Double Down (12 page)

Looking at Darryl across the room, I conceded that he was probably attractive to most women. He had a certain sophistication. Average height, he stayed in shape and always dressed in expensive custom-made suits, but then that was true of most of the corporate executives. His light brown hair was always perfectly cut and neat. The word that came to mind when I looked at him was
slick
.

I tried to remember what I knew of his background. I vaguely recalled him telling me that he spent his early childhood in England. He was the sole heir to a large estate, but I couldn’t remember where. Darryl married the sister of the Chairman of the Board. Rumor had it she married him for his bloodline, and he married her for her money when his family money ran out.

If he’d had an affair with Monica, he would have been a prime target for blackmail. Even if the Chairman suspected that Darryl played around, I was sure he wouldn’t tolerate it coming out in the open and embarrassing his sister. Darryl could have arranged to meet Monica here, after office hours. He wouldn’t want her to show up at the corporate offices. If anyone saw them together here, they could say they were meeting about business. I wondered how I could find out where he was on the night she was murdered. Aside from his reputation, I just didn’t trust him.

Instead of it morphing into lets-meet-with-the-executives-and-go-over-the-financials meeting that I was afraid of, they ended the presentation. The lights came back on, and when no one had any questions, the corporate executives started packing up.

I was about to relax when Darryl, looking directly at me, asked, “How is the murder in HR impacting the business?”

Fortunately before I could open my mouth, Tony said, “The authorities have questioned some of our employees, but as yet there is no evidence that any of them were involved. I don’t believe the story has generated any headlines outside of Las Vegas.”

Seeing that Tony was determined to defend me, Darryl let it go. The meeting broke up.

Alan and I escaped while a few of our fellow executives were chatting up the VIPs. I didn’t want to go directly back to HR in case Darryl decided to ambush me there, so we headed for security.

I told Alan my thoughts on Darryl. “Is there any way you can find out where he was that night?”

“
Probably. Corporate security keeps an eye on him for the Chairman. I’ll call one of the guys I know.”

“
Do you know if they’ve found Monica’s car?”

“
They found the one she had registered with us. She sold it a month ago. They don’t know what she was driving that night. We checked the employee parking lot for any unclaimed cars but didn’t find any. What are you thinking?”

We were in a back hallway, so I stopped to gather my thoughts. “Someone took her keys and searched her apartment and her office. Evidently, they didn’t find what they were looking for, because then they searched my house. If I were a blackmailer, there are several ways I could hide the evidence. I could give it to a lawyer or someone else to hold. The whole point being that the person who has the incriminating evidence makes it public if anything happens. Since no one‘s come forward, I think we can rule that out. I could put it in a safe deposit box or a locker somewhere, but we have to assume that there wasn’t a key to either of those on her key chain, because they kept searching. If I were Monica, I wouldn’t give that kind of a key to anyone. I’d want to have access to it. If not in her home or office, then the next logical place is her car.” I stood still and waited for him to congratulate me on my superior deduction.

Instead, he raised one eyebrow and said, “Do you have any proof at all that she was blackmailing anyone?”

Deflated I said, “Not exactly, but Delgado said that she was getting extra money from somewhere, and considering her what’s-in-it-for-me behavior, it seems a logical conclusion.”

He rolled his eyes. “For all you know, those could be payments on the car she sold, or money from a rich boyfriend. Face it, you never really knew her, you have no idea what she was capable of.” He must have realized how much his words had hurt me, because he immediately reached out and gathered me into his arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. None of this is your fault. I just meant that we don’t have enough information.”

All my emotions of the last few days welled up and spilled over. I clung to him, tears rolling down my face as he held me and rubbed my back. In Alan’s arms, I didn’t feel the all-consuming passion that I felt when Delgado held me. Instead, I felt safe and warm. I knew Alan cared about me, what I thought, how I felt. Maybe friendship was more important in a lasting relationship than passion. What we had wasn’t just friendship; there was also some physical attraction. The only thing that stood in the way of our relationship developing into something more was our jobs. Maybe I was giving up something precious because I was too inflexible.

It seemed that Alan didn‘t view the rules as the obstacle that I did, because when I lifted my head to look at him, he kissed me, softly as first, but with growing intensity. Startled by the sound of a door opening and footsteps coming down the hallway, we broke apart. Awash in confusion and conflicting emotions, I turned to leave.

He caught me by the elbow and said, “We have to talk.”

I shook my head. “I can’t do this right now. I need some time to sort out my feelings.”

I opened the door that led into the casino. He let me go. I walked across the casino and slipped outside. The heat hit me like a blast furnace drying any leftover tears. There’s something about fresh air and sunshine that always lifts my spirits and clears my head.

Now that I was away from him, two things were clear. First, I had no idea what Alan wanted from me, and I wasn’t about to trade my integrity for just sex. I would have to keep my distance until we could have that conversation. Second, I was an emotional basket case. I had cried more in the last few days than I had in the last couple of years and, therefore, in no condition to be making any important decisions. I needed to concentrate on doing my job and Monica’s for the moment, and let the police do theirs to solve her murder. That resolve lasted right up to the moment I entered HR and saw Darryl waiting for me in my office.

Chapter Eight

Obviously my strategy to avoid him hadn’t worked. As usual, he jumped up and hugged me. I pasted a smile on my face, disengaged as fast as possible and sat down across the desk from him. With Darryl the more space, the better. We exchanged the usual pleasantries. Finally, he said, “I know that losing Monica must be a terrible strain. I think I have someone who can help you.”

I had to think fast. The last thing I needed was another of Darryl’s bimbos. “Thanks anyway, but Tony and I have discussed consolidating the labor and training positions for the time being. At least until business picks up. Mike, my training manager, wants to expand his skill set. This will be a good opportunity for him. I’m sure you understand we all need to cut back to save on overhead.” I smiled sweetly.

He frowned, but what could he say?

“
By the way,” I asked, trying to divert him, “do you remember anything about where Monica was from? We’re having trouble locating her next of kin. I remember her telling me that you were the one who recommended her for the position in St. Louis.”

He choked on the coffee he had been sipping. “I don’t know anything about her.”

I looked at him wide-eyed, trying for a perplexed expression. “Really, that’s strange because I’m sure she mentioned how nice it was that since she moved here, you and she were able to keep in touch regularly.” It wasn’t true, but he didn’t know that.

“
You must be mistaken.” He looked at his watch. “I have to go, I’m late for a meeting,”

He was out of my office in record time. I had the feeling that he wouldn’t be dropping by again anytime soon. I’d have to remember that for the future. I had definitely made him nervous.

I called Tony as soon as Darryl left to tell him I had used his name to avoid having Darryl recommend someone for the position. He understood and assured me he would back whatever decision I made. When I mentioned it to Mike, he surprised me.

“
Actually I’d really like the opportunity.”

“
Excuse me? I offered you the job before I took on Monica, and as I recall, you said you no.” The Labor Relations person had to be available to work all shifts so they could interact with the entire staff. Mike’s wife was a nurse who worked the graveyard shift. He’d explained he needed to be home to care for their three small children while she was at work. As the Training Manager, he could arrange his schedule to fit hers.

“
I haven’t had a chance to tell you. Sara got a transfer to the day shift, and with all the kids now in school, I can be available anytime.”

“
Mike, you’re a life saver. I won’t forget this.”

“
I won’t let you. Now about that raise . . .”

I laughed. “Let me talk it over with Mr. Augustino and I’ll get back with you.”

With that settled, I asked Mike to take a look at all of Monica’s files. Based on what I’d recently found was her operating style, I wanted him to review all the decisions and documentation in her files, laying aside anything that didn’t look right. I also wanted him to follow up with each supervisor for anything that might not be in the files. Thankfully, he had just finished a series of classes and we could put off the next series for a while.

Crossing that off my agenda for the day, I now had time to call Jerry McCrea. He wasn’t in, so I left a message for him to call me.

Walking into the outer office, I spotted Rose at her desk just behind the clerks. As the employment supervisor, she needed to be available to help the clerks quickly when things backed up or got out of hand, so she didn’t have an office.

I stood in front of her desk. “Do you have time to talk to me?”

Giving a nod to the Data Entry Supervisor, who acts as her relief, she followed me into my office.

Once we were seated I asked, “How are the kids? Have you heard anything from Danny?”

She folded her hands in her lap. “The kids are fine, except they really miss their father. Danny finally stopped calling. I heard he took a leave of absence to go to Mexico to see his family.”

I wondered if the police had been able to interview Danny before he left, or if going to Mexico was more about getting out of town, and less about visiting family. When I looked at Rose, there was a sadness in her eyes I had never seen before. My heart went out to her.

“
Do you think you will ever be able to forgive him?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. You divorced your cheating husband.”

I shook my head. “The situation was entirely different. I didn’t have kids, and it wasn’t just one affair. My husband never asked for forgiveness because he had no intention of ever being faithful.”

She looked down, twisting her hands in her lap. “You think I should take him back?”

I reached out and put my hand over hers. “I didn’t say that. Only you can make that decision.” After a moment, when she seemed more in control, I went on, “The detectives have asked me to try to reconstruct Monica’s last week. I understand that you started keeping a record of her visitors. Did you give that to the police?”

Quietly Rose said, “No.” Looking up she explained, a plea for understanding in her voice, “I wasn’t home when Monica was killed. I was out driving around. My sister had taken the kids so I could be alone and get myself together. Valerie, I wanted Monica dead.” There was a fire in her eyes now. “But I didn’t kill her. I can’t prove it wasn’t me. I was afraid if I told the police I kept a record of everything she was doing, it would make me look guilty.”

“
On the other hand, by not telling the police everything you know, you might be protecting the one who did kill her.”

She tossed her head. “So what? I’d like to give them a medal.”

“
I can’t blame you for hating her, but she didn’t deserve to die.”

She shrugged.

Since I could see I wasn’t getting anywhere, I decided to take a different tack. “Do you still have those notes?”

“
Yes.”

“
I think you should give them to the police.”

She shook her head, so I proposed a compromise. “Would you be willing to allow me to compare what you have against her calendar? Maybe she wrote everyone down, and I can tell the police that I have been able to identify everyone she met with here.”

She thought about it for a minute, and then agreed. While she went back to her desk to get the notes, I popped into Monica’s office to retrieve her calendar. From Rose’s notes, I was able to identify three employees whose initials were on the calendar. I remembered seeing files on those meetings. There was one name on Rose’s list that Monica hadn’t written down. This one intrigued me the most because I knew him well. Martin Sanders was a cook, recently elected as the Culinary Union President and a thorn in my side for the last couple of years. He constantly filed grievances. Most of them were bogus and wasted a considerable amount of time in research to answer. Often even the employees he was supposed to be representing didn’t believe that management had done anything wrong. His grievances were illogical, rambling on for pages and pages, ranting about a management conspiracy to deprive employees of their rights. Just sifting through the innuendos to get to the few facts was a chore. He’d always seemed slightly unbalanced to me and because I didn’t trust him, I never met with this man without having a witness, as well as detailed notes, so it was interesting that Monica hadn’t even written his initials on her calendar. The other interesting fact from Rose’s notes was that over the last month Monica had been spending less and less time actually in the office.