Paul Stone owned a piece of Phenix. Conner hadn’t known that.
“The second issue is image,” Gavin continued. “Mandy’s family is very connected on both coasts. I don’t want Paul’s name dragged through the mud. It wouldn’t be good for business. Her family would be bitter if there was a divorce, particularly her father. I’ve met him, and his daughters are his most prized possessions. If you hurt them, you might as well hurt him. I understand he’s a vindictive bastard.” Gavin folded his hands in his lap. “Paul’s been with me for ten years. He’s a good man.”
Conner held up the presentation. “Paul altered this and tried to make you think the mistakes were mine.” His tone was respectful, but he wanted to make his point.
“Just fix it, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, but—”
“By the way, you’re getting a twenty-five-thousand-dollar raise next month. Your salary will be two hundred grand beginning in September. Okay, pal?”
The discussion about Paul was clearly over. “Yes,” Conner replied quietly. “Thanks.”
“I told you, I take care of my people. You’re one of those people. We’ll be talking soon about you getting a share of the business too.”
“That’s very generous.”
“Take some time to get to know Paul. Down deep, he’s a good guy. And I want you two getting along.”
There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of them getting along. But it was time to appease the old man. “Okay.”
Gavin removed his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Tell me more about what happened at your apartment.”
Conner hesitated, unsure of how much he wanted to say. “Like I told you, I went out for a few minutes around eleven thirty. When I got back, I surprised a guy who’d broken in. He had a gun, and he chased me down the stairs. But I lost him on the street. Then I found a couple of cops and they went back up to the apartment with me. But there was no sign of the guy.”
“He didn’t steal anything, right?”
“Right.”
Gavin shook his head. “You aren’t telling me everything.”
Conner shrugged. “You’re too smart for me. What do you mean?”
“A guy breaks into your apartment but doesn’t take anything? You must have stereo equipment or a television or something he would want.”
Conner gazed at Gavin, thinking about Liz sprawled dead in the corner of the bedroom. Maybe it made sense to tell him more. To get his reaction. “There was one thing that happened earlier that might have something to do with the break-in.”
“Go on.”
“A few minutes before I left the apartment I got an e-mail, but it wasn’t meant for me.”
“How do you know?”
“I didn’t recognize the sender’s address.”
“So you were spammed.”
“This wasn’t an advertisement. It was a memo with information I’m sure the sender wouldn’t want me to see.”
Gavin leaned forward in his chair. “What did it say?”
“It talked about a publicly held company that’s defrauding shareholders by manipulating its earnings,” Conner explained. “It was written by someone who sounded like he had direct access to the books. Maybe someone at the company’s accounting firm.”
“What company was it?”
“The sender referred to the company only as Project Delphi. I’m not familiar with any large corporation named Delphi.”
“It’s probably a deal code.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Conner agreed. Accountants and investment bankers often referred to public companies they were working with by using code names in order to hide sensitive data in case it fell into the wrong hands. “So what do you think?”
“I think whoever sent the e-mail panicked when they realized it went to the wrong place.”
Conner nodded. “When I got back to the apartment with the cops, it had been deleted from my computer.”
“Given that, I’d say there’s no doubt about what that guy was doing there.” The old man shook his head. “But it amazes me he could figure out
“The second issue is image,” Gavin continued. “Mandy’s family is very connected on both coasts. I don’t want Paul’s name dragged through the mud. It wouldn’t be good for business. Her family would be bitter if there was a divorce, particularly her father. I’ve met him, and his daughters are his most prized possessions. If you hurt them, you might as well hurt him. I understand he’s a vindictive bastard.” Gavin folded his hands in his lap. “Paul’s been with me for ten years. He’s a good man.”
Conner held up the presentation. “Paul altered this and tried to make you think the mistakes were mine.” His tone was respectful, but he wanted to make his point.
“Just fix it, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, but—”
“By the way, you’re getting a twenty-five-thousand-dollar raise next month. Your salary will be two hundred grand beginning in September. Okay, pal?”
The discussion about Paul was clearly over. “Yes,” Conner replied quietly. “Thanks.”
“I told you, I take care of my people. You’re one of those people. We’ll be talking soon about you getting a share of the business too.”
“That’s very generous.”
“Take some time to get to know Paul. Down deep, he’s a good guy. And I want you two getting along.”
There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of them getting along. But it was time to appease the old man. “Okay.”
Gavin removed his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Tell me more about what happened at your apartment.”
Conner hesitated, unsure of how much he wanted to say. “Like I told you, I went out for a few minutes around eleven thirty. When I got back, I surprised a guy who’d broken in. He had a gun, and he chased me down the stairs. But I lost him on the street. Then I found a couple of cops and they went back up to the apartment with me. But there was no sign of the guy.”
“He didn’t steal anything, right?”
“Right.”
Gavin shook his head. “You aren’t telling me everything.”
Conner shrugged. “You’re too smart for me. What do you mean?”
“A guy breaks into your apartment but doesn’t take anything? You must have stereo equipment or a television or something he would want.”
Conner gazed at Gavin, thinking about Liz sprawled dead in the corner of the bedroom. Maybe it made sense to tell him more. To get his reaction. “There was one thing that happened earlier that might have something to do with the break-in.”
“Go on.”
“A few minutes before I left the apartment I got an e-mail, but it wasn’t meant for me.”
“How do you know?”
“I didn’t recognize the sender’s address.”
“So you were spammed.”
“This wasn’t an advertisement. It was a memo with information I’m sure the sender wouldn’t want me to see.”
Gavin leaned forward in his chair. “What did it say?”
“It talked about a publicly held company that’s defrauding shareholders by manipulating its earnings,” Conner explained. “It was written by someone who sounded like he had direct access to the books. Maybe someone at the company’s accounting firm.”
“What company was it?”
“The sender referred to the company only as Project Delphi. I’m not familiar with any large corporation named Delphi.”
“It’s probably a deal code.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Conner agreed. Accountants and investment bankers often referred to public companies they were working with by using code names in order to hide sensitive data in case it fell into the wrong hands. “So what do you think?”
“I think whoever sent the e-mail panicked when they realized it went to the wrong place.”
Conner nodded. “When I got back to the apartment with the cops, it had been deleted from my computer.”
“Given that, I’d say there’s no doubt about what that guy was doing there.” The old man shook his head. “But it amazes me he could figure out
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