Chương 6
"Not a defense."
"Actually, legally—"
"Give the phone to June."
Maisie groaned and handed it over.
June came on.
"She's fine."
"Thanks."
"You sound less fine."
"I'm fine too."
"That's your third favorite lie."
"What's the first?"
"'It's probably just the alternator.'"
Despite himself, Gideon laughed.
June's voice softened.
"You need more time?"
He looked at Evelyn again.
She had stopped talking.
She stood completely still now, phone hanging at her side.
"Maybe twenty minutes."
"Take thirty."
"I don't want to dump this on you."
"You fixed my furnace at midnight."
"That was six months ago."
"I'm slow to collect."
He nodded even though she couldn't see him.
"You won't."
"I might."
"You'll show up with frozen yogurt and pretend this was normal."
"Possible."
"Bring pistachio."
She hung up.
Gideon slipped the phone into his pocket.
Evelyn had not moved.
He walked toward her.
"What?"
She turned the screen around.
A security app showed four camera tiles.
Three were black.
One showed a loading icon that never resolved.
"Lost connection?"
"At 7:11."
"What time did Miles call?"
"7:19."
"Fire alarm?"
"7:14."
Gideon studied the screen.
"Could be damage from the fire."
"Maybe."
She swallowed.
"The camera server is in a different building."
That changed things.
"Power?"
"Separate backup."
"Internet?"
"Redundant connection."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning losing every feed at once is unlikely."
"Not impossible."
"No."
"But unlikely."
She nodded.
Gideon looked toward the patrol cars.
"Tell the officer."
"I did."
"And?"
"He said they'll document it."
"Reasonable."
"It doesn't feel reasonable."
"Most procedure doesn't when you're inside the problem."
She looked at him sharply.
"You've said that before."
"No."
"You sounded like you had."
Gideon put his hands in his pockets.
"Different kinds of procedure."
There it was again.
The invisible door.
Evelyn looked at him for half a second longer, then let it stay closed.
A black SUV entered the parking lot too fast, braked hard, and stopped crooked across two spaces.
A man in a navy suit got out before the engine fully died.
He was in his early forties, lean, silver beginning at his temples, tie loosened but still perfectly centered.
His gaze found Evelyn immediately.
He crossed the pavement with controlled fury.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Evelyn's shoulders stiffened.
"Hello, Daniel."
Daniel stopped three feet from her.
His eyes moved to Gideon, then to the police cars, then back to Evelyn.
"I told you to come back."
"And I told you not to send anyone."
"I didn't."
"Then how did you know where I was?"
"Your vehicle."
"You checked it."
"Of course I checked it."
"Why?"
"Because you disappeared during an audit review, stopped answering calls, and then one of our subcontractors texts me that there's a police incident at Carver's involving you."
Evelyn went very still.
"Briggs texted you."
Daniel's mouth tightened.
"Yes."
Gideon watched that answer settle between them.
The convenience of it bothered him.
Not because Daniel had arrived.
Because Briggs had known whom to contact.
Evelyn noticed too.
"Why does Briggs Harland have your number?"
Daniel looked at her as if she'd asked why water was wet.
"He's a subcontractor."
"Subcontractors don't usually text the COO personally at seven at night."
"Some do."
"Since when?"
Daniel glanced at Gideon again.
"Can we not do this in front of strangers?"
Gideon started to step away.
Evelyn said, "Stay."
Daniel's eyes sharpened.
"Gideon," Evelyn said, "this is Daniel Cross."
Daniel looked at him.
"Do I know you?"
"No."
"Then why are you here?"
Gideon considered several answers.
The least complicated seemed best.
"I was eating ribs."
Daniel stared at him.
Evelyn almost laughed but stopped herself.
"He intervened when Briggs took my keys."
Daniel's expression changed immediately.
"He did what?"
"Took my keys."
"And where is Briggs now?"
"Gone."
"Police are taking statements."
Daniel looked toward the officers.
Then he turned back to Evelyn.
"You need to leave."
"Not yet."
"Yes, now."
"My storage facility is burning."
"Which is exactly why you need counsel, security, and distance."
"Miles is there."
"Facilities is handling it."
"The records room was cleared before the fire."
Daniel froze.
Only for a fraction of a second.
Gideon saw it.
So did Evelyn.
"What?" Daniel said.
"The cabinet I went to retrieve was empty."
Daniel's face hardened.
"Why were you retrieving records yourself?"
"Because I didn't know who I could trust."
That hit him.
His expression didn't break dramatically.
It simply lost something.
"Including me."
Evelyn said nothing.
Daniel looked away toward the highway.
A siren passed somewhere beyond the buildings, heading east.
"You could have told me."
"I almost did."
"That's not the same."
"No."
"You think I'm involved."
"I don't know what to think."
Daniel laughed once without humor.
"Eleven years."
"I know."
"I was there when your father nearly lost the municipal division."
"I know."
"I sat in the hospital cafeteria with you when your mother died."
Evelyn's eyes dropped.
"Daniel."
"No, apparently we're doing this publicly."
His voice stayed quiet.
That made it worse.
"I've covered your board meetings, cleaned up your acquisitions, flown to Denver on Christmas Eve because a concrete supplier lied about capacity, and now you decide I'm maybe stealing from you because some change orders look wrong?"
"Three-point-two million dollars is not some change orders."
"I know the number."
"How?"
Silence.
Daniel blinked.
Evelyn stared at him.
Gideon felt the atmosphere change.
Not because Daniel had confessed to anything.
Because he'd answered too quickly.
Daniel recovered.
"You sent the preliminary review to finance."
"I sent it to finance without a total."
He looked at her.
"You had enough line items to calculate it."
"You calculated it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because that's my job."
The answer was plausible.
That was the problem.
Plausible could be true.
Plausible could also be armor.
One of the officers approached.
"Ms. Mercer?"
Evelyn turned.
"We just got an update from fire."
Her face tightened.
"Is Miles okay?"
"He's fine."
The officer nodded.
"Fire crews contained most of it to the records wing."
May you like
Daniel exhaled.
The officer continued.
