contact information.” Bing pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it over. “You can send it to this e-mail. It’d be great if you could send it today.”
The man gripped the card. “Of course. Okay.”
Next to come in was Mark Villon.
He wore an expensive suit, designer shirt open at the neck, no tie, expensive leather shoes. He had a debonair air about him as he tossed his long body onto the chair and leaned back. He looked like some playboy CEO but turned out to be an account manager.
“What do you do exactly?” Bing asked.
“Payroll and compensation.”
“How close were you to Kristine Haynes?”
“You mean, did I bone her?” He gave an oily smile. “No. But I wanted to. Who wouldn’t? This place is full of hot chicks. I try where I can. It’s the whole point of staying single, isn’t it?”
“Were you aware of her having a relationship with anyone that might have gone beyond professional?”
Mark shrugged. “She wasn’t that interesting. Always had her nose in the computer. She worked part-time but wanted that next promotion badly enough to put eight hours’ worth of work into four. Maybe someone taught her how to have fun, but it wasn’t me.”
Of all the people Bing had interviewed, he seemed to be the least bothered by the loss of a coworker. Maybe he was as big a jerk as he seemed, or maybe he played it cool and unaffected for a reason.
Bing questioned him for another five minutes before letting him go.
Interviewing the rest of the department went faster. With the guys who could fit Maria’s description of the suspect, he was looking for clues that one of them might be the murderer. With the others, he was simply fishing for information, trying to feel out if any of them knew anything about a possible affair.
The secretary sobbed through the interview; a few other women also cried. He went through everyone, one by one, all three dozen employees who worked in accounting. By the time the last person exited the conference room, the workday was pretty much over, so he drove back to the station, a million impressions circling in his head.
Kristine Haynes was a good employee, by all accounts, motivated and driven. She gave her best at work. And at home, too. According to her husband, she took care of everyone; she was the glue that held the family together. A person who strove for perfection. At least in front of others. In private… she self-sabotages, Bing thought. She becomes an adulterer. Because she doesn’t think she deserves perfect?
The identity of her lover would provide some further insight into her character, if they ever found the man. None of the six guys in her department who fit the description jumped out at Bing. Then again, maybe the lover had nothing to do with the company. Bing stepped harder on the gas pedal.
He had the next day off. For a second, he thought about coming in to work anyway; then he remembered Sophie Curtis. He’d promised to plant her garden. He had no idea what the hell had made him offer her that deal. Okay, he did.
He closed his eyes for a second. Truth was… She made him want to think about moving on.
Which he didn’t deserve until his wife’s killer was behind bars, at the very least. Or dead. He preferred dead. He liked the fact that Pennsylvania was a death penalty state, that someday he would get to sit in the room behind the glass wall and watch the bastard strapped to the table, watch as his heart stopped beating. That was what he wanted. He didn’t want vigilante justice. He wanted the killer caught and prosecuted. With everything he was, he believed in the law.
If Kristine Haynes’s murder was connected to Stacy’s, it’d mean the killer would go down for a double murder. Bing wasn’t going to stop pushing until he did.
Chapter Seven
Sophie held the landscaping blueprint in her hand, feeling stupid walking around Bing while he did all the work. “Can I get you another
The man gripped the card. “Of course. Okay.”
Next to come in was Mark Villon.
He wore an expensive suit, designer shirt open at the neck, no tie, expensive leather shoes. He had a debonair air about him as he tossed his long body onto the chair and leaned back. He looked like some playboy CEO but turned out to be an account manager.
“What do you do exactly?” Bing asked.
“Payroll and compensation.”
“How close were you to Kristine Haynes?”
“You mean, did I bone her?” He gave an oily smile. “No. But I wanted to. Who wouldn’t? This place is full of hot chicks. I try where I can. It’s the whole point of staying single, isn’t it?”
“Were you aware of her having a relationship with anyone that might have gone beyond professional?”
Mark shrugged. “She wasn’t that interesting. Always had her nose in the computer. She worked part-time but wanted that next promotion badly enough to put eight hours’ worth of work into four. Maybe someone taught her how to have fun, but it wasn’t me.”
Of all the people Bing had interviewed, he seemed to be the least bothered by the loss of a coworker. Maybe he was as big a jerk as he seemed, or maybe he played it cool and unaffected for a reason.
Bing questioned him for another five minutes before letting him go.
Interviewing the rest of the department went faster. With the guys who could fit Maria’s description of the suspect, he was looking for clues that one of them might be the murderer. With the others, he was simply fishing for information, trying to feel out if any of them knew anything about a possible affair.
The secretary sobbed through the interview; a few other women also cried. He went through everyone, one by one, all three dozen employees who worked in accounting. By the time the last person exited the conference room, the workday was pretty much over, so he drove back to the station, a million impressions circling in his head.
Kristine Haynes was a good employee, by all accounts, motivated and driven. She gave her best at work. And at home, too. According to her husband, she took care of everyone; she was the glue that held the family together. A person who strove for perfection. At least in front of others. In private… she self-sabotages, Bing thought. She becomes an adulterer. Because she doesn’t think she deserves perfect?
The identity of her lover would provide some further insight into her character, if they ever found the man. None of the six guys in her department who fit the description jumped out at Bing. Then again, maybe the lover had nothing to do with the company. Bing stepped harder on the gas pedal.
He had the next day off. For a second, he thought about coming in to work anyway; then he remembered Sophie Curtis. He’d promised to plant her garden. He had no idea what the hell had made him offer her that deal. Okay, he did.
He closed his eyes for a second. Truth was… She made him want to think about moving on.
Which he didn’t deserve until his wife’s killer was behind bars, at the very least. Or dead. He preferred dead. He liked the fact that Pennsylvania was a death penalty state, that someday he would get to sit in the room behind the glass wall and watch the bastard strapped to the table, watch as his heart stopped beating. That was what he wanted. He didn’t want vigilante justice. He wanted the killer caught and prosecuted. With everything he was, he believed in the law.
If Kristine Haynes’s murder was connected to Stacy’s, it’d mean the killer would go down for a double murder. Bing wasn’t going to stop pushing until he did.
Chapter Seven
Sophie held the landscaping blueprint in her hand, feeling stupid walking around Bing while he did all the work. “Can I get you another
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