Blackberry Crumble (31 page)

“Mrs. Hoffmiller?”

Sadie startled and looked up to see Richard Kelly standing a few feet away. She’d hadn’t heard him approach and consciously switched gears from thoughts of Hugh to Keith Kelly.

“Oh, call me Sadie,” she said, closing Hugh’s file and moving the entire stack off her lap and onto the couch in order to stand and shake Richard’s hand. “I appreciate your coming.”

“I appreciate your giving me the chance to come,” Richard returned.

Sadie smiled and indicated that they sit at the small table next to the couch. Richard followed her lead, pulling out one of the chairs opposite her.

“I hope it wasn’t too difficult to get this information,” Sadie said as she angled the laptop toward him.

He shook his head. “If Dad was trying to hide something, I think it would have been harder. As it was, I found the program open on his secretary’s computer when she left for lunch and was able to track down the log-in information without much trouble.”

As he spoke, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and set it on the table. He began typing on the computer. Sadie scooted her chair closer to his so she could look at the screen with him. Within seconds, a calendar popped up. Richard used the track pad—quite deftly, Sadie noted with a twinge of envy due to her slow adaptation to new electronic devices—and almost instantly they were scanning through the days before and after Jim’s death.

The day of Jim’s funeral was filled with appointments. A few days later, there was a note with the words “Send intent to buy to Sandersons.” Sadie could only assume that referred to the letter that had May so mad. She felt her mouth tighten at the lack of sympathy from a man who had once counted Jim Sanderson as a close friend.

“Dad was in California the day Jim died,” Richard said, pointing at the day five days prior to the funeral. Whereas most of Keith’s days, especially work days, had up to half a dozen things written in the tiny square, the space for July 16 only said “San Jose.”

“And didn’t get home until the next day,” Sadie commented as she moved forward on the calendar, noting “2:36 Delta” and “Dinner at country club.”

“He was meeting with Jepson,” Richard said. “They keep having all kinds of bizarre questions. We’ve been negotiating the merger for almost four months. Dad went down there to try to get them to pick up the pace.”

Disappointed not to have found more, Sadie scrolled through the other days on the calendar. The man led a busy life, though he did manage to fit in a game of golf at least once a week.

“I learned something else,” Richard said.

Sadie looked up at him and read the hesitation in his expression. “What?”

“That contract with C-Spec—the one Jim accused Dad of working up before the split?”

“Yeah,” Sadie prodded.

“Jim was right.”

Sadie narrowed her eyes. “Your Dad started pursuing that contract when SK Systems was still together?”

Richard nodded. “Hugh had run up a company credit card. Dad found out about it around the time he first got his foot in the door with C-Spec. Apparently Jim already knew about Hugh’s debts and was trying to pay down the balance before Dad realized what was going on. Dad flipped—he’s very financially responsible—but Jim refused to fire Hugh and said he’d pay off the card ASAP. Dad decided not to tell him about the C-Spec contract and insisted Hugh be removed from his position as a supervisor. Jim refused. Eventually, they went their separate ways over it.”

“And your dad continued working the C-Spec deal.”

“And felt completely justified in doing so. In his mind, Hugh was a liability, and Jim bailing him out made Jim a liability, too. Say what you will about my dad and the way he treats people, but he’s a good businessman. Hugh was bad for business, and Dad wasn’t going to sink with him.”

“But you didn’t know this at the time?”

“I knew Hugh had a gambling issue, and I knew my dad wanted him out of SK. I didn’t know about the credit card debt, or that Dad was courting C-Spec while it happened. If he hadn’t had C-Spec in the wings, I think he’d have stuck it out with SK and watched Hugh a little closer. Knowing he had a deal that would allow him to start his own company made the prospect of leaving more attractive.”

“Does May know about the gambling?”

“I told her,” Richard said. “When things started falling apart with us and she sided with her dad, I told her what I knew.” He held Sadie’s eyes.

Was that why May didn’t want to talk about her family? She’d known that Hugh’s history would catch Sadie’s attention. She thought about the envelope Hugh had taken out of the mail. Could it have been a credit card statement he didn’t want his sisters to see or some other debt in his father’s name?

Sadie looked back at the online calendar, processing the possibilities as she scanned Keith’s appointment book. Could she really trust what Richard had to say? She couldn’t deny that the pieces fit, but Keith was his father. Was he really willing to offer up his father on a platter? Then again, he was offering up Hugh as well.

“It sounds like your dad told you all this pretty easily today,” she said. “After ten years, does it seem odd he’d be so forthcoming?”

Richard shrugged. “Hugh responded to Dad’s offer to buy out S&S, but Hugh wants a position with the company after the buyout. Not supervisory or anything, just a part-time floor man to help with the manufacturing transition. Dad hasn’t said yes or no to the proposition, so I simply pushed him on it. This is what he told me.”

“He doesn’t want Hugh to work for him?”

Richard shook his head. “He’s determined that Hugh won’t. . . . Only he hasn’t told Hugh that yet.”

Suddenly, a name jumped out at Sadie from the calendar.

Jim S. @ Karri’s @ 12:15

The date was two weeks before Jim’s death. Could it be another Jim S.? Doubtful.

“Did you know they’d met for lunch?” Sadie asked, pointing to the computer screen.

Richard shook his head, and Sadie didn’t skip a beat.

“Hugh was at dinner last night to talk about the purchase negotiations, wasn’t he?”

Richard nodded.

“Was Hugh working with Keith before Jim died?”

“I don’t think so. Dad sent the letter to Jim’s kids after the funeral.”

“But it looks like Keith had lunch with Jim two weeks
before
that letter should ever have been a consideration.”

Richard looked back at the computer. “You’re right. I don’t know what that was about. Dad and Jim haven’t talked for years.”

What if Keith had met with Jim to discuss the potential purchase of the atomizer? If Jim refused, but then something happened to Jim, Keith would have had another chance.

“What was it that Keith wanted from S&S so badly?” Sadie asked, placing her hands on her knees and leaning back into the chair. “Why, after ten years, was he suddenly so interested? He has strong feelings against Hugh, and he’s done well on his own. So why write the letters at all? Why deal with the family of his former partner in the first place?”

“Do you really mean, why kill Jim?” Richard asked.

Sadie hadn’t meant to be so obvious, but, yes, that’s what she’d meant. What was Keith’s motivation for buying S&S? Could it also be a motive for murder?

Richard leaned back as well and crossed his arms. “I don’t think he had anything to do with Jim’s death.”

Of course you don’t think that
, Sadie realized. Would he really have met with Sadie if he thought his father was guilty of murder? However, there was still the unexplained lunch date.

“What if he proposed some kind of reconciliation to Jim, and Jim refused?”

Richard shook his head. “What if Hugh was in debt again and needed Jim’s inheritance in order to pay it off?”

Sadie had been thinking along those same theory lines, but didn’t want to voice her growing suspicions of Hugh to Richard. “But why is Kelly Fire Systems even interested in S&S? What’s in it for your dad? He doesn’t sound like the kind of guy who would do something unless it was in his own best interest. I read the letter he sent to the Sanderson kids. It was cold and to the point; there was no residual warmth laced into it. He wants S&S. Why?”

“Well, there was that new atomizer,” Richard said, but she could hear the doubt in his tone.

“Your father seems like a pretty confidant man,” Sadie said. “And pretty convinced of his own . . . worth.” Sometimes it was hard to choose the right words. “One atomizer? I mean, I don’t know much about the components of what you guys do, but it seems like a lot of effort being expended over one particular part, especially when things are obviously so intense with the Jepson deal. Something doesn’t fit.”

A puzzled expression crossed Richard’s face. “You’re right,” he said simply, lifting his hands up slightly. “I don’t know what it is, but I know my dad didn’t kill Jim to get it.” He paused. “Maybe he just wanted to win. Maybe even with Jim gone, buying S&S feels like he’s won once and for all.”

“Hasn’t he already proven that?” Sadie asked. “He’s done a lot better than S&S since they went their separate ways.” Suddenly Sadie remembered something May had said. She’d said the new atomizer had made a splash in the industry, that Hugh was having a hard time keeping up with orders. Could the atomizer have been big enough that in time it would have helped S&S catch up with Kelly Fire Systems? Could Keith have felt threatened somehow? She didn’t want to share those thoughts with Richard, though. He was defending his father tonight—not Keith Kelly’s character, necessarily, but he certainly didn’t believe his father capable of murder. She didn’t want to push him and risk missing out on valuable information.

They sat in silence, contemplating their lack of knowledge. After a few seconds, Sadie had an idea.

“Do you think you could find out what that lunch with Jim was about? What if you just flat-out asked him what he wants from S&S? You could even say you heard about the lunch date with Jim—he won’t know where you heard about it, and you don’t have to tell him. But there has to be a reason he’s working this hard to get S&S, and you’ve already set the groundwork by asking about the split with Jim. Maybe if we know why Keith wants S&S, some other things will fall into place.”

Richard let out a breath. “He hates it when I ask him direct questions like that. He always assumes I’m questioning his ability to make good decisions. Even today, he was defensive with my digging into his reasons for splitting with Jim.”

“Maybe you
are
questioning his ability to make good decisions,” Sadie said with a slight shrug. “But as CFO, you deserve to understand his motives for buying S&S, especially in the wake of that lunch he had with Jim. A lunch that you knew nothing about.”

“That’s a good point,” he said, but didn’t sound any more excited about the prospect.

Behind them, Sadie heard the swish as the front door of the hotel opened. Probably someone checking in late; the hotel didn’t seem particularly full tonight, which she was grateful for since it meant that she and Richard had been able to talk in private despite being in a common area of the hotel.

She turned to look at Richard, planning to ask him when he could have that discussion with his father, when a flash of red hair caught her eye. She looked over Richard’s shoulder and froze.

May stood ten feet away, her eyes wide and her mouth open as she stared at the two of them with an expression of utter disbelief.

Chapter 35

Sadie jumped to her feet, the chair screeching in protest as she shoved it backward. “May,” she said quickly.

At the sound of May’s name, Richard also stood and turned. The three of them stared at each other in silence. May’s eyes lingered on Richard for a few moments, but then she turned on Sadie, her eyebrows pulled together.

“What are you doing?” Her tone was understandably accusatory.

“I . . . uh, he’s helping me determine what happened to your father.”

May’s eyes narrowed. “He’s Keith Kelly’s
son.
He’s not going to help you with anything.”

“But he is,” Sadie hurried to say, her heart racing. “He got access to Keith’s calendar and—”

“You’re fired,” May snapped, causing Sadie to pull back. “I want you out of Portland first thing tomorrow morning.”

“May, please,” Sadie said, taking a step toward her. “Let me explain. See, I followed—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” May screamed—really screamed—silencing Sadie once again. Tears rose in her eyes, and Sadie just wanted to die.

After all she’d learned about May’s history and her life, Sadie had betrayed her, and while she wanted very much to justify her actions, right now she could only see it the way May was seeing it.

“I came to you because I needed help,” May said, her voice ragged with sorrow. “I needed answers, and I couldn’t trust anyone to help me find them. I trusted
you
. And you went to . . .” She looked at Richard, who was standing with his arms at his sides and a stunned look on his face. “You went to
him
of all people.” She pulled herself up, and the tears overflowed as she looked at Sadie again. “I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, Sadie, but I have a hard time trusting people. And now I’m reminded why.” She raised a hand and wiped at her eyes, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I thought it was fate that led me to you. I can’t believe I’ve made such a fool of myself again.” Her chin was trembling, and Sadie felt tears rising in her own eyes for having hurt this woman who had already suffered so much.