Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3) by Kristina Stanley Page B

office guest chair toward him and motioned for him to sit. She should’ve expected him to question her again. “Sure.”
    “How long have you been the finance center manager?”
    Jessica raised her chin and looked down her nose at him. She knew the gesture accentuated her slim facial features. She’d chosen a red tailored sweater, with its low V-neck, and black jeans for the day. She’d even taken extra time to straighten her long hair. She needed a power look. Something that made her feel confident. “Since your girlfriend quit and moved to town.”
    Miller actually laughed. “Fair enough. What was your relationship with Roy McCann?”
    Jessica’s heart buzzed. If she’d been wearing her heart rate monitor she used while running, she bet the display would read one-hundred-forty beats per minute. She needed to sit and flopped into her chair. “He’s my boyfriend. You’re speaking in past tense. Has he been found?”
    Miller shook his head. “I didn’t mean anything by it. Search and rescue are still looking for him. How long have you been dating?”
    Jessica forced herself to breathe slowly. Deep breath in. Count to four. Deep breath out. Roy was okay. He had to be. “Since the summer. Why are you asking about Roy?”
    Miller rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. “Was Roy in any trouble that you know of?”
    Nice try with the soft and personal voice . Miller had no right to ask about her private life, no matter how politely he spoke. Jessica flung her straightened hair away from her face, but she could tell the gesture was wasted on Miller. She pushed her chair backward, but the wheel caught on a piece of torn carpet and stopped her before she’d moved a foot from him. “I don’t think so. I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
    “Did you, at any time, give Roy the combination to the safe?”
    When Aiden had come from running the lifts to tell her Roy was missing, he’d hinted he thought Roy stole the money, and now Miller was almost saying it outright. “I would never do that.”
    “What about by accident? Could you have written it down somewhere he might have seen it, or could he have overheard you talking to anyone?”
    Outside, a group of ski patrol clomped in ski boots toward the lift. They were probably replacing some of the search and rescue team who’d already been on the mountain too long. The lack of urgency in their movements frightened her.
    “Jessica?” Miller prompted.
    “I’m careful with that information. Look, as the manager, I have to set a good example. My computer is the only place the combination is recorded, and Roy had no access. You should be talking to Helen.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Ask her yourself. She might have something to say.”
    Miller sighed. “Did you give Roy a key to the finance center?”
    “No.”
    “Why didn’t you have the locks changed when you lost your key in November?”
    “How do you know about that?”
    Miller’s gaze remained flat. No more soft eyes for her. “So I lost my key. That’s not a crime.”
    “Maybe not, but according to Kalin, you ignored company policy regarding keys. Once a key is lost, the locks are supposed to be changed. I’m curious why you didn’t do that. You said yourself, as the manager you have to set a good example.”
    “Turner has a reputation for firing people who make mistakes. He’s been cutting costs since the fire in the lower village last spring. I didn’t want to lose my job.”
    “Does the public have access to the finance center’s direct number?”
    Miller’s change in direction threw her off balance. What did public mean? “The number is not on the Internet, but it is listed in the internal directory. Does that count as public?”
    “How many people have access to that?”
    “Including both seasonal and year-round employees, I’d guess somewhere around five hundred.”
    “Does anyone else report to you who might have access to the finance