Death Changes Everything (10 page)

“You may be right. I don’t know. I don’t seem to be thinking very clearly about anything right now.”

“Are the police keeping you informed about the investigation,” asked Emma, hoping Detective Brugnick hadn’t mentioned to Maddie that she and Jake were assisting the police.

“I haven’t spoken to them since the day Steven died.”

“That must have been a terrible day for you.”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” said Maddie with a shudder.

“Did your husband have any enemies?” asked Grace. “Anyone who might have wanted to hurt him? I’m sure a successful businessman must have stepped on a few toes here and there.”

“I suppose so. Steven was always working. He started at the bottom, did you know that? People always respected that about him.”

“Do you know whether Steven was concerned about anyone? Perhaps, afraid of someone?”

“Steven was never afraid of anyone, even when he should have been.” Maddie’s voice was oddly harsh. Emma and Grace exchanged glances.

“Was there someone you think he should have been afraid of?” asked Emma.

“I didn’t say that.” Maddie reached for a brownie and took a bite of one before she spoke again. “I just meant he never took anyone seriously. People would threaten him and he’d just laugh in their face.”

“Did someone threaten Steven?”

“I didn’t say that either. It’s just that Steven could be a bit oversure of himself.”

“He could rub people the wrong way?” suggested Grace gently.

“Oh he could be downright infuriating. He’d look at you with that smirk…Where are my manners? Can I get you ladies some coffee?” Maddie jumped up and fled the room, leaving Grace and Emma staring after her.

They heard a door open and shut in the back of the house. “Hi Mom, sorry I took so long. The pharmacy was a zoo. Is something wrong?”

After some hushed conversation, Maddie came back into the sitting room. Melody followed, carrying a tray, which she placed on the coffee table. She was in her mid-twenties and looked like a younger version of her mother. She was dressed casually, in jeans and a sweater to combat the chill. “Ooh, brownies!” she exclaimed, popping one into her mouth. “Hello, Mrs. Rand. Did you make these? They’re amazing.”

Emma smiled. “It’s good to see you, Mel. I wish it was under better circumstances. I’m so sorry about your dad.”

Sadness flashed across Melody’s face. “It’s unbelievable what happened to Daddy. And to think, he always worried about me moving to Denver.” She looked at Grace. “I’m sorry. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Melody Grant. Maddie’s daughter.”

“I’m Grace Russell. I’m a friend of Mrs. Rand.”

“It’s nice of you to come. And bring brownies! We have enough horrible casseroles to last a month.”

“Mel, hush,” her mother admonished her.

Melody grabbed another brownie and bit into it greedily. Her eyes closed and a smile spread across her face. “Just like you used to make for us at FBLA. I’ve been trying to make brownies like these for Dick but they never turn out like yours, Mrs. Rand. Mom, you’ve got to try one.”

“I’ve had one.” Maddie smiled indulgently. Emma knew Melody’s act wasn’t fooling her mother, but her cheerful attitude did seem to lift some of the gloom. “We were just talking about who might have killed your father.”

Melody’s smile disappeared. “You mean, like who hated Daddy? Aunt Pam’s the only person I know of, but if she were gonna kill him, she’d have done it years ago, not now.”

“Melody!” her mother gasped, pronouncing each syllable in her name, almost as a separate word. “Pam doesn’t hate your father.”

“Why would Pam hate Steven?” asked Emma.

“She doesn’t. Didn’t. She was upset when Roger forced her out of Hill Energy. She blamed Steven for it. Accused him of sabotaging her.”

“She was totally flipped.” Melody ignored her mother’s disapproving look. “We used to do family dinners at Gramma and Grampa’s every Sunday night. Aunt Pam came to Sunday dinner all wigged out. She was screaming at Daddy. When Grampa stuck up for him, she turned on him. It was something!”

“Melody, please. That was fifteen years ago. Pam is long over it.”

“We’ve had, like, two family dinners since then.”

Maddie succeeded in changing the subject after that, and the conversation soon ended. Emma and Grace said their goodbyes and Melody showed them out. Back in the car, Emma called Jake. “I’ve got a new suspect for you to look at.”

“Let me guess. Bruce Lewiston.”

“Who’s that?”

“Second in command at Hill Energy. Soon to be promoted now that Steven’s gone. Who’s your suspect?”

“Pam Young.”

“Pam? Why her?”

“Apparently, about fifteen years ago, Pam used to work at Hill Energy. Did you know that?”

“I did and I reminded Roger of that today, thinking Pam would be the natural choice to step into Steven’s role. Why does that make her a suspect?”

“Because she blames Steven for getting her thrown out of the company, though Maddie seemed to think it was Roger’s doing.”

“Probably was. He said he practically had to fire her because they disagreed on whether she should be working at all once she had children.”

“Well, according to Melody, there was a big blow-up at the next family dinner and they practically stopped speaking to each other. Of course, Maddie said Pam got over it years ago.”

“It might be interesting to hear what Pam has to say about it, though I imagine Maddie’s right. Fifteen years is a long time to carry a grudge.”

“Revenge is a dish best served cold,” quoted Grace.

“Hello Grace. Emma keeps forgetting to warn me when we’re on speaker.”

“We’ll go speak to Pamela, Jacob. Why don’t you talk with Mr. Lewiston?”

“Sounds like a plan. Be careful you don’t push yourself too hard Grace.”

“Thank you for your concern, Jacob, but I’m feeling quite well today.”

Emma hung up and handed Grace a phone book. “Can you look up Pam’s number and address?”

“And I thought I was the dinosaur.”

“I’m not going to pay for someone else to look up the number when the phone book is free.”

“Directory assistance charges a fee?”

“Yes, and it’s not cheap. I pick up an extra phone book every year and carry it in the car.”

Grace chuckled and began thumbing through the directory. “Your parents must have Scottish roots.”

“I know you’re being funny, but as a matter of fact, Mother is Scots Irish. My father’s family is German. Emma was his grandmother’s name.”

Grace read Pam’s number while Emma dialed. Pam said had nothing pressing to do and invited them to stop by. “It won’t take long to get here, if you’re leaving Maddie’s now. I’m just around the corner.”

11

“Do you have an appointment? Mr. Lewiston is quite busy.” Jake explained that he had been asked by Roger Hill to come speak with Mr. Lewiston about his son’s death.

The secretary’s face paled slightly and her officious demeanor softened. Going to the richly carved wooden door, she entered and closed it tightly behind her. She was gone for almost three minutes, according to Jake’s watch. When the door finally opened, she beckoned to Jake and ushered him in.

Bruce Lewiston had started his career with Hill Energy as an accounting clerk. When he earned his degree and passed the CPA exams, he was promoted. Six years later, he’d been managing the department and seventeen years after that, he’d been promoted to his current role of Chief Operating Officer, second in command to Roger Hill.

When he retired, some in the company thought Lewiston would be tapped to replace Roger, but the smart money had always been on Steven. Lewiston was permanently disadvantage by not being Roger’s son. With Steven dead, Roger was considering making Bruce CEO, a temporary position that could become permanent if none of Roger’s grandchildren were interested in or capable of replacing him.

“Mr. Rand, please come in.” Lewiston remained seated, indicating he should take one of the two guest chairs. As Jake sat, he noticed the chair was unusually low. He was surprised at the use of such petty power gestures. “My assistant tells me you’re here at Roger’s request. I’m afraid I can only spare you a few minutes.”

“Then I’ll get right to the point. Roger has asked me to look into Steven’s murder.”

“You’re a private detective?”

“I’m an attorney.”

“I see. Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you. Steven’s murder had nothing to do with Hill Energy.”

“You sound very sure of that.”

“He was killed at his home, so naturally I assume it has something to do with his personal life.”

“We can talk about Steven’s personal life in a minute. Why don’t you tell me about his work?”

“As you already know, Steven became CEO when Roger retired. He oversaw tens of millions of dollars of business every month. You’ll have to narrow it down a bit.”

“How’s the company doing? Oil prices are down. How many people have you had to lay off?”

Lewiston fussed with the neatly arranged piles of paper on his desk. “We’re hoping to avoid doing that.”

“You haven’t laid anyone off?”

“That’s what I said.”

“There are entire companies going under right now. Why is Hill Energy not feeling the pinch?”

“I didn’t say we weren’t affected. I merely indicated that, through careful financial planning, we are well equipped to weather the current storm. Provided, of course, that the price of oil rebounds within the next six months.”

“That’s quite a feat. How did you manage it?”

“Really, Mr. Rand, I don’t see how any of this has any bearing on Steven Hill’s death.”

“How is it that Hill Energy is
equipped to weather the storm
when similar companies have been closing their doors?” Jake repeated his question in a tone that made Lewiston flinch.

“Oil and gas is a cyclical industry. Many years ago, the Hills established a rainy day fund. We put money into a fund when times are good and it carries us through when oil prices fall.”

Jake hid his surprise. He’d had many business dealings with Hill Energy over the years, but Roger had never mentioned such a fund. “The fund was Steven’s innovation?”

Jake noticed two white spots forming on either side of Lewiston’s forehead. “I told you, the fund was established many years ago. I really couldn’t discuss Steven’s involvement.”

“Curious Roger’s never mentioned it.”

The white spread to Lewiston’s jawline. “Roger’s an old man. I suspect he forgets more than he remembers these days. Regardless, it was right thing to do and our employees are thanking me for it.”

“Thanking the Hills for it, you mean.”

“Yes, of course, but Hills aren’t here.”

“I was going to ask you about that. With Steven gone, I imagine Pam will be taking his place.”

The white in Lewiston’s face deepened into red and Jake watched the man’s reactions with increasing fascination. “Pam has seven children.”

“Only six are still at home and they’re all in school now. She seemed quite capable when she worked here. In fact, I’ve already spoken with Roger about having her step into Steve’s shoes.” Jake left out the fact that Roger hadn’t agreed with his suggestion.

“I’m afraid she would be quite lost,” said Lewiston, regaining his composure. “Fifteen years makes a big difference in the oil business.”

“Perhaps you’re right. I’d like to have a look at Steven’s office now.”

Lewiston suddenly developed a sharp interest in his hands. “This is Steven’s office. I needed access to his files,” he went on, seeing the stunned look on Jake’s face. “My office was two floors down and on the other side of the building. It would have been quite inconvenient.”

“I assume you had Steven’s personal items delivered to his widow?”

“I’ll have my secretary do that tomorrow.”

“You do that. No, don’t bother to get up. I’ll see myself out.”

Once he reached the lobby, he pulled out his cell phone and called Matt. He recapped his conversation with Lewiston. “I could search the place on Roger’s authority but I’m afraid if I found something, a good defense attorney could get it thrown out of court. Can you get a search warrant before Lewiston has a chance to destroy anything?”

“I’m on it. I’ll send a couple of uniforms to assist Lewiston in preserving the records.” Matt called Captain Danning, who spoke to the judge and sent Detective Brugnick to pick up the warrant. A team of lab techs met Brugnick in the Hill Energy lobby.

Jake studied Lewiston as Brugnick served the search warrant. “This is an outrage!” he protested. “I’ll have your badge!”

“I’m sure you will, sir. Until then, step aside and allow my team to do their work.” Jake was impressed with the young detective’s poise, but he kept his face neutral.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, finally noticing Jake standing behind Brugnick. “I told you what you needed to know.”

“It’s standard procedure to search the victim’s home and place of business. I’m sorry it’s an inconvenience to you…”

“An inconvenience? It’s a violation of my privacy. You have no right to search my private office.”

“I have every right to search every inch of this company, Lewiston. Or have you forgotten that Roger Hill has given me his power of attorney?”

“We’ll see about that. I’ve a mind to call Mr. Hill myself.”

“That’s a great idea. Why don’t you go to your office, you know, the one that’s two floors down and on the other side of the building, and call him?” Jake pulled out his cell phone. “Better yet, why don’t I call him and let him know just how helpful you’ve been in tracking down his son’s killer?”

Lewiston paled but stood his ground, glaring first at Jake then at Brugnick. The detective ignored Lewiston, directing the techs to confiscate both the desktop and laptop computers.

“Those are my computers, you can’t take them! How am I supposed to get any work done?”

“And the cell phones,” Jake reminded Brugnick.

“You can’t do that! That’s my personal cell phone!”

Brugnick flipped over the phone. “Says here,
Property of Hill Energy.
Take it.” He tossed the phone to the tech.

“This is ridiculous! I’m going to call our attorney.”

“Say hello for me,” said Jake. “Tell him my elk hunt was a bust. He’s still got bragging rights over me.”

“Oh, gee, sorry about that, Jake,” said Brugnick. Jake grinned at him. He decided he was going to enjoy working with Matt’s junior officer.

Lewiston’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. He spun on his heels and left the office, calling for his secretary to follow him. She watched him leave, then looked at Jake and Brugnick. “Call me if you need anything,” she said, then followed her boss out of the room.

“Hit a nerve with him,” observed Brugnick, watching Lewiston stab repeatedly at the elevator button before yanking open a door next to the elevator and disappearing down the stairwell. His secretary waited patiently until the car arrived and stepped into the elevator.

“Does that search warrant give you access to the company financials? Lewiston’s got some rainy day fund keeping the company afloat.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“You’d think so, but Roger’s never mentioned it. In fact, when I spoke with him, he said something about people being laid off, yet according to Lewiston this fund means he hasn’t had to cut any jobs. Something isn’t adding up.”

Brugnick read over the warrant and shook his head. “Only the contents of the office. I’ll call the Captain. You sticking around?”

“Nah, nothing I can do here. I’d just be in your way. Does the CPD have a financial expert who can go through the records?”

“I’m sure the Captain can find one if we don’t.”

“Perfect. I’m headed over to see Matt. When you’re done here, why don’t you join us? He’s staying with Kristy Castle until he’s well enough to go home.”

“I’ll do that, sir. Thank you.”

“And don’t call me
sir.
It’s Jake.”

Brugnick smiled and returned to the task at hand. Jake headed walked to the elevator across the hall. He found Lewiston’s secretary waiting for him in the lobby. “You’re barking up the wrong tree,” she said.

“Why is that? Kathy, is it?”

“Bruce didn’t kill Steven.”

“I never said he did. He didn’t waste any time taking over Steven’s office.”

Kathy looked around to ensure there was no one standing nearby. “He can be a jerk when it comes to dealing with people, but that doesn’t make him a bad man.”

“Was he a jerk when he was dealing with Steven Hill?”

“Of course not. Steven was the jerk there.” She looked around again, reassured to find the lobby was still empty. “Steven Hill couldn’t read a balance sheet if his life depended on it. If it weren’t for Bruce keeping everything going, Hill Energy would have crumbled the minute Roger retired.”

“You didn’t like Steven.”

“I didn’t like how he treated people.”

“And how was that?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with his death.”

“Kathy, we don’t know yet what did or did not have to do with Steven’s death. Anything you tell me could help.”

“Steven’s secretary could tell you better than I could. Let’s just say she was making reservations for two whenever Steven traveled and the second person was rarely Maddie Hill.”

“You’re saying Steven was having an affair?”

“I’m saying he was going out of town a lot, only it wasn’t on business and it wasn’t with his wife. Like I said, Steven Hill was a jerk.”

“He didn’t deserve to die like that.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll tell you one thing. You won’t find anybody shedding any tears for him around here, that’s for sure.”

“What about the rainy day fund? Was Steven involved in that?”

“Nobody in that family cares what happens to us. They rake in the profits when times are good and yeah, they pay well, but when times get tough, we’re the ones hitting the bricks.”

“The Hills take a hit when oil prices drop. Their income drops, too, and the value of the company drops.”

“That may be so, but you don’t see them losing their homes or having to go to the food bank just to feed their kids, like some of our guys have to do.”

“I’m confused, Kathy. Mr. Lewiston said that the family established the fund specifically to shield their employees from the down times. That doesn’t sound like a family that doesn’t care.”

She spied someone coming through the front entrance and pulled Jake into an empty office. Shutting the door, she lowered her voice. “Bruce has been with the company forever. He’s seen the ups and the downs. He’s seen what it does to the guys in the field and how hard it is on their families. He tries to get the guys to set money aside for when times get tough, but he knows not everybody does it.”

“Are you telling me that Bruce Lewiston started the fund? Not the Hill family?”

“I’m not telling you anything. Just that he’s one of the good guys. You want to find out who killed Steven Hill? Ask his secretary who his traveling companion was. Maybe she has a jealous husband.”

Peeking out the door to ensure no one was standing nearby, Kathy hurried away. Jake watcher her retreat, wondering whether she had sought him out on her own or if Lewiston had sent her to argue his case. It would be interesting to see what the police came up with when they examined Hill Energy’s books.

***

Pam Young opened the door before Emma and Grace had a chance to ring the bell. Her house was built in a style similar to her brother’s home, as were most of the houses in this neighborhood. Covered porches bore witness to more innocent times, when neighbors “went visiting” and sat on those porches sipping lemonade and watching the world go by.