Murder.Com (13 page)

     
"What are you doing here?" Melinda asked in a harsh whisper.

     
Angie held her head high.
 
"Talking on the phone about important matters is something I choose not to do.
 
It should be done face to face."

     
Melinda's eyes narrowed.
 
"How did you know where to come?"

     
Angie pointed at the pay phones.
 
"If you let those ring long enough, someone finally answers."
 
She turned her gaze back to Melinda and thought she saw a glint of relief in those piercing eyes.
 
Angie strolled down to the end of the bench and sat down.
 
"So what is it that you have to tell me about Bud?"

     
The young woman hesitantly lowered herself onto the seat a few feet away.
 
Angie knew she'd caught her off guard.
 
Oddly enough, it put her inner feelings at ease.
 
She studied Melinda as she fought for composure.
 
A natural beauty, skin as smooth as silk and hair that shone even under artificial lights.
 
But her eyes distracted Angie.
 
Beautiful as they were, they left her feeling cold and scared.

     
Melinda's gaze traveled to Angie's face.
 
"You obviously don't know who I am."

     
"No, I don't have the foggiest notion who you are or where you're from.
 
All I know is that you came to see Bud at our party."

     
"He didn't tell you?"

     
"No."

     
Shifting her position, Melinda remained silent for a few moments, staring at the window in front of her.
 
Then, she slowly turned her head and looked into Angie's eyes.
 
"I'm his illegitimate daughter."

     
Angie's stomach lurched.
 
She didn't expect such an announcement.
 
A lover, a one night stand, anything but this.
 
Her hand went to her throat and she gasped.
 
"You're Bud's daughter?"

     
"Yes."

     
Now, fighting for her own composure, she stiffened.
 
"You have proof?"

     
"No.
 
But he's paid my way since the day I was born.
 
Surely you can find what you need in his financial records."

     
Angie stared at her in disbelief.
 
If only I'd known he had a daughter, she thought.
 
Still stunned by the news, Angie clutched her purse, the words of the young woman whirling in her head.

     
"I'm here to warn you I don't want the money to stop just because he's dead."

     
Clearing her throat, Angie shifted her position.
 
"Who's your mother?"

     
"That's not revelant."

     
"How old are you?"

     
"Twenty-three."

     
Angie's mind flashed back in time.
 
It would have been about the time she'd lost the second baby.
 
The time of deep depression.
 
Yes, it could be very possible that this woman is Bud's child.
 
"Where have you been all this time?"

     
"Going to the best private schools money can buy."

     
Yes, Bud would see to that, Angie thought.
 
Only the best.
 
"Did you go to college too?"

     
"Graduated from Georgetown University."

     
"I don't understand why you need money.
 
Don't you plan on working?"

     
Melinda glared at her.
 
"That's not the point, Mrs. Nevers.
 
I've been robbed of a normal childhood.
 
I never even knew I had a father until a few months ago.
 
I've always been told I had a benefactor."

     
Angie nodded.
 
"I see.
 
And you think blackmail money will remedy that?"

     
Melinda's eyes spit angry green fire.
 
"I'm the product of a night of lust.
 
Now, I want my mother to have a life.
 
Out of the hole she's working in and into a home of her own."

     
"Well, that's very noble.
 
But it sounds as if you've been well taken care of all these years.
 
I'm sure that took a big burden off your mother."

     
The young woman rose and glared at Angie.

     
"Mrs. Nevers, I could ruin your life."

     
Angie met her stare.
 
"Are you threatening me?"

     
Melinda turned away and studied the mall's walkway.

     
Standing, Angie pulled a notebook from her purse and scribbled down an address.
 
"I'll meet you at Doctor Parker's office in the morning at eleven o'clock.
 
Here's his address."
 
She ripped off the paper and handed it to Melinda.

     
The girl looked baffled.
 
"Why?"

     
"You tell me you're Bud's daughter.
 
I want more proof than you've offered.
 
I can't think of a better way than DNA testing.
 
If you don't show up, I never want to hear from you again.
 
Do you understand?"

     
Melinda's mouth dropped open, but no words came out.
 
Angie marched away, feeling those penetrating eyes boring into her back.
 
Surprised at her own inner strength, she made it to the car before the dam of tears broke.
 
"Oh, Bud, why?" she sobbed.
 
"Why didn't you tell me you had a daughter."
 
Wiping away the tears, she started the car and headed home.

     
Even though the clock read ten fifteen when she reached the house, she called Dr. Parker at home.
 
Knowing she could trust him, she explained about Melinda claiming to be Bud's daughter and how presumptuous she'd been in telling Melinda to be at his office at eleven o'clock.
 
She hoped he could squeeze her in.
 
Dr. Parker assured her they would, and he also explained that he'd have to send outside his lab for the DNA testing, as he didn't have the facilities.

     
After talking with Dr. Parker, her hand still resting on the receiver, she flipped through the Rolodex until she found Ryan Conners' name.
 
He'd been the Nevers company's accountant for close to ten years.
 
Could she trust him?
 
She let out a sigh and dropped the phone back on the cradle.
 
What would she ask him?
 
She got up and paced the kitchen.
 
He wouldn't know anything about Bud's private expenditures.
 
She didn't even know.
 
Their salary fluctuated each month, depending on their sales.
 
Not only that, she wouldn't have the foggiest notion of how to find something unusual in the books.

     
Angie went into the den, where she mixed herself a gin and tonic.
 
She stared at the slice of lime she'd just dropped into her drink.
 
"I'm so damned naive," she muttered.
 
Then her gaze traveled around the room.
 
Pictures of her and Bud at different functions adorned the walls, their faces glowing with pride and happiness.

     
She walked around, speaking to each picture.
 
"Bud, did you do this to me on purpose?
 
Never involving me in money matters so I wouldn't know?"
 
She refilled her drink, this time making it a double.
 
Tears flowed down her cheeks.
 
"You didn't want to adopt.
 
Why, Bud?
 
How many other women were there?
 
How many other children are going to search me out?"

     
Flopping down on the couch, she stared at the ceiling.
 
"I'm so damned gullible.
 
You could have been doing all kinds of things and I'd never have been the wiser."

*****

     
The two detectives left the Nevers Computer complex and met at their favorite beer and pizza place.
 
They sat in their usual booth, isolated in the far corner of the room, where they could discuss the case in private.

     
Cliff, still agitated over Ken Weber's behavior, ranted for close to thirty minutes before Tom finally raised his hand.
 
"Okay.
 
I understand we've got a man who doesn't cooperate, but that doesn't mean he's guilty.
 
So far, we can't point a finger at anyone.
 
We haven't got one real suspect."

     
"It's bound to be an inside job."
 
Cliff said, slamming his hand down on the table.
 
"That company is too damn clean.
 
There's something fishy about it."

     
Tom pulled off a huge piece of pizza, dragging a long string of cheese behind it.
 
"We'll find it.
 
Don't get impatient."

     
Cliff yanked off a piece loaded with mozzarella cheese, then dropped it on the table.
 
"Son-of-a-bitch, that's hot."
 
He sucked on his finger for a moment.
 
"We've gone through most of that place.
 
No drugs, nothing.
 
The place is just too clean."

     
His mouth full of food, Tom garbled.
 
"Looks like they run a tight ship."

     
Cliff rolled a bite of the hot food around in his mouth, then chased it with a gulp of beer.
 
"I'm going to start processing search warrants.
 
I'll start with Ken Weber's home and work down the ladder.
 
Including Bud's place."

     
Tom held up his hand.
 
"I think Angie will let me search her house without one."
 
He shrugged.
 
"But, I don't think we'll find anything there.
 
Of course, it won't hurt to look around."

     
The two men finished their food and went their separate ways.

     
Tom pulled into his garage, shed his dirty clothes and tossed them on the washer.
 
He trudged into the house in his underwear and headed for the bathroom.
 
After a warm shower, he flopped across the bed with just a towel wrapped around his waist.
 
The next thing he remembered, he was sitting straight up in bed as the digital clock flipped over to four AM.

     
He jumped up and grabbed his notebook from his jacket pocket.
 
That young intern Bud hired.
 
He just might be the key after all.
 
He flipped through the pages and glanced at the clock.
 
It would be seven back east.
 
Better wait an hour or more before calling.
 
He went into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee, then paced the floor.

     
If the kid had discovered something and told Bud about it, Bud could have turned around and approached the accountant or Ken Weber.
 
Would one of these men have gotten scared enough to murder Bud?
 
With Cliff's constant haggling over how clean that company seemed, it all began to slowly take form in Tom's mind.
 
Is the company keeping dummy books?
 
If that's the case, where are the real ones?

     
He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table.
 
He drummed his fingers thoughtfully.
 
Those locked files on Bud's computer; could they possibly hold the key?
 
If Ken happens to be guilty, he'd have access to Bud's office.
 
He could have corrupted the files.
 
Damn, let's hope we get to them before someone else does.

     
Tomorrow, after the visit from the computer whiz, he'd know.
 
Excitement whirled in Tom's gut.
 
He felt that for the first time on this case he was finally on the right track.
 
Now, find the culprit and hang him by his toes.
 
He picked up the phone and called Cliff, rattling off his ideas.