The Demise (8 page)

Chapter 9

Julie arrived at work a few minutes early the next morning, anxious to begin her own stealth investigation of Lanham’s executive office. Last night she’d hardly slept, lying awake for hours, trying to analyze what she knew about her coworkers, what she didn’t know, and what she needed to know. Between what she already knew, along with the bits and pieces she’d picked up from Matt’s conversations and notes, she couldn’t help thinking the answer was right before her eyes. If only she could see it.

But the investigation wasn’t the only thing that kept her awake until the wee hours of the morning. She couldn’t stop thinking about Matt and the surprise kiss he’d given her on the water tower. He didn’t seem like the sort of guy who would do something so spontaneous, but she wasn’t complaining. She smiled remembering how startled he seemed to be that he’d kissed her. Startled maybe, but there was no mistaking how much he enjoyed the moment.

He wasn’t the only one.

A heavy waft of rose-scented cologne interrupted her thoughts as Georgia stepped out of the elevator.

“Oh Julie, Julie . . .”

Before she knew it, Georgia had rounded the reception desk and smothered her in a quivering hug. Smashed against her coworker’s soft rolls, Julie felt her headset fall off as Georgia uttered a warbling series of
oh-dears, my-my-my’s
and
mercy-me
’s while patting Julie’s back and hugging her harder.

“There now, Georgia. Let me take a look at you.”

The secretary pulled back, dabbing her eyes with a delicate handkerchief, her purse and smiley-face umbrella hanging at her elbow. “I’m so sorry, Julie. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry anymore, and just look at me. What am I going to do? How will we ever get beyond this?”

Julie patted Georgia’s hand then took her seat again. “You’re going to be just fine, Georgia. It’s still so hard to believe, but we’ll all manage somehow. Besides, having you here makes a big difference. It’s just not the same when you’re not here.”

“Oh sweetie, aren’t you just the kindest dear.” Georgia made a couple more quick dabs at her eyes, then took a deep breath. “I suppose you’re right. We’ll manage. Somehow.”

“Of course we will.” Julie untangled the cord on her headset and set it back in place. “Why don’t’ you go put your things away, and I’ll bring you a nice cup of coffee in a few minutes. It should be just about ready.”

“Thank you, Julie.” Off she went, the familiar swish-swish-swish of her pantyhose growing fainter as she made her way down the hall.

Julie made her way to the break room, suppressing a smile as she watched Georgia’s rear view. She had to admit the comic relief Georgia brought to the office was welcome after so much gloom the last couple of days.

“Julie. Wait up.”

She cringed before glancing over her shoulder, but kept walking. “Good morning, Brad.”

He followed her into the break room. “Um, I was wondering. Do you have lunch plans today?”

Right on schedule.

“Actually, no, but I—”

“Because I thought maybe we could grab a bite and go to the park.”

“Why would we go to the park? It’ll be a hundred degrees by lunchtime.” She shook her head. “But that’s beside the point. No. Thank you, but no.” Julie reached for two coffee mugs in the cabinet then started filling one of them from the urn.

He leaned against the counter beside her, his overbearing aftershave picking up where Georgia’s cologne left off.  “Aw, c’mon, Julie. What’s it gonna take to get you to go out with me?”

As she finished filling the second mug of coffee, Brad grabbed the first one and helped himself. She stared in disbelief as he took a sip.

“I mean, what have you got to lose?”

Nothing she did or said ever seemed to faze him. As she reached for another mug, she chose her words carefully. “Look, Brad, I’ve told you before, office relationships must be kept strictly professional. That means I won’t go out with you or anyone else I work with. It’s not personal. And I would appreciate it if you would stop asking me all the time.” She picked up the two coffee mugs. “It makes it very uncomfortable for us to work together.”

She turned and left the room. At Georgia’s cubicle, she handed her the coffee and patted her on the back. “If you need me, all you have to do is call, okay?”

“Thanks, dear. I’m trying hard to keep my emotions in check.”

Julie gave her a wink then made her way back toward the receptionist area. She passed Brad’s cubicle just as he entered it. She kept her eyes down as they passed, then suddenly stopped cold.

Athletic shoes. He’s wearing athletic shoes. Reeboks?

She slowly backed up. With his back turned, he couldn’t see her, but she had a clear shot of his feet tucked beneath his office chair.
White with black trim. Could be any brand.

“Yeah?”

Brad suddenly turned, catching her eyes glued to his feet.

“Oh—sorry, Brad. Silly me. I just noticed your shoes. I need to get some new running shoes, and I’ve been trying to decide what kind to get. What kind are those?”

“They’re Converse, as you can plainly see by the Converse logo.”

“Oh. Right. Now I see it. Right there on the heel. Converse. Do you like them? Would you recommend them?”

He stared at her with the faintest trace of a smirk, then shrugged and turned back to his computer.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, save it for someone who cares.”

She walked away, berating herself for being so careless. The last thing she needed was to arouse suspicion. Back at her desk, her mind kicked into gear. She accomplished her daily tasks as quickly as possible so she could study the information she’d gleaned off Matt’s notepad. She’d jotted down a copy of the list shortly after seeing it the day before, thankful for the near-photographic memory that had served her so well on stage. Who knew it would be such an asset in her newfound role as a sleuth?

The one word she hadn’t written down was Peter’s password,
Pierre.
It was easy enough to remember, plus she didn’t dare risk someone finding out she had it—especially the one from whose list she’d lifted it.
“Lifted?” Listen to me. I’m starting to sound like a criminal. And that’s probably not a good thing.

Around ten-thirty, she typed in
Pierre
to open Lanham’s files on her computer. Thankfully, with only the wall behind her, her monitor was out of sight to anyone else. Still, she was well aware of the trouble she could get into if anyone knew what she was doing. She hurriedly copied several hundred of Peter’s emails onto a flash drive. After snooping for several more minutes, she noticed Donella approaching her desk. Julie quickly exited Lanham’s files, placed the flash drive in her pocket, and slipped her handwritten list into a file folder on her desk.

“Julie, I’ve asked Georgia to cover the phone for a while. I’d like to talk to you. Get her settled then come to my office.”

This was a first. “Oh . . . okay.”

She slid the folder with the list inside under a stack of office manuals as Georgia came around her desk. Julie stood and handed over her headset. “Thanks for covering for me, Georgia.”

“No problem, honey. I can’t seem to concentrate on much anyway. Anything I should know about?”

Julie stared at her for a moment before answering. “No. Well, actually, yes. If anyone calls about Mr. Lanham’s passing, use this.” She clicked on a document, opening a page on her monitor. “It’s the company response until further notice. If someone calls and insists on talking to an administrator, put them through to Danielle in Mr. Smithe’s office. She’ll take it from there.”

“All right. You go ahead. I’ll be just fine.”

“I won’t be long. I hope?”

“Not to worry, honey. Take as long as you like.”

Julie grabbed her Day-timer and headed toward Donella’s office.

Greg Johnson joined her walking in the same direction. “Hi, Julie. How’s it going?”

“Fine, Greg. How about yourself?”

“Good. Hey, have you heard anything from those TBI fruitcakes who were here Monday? I mean, about the investigation?”

She caught the faintest whiff of cigarette smoke and wondered if it was possible to detect which brand of cigarettes someone smoked by the secondhand smoke. She started to ask Greg then thought better of it. “Not really. One of the agents is here, but other than that, I—”

“Y’know, it takes a lot of nerve to grill us all like that. As if we’re all suspects. I told my wife, none of us should have said a word without first talking to our own personal lawyers.”

“Really? Seemed to me they were just doing their job. And if we have nothing to hide, what’s the problem?” She stopped, grabbing his arm. “Unless . . .”

“Unless?”

She danced her brows playfully. “Unless you
have
something to hide?”

He blew a raspberry. “Yeah, right. Me—a killer. I’m probably the least likely of everyone here. I live the dullest life on the planet. Just ask my wife.”

“Oh yeah?” Julie teased, turning toward Donella’s office. “Well, you know what they say.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the ones you least expect who have something to hide.”

“Well, they’d be sorely wrong in my case.”

“Later, Greg.”

“Later, Julie.”

Julie tapped quietly on Donella’s door.

“Come in, Julie, and close the door behind you.”

She did as she was told then took a seat in one of the leather chairs facing Donella’s desk. “You said you needed to talk to me?”

“Yes.” Donella settled into her desk chair. She pulled off her glasses and slowly folded them. “I want to apologize about the other night when you came to see me. That was such a kind gesture to bring cookies. Which were delicious, by the way. And I—”

“Oh, that,” Julie dismissed with a wave. “It was no big deal. If you must know, they were those ready-to-bake cookies. But trust me, they were much better than anything I could ever bake. I’m not much of a . . .” She stopped when she noticed the familiar half-smile fixed on Donella’s face. Julie cleared her throat. “You’re welcome.”

Donella straightened her back, avoiding eye contact. “I was just going to say . . . well, you see, no one’s ever . . . that is to say, well—I appreciate the gesture, Julie. I do.”

Julie fought the urge to respond, instead pressing her lips into a grateful smile.

“And I realized sometime later, that most of the employees here are . . . well, what I mean to say is, I’m not one of them. I’ve always considered it my responsibility to stay above all the office camaraderie, if you will. Perhaps it was the way I was raised.” She glanced at Julie before shaking her head to dismiss the thought. “Which is neither here nor there. Regardless, I found it exceptionally kind of you, under the circumstances. Especially since I’ve never taken the time or opportunity to . . . to offer my friendship, as it were.”

Julie kept the smile plastered on her face and wondered where this was going.

“I suppose I’m trying to apologize for that. For remaining at arm’s length with you all these years.”

“It’s all right, Donella. I just assumed you didn’t like me.”

Donella looked up. “Well, I didn’t. At first, anyway.”

Julie blinked. “But why? Was it something I—”

“I thought you were like all those other young girls Mr. Lanham paraded through here.”

Julie uttered something between a laugh and a scoff. “Me? You thought I was one of his bimbos?”

Donella huffed a sigh. “Clearly I was wrong about you, but you have to understand the history of ‘pretty young things’ who’ve caught Mr. Lanham’s eye and snaked their way into his good graces. When he announced he’d found his ‘Lanham’s Girl,’ I just assumed you were like all the others—attractive, available, and all too willing to get your hands on Peter’s—I mean, Mr. Lanham’s wealth.”

Julie couldn’t help laughing. “Oh, Donella. I wish we could have been more open with each other back then. I can assure you, I was never after Mr. Lanham’s money. I’m an actor, and he hired me to be the face of Lanham’s for a while. Nothing more. I saw it as something to put on my resume, you know? But what I really needed was a full-time job to pay for my acting classes. So I asked Mr. Lanham if he had any openings, and he seemed delighted to hire me for the front desk. But that’s all there ever was.”

Donella folded her arms across her chest. “Do you mean to tell me you and he never . . .
spent time
together? You weren’t—”

“Sleeping with him?” Julie blanched, her eyes widening like saucers. “No! Never! Oh my gosh, Donella—do you mean to tell me that all these years, you thought I’d had an affair with Mr. Lanham?”

Donella’s face crimsoned. “Well, no. Not now. But at first. Of course, I did. I just assumed you were like all the others.”

“Whoa.” Julie leaned back in her chair, puffing out a long sigh. “No wonder you’ve—I mean, I can see where you might have assumed something like that, based on his track record with others, but I’m not
that
kind of girl, Donella. I know Mr. Lanham could be a flirt at times, but the first time he placed a hand on my knee, I told him he’d crossed a line. I set him straight in no uncertain terms. After that, he was a perfect gentleman to me. Always.”