The Next Victim (8 page)

Sabrina glared at her, then looked away. "Maybe not. But you never gave him a chance to tell his side of things. I'm sure he had an explanation for all that...that
evidence
the cops say they have. You owe him, Kali. You owe it to John to clear his name."

Kali felt the tug of something inside her. "What if he really did it?"

"He didn't."

"You don't know that, Sabrina. Not for sure."

She was silent for a moment. Her lower lip quivered. "Will you at least look into it?"

"There's nothing--"

"You're a lawyer. You know how to talk to cops and figure things out.
Please
?"

Kali would be in Tucson through the funeral anyway. That would give her time to get a better handle on things. She'd ask around, see what she could learn. Maybe she'd find some answers. If nothing else, she might be able to ease her own conscience.

"Okay," she agreed, "I'll look into it."

The next morning, Kali pushed through the wide double doors of Logan Foods's corporate headquarters into a carpeted lobby. The rosy-cheeked receptionist smiled. "Good morning," she chirped. "How can I help you?"

Kali had played this scene through in her head during the drive in, trying to come up with a plan. Would Reed Logan talk to her? Did he blame John for his sister's death? She assumed word of John's accident had reached at least the higher levels in the corporation, but she couldn't be certain. She hadn't settled on an approach that covered every contingency, so she said simply, "I'm John O'Brien's sister."

The young receptionist's smile faded. "Oh." She looked momentarily confused, then stammered, "I'm sorry. We're all in a state of shock. It's very sad what happened."

"Thank you." Kali wasn't sure what response was called for, but "thank you" covered a lot of ground. "I'd like to see Reed Logan, please."

"Mr. Logan isn't in today."

So much for planning. She tried to think who else might be able to talk to her about her brother, but she knew nothing about his position there other than his title. "How about my brother's secretary, then?"

"I'm, uh...I'll see if she's available. Why don't you have a seat?"

Kali sat down in one of the upholstered chairs while the receptionist picked up the phone and carried on a brief and muted conversation. A few minutes later the door to the inner offices opened. It wasn't a woman who greeted her, however, but a slender, sun-scrubbed man in his early fifties. He had a narrow, serious face and a full head of reddish brown hair. Frameless bifocals perched low on his nose.

He offered a hand. "I'm A. J. Nash, general counsel for Logan Foods."

"Kali O'Brien."

"I hope you won't mind if I ask to see some ID. The press has been hounding us this past week, so we have to be careful."

Kali showed him her driver's license and Nash offered a nod of condolence. "I'm so sorry for your loss. John was a great guy."

He escorted her to his office, which was smaller and more spartan than she expected, leading her to believe that much of the company's legal work was handled by outside counsel. Nash would be the point person, but not someone who wielded a great deal of power or influence.

"Please, have a seat. Would you like some coffee? It's actually a step above what you find in most offices."

"No, thank you."

Nash waited until Kali was seated, then settled himself and straightened some papers on his desk. Kali noticed a folded newspaper among them. This morning's edition, no doubt, which contained an account of John's death and a recap of the earlier murders. She and Sabrina had read it over breakfast.

"What can I do for you, Ms. O'Brien? Did you come for your brother's personal effects?"

"In part. My sister and I will have to settle his affairs. But I want information as well." She'd come to see Reed, but in many respects the attorney was actually a better choice. He wouldn't be as personally invested.

"Information about stock options, death benefits, and the like?" He reached for a file from the stack to his left.

Kali's mind hadn't even begun to deal with the minutiae of her brother's estate. She was still reeling from the shock of his death.

"That too," she said. "But what I really want is to know about Sloane Winslow's murder."

Nash sat back in his chair and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His expression was pained, but softer too. More human. It suited him better than the bland mask of corporate counsel.

He sighed. "It's been a terrible week for us. Terrible every way you look at it."

"You know the police considered my brother a suspect?"

Nash nodded. "The police spoke with a number of us and the local media have been on the story from the start."

"What was the general feeling here--that the police were right, or that they were way off track?"

Nash cleared his throat, looking uneasy. "Nobody
wanted
to believe it. John is...he was a likable guy. He got along well with people, myself included."

Kali nodded and waited for Nash to continue.

"We all knew John had a personal in with Reed, and to be honest, in the beginning it was a bit of a concern for those of us who'd been with the company for many years. But John never took advantage of their relationship. He was well liked and respected."

"Nobody wanted to believe it," Kali prompted, "but?"

"But as more and more evidence pointed in his direction..." Nash made a gesture of helplessness with his hands. "I assume the police have gone over their reasons with you?"

"In broad terms, yes. I understand that there was some tension between him and Sloane Winslow."

"Well, yes." Nash hesitated. Kali couldn't tell if it was simply because he was unwilling to speak ill of the dead, or if he held back for other reasons. "They had different visions for the company," he continued finally. "John and Reed were focused on maximizing profits with an eye toward being bought out by one of the larger chains. Sloane wanted to keep it in the family."

"Is it true she wanted to get rid of John?"

The hesitancy again. "She was lobbying to replace him," Nash said reluctantly.

In other words, the cops had been right. John had motive. At least in theory.

"How did Reed feel about it?" Kali asked.

"He was the one who brought John on board. I think he felt like he was caught in the middle."

"Did the police question him?" Sloane might have been trying to oust John, but Reed shared John's vision for the company--a vision that was now more secure with Sloane dead.

Nash again pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "They questioned all of us. Reed was never a suspect, if that's what you're getting at. He was at a business function the night Sloane was killed."

"Does
he
think John did it?"

"You'd have to ask him that. The official company position is that guilt or innocence is best left to the legal system."

Kali imagined that as general counsel, Nash had a hand in formulating that position. Not that she could fault him for it. It was a by-the-book response, one that she herself would recommend in a similar situation.

Nash checked his watch. "Is there anything else? I'm sorry to cut this short but I have a meeting in a few minutes."

"You mentioned options and insurance," Kali said. They hadn't been on her mind when she came in, but since she was here, she might as well gather what information she could.

"There's a company policy for one and a half times annual salary. You and your sister are the beneficiaries, though I have to warn you most of John's compensation came in the form of bonuses and options, not salary."

That John had listed her came as a surprise to Kali. No matter what the sum, she was oddly touched.

"It's with Global Mutual," Nash continued. "We've already notified them of John's death, so I imagine you'll be hearing from them soon. I'll have Alicia make sure you've got the necessary documents."

"Alicia?"

"John's secretary." Nash rose from his chair. "And as soon as we've had a chance to go through his office, we'll box up John's personal effects and get them to you. Where are you staying?"

"At John's. My sister and I both."

He nodded. "If there's any way I can help, please give me a call." He looked at her straight on, his eyes intense but warm. "I mean that."

Kali slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door. "I appreciate your taking time to speak with me. I know you're busy. I can find my own way out."

Nash started to follow, but when his phone rang, he nodded a farewell in Kali's direction instead. "Your brother will be missed around here."

Kali brushed past an empty secretarial desk and started down the carpeted hallway she'd come in. But instead of continuing straight to the front exit, she took a left near the water fountain.

Waiting for the company to send John's things was well and good if all she was interested in was salvaging some commemorative letter opener or paperweight and stale packs of chewing gum. But Kali wanted a glimpse of the unsanitized John. She wanted to sit at his desk, to look through his drawers and papers, to get a feel for where, and maybe how, he spent his days. After so many years of keeping John at a safe distance, she now wanted to know everything about him.

And it couldn't hurt to talk to his secretary.

Passing a middle-aged woman carrying a stack of file folders, Kali did her best to appear lost. "Excuse me. I'm looking for Alicia. I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere."

"You sure did, honey." The woman pointed her down the hall in the other direction. "Alicia's just past the stairwell, John O'Brien's office." This last was accompanied by a catch in the woman's voice.

Kali thanked her and headed back. Beyond the stairwell, the hallway fanned out into a sort of anteroom leading to two large offices. She passed first by Reed Logan's empty office, then came to the plaque that listed John's name. A Bridget Jones-plump young woman with long, scarlet nails and a cherubic face was engrossed in sorting the mail on her desk.

"Hi," Kali said. "Are you Alicia?"

The woman jumped and looked up. "Oh! I didn't hear you coming. Yes, I'm Alicia. Are you here to see Mr. O'Brien? He's"--she brushed the ash blond hair from her face, her expression sober--"he isn't available right now."

Kali pulled up a chair. "I know. I'm his sister, Kali O'Brien."

"Oh." Alicia appeared flustered, then distraught. "I didn't know you were coming in today."

"It was a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"I'm really sorry about what happened. If there's any way I can help..."

"Thank you. This must be a difficult time for you, too."

Alicia nodded and took a deep breath. "It is. He was a great boss. Demanding sometimes, but always fair. And if I messed up, he didn't yell or anything. Just told me to make it right."

"How long have you worked for John?"

"I started about a month after he did. That would be a little over three years now." She blinked back tears. "Sorry. Seems like all I've been dong lately is crying. First Mrs. Winslow, now your brother. And I'm a terrible crier. None of this dainty, Victorian stuff for me. My eyes get red, my nose runs, my face turns all blotchy." She fanned her face with her hand as if to stop the flow of tears. "I don't want to get started again."

"You knew Sloane Winslow, too?"

"Right." Alicia reached for a tissue. "We're a small group here. Everyone knows everyone else. And now two deaths..." She ran a hand along the edge of her desk, avoiding Kali's gaze. "I know what they're saying about your brother, but I don't believe it. Not for a minute."

"The police seem to think it's because Sloane was trying to get John fired."

"I know. And that part's true. At least according to the rumor mill. We all knew there were bad feelings between them, but I don't see John shooting her."

"What was Sloane like?"

Alicia bit her lower lip. "Let's just say she had opinions and she wasn't afraid to share them."

Kali offered a conspiratorial smile. "Difficult to get along with?"

"A bit, for those who worked with her directly"--Alicia returned the smile--"which thankfully wasn't me. But I don't think people actively disliked her. It's more like they were afraid of her. Always on their best behavior where she was concerned."

"Nobody with a specific grudge?" Kali asked. "Someone she reprimanded, or denied a raise to?"

"I can't think of anyone. She wasn't really involved in the day-to-day operations. She had an office here and all, and she was a director of the company, but there was no one she supervised or anything."

"Didn't she have a secretary?"

"She's had a couple of them." Alicia pressed her lips together. "I shouldn't really be talking bad about her, but truth is, she burned through them pretty fast. It doesn't make a lot of sense that one of them had anything to do with her death, though."

Maybe, Kali thought, though murder rarely made sense to anyone but the person committing the crime. She'd have to ask the detectives if they'd looked into the secretarial angle.

"One of the things that seems to have caught the cops' eye," Kali said, "was an argument John and Sloane had over dinner the night she was killed. You wouldn't have any idea what that was about, would you?"

Alicia shook her head. "I know Sloane was wired about something, though."

"Wired?"

"Tense. On edge. Short with everybody. It wouldn't surprise me if whatever they were talking about turned into an argument."

Except that in the cops' scenario John was the one who was angry. Angry enough to drive over to Sloane's house hours later and kill her.

"If John and Sloane didn't get along," Kali asked, "why were they having dinner?"

"Beats me." Alicia pursed her lips. "The dinner was actually a last-minute thing. Mrs. Winslow tried all morning to reach your brother but he was in a meeting. He called her back later that afternoon, and I heard him tell her to meet him for dinner at Jack's Bistro."

Another woman approached and greeted Alicia. "Sorry to interrupt. I'm going out for a latte. You want anything?"