If It Walks Like A Killer (The Carolina Killer Files #1) by Kiersten Modglin Page A

Olson,”
    “No.”
    “Thank you. No further questions.”
    Hampton walked back to his seat, adrenaline pulsing. He heard the witness step down from the stand and Avery begin to speak.
    “For our next witness I’d like to call Brian Sparks to the stand.”
    Hampton heard cautious footsteps approaching the witness stand. He turned slightly to see a young man with bushy black hair walking toward Avery apprehensively. As he was allowed to sit Avery approached him. “Brian, as I understand it you know the victim quite well, is that correct?”
    He cleared his throat, leaning into the microphone. “Yes. We worked together for nearly five years. Blaire was great. I enjoyed working with her.”
    “Tell me, when did you notice that the relationship with Mr. Abbott and Blaire was less than professional?”
    “I didn’t. I mean, they were friendly. No more than anyone else.” He shot a look of apology toward where Caide was sitting. “Our workplace is complicated. Our bosses, they’re great, they run the show. Blaire and Mr. Abbott were behind the curtain. They were a great team and they kept the place going. They had to work together, a lot more than the rest of us. Dinners, early mornings, late nights. Of course we all had suspicions, but they were never founded. They were very professional.”
    “Can you tell us about the night Blaire was murdered?”
    “Well, earlier that day, Blaire had put in her notice. She told me right after she did it. She asked me if I have any friends who were qualified to take her place. She really didn’t say why she was leaving, just that there were things she wanted to do that she couldn’t do here, which I understood. We all stayed late that night. Mr. Abbott had missed work the past two weeks so he was catching up, Blaire was looking at resumes, and I was running a few last-minute errands. We’re all pretty guilty of late nights.”
    “Who was the first to go home?”
    “I was. I left at 7:30. Mr. Abbott and Blaire were still working.”
    “What made you leave when you did?”
    “Mr. Abbott told me I could go home and finish tomorrow. My wife is pregnant, so he encouraged me to go home to her.”
    “That was sweet of him. Did he frequently send you home before your work was finished?”
    “He’s a great boss. He’s never made a big deal out of my schedule as long as I get everything done on time.”
    “That’s not what I asked.”
    “He was just trying to be nice.”
    “Yes or no.”
    He hung his head down. “No.”
    “So he wanted you to leave that evening?”
    “Objection, your honor. She’s leading. The witness isn’t a mind reader.”
    “Sustained. Watch it, Avery.”
    “In your opinion, did he seem to want you to leave?”
    “No. He was just—”
    “I’d like to remind you that you are under oath.”
    “He seemed stressed. He was behind in his work, he hadn’t left his office all day. In my personal opinion, he was being nice because he knew that I had already stayed over for more than two hours.”
    “Were there any cars in the parking lot when you left?”
    “Mr. Abbott’s. Blaire’s was in the shop that day.”
    “To your knowledge, was there anyone in the building besides the two of them?”
    “Not to my knowledge.”
    “Could someone have been there? Hiding?”
    “Our office is pretty open. The private offices stay locked, so I don’t think anyone could’ve hidden in there without a key and there was no one in the lobby.”
    “There was nowhere else to hide? Nowhere at all?”
    “Not unless they hid upstairs, I guess.”
    “What’s upstairs?”
    “It used to be used for more office space, when a real estate company owned our building. When we bought it out we knocked down the walls and made it into a space for meetings and office parties. We rarely use it.”
    “Who knows about the upstairs portion of the office?”
    “Only employees.”
    “And all of the employees were out of the office or downstairs, right?”
    “As far as I know.