Threads of Suspicion(33)
Evie was stunned. “Wow. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Nathan’s a friend. He isn’t going to go on with his life until his wife’s murder is solved; he won’t date and put someone else in the crosshairs. So it’s personal with me that the case get solved. If it turns out to be someone in Nathan’s world, odds are he would have tried to tamper with the business, cause Nathan grief in other ways, before it escalated to targeting Nathan’s wife. I asked someone to figure out if there was a pattern of trouble, to see if the murder of Nathan’s wife was just the exclamation point in a sequence of things that had happened in Nathan’s life.”
“Who do you have working in his office?” Evie asked.
Ann shook her head. “Nathan doesn’t know about the person’s real reason for being there, so I can’t give you a name. I don’t want Nathan to know I’m looking at even those he considers good friends. The man has borne enough grief. But this seems to be the most effective way to get an answer.”
“You want us to step back?”
Ann hesitated. “Has an appointment already been made?”
“I’ll find out.”
Evie called David. “Have you made an appointment to go see Nathan Lewis yet? Ann’s got some info that might be useful to hear first.” She nodded to Ann. “Thanks, David. Ann’s coming over with me now.”
She pocketed her phone. “He’ll hold off making the appointment. He’s finishing up a conversation and then heading back to the office for a video interview. Let’s go talk to David—I’m freezing out here anyway.”
Ann laughed. “I wondered when the cold would finally win. You can drive, and I’ll make a call on the way.”
Evie entered the office suite with Ann, heard the music, and realized David had arrived back before them. “David, I brought company.” She dumped her coat onto an empty chair and stepped out of her boots, determined to get her feet warm again.
David came from the conference room. “Welcome back. Hello, Ann.”
“David. It’s a pleasure.” Ann gave the man a hug. “It’s good to have you back in Chicago.”
“I’ve missed being here. Please tell me you’ve got some really useful information for me, because I’m looking for something solid to build on.”
“Of a sort.” Ann draped her coat more neatly over another chair. “Evie mentioned your PI once worked for Nathan Lewis, and a whole array of intersecting matters clicked into place.”
“Let me get you two some coffee to warm you up, and then I’d like to hear all about it.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Ann gestured to the conference room, where he had been working. “Mind if I take a look while you’re getting that coffee?”
David waved her in. “Help yourself.”
Ann stepped into the conference room. Evie went with David to help get the coffee. “How was your conversation with Everett?”
“I like him for the murder. He was still steamed that Saul was the one who busted his alibi, put him in jail, and shattered a stable connection to the painkillers he also depended on himself. He had to come off his own addiction the hard way while in custody. That he could have killed Saul is clear. But to prove it, I need to fill in what he was doing during a three-month period after he was released. I have a couple of names to track down, people who might be able to help me with that question.”
“You hope he said something incriminating to someone who no longer considers him a friend?”
“Basically. I’ll be working names and having conversations around that very question. Any luck on your canvass?”
Evie thought about the notes they had taken. “A lot of useful conversation, but nothing that shifted the direction of things.” She filled him in on the highlights while she got out cream and sugar, deciding she could avoid drinking her coffee black for once.
“It’s good that you were able to get word out around the campus that cops are looking at the case again; it might stir up memories.”
“I hope it helps. We passed out a lot of business cards.”
They walked back to the conference room together.
“David, you’ve been busy.” Ann accepted the coffee David handed her.
Evie studied the numbered list of names with interest; it was a new development.
“My list of thirty-eight people with substantial reasons to want Saul Morris dead,” David explained, “from Charles Bell to Walter York. Most did jail time or suffered a serious setback in their professional lives because of Saul’s investigative work. That’s my target list for interviews.”