so much for seeing me. I know how busy you are, but I only have a few questions.”

Addie just stared at her before answering. “I have five minutes to answer your questions. That’s the best I can do. Next time, you have to go through our public relations department.”

“I will, I promise. Thanks for your time,” Billie said. She glanced around the room. “Can we come to your office where it’s private?”

Addie pursed her lips, but gave in and motioned us to follow her down the same hall from which she’d come. At the end, she opened an office door with “Office of the Attorney General, Grayson Sharp” emblazoned on it and ushered us inside.

She took her place behind the desk, and we sat opposite her on a couch clearly meant for those with appointments to see the attorney general. She gestured toward his door. “He’s out for the rest of the day, and your five minutes are almost up. What can I do for you?”

Billie stood and began to pace the room. “There have been allegations against Grayson Sharp, including unauthorized use of campaign funds, to tampering with evidence, and bribery, mostly from large business owners for what could be called illegal activity. Can you confirm or deny these allegations?”

“Yes,” she answered. “There’s nothing to it. These allegations are nothing but smoke.” She knew it wasn’t true, but now was not the time or place to voice her real opinion. “If you want to talk to Grayson, you’ll have to come back another time when you have an appointment.”

“I tried to make an appointment weeks ago. He won’t see me.”

“Maybe not personally, but he is holding a press conference tomorrow morning specifically about these allegations. If you want answers, come back then. That’s the best I can do.” She was worried that this was getting out of hand. She’d overheard a few of his phone calls, and Grayson seemed to be hiding something. She’d also caught him at her computer a couple of times, but he’d always said he was just checking a few files she’d sent for him. Did that mean something?

“Thanks,” I said, joining Billie. “We’ll do that.” I leaned toward Addie and whispered, “Just remember, people with power sometimes think they are above the law. If you see or hear anything that seems suspicious, like phone calls or him using your computer for something, let us know.”

Her eyes widened and she glanced at me with apprehension, wondering who the hell I was, and how had I known she was worried about that.

“I’m a special consultant,” I said. I took out one of my business cards and handed it to her. “Don’t hesitate to give me a call. I’m sure I can help you out. Plus…I’m really good at keeping things confidential.” I glanced at Billie and nodded toward her. “So is Billie. With both of us on your side, we can help if you get in a bind.”

Billie didn’t have a clue what was going on, but she nodded her agreement anyway. I stood and quickly exited, Billie on my heels. Soon, we were outside and walking down the street toward my car.

“Okay,” Billie began, stopping me. “What just happened in there?”

“I know…crazy huh?” I smiled and raised my brows.

Billie shook her head and twisted her lips with impatience.

“Okay, okay,” I began. “I got a feeling that Addie had knowledge of some information that might implicate the attorney general, so I went with it. I have no idea what it is, but being the attorney general’s secretary, I’m sure she’s privy to all sorts of things. Just think! She could be your mole…your deep throat! This could be the scoop of the year.”

“So you think she’ll call because she knows more than she’s saying?”

“Yeah.”

She huffed out a breath, not real happy with me. This was her story, and it felt like I’d scooped it from her, maybe because I’d given Addie my card and hadn’t told her to call Billie. That meant Addie would call me first and that was just not cool. Oops.

“You gave her your card too, right? So she can call either one of us.”

“No. I never gave her my card.”

“But she knows who you are,” I said. “I’m sure she’ll call you if she can’t get a hold of me. So it’s all good. Plus, she’ll see you at the press conference tomorrow. You can give her your card then. That will help her make up her mind about what to do, and then she’ll probably call you. Besides, it doesn’t matter who she calls, I’m not going to meet her without you anyway.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Of course,” I agreed. “This is your story and I don’t want to take it from you…even though you did ask for my help…don’t forget that part.”

“Oh…yeah,” she said, instantly contrite. “I am glad for your help. If she decides to call, this could be the break I need to get the scoop on this story.” She glanced back at the office. “You know…you’re right…this is kind of exciting. It’s like I have my very own informant…that is so cool.”

I smiled, relieved that she wasn’t upset with me anymore. “Girl…you are moving up in the world.” We shared a laugh, then parted ways with a promise to call with any news. I drove away happy to know I’d helped Billie, and confident that whatever happened next, we could work through it together.

I got home in plenty of time to fix something for the kids to eat and get ready for the big dinner at Uncle Joey’s. Right before I got in the shower, I gave Chris a call to make sure he was remembering and wouldn’t be late. He assured me he could hardly forget, and said he’d be home soon.

While fixing my hair and makeup, I had to decide which dress to wear. Since I only had three that would work, it wasn’t too hard to figure out. I pulled the blue dress from my trip to Orlando out of the closet and put it on. I looked fantastic in it and, because I knew Kate would be there, I wanted to look my best.

I hadn’t worn it since the poker game with Carson where I’d won a cool million dollars. I looked it over carefully, grateful that it didn’t show any signs of blood from the shootout. That brought back the image of Carson lying dead with a bullet between his eyes. My stomach clenched and my knees went a little weak. Did I really want to wear the dress that reminded me of that? On the other hand, it also reminded me of Ramos, and how he’d saved my life. Maybe if I concentrated on that part it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Wow,” Chris said. “You look great. When did you get that dress? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”

“Oh…thanks,” I said. He didn’t know that Ramos had bought it for me in Orlando. Feeling slightly guilty about that, I’d hid it in the back of the closet along with the shoes. Now I had to lie. “I found it a while ago on sale. I was saving it for a special occasion and I figured, why not wear it now, you know? Do you think it will work?”