Carolyn Arnold - McKinley 03 - Money is Murder

by Carolyn Arnold

  SARA TOOK OFF HER HEELS and dropped onto the sofa in the condo. The laptop was in front of her on the table. Sean was reading over the reports again to see if anything stood out.

  She lifted the steaming mug of coffee from the side table, to her mouth. Before taking a sip she inhaled the robust aroma and let her senses drift away. In this moment there wasn’t another case to solve. Everything was peaceful and tranquil.

  “Don’t slip away on me now.” Sean smiled at her.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She closed her eyes for a second, her momentary indulgence in the experience of “now” coming to an end.

  Her thoughts skipped to what Sean had said in the taxi. Another vacation? Wasn’t their whole life a vacation at this point? At least, it could be, if they didn’t keep getting involved with investigations—she wasn’t even sure how it kept happening—but on the flipside, there was a real satisfaction in solving the cases.

  They didn’t answer to a schedule or a boss. They didn’t have to worry about securing warrants or doing things by the book. They were simply free to act. They didn’t need to rely heavily on forensic findings—the direction that law enforcement was headed. No, they were able to pursue pure leads and distinguish motive and opportunity—the way it was accomplished before scientific advances.

  She picked up the laptop and continued reading about Reid Incorporated hoping that something would stand out. They made air fresheners for vehicles and homes. Sara figured the reason they would be in poor financial straits was due to the competition in the market with huge everyday names.

  Sara glanced over at Sean, who was leaning back in the sofa chair, one leg crossed over the other with a neatly stacked pile of police reports on the table next to him. He held a bundle, about an inch thick, in his hands. He discarded the top sheet to his lap where another collection of paper was growing.

  “Finding anything?” she asked.

  He looked up at her and shook his head. “Nothing so far.”

  “Okay, let’s talk this out.” She exchanged the laptop for the notepad where they had their suspect list. “All right, we have Edward Cranston, Adam his assistant, Robert—who I’m sure we can cross off now. The shooter was likely a woman and, based on Robert’s apartment, he didn’t have enough money to pay anyone off.” She ran a line of blue through his name. “Business owners and other executives, including Paul Moses maybe?”

  “Add nameless woman.”

  “Ah, yes.” She scribbled that down. “Now we need to start getting details.”

  “Let’s start with people who were bought off.”

  She underlined Benson and wrote doorman Percy before looking up at Sean. “All right, Percy—why would he take part in this?”

  “Simple. He saw someone he shouldn’t have and he was paid to cover it up.”

  “You don’t think he killed Cindy?”

  “I really don’t. Scratch him off as a suspect.”

  “Done.”

  “Benson?”

  “Again, I don’t think he killed Cindy. He was paid money to close the case.”

  “He doesn’t deserve the badge.”

  “No, he doesn’t, but I don’t think he physically killed Cindy either.”

  “I’m taking him off the list.” She ran a line through his name.

  “So, we’re left with five potentials—Edward, Adam, business owners, other executives, and nameless woman.”

  “We can narrow the business owners down to Reid for now.” She held her pen poised to note that.

  “Good idea.”

  “They seem to be in the center of this.” With the words, she established some clarity. “I think I’ve figured it out.”

  “Darling?” Sean moved forward, perched on the edge of the cushion.

  “Reid. One second,” she opened another Internet tab in the browser and brought up a search engine. She typed in Reid family.

  By the time she had results, Sean had joined her on the sofa.

  She pointed at the screen. “From reading the company history on their website, I remembered seeing that they came from great beginnings. Most times these large companies like to portray themselves as rising from the ashes.”

  “Listening.”

  “What if we were looking at this wrong? It’s not Edward Cranston who is trying to cover anything up, or using company money to bribe people into silence.” She clicked on a link and brought up a Wikipedia page on the Reid family.

  “You’re kidding me? They have their own page.”

  Sara smiled and nodded. “Seems so.” She read down the information and turned to Sean. “Their money goes back a long way.”

  “So why was their business on the verge of bankruptcy?”

  “Maybe it was all a ploy.”

  “I’m not understanding.”

  “For a manufacturing company, there are no pictures of the facility online. The contact information is a post office box.”

  “You believe that they were a dummy company? But then where did all the financials come from?”

  “Cindy must have come across the phony documents someplace, but didn’t know they were fake and figured she landed on a gold mine. So she pursues the takeover, but the Reids want to make sure that their scam doesn’t come to light. Or maybe she found out the truth and was going to expose them.”

  “Let me get this straight, then, you’re thinking a type of Ponzi scheme?”

  “One second.” A few seconds later, she had their answer. “The company was publicly traded. People lost hundreds of thousands, and my guess, it’s not the first time the family did this.”

  “That’s enough to kill over, especially if Cindy knew the truth.”

  “Definitely.”

  “But they would still need people on the inside at Universal to take care of it. Cindy wouldn’t allow strangers up to her condo, or, at least, it’s unlikely she would have let people up from Reid.”

  “That’s where I draw a blank.” Sara stared mindlessly at the screen. “I’m thinking about the doorman.” She noticed Sean’s intent gaze on her profile, and she faced him. “Who would be let up to Cindy’s condo? It wouldn’t just be anyone. Percy said he cleared all visitors with Cindy. We have to think about the people who would have been welcome in her home.”

  “Robert would have been allowed up, and so would Edward. Oh—”

  “Sean?”

  “Well, if Percy took money to be silenced about who went up, what’s to say they were cleared by Cindy.”

  “Huh, good point.”

  Sean dismissed his contribution with a wave of a hand. “Let’s go forward on the assumption they were cleared through Cindy.”

  She nodded. “All right, then, let’s narrow it down.”

  He laughed and leaned over to kiss her nose.

  “Uh-uh.” She pointed a finger at him. “Once we have this mystery solved.”

  “Then what? I’m listening.”

  She smirked at him. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  “You’re killing me, dear.”

  “Waiting makes the anticipation that much more, and the reward that much sweeter.” She pressed a fingertip to his nose.

  He let out a deep breath. “Fine, if you’re going to be that way.” He smiled at her.

  “Okay, so who else?” She tapped her pen against the side of the laptop. “I think I have it. No. I’m not sure how it would all fit together.”

  “You’re killing me.”

  “It seems I’m rather good at that right now. Darling, please, hand me your phone.” She dialed Universal and got routed through to Adam, Edward’s assistant. “Hello, Adam, this is Sara McKinley.” She disregarded the paleness of Sean’s face. “I need a favor from you. I need to know if Reid Incorporated was ever purchased by Universal. Yes, I can wait for a minute.” She spoke to Sean. “He’s put me on hold to look.”

  “I didn’t think we trusted him.”

  “While it’s true that we’re not sure of him, we need his help. Besides, y
ou said the shooter was female. Just trust my instincts, would you.” Back into the phone. “Oh wonderful. Thank you for your help. Bye now.”

  “All right, Mrs. McKinley, share with me,” Sean said.

  “Okay, Reid wasn’t acquired by Universal. In fact, they have no record of that company name.”

  “So it’s quite possible Cindy knew about their scheme.”

  Sara nodded. “I believe Robert West knew about Reid, or had an idea anyhow. I think that’s why he went to the trouble of stealing the USB from her flat. I also think that’s why he’d been lying low for the last while.”

  “He was afraid.”

  “Apparently for good reason. Now, there has got to be more that we’re not seeing. Let’s think this through.”

  Sean rose to his feet, gesturing wildly as he spoke. “Dummy company in trouble. Hard-headed businesswoman who won’t take no for an answer and pressures them to sell, but in the process discovers the truth.”

  “They sent someone to deal with her.”

  “A hitman?”

  Sara sighed. “Not in so many words. We mentioned an inside person. I hate that this thought has occurred to me a second time.”

  “This time you have to tell me.”

  “Hang on a second.” She read down the page on the Reids. “Oh my word.” She pointed at the photograph of a young man in his mid-twenties. “I’ve seen him before.”

  “Are you going to make me ask where?”

  Sara shook her head. “No, but you did anyway.” She smiled. “This is Beverly’s fiancé.”

  “Beverly? The one who manages the front desk? The one who said she used to be Cindy’s assistant?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Bribery And Romance

  HIS WIFE WAS A GENIUS. Although, they still needed to figure out more of the situation. Why pay off the detective and the doorman to cover up Cindy’s murder? Was it the Reids trying to protect Beverly, or a hitman of sorts?

  “What would be Beverly’s motive?” He asked a tough question, but it required an answer.

  “She was in love with Jordon Reid. Love makes people blind.”

  “There’s got to be more to it.”

  “Maybe she went to Cindy’s apartment to find the information on Reid Incorporated and clear it off her laptop, but she couldn’t find it. She must have brought the sleeping pills with her, and the letter. She was prepared to do everything in her power to get the data.” Sara placed the tip of her finger to her lips.

  “Beverly didn’t know Cindy enough to know about all the files in her home office.”

  “My guess is she didn’t know until more recently.”

  “Until when exactly?”

  “I think Robert finally put things together—about Beverly’s engagement and connection with Reid. Beverly found out and followed him.”

  “Poison is a dominant murder method for women,” he opined.

  “This one doesn’t mind shooting people either apparently.”

  “Why not only remove the Reid files from the server?”

  “It would draw attention to it, or maybe there wasn’t a file there to begin with and it was all to get us interested in Robert.”

  “Adam is involved?”

  “No, I don’t think so, but assuming, as we are, that Cindy knew about their scheme, she would have kept it close to her chest.”

  “But she could have mentioned it to Beverly.”

  Sara nodded.

  “I hate to bring up another question, but why would the Reids pay the detective to close it as suicide? Why not let Robert go down for it? Things were looking convincing.”

  “Except he had an alibi, remember?” She tapped her finger against her chin.

  “So they have a partial conscience. They didn’t want to see an innocent man behind bars?”

  “Yet, they have no problem killing people.” Sara laughed. “Not too bright, though, because rulings can be reversed.”

  “No one said killers were smart.”

  “Here’s another question. When we arrived to talk to Robert, he was warned that we were on the way. That’s why he took off.”

  “And we figured that was Beverly.”

  “Yes. But why?”

  “That’s an easy one. She wanted him to get the information on the Reid account for her. I don’t think the notes to expose the company were ever on the company server. It was another ploy. So Beverly caught up to Robert, got the data stick, and then shot him. She knew he was finished lying low.”

  “This only confirms that Cindy was going to expose the Reids. The entire family could face prison time,” she said. “That’s why they got to Beverly. They figured that she would be able to retrieve the information Cindy had on them.”

  “How did they know about it in the first place?” Sean sat back, putting his arms behind his head.

  “Could have been as simple as Cindy mentioning her concerns to Beverly. She then passed this on to Jordan Reid.”

  “Suppose. We don’t know at what point he become a part of Beverly’s life.”

  “My guess would be from when they first suspected Cindy was on to them. That’s when they sent Jordan in to get warm and fuzzy with Beverly.”

  “I’d have to agree. We need that USB stick.”

  “But it’s with Beverly. Or is it? Sean? There’s that look in your eye.”

  “We can pretend that we have it. It would get their attention.”

  “Only if they haven’t looked at the one they have. And is it really the kind of attention we want? The last time someone had it—Robert—do I have to remind you of what happened there?”

  “Come on, darling, where is your sense of adventure?” He smirked.

  “This side of the ground. With you.”

  He placed the laptop on the table and dropped to his knees in front of her. He took her hands in his and kissed her fingertips.

  “Are you trying to get my mind off the fact you’re going to place a target on our backs?” she asked.

  “Is it working?” He bobbed his eyebrows and she laughed.

  The Play

  “GOOD MORNING, BEVERLY.”

  “Mrs. McKinley? Where’s—”

  “Oh, he decided to lounge at the condo for a bit longer.” Sara adjusted her hat and then the purse under her arm. Her eyes went to the framed photograph on the desk. It was unmistakably Jordan Reid.

  “I’ll let Edward know you’re here. Tragic what happened to Robert,” Beverly said.

  “What happened?”

  “I thought for sure Edward would have told you.”

  “Oh, yes, that.” Sara did her best to convey disinterest.

  Beverly pinched her eyes tight for a second, compressing her brows slightly with the expression.

  “Yes, Edward did call.” Sara didn’t add that the man had been a mess when he had done so. “Robert was murdered.”

  Beverly let out a puff of air and leaned forward, elbows on her desk and her chin resting in her hands. “First Cindy and now Robert.”

  “I thought Cindy committed suicide?”

  “Ah, yes, well, she did, but some people around here talk.”

  “You don’t think she killed herself?”

  Beverly looked beyond Sara. “There would be a lot of people willing to kill her.”

  The cold glint in the receptionist’s eyes chilled Sara. Reflecting back on their previous interactions, paired with their newfound knowledge, the darkness had been there all along.

  “I thought it would be nice to go for lunch with you,” Sara said. “My treat.”

  “Mrs. Mc—”

  “Sara, please.”

  “Sara.” Beverly smiled. “That would be really nice, but I’m not sure why you’d want to have lunch with me.”

  “Sean and I were at Cindy’s flat and we found something. Now, we’re not quite sure what to make of it.”

  “Oh? What is it?”

  “Just some information on a data stick. You said you used to be her assistant, right?
”

  Beverly straightened. “Yes, I was.”

  Sara smiled. “Perfect then.”

  “I’m not sure if I can get away.”

  “Nonsense. I’m the boss lady, really, aren’t I?”

  “Yeah, I guess you are.” Beverly passed off another cool smile.

  “I’ll be back then. One o’clock okay?”

  Beverly nodded.

  Sean stood at a newspaper vending stand outside the front doors of Universal. He watched Sara come over. She had this look on her face that made his insides bunch into a knot. She was apprehensive. Maybe they shouldn’t have provoked a potential killer.

  She touched a finger to her right temple—the sign that everything was a go.

  Now he just had to wait to see if Beverly took the bait.

  After ten minutes, Beverly came outside in a brisk walk, a cell phone held to her ear. Sean couldn’t make out what was being said and he had to be careful not to be too obvious. He couldn’t risk being spotted. He lifted the magazine that much higher, only his eyes were above the page.

  “Hey, are you going to buy that?”

  Another second later. “Sir?”

  Sean took one last glance at Beverly. She was getting into a company car. Not long after, it was on the move. His stomach lurched again as Sara’s followed behind.

  He had to trust her. She was a cop before they met, and she had risked her life for the badge many times. Why was it so different now that she was his wife?

  He felt the grip on his forearm and looked to see a man of shorter stature staring at him, his face set in a scowl.

  He jabbed a meaty finger at the magazine. “You buy?”

  Sean pulled out a twenty and handed it over.

  “I’ll get change.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Thank you.”

  Sean nodded, his mind on Sara as his cell phone rang. It was her.

  “It worked, darling,” she said.

  “Just be careful.”

  “Always.” She fed him the directions.

  He got into another company car. “I’m right behind you.”

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