her.”
“That's the kicker.”
“Perhaps she hired someone.”
“Maybe. But I don't think so.”
“She couldn't have pulled the trigger,
Tess.”
That still nagged at Tess. “But three
into the heart? A hired gun would mostly like shoot in the head. More
efficient.”
Daniel sat back. “So maybe she told him
to shoot him in the heart?”
“Why? If it's going to be done like
that, you'd want to do it yourself.” Tess sat back again. “Unless the killer
didn't want anyone to notice he was dead. Maybe she knew he slept there a lot
and the caretaker wouldn't disturb him. So she covers the wound. It's harder to
cover a gunshot to the head than the chest.”
“It still doesn't tell us who did it,”
Daniel said, but she noticed he was thinking about her idea that the shot to
the chest and the blanket were part of the killer's plan.
“No, it doesn't.”
“So what's next?” Daniel asked.
“Next, I want to talk to the caretaker
and Bobby Wilson.”
“About something specific?” he asked.
“Not really. I just want to hear their
statements directly from them. The caretaker found him and Wilson was his
partner. Partnerships often are like marriages. They can go very wrong as well.”
Tess thought back to the partnerships she helped dissolve in her law practice,
and in many ways, it was like a divorce.
“Do you need me to go with you?”
“No. But I would like you to go with me
to talk to Liv at some point. And I'd like to tag along when the son gets to
town.”
“Don't want to talk to Liv alone?”
“I just want her to be clear why I'm there.”
“Right.”
“Also, can you tell me about Theresa
Cromwell? What does she have to do with Danforth's murder?”
“Mrs. Danforth suggested that she and
Charles were more than business acquaintances.”
“And what was your opinion after talking
to her?”
“We talked by phone, so I couldn't
assess anything by body language. But I think it's possible that Mrs. Danforth
was right. Cromwell is supposed to come to the funeral and Sam and I plan to
talk to her then.”
“Can I sit in?”
He nodded.
“Can I get copies of this stuff to take
with me?” she asked.
“That's your copy. But…”
“I know, I know, it's confidential.
Don't worry, I've got a locked file cabinet at home.”
“But I'm sure Valentine has a key.”
“I'm sure he does, but he won't look.”
Tess could see that Daniel thought her
faith in Jack was naive. But she knew she wouldn't be hurt by Jack lying or
sneaking a look at her files. What Daniel didn't understand is that while Tess
believed one hundred percent in Jack's character, that didn't mean he'd never
hurt her.
Chapter Five
Jack was already in a foul mood when he
entered his office at Worthington Corp. He didn't like Tess' mood when he'd
arrived home the night before after dropping Liv off at the hotel. He would
have preferred that she'd yelled at him. Instead she said all the right things,
but didn't seem to believe them. To top it off, she seemed nearly cheerful as
she got ready to spend the day with Daniel. The logical part of him reasoned
that she was glad to have something work-related to fill her day. But he couldn't
stand the idea of her meeting with Daniel and how he'd take advantage of that.
He threw his pen across the room.
“I see you've read the paper this
morning.”
Jack looked up to see the Senator,
Lauren, and Philip standing in front of his desk. God, could his day start out
any worse?
“What are you talking about?”
“What does Tess think about your late
night rendezvous?” Lauren said as the Senator tossed the paper on the desk.
Jack picked up the paper and read a brief article about the Danforth murder investigation.
It had the search on Liv's home as well as Jack's escorting her to the hotel.
Of course, it failed to mention that he'd dropped her off at the lobby.
“How do you do it? Murder just seems to
find you, doesn't it, boy?” the Senator said.
“I knew this whole deal
“That's the kicker.”
“Perhaps she hired someone.”
“Maybe. But I don't think so.”
“She couldn't have pulled the trigger,
Tess.”
That still nagged at Tess. “But three
into the heart? A hired gun would mostly like shoot in the head. More
efficient.”
Daniel sat back. “So maybe she told him
to shoot him in the heart?”
“Why? If it's going to be done like
that, you'd want to do it yourself.” Tess sat back again. “Unless the killer
didn't want anyone to notice he was dead. Maybe she knew he slept there a lot
and the caretaker wouldn't disturb him. So she covers the wound. It's harder to
cover a gunshot to the head than the chest.”
“It still doesn't tell us who did it,”
Daniel said, but she noticed he was thinking about her idea that the shot to
the chest and the blanket were part of the killer's plan.
“No, it doesn't.”
“So what's next?” Daniel asked.
“Next, I want to talk to the caretaker
and Bobby Wilson.”
“About something specific?” he asked.
“Not really. I just want to hear their
statements directly from them. The caretaker found him and Wilson was his
partner. Partnerships often are like marriages. They can go very wrong as well.”
Tess thought back to the partnerships she helped dissolve in her law practice,
and in many ways, it was like a divorce.
“Do you need me to go with you?”
“No. But I would like you to go with me
to talk to Liv at some point. And I'd like to tag along when the son gets to
town.”
“Don't want to talk to Liv alone?”
“I just want her to be clear why I'm there.”
“Right.”
“Also, can you tell me about Theresa
Cromwell? What does she have to do with Danforth's murder?”
“Mrs. Danforth suggested that she and
Charles were more than business acquaintances.”
“And what was your opinion after talking
to her?”
“We talked by phone, so I couldn't
assess anything by body language. But I think it's possible that Mrs. Danforth
was right. Cromwell is supposed to come to the funeral and Sam and I plan to
talk to her then.”
“Can I sit in?”
He nodded.
“Can I get copies of this stuff to take
with me?” she asked.
“That's your copy. But…”
“I know, I know, it's confidential.
Don't worry, I've got a locked file cabinet at home.”
“But I'm sure Valentine has a key.”
“I'm sure he does, but he won't look.”
Tess could see that Daniel thought her
faith in Jack was naive. But she knew she wouldn't be hurt by Jack lying or
sneaking a look at her files. What Daniel didn't understand is that while Tess
believed one hundred percent in Jack's character, that didn't mean he'd never
hurt her.
Chapter Five
Jack was already in a foul mood when he
entered his office at Worthington Corp. He didn't like Tess' mood when he'd
arrived home the night before after dropping Liv off at the hotel. He would
have preferred that she'd yelled at him. Instead she said all the right things,
but didn't seem to believe them. To top it off, she seemed nearly cheerful as
she got ready to spend the day with Daniel. The logical part of him reasoned
that she was glad to have something work-related to fill her day. But he couldn't
stand the idea of her meeting with Daniel and how he'd take advantage of that.
He threw his pen across the room.
“I see you've read the paper this
morning.”
Jack looked up to see the Senator,
Lauren, and Philip standing in front of his desk. God, could his day start out
any worse?
“What are you talking about?”
“What does Tess think about your late
night rendezvous?” Lauren said as the Senator tossed the paper on the desk.
Jack picked up the paper and read a brief article about the Danforth murder investigation.
It had the search on Liv's home as well as Jack's escorting her to the hotel.
Of course, it failed to mention that he'd dropped her off at the lobby.
“How do you do it? Murder just seems to
find you, doesn't it, boy?” the Senator said.
“I knew this whole deal
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