figure out what Uncle Samuel did with the money. His office is no longer considered a crime scene. That’s wherewe’ll start.”
“I don’t know how helpful I’ll be.” Tracking down a million dollars was way outside her experience. “I’m not good with money. I can barely balance my checkbook.”
“We’re not going to do accounting. I’ll leave that part to Marian and Rod. We’re going on a quest, and I have a feeling that you’ll be good at it.”
“Why?”
“You’ve got a talent for reading people.” Thewaitress delivered another coffee for Nick in a to-go cup. “It always helps to have fresh eyes on a problem.”
Like many creative types, he assumed that other people were as bright and clever as he was. She doubted that her fresh-eyed view would provide any new perspective, but she was willing to try. She owed him that much for putting up with her.
On the ninth floor, Nick greeted thereceptionist and led Kelly down the hall to his uncle’s office. The atmosphere in Spencer Enterprises had changed slightly. Kelly noticed the employees sitting up straighter and showing more respect when Nick walked by. They had to be concerned about keeping their jobs. Even in a midsize corporation like Spencer Enterprises, the death of one of the principal owners meant reorganization.
In Samuel’s office, Nick sat behind the desk and pulled open the top left drawer. After emptying the back portion of the drawer of files, he reached underneath and did some kind of manipulation. The bottom of the drawer popped up.
Delighted, Kelly said, “A false bottom.”
“Uncle Samuel stored his cigars in here where Julia wouldn’t find them.” He removed the fake panel and looked inside.“Nothing here. The forensics team from the police must have figured this out.”
She leaned against the edge of the desk. “Did your uncle have a lot of these hidey-holes?”
“He liked to create illusions. Once, he told me that if he hadn’t been an architect, he would have been a magician.” He walked around to the front of the desk and waved an invisible wand. “Hocus-pocus, and a milliondollars disappears.”
“Do you think he hid the cashier’s check?”
“That’s too eccentric, even for Samuel. I’m looking for something that might indicate what he was doing with the money.”
“Like a treasure map?”
“God, I hope not.” He leaned down to inspect the molding on the front of the desk. “Somebody already opened this one, too. See how the pattern doesn’t line up exactly?”
She imagined that the forensics investigating team had a ball going through this office with all the interesting little twists and turns. Samuel’s cleverness extended beyond the desk. A shoe-polishing machine popped out from underneath the credenza. The wall clock twittered like a mocking bird. And a panel slid aside in the back of his closet providing a hiding place large enough for someoneto hide.
The closet space worried her. “If your uncle was killed, the murderer could have been hiding in here.”
“That was one of the first things I thought of. When you were trying to revive him, I looked in here. The police dusted it for fingerprints. They found only Samuel’s and mine.”
“Why would he make a hiding place?”
“To get out of work.” He flicked a switch and turnedon a light inside the hiding space. “He used to make Julia nuts by going into his office, and then not being there when she needed him.”
His uncle was beginning to sound more like a brat than a creative genius. As far as Kelly was concerned, there was a fine line between charming childlike behavior and irresponsible childishness. Samuel Spencer must have irritated a lot of people. “Any othertricks?”
“This one concerns me.” He went to the window with the great view of the foothills and glided his hand under the lower sill until he found what he was looking for. “I pull the lever here, and watch.”
A slot at the side of the window flipped open.
“I don’t know how helpful I’ll be.” Tracking down a million dollars was way outside her experience. “I’m not good with money. I can barely balance my checkbook.”
“We’re not going to do accounting. I’ll leave that part to Marian and Rod. We’re going on a quest, and I have a feeling that you’ll be good at it.”
“Why?”
“You’ve got a talent for reading people.” Thewaitress delivered another coffee for Nick in a to-go cup. “It always helps to have fresh eyes on a problem.”
Like many creative types, he assumed that other people were as bright and clever as he was. She doubted that her fresh-eyed view would provide any new perspective, but she was willing to try. She owed him that much for putting up with her.
On the ninth floor, Nick greeted thereceptionist and led Kelly down the hall to his uncle’s office. The atmosphere in Spencer Enterprises had changed slightly. Kelly noticed the employees sitting up straighter and showing more respect when Nick walked by. They had to be concerned about keeping their jobs. Even in a midsize corporation like Spencer Enterprises, the death of one of the principal owners meant reorganization.
In Samuel’s office, Nick sat behind the desk and pulled open the top left drawer. After emptying the back portion of the drawer of files, he reached underneath and did some kind of manipulation. The bottom of the drawer popped up.
Delighted, Kelly said, “A false bottom.”
“Uncle Samuel stored his cigars in here where Julia wouldn’t find them.” He removed the fake panel and looked inside.“Nothing here. The forensics team from the police must have figured this out.”
She leaned against the edge of the desk. “Did your uncle have a lot of these hidey-holes?”
“He liked to create illusions. Once, he told me that if he hadn’t been an architect, he would have been a magician.” He walked around to the front of the desk and waved an invisible wand. “Hocus-pocus, and a milliondollars disappears.”
“Do you think he hid the cashier’s check?”
“That’s too eccentric, even for Samuel. I’m looking for something that might indicate what he was doing with the money.”
“Like a treasure map?”
“God, I hope not.” He leaned down to inspect the molding on the front of the desk. “Somebody already opened this one, too. See how the pattern doesn’t line up exactly?”
She imagined that the forensics investigating team had a ball going through this office with all the interesting little twists and turns. Samuel’s cleverness extended beyond the desk. A shoe-polishing machine popped out from underneath the credenza. The wall clock twittered like a mocking bird. And a panel slid aside in the back of his closet providing a hiding place large enough for someoneto hide.
The closet space worried her. “If your uncle was killed, the murderer could have been hiding in here.”
“That was one of the first things I thought of. When you were trying to revive him, I looked in here. The police dusted it for fingerprints. They found only Samuel’s and mine.”
“Why would he make a hiding place?”
“To get out of work.” He flicked a switch and turnedon a light inside the hiding space. “He used to make Julia nuts by going into his office, and then not being there when she needed him.”
His uncle was beginning to sound more like a brat than a creative genius. As far as Kelly was concerned, there was a fine line between charming childlike behavior and irresponsible childishness. Samuel Spencer must have irritated a lot of people. “Any othertricks?”
“This one concerns me.” He went to the window with the great view of the foothills and glided his hand under the lower sill until he found what he was looking for. “I pull the lever here, and watch.”
A slot at the side of the window flipped open.
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