combination of letters from his mother’s name to create the numerical access code to his accounts bordered on sick. But still, if it weren’t for me, finding that piece of paper…well, anyway, I should get some credit.”
“You do,” Reese and Jayne said in unison, glancing at each other.
“Maybe we should give her a gold star.” Jayne reached across the table and drew a star on the paper sitting in front of Everly.
“Thanks, Jayne.”
Mitch nudged her with his elbow. “Get back on task, Sunshine. We still need to know how Tarik was connected to Joe Stephens. There has to be a money link of some kind there, and my gut says Stephens killed Tarik. Did your security team get anything from the tapes, Parker?”
Reese Bryant hustled into the room, a couple of liter bottles of soda in her arms. “Mine did. They’re briefing Chief Hayes right now. Stephens was manning the entrance to Steele Management, Inc. while your guests arrived for the fundraiser—” she put the bottles down and eyed each of them in turn— “dressed in a too-small uniform. Must have borrowed it. We’ll get him for this in spite of Everly lifting a key piece of evidence from his desk.” Her voice held a bite.
“I knew it. And it didn’t even take my ESP fingers to figure it out. Well, it sort of did. I caught a glimpse of it when we shook hands. Still, that puts him at the scene, and it’s admissible evidence, unlike the images flashing through my head.”
Reese nodded. “Right, and drumroll please. I have the autopsy report on Tarik. But before we talk about that, I need to get an official recording of the things we discussed about your family connection, Parker. Now, okay?”
“Sure.” He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
What the hell is wrong with you ? This information is critical to prosecuting Stephens.
She clicked the recorder on, stating the time, his name, and the names of everyone else in the room, then pointed her finger at Parker, a signal to begin.
“Mary Francis Stephens, my aunt, was my mother’s younger sister. They weren’t close, but Aunt Mary married her high school sweetheart, and they had Joe a few months later.” Parker crumpled a napkin and rubbed at the sweat dampening his forehead.
“Mary and her husband worked at decent jobs, but spent more than they made. Then Aunt Mary was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and has been hospitalized for years. My mother sent a monthly check to cover her expenses, and my accounting department has continued the practice since my mother’s death. I checked on that while you and Jayne were working on the computers. I’m embarrassed to say that, other than signing the document to continue the payment for her care, I haven’t thought about them since, oh, probably the summer Everly stayed with us.”
“Hold up.” Everly clapped her hands. “Could that be how Stephen got access to your accounts? Could he have traced the numbers on the checks or something?”
Parker scrubbed at the back of his neck, his hand coming away damp with sweat. “The payments were directly deposited into Aunt Mary’s account. Hot in here, isn’t it?”
Had his words slurred? Get a grip, old man, this isn’t the time to lose it.
Jayne and Reese exchanged a look. “Either of us could easily have traced the accounts and shifted funds,” Jayne said. “Not that we would, of course.”
A warm flush covered her cheeks.
Parker ran his finger over her skin. Soft. Inviting. “L-lovel-ly. B-black.”
His hand fell from her cheek, his arm heavy, but he couldn’t stop the weight from landing on her thigh.
“Parker!” The panic in Jayne’s voice faded into empty silence.
SIXTEEN
Everly Gray
I stared out of the windows in the intensive care waiting room, the first streaks of daylight leaving ominous shadows on the ground. Exhaustion gnawed at my bones as I swallowed the dregs of cold, institutional coffee. Behind
“You do,” Reese and Jayne said in unison, glancing at each other.
“Maybe we should give her a gold star.” Jayne reached across the table and drew a star on the paper sitting in front of Everly.
“Thanks, Jayne.”
Mitch nudged her with his elbow. “Get back on task, Sunshine. We still need to know how Tarik was connected to Joe Stephens. There has to be a money link of some kind there, and my gut says Stephens killed Tarik. Did your security team get anything from the tapes, Parker?”
Reese Bryant hustled into the room, a couple of liter bottles of soda in her arms. “Mine did. They’re briefing Chief Hayes right now. Stephens was manning the entrance to Steele Management, Inc. while your guests arrived for the fundraiser—” she put the bottles down and eyed each of them in turn— “dressed in a too-small uniform. Must have borrowed it. We’ll get him for this in spite of Everly lifting a key piece of evidence from his desk.” Her voice held a bite.
“I knew it. And it didn’t even take my ESP fingers to figure it out. Well, it sort of did. I caught a glimpse of it when we shook hands. Still, that puts him at the scene, and it’s admissible evidence, unlike the images flashing through my head.”
Reese nodded. “Right, and drumroll please. I have the autopsy report on Tarik. But before we talk about that, I need to get an official recording of the things we discussed about your family connection, Parker. Now, okay?”
“Sure.” He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
What the hell is wrong with you ? This information is critical to prosecuting Stephens.
She clicked the recorder on, stating the time, his name, and the names of everyone else in the room, then pointed her finger at Parker, a signal to begin.
“Mary Francis Stephens, my aunt, was my mother’s younger sister. They weren’t close, but Aunt Mary married her high school sweetheart, and they had Joe a few months later.” Parker crumpled a napkin and rubbed at the sweat dampening his forehead.
“Mary and her husband worked at decent jobs, but spent more than they made. Then Aunt Mary was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and has been hospitalized for years. My mother sent a monthly check to cover her expenses, and my accounting department has continued the practice since my mother’s death. I checked on that while you and Jayne were working on the computers. I’m embarrassed to say that, other than signing the document to continue the payment for her care, I haven’t thought about them since, oh, probably the summer Everly stayed with us.”
“Hold up.” Everly clapped her hands. “Could that be how Stephen got access to your accounts? Could he have traced the numbers on the checks or something?”
Parker scrubbed at the back of his neck, his hand coming away damp with sweat. “The payments were directly deposited into Aunt Mary’s account. Hot in here, isn’t it?”
Had his words slurred? Get a grip, old man, this isn’t the time to lose it.
Jayne and Reese exchanged a look. “Either of us could easily have traced the accounts and shifted funds,” Jayne said. “Not that we would, of course.”
A warm flush covered her cheeks.
Parker ran his finger over her skin. Soft. Inviting. “L-lovel-ly. B-black.”
His hand fell from her cheek, his arm heavy, but he couldn’t stop the weight from landing on her thigh.
“Parker!” The panic in Jayne’s voice faded into empty silence.
SIXTEEN
Everly Gray
I stared out of the windows in the intensive care waiting room, the first streaks of daylight leaving ominous shadows on the ground. Exhaustion gnawed at my bones as I swallowed the dregs of cold, institutional coffee. Behind
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