Carolyn Arnold - McKinley 03 - Money is Murder (4 page)

Meeting The Staff

THE WOMAN WHO SAT BEHIND the front reception desk stood and extended her hand to them, her large smile showcasing her teeth. Her eagerness didn’t affect her handshake, which was rather weak.

“Mr. Cranston will be thrilled that you’re here already. I must say, I’m pleased to meet you both. There’s been a lot of talk around here about the new owner.”

“Thank you, Miss?” Sara pulled her hand back, passing a quick glance to Sean. His focus was on the receptionist.

“Beverly Clark. I just got engaged.” Beverly smiled.

“Congratulations.” Sara’s eyes fell to a framed photograph of Beverly with a handsome man, about her age. “That must be him.”

Beverly, beaming, picked up the picture and extended it to Sara. “Yes, it is.”

She looked at the smiling couple in the photograph. “Very nice.”

Beverly waved a hand before taking the frame back.
“Oh, thank you, but things must be exciting for both of you too.”

“Did you have a chance to meet Mr. Quinn?”

“Absolutely. He wasn’t around much. I mean, the man was getting up there. I’m sure he had better things to do than worry about this place. Things were covered.”

“By Mr. Cranston?”

“Well, yes, recently, but before that Mr. Quinn’s daughter had her hand in everything.”

“Lovely that she wanted to be involved in her father’s business.” Sara passed another look to Sean. This time he met her eyes.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Beverly said.

“I heard that she died about six months ago.”

Beverly nodded.
“It was such a shame. She lived for this company, worked night and day for it.”

“Sounds like she had a lot to live for.”

“There must have been more going on in her life.” Beverly looked away, but when her eyes flitted back and met with Sara’s gaze, she continued. “It’s rumored that she killed herself. At least, that’s what the papers say.”

“You don’t believe it?”

“Oh, I never said that. It’s just, I guess we don’t really know how other people are feeling or what they’re going through, do we? We have to be so careful about how we treat one another.”

Sara smiled.
“So many people forget that and say whatever comes out—without any thought.”

“So very true.” Beverly’s phone rang. “Excuse me.”
She lifted the receiver and spoke into it.
“Yes, Mr. and Mrs. McKinley are here. All right. I will tell them.” She hung up. “That was Edward Cranston. He’ll be down shortly to escort you up. He’s wanting to give you a quick tour of the building before your meeting, and he took the liberty of moving it until one o’clock.”

“Sounds excellent.”

Beverly smiled, her eyes tracing to the top of her desk, and Sara was certain she wanted to get back to her duties. She knew all too well that receptionists were undervalued and overloaded.

Sara tapped the counter.
“We’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thank you, Mrs. McKinley.” Beverly passed a glance to Sean. “Mr. McKinley. It was nice meeting both of you.”

“Likewise.”
Sean placed his hand on Sara
’s elbow and guided her to a seating area.

“Did you hear what she said about Cindy?” Sara asked.

“Every word. She worked hard for the company, didn’t seem depressed, and then takes her life?”

“I’m not buying it, but maybe we don’t want to because Mr. Quinn didn’t.”

“Could be, but the situations surrounding her death are intriguing and we don’t even know a lot yet.”

“Did you notice that Beverly mentioned Cindy’s involvement was more recent? Did she not have an active part with the company before that?”

Sean put his arm around Sara.
“Good point, darling, and it’s worth looking into.”

“Seems like we’re getting more questions than answers.”

“Mr. and Mrs. McKinley.” Edward Cranston came walking toward them, hand extended. A smiling, younger man was a few paces behind him.

Edward gestured to him.
“This is Adam Laverty. He’s my assistant, but he has the most brilliant mind. You tell him that and he’ll ask for a raise.”

Adam had a sincere smile, his mouth filling out the expression, cheekbones high. He held his hand out to Sara first, and then to Sean.

“It’s nice to meet you both. I’m honored. Mr. Quinn must have thought a lot of you.”

Edward passed Adam a glance that had one brow hitched upward.

“Nice to meet you,” Sean said to him.

“And this must be your beautiful wife, Sara. I’ve heard about you.”

Sara studied the man. Edward Cranston appeared to have stepped from a time past, a time that saw bowties as the ultimate fashion accessory, but he suited them. He had a serious nature to his face and Sara could picture him as a university professor of some sort. She wouldn
’t want to be on the graded end.

Edward continued. “Well, you’ve met Beverly. Let’s work our way through the building. There’s no possible way you could meet every employee in one visit, but it will be nice for you to get the layout, and an overview of our operations.”

“Sounds wonderful.” Sara laced her arm through Sean’s and they followed behind the two men.

The True Inheritance

THE TOUR TOOK A COUPLE hours. With every person they came across, it further impacted Sean as to what he had truly inherited from Quinn. He had been gifted the right to carry Quinn
’s legacy into the future, as well as
given the power to leave behind a legacy of his own.

Edward Cranston ended the tour with his office. It was on the top floor with a great view of the city streets, tastefully decorated, with a new-carpet smell lingering in the air. Adam worked at a desk which was set up, along with some filing cabinets, in front of the door.

“We have about twenty minutes. Would either of you care for a coffee before we head in?” Edward asked.

Sean looked at Sara and smiled. She could never turn down a coffee.

“Sounds wonderful,” she said.

“Adam, two coffees please. Mr. McKinley, would you like one?”

“No, but an orange juice sounds wonderful.”

“Coming up, Mr. McKinley.”

Adam left the room, and Sean and Sara sat across from Edward
. He leaned back in his leather swivel chair and latched his hands behind his head.

“What do you think of our facilities?”

 
“Larger than I had pictured, actually.”

A confident smile.
“Yes, Mr. Quinn had quite the vision in his younger days. He built all of this from nothing—and to think he had such humble beginnings.”

Sean noticed how Cranston took pride in the company, as if it were his own. It was good to know that the daily operations were entrusted to such a man.

 “How long have you been with Universal?”

“Most of my career. I just passed my thirtieth year. Some marriages don’t even last that long.” He paused for a split second. “Not to imply anything about your marriage, Mr. McKinley.”

“It wasn’t taken that way. Please, call me Sean.”

Sara smiled.
“Feel free to call me by first name as well.”

Adam came in with their drinks.
“Will there be anything else?”

“No, Adam, that’s all for now,” Edward said.

Adam nodded and excused himself.

“How long has Adam been working with you?”

“About six months. There was a bunch of shifting around of support staff when—I assume you know about Cindy Quinn, Douglas’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

“How tragic a situation that was for the company.” Edward’s eyes were no longer focused.

Sara leaned forward on her chair.
“For the company?”

“I didn’t mean for that to sound cold. It’s just that Mr. Quinn took retirement from daily operations years ago, but after Cindy graduated business school, he insisted that she be given a top position here. Singlehandedly, she improved cash flow. She was a tremendous asset. Made a lot of other top executives look bad.”

“Oh, and how long ago was that?”

“She came on pretty near an exact year ago today.”

“She was twenty-five when she died?”

“That’s right.”

“Did Mr. Quinn have any other children?” Sean asked.

A shake of the head. “No, Cindy was his only one.” Edward split glances between them. “It seems I may be boring you with some details.”

“Not at all. We want to know all we can about this company and its history,” Sean said.

Sara leaned forward.
“It’s sad she was so young and never had a chance to get married.”

“There is a lot for you to learn, but it’s not going to be a quick study,” he said, closing the topic of conversation.

“Well, we’re not going anywhere are we, darling.” Sara reached for Sean’s hand and squeezed it.

Edward
’s eyes fell to their touch and then went up to match eyes with Sean.

Keeping It Cool Under Pressure

WALKING INTO THE CONFERENCE ROOM to meet the fifteen board members and twenty management staff had Sean
’s stomach churning into sour bile. He hadn’t felt this sort of anxiety since he’d retired from being a cop. The thought had him realizing he hadn’t popped one antacid in that time either. Apparently retirement from the day job suited his health.

But as he looked around the room, he realized there was no need for nerves. The atmosphere sparked with energy, but it was a relaxed affair with a buffet of assorted finger-foods and non-alcoholic drinks. Still,
the cop side of him analyzed everyone as a potential suspect in Cindy
’s death.

They hadn’t even received any information from Jimmy yet, but his instinct was telling him there was something off here. What would make a wealthy and successful woman decide to overdose? One thing he wanted an answer to immediately was whether she’d left behind a suicide note, and if so, what it had said.

As the meeting went on, names started to sink in, but whether he remembered them when he left the room, that was another story. He had Sara and her amazing memory for that.

He looked over at her and studied her profile. She was conversing with Paul Moses, who was one of the management team. She was smiling and laughing, being her shining self. Paul took every opportunity to watch her neckline. Sean could tell that his hunger wasn
’t for carnal pleasure but for the diamonds that adorned her throat.

Was money the motive for killing Cindy? If so, who stood to lose, or gain, the most?

His eyes scanned the room and happened on a man who stood alone in the back corner. He was braced against the wall, holding a water glass, and his legs were crossed at the ankles.

Sean made his way over and held out a hand.
“I don’t believe I know your name.”

“Robert West.” He didn’t make a move to carry out the formal greeting.

“I’m Sean McKinley, the new man.” He added the latter to lighten the tension, but
Robert didn
’t give any visible reaction he’d even heard him.

“What do you do here?” Sean asked.

“I oversee mergers.”

“So you’re an important guy.”

There was a flicker of light in Robert’s gray eyes, but it extinguished quickly. “Not quite as important as you.”

Sean found it interesting that while everyone in the room was more than eager to impress him, Robert seemed to harbor disgust instead.

“Have we met before?”

“Not that I recall.”

“Hmm. It’s just that you don’t seem very happy to be here.”

“Honestly?” He looked in Sean’s eyes. “I would rather be anywhere else.”

Sean glanced over his shoulder, seeking out Edward Cranston and hoping to garner his attention. When he turned back, Robert had left.

Sara didn’t miss the attention this man paid to the jewels on her neck. She picked up on the way he tried to sneak in glances, but she had an agenda herself.

“I’d like to know more about the entire process. I realize Universal buys companies in trouble and sells them for a lucrative profit.”

“Ah, yes, that is the simplified version.” His eyes drifted, ever so briefly, to her neckline again.

“It must be tough to take over some of these businesses. I mean, people work hard for their whole lives to build up a successful company. It can’t be easy to go in and take it from them.”

“That’s the rough aspect of the job, but it’s business. You have to think of it that way, or no one could do this. I guess some suit with no heart maybe, but that’s not me.” Paul smiled.

This time she picked up on the subtle glint in his eye that hinted at seduction.
She was used to men sizing her up, doing their best to make an impression and, before, the attention was flattering. While it served to feed her self-confidence, she didn
’t need it like she had before. She had Sean.

She spotted him talking to a man at the far end of the room and then went back to Paul and their conversation.
“Have you ever sat in when a company was taken over?”

“Yes, of course. It’s part of my job, but it’s not my favorite part. I love selling.”

“Surely there are some wolves on staff or the business wouldn’t do near as well.” She remembered what Edward had said about Cindy making other executives look bad. She was fishing, and hoped that Paul would nibble on the bait.

“We have a few.” He smiled again, briefly. “No one has yet to compare to Mr. Quinn’s daughter.”

“Cindy?”

“Yes. It didn’t seem to faze her at all. She could take a generational company and snatch it up for pennies on the dollar without batting an eye.”

“Oh, that must have made her unpopular.”

“Not around here. She was on our team. Something must have gotten to her though. I assume you know she took her life.”

“I’m sorry to say that I did hear that.”

Paul had proved useful. It was quite plausible that money served as the motive for murder, but maybe not in the way they’d initially expected.

She glanced back at Sean. He was scanning the room, wearing a confused yet irritated look on his face. She wondered if his expression had something to do with the man he had been talking to.

Sara sashayed up next to him and laced her arm through his. “Who were you talking to?”

“Robert West, and he might be better off seeking new employment.”

Sara ran a hand down Sean
’s arm. “We agreed not to get involved.”

“I’ve met a lot of rude people in my life, but he tops the list.” Sean went on to recap their interaction.

“That is rather strange.”

“I thought so too. I want to talk to Edward about—” Sean’s cell phone buzzed, notifying him of a text message. He pulled it out. “Looks like Jimmy came through for us.”

He read off the text while another chime signaled a new email.

“The detective who oversaw Cindy’s case is willing to meet us at a coffee shop, at six o’clock.” He paused for a second and went to his emails. “He included directions, and there’s more. We’ve got everything we need.”
His eyes were on the warning included in the body of the email. He wasn
’t sure whether or not to share it with Sara.

“Sean? Tell me what he said.”

“He said for us to be careful. He said he only looked over the information quickly, but it wasn’t completely lining up for him. He said the investigation got closed prematurely, in his opinion.” He kept his attention on the email. “Sara, Jimmy also noted that Cindy was married before, and, as it turns out, to Robert West.”

“Are you enjoying yourselves?” Edward Cranston came over, a coffee cup in hand.

“Absolutely,” Sara said as Sean put his cell phone back into his pocket. “We were wondering about one employee that Sean met.”

“Yes?”

“His name is Robert West. He didn’t seem too happy to be here. In fact, he said he’d rather be somewhere else.”

Edward
’s jaw tightened and his eyes flashed anger. “Please pay that man no attention.”

“It’s too late for that, Mr. Cranston,” Sara stated.

“Please, call me Edward.” He hesitated for a few seconds. “Robert West is locked in with a contract. He can’t leave the company until it runs out or he would risk a huge financial loss. Same goes for us getting rid of him.”

“That would explain his attitude.”