"Why aren't the police asking those questions?"
"They seem to be satisfied with the answers they found. Daniel Flint is not."
And neither am I, Charlotte thought.
She considered her options.
"All right," she said. "But I'm not going upstairs to talk to you. I'll meet you in the lobby."
"I'll be right down."
"I'll expect some serious identification."
"Understood."
CHAPTER 6
He walked out of the elevator a couple of minutes later, holding a leather wallet open in one hand. She could see something that looked like an official license behind a sheet of plastic.
"Max Cutler," he said.
She studied the license closely. She had never actually seen a private investigator's license in person, but the document appeared authentic. The photo certainly resembled the man standing in front of her, except that the picture was a little less intimidating than the reality.
Max Cutler looked as if he should have been wearing a law enforcement or military uniform. There was something solid and unyielding about him. Instead he was dressed in khakis, a plain white shirt unfastened at the collar and a slouchy jacket.
His dark hair was cut short with military-style precision. The style suited the rock-hard planes and angles of his face. It was impossible to read his gold-and-brown eyes.
Not the handsomest man in Seattle-not by a long stretch, she thought. But probably the one most likely to survive if he went into the gladiators' ring to confront the best-looking guy.
There was something cool and reserved about him. It was as if he deliberately kept an invisible barrier between himself and the world. She knew intuitively that this was a man who was not comfortable with the strong emotions of others. He would almost certainly fight to suppress his own passions. Definitely the no-drama type, she concluded.
She reminded herself that she was there to represent Jocelyn. It wasn't hard to decide how her stepsister would have handled the situation. Assertively.
"Licenses can be faked," she said.
"Right." He nodded, once, smiling just a little. "I don't have any particular reason to trust you, either."
"I knew Louise. My stepsister is-was-one of her best friends. Possibly her closest friend."
"Where is your stepsister?" Max asked.
The question sounded a little too casual.
"That's none of your business," she said, going for cool and determined. "At least, not until I know more about you."
"I told you, I'm working for Daniel Flint, the cousin of the deceased." Max took a phone out of his pocket and keyed in a number. "I'll let you confirm that with him."
He spoke briefly into the phone and then handed it to Charlotte. Reluctantly she took it from him.
"Hello?" she said uneasily. "This is Charlotte Sawyer."
"You're Jocelyn's sister, right?"
"Stepsister, yes."
"I met Jocelyn once or twice, briefly. I know that she and Louise were very close. I'm Daniel Flint, by the way, and that guy who just handed you the phone is telling you the truth. He's working for me."
"I'm so sorry about Louise," Charlotte said. "I didn't know her well, but I liked her and I know that Jocelyn is going to miss her terribly. As you said, they were close. I don't intend to get in Mr. Cutler's way and I certainly don't want to intrude on your privacy. But the thing is, I've got some keys that belonged to Louise. What do you want me to do with them?"
"Keys to her condo?"
"And her storage locker."
Charlotte was aware that Max was watching her very intently with his sniper's eyes.
"I don't need another set," Daniel said. "You can give them to Mr. Cutler."
"There's a note with the keys," Charlotte added. She turned and walked a few steps away from Max and lowered her voice. "Something about a file that Louise wanted Jocelyn to have."
"What kind of file?"
"I've got no idea."
"Huh." Daniel thought about that for a moment. "Well, if Louise wanted Jocelyn to have it, that's fine with me. But make sure that Max Cutler has a chance to look at it first, okay?"
"All right." She glanced back over her shoulder and saw that Max was still watching her. "Mr. Cutler tells me you think Louise's death was suspicious. Do you believe she was murdered?"
"I'm sure of it," Daniel said. His voice was grim and resolute.
She cleared her throat. "Uh, the police-?"
"They don't see it that way. I overheard a detective say, Once a junkie, always a junkie.'"
"Louise was not on drugs," Charlotte said. She did not realize how fierce she sounded until she saw Max's eyes narrow ever so slightly. She immediately tried to steady her voice. "Jocelyn would have known if that was the case. She would have done something-maybe staged an intervention."
"I'm glad we agree that Louise was not using," Daniel said. "Talk to Cutler. Please. Maybe you know something that will help him prove that my cousin did not OD either accidentally or on purpose. And she wasn't hooking, either."
Charlotte was outraged. This time she made no attempt to moderate her tone. "The authorities implied that she was a prostitute, as well?"
"Yes."
"Obviously they didn't know much about Louise."
"No. Listen, I've got to go. My boss is yelling at me. Please, give Cutler any information you can."
"All right, Daniel. And-I am just so sorry."
"Thanks. So am I."
Charlotte ended the connection. She turned slowly and walked back to stand directly in front of Max. She held out the phone. He took it and dropped it into the pocket of his jacket.
"Satisfied?" he asked.
"I agree with Daniel. I can't believe that Louise was on drugs and she certainly was not working as a prostitute. That's just not possible."
"How can you be so sure about the drugs or the prostitution?"
She moved one hand in an impatient, dismissing gesture. "I don't know how to prove it to you. But I'm quite sure my sister, Jocelyn, would have known if Louise was using or if she had become a call girl. Jocelyn would have been deeply concerned. She would have taken some sort of action."
"Probably not much she could have done about either the drugs or the prostitution."
"You don't know Jocelyn. She's a very determined person."
"I'll take your word for it for now."
"Gosh, thanks."
Max did not acknowledge the sarcasm. "According to my client, Louise wasn't having any money problems."
"No. Jocelyn would have stepped in to help her if that had been the case."
Max gave her a speculative look. "This seems to be all about Jocelyn's relationship with Louise. But you're the one who is here, not your stepsister."
"Jocelyn is on a monthlong retreat at a convent on a Caribbean island. She left her phone and computer behind. I have no way to reach her to give her the news."
"She didn't take any tech with her?"
Charlotte shook her head. "They call it a tech-free retreat for a reason."
"Interesting."
That simple comment stopped her cold.
"Why?" she asked.
"Louise's phone and laptop have gone missing. Both apparently disappeared the night she died."
"Stolen?"
"That's the prevailing theory," Max said.
Understanding dawned. "They were taken by the person who killed her?"
"Like I said, it's the prevailing theory."
"Whose prevailing theory?"
"My client's."
"What does that have to do with my sister's retreat?"
"I have no idea," Max said. "But here's what I've got so far: one woman dead-her tech stolen and ten grand missing-and the woman who may have been her best friend has gone off the grid."
Charlotte tightened her grip on the strap of her bag. "There is no connection. There can't be a connection."
"Then we're stuck with an amazing coincidence."
Charlotte stared at him, unable to think of a reasonable argument to counter his statement.
"What about the ten grand?" she finally asked.
"Louise Flint took it out of her account in cash on the morning of her death."
"Cash? Ten thousand dollars in cash?"
"You can see why I've got a few questions," Max said. "Why don't we take a look at that file you mentioned to my client?"
She thought about that for approximately three seconds and then decided there was no other obvious course of action except to hand him the keys and walk away from the problem. But she could not do that because Max Cutler was hinting that the problem might involve Jocelyn, who was not there to defend herself.
"All right," she said finally. "But keep in mind that in her note, Louise made it clear that she wanted Jocelyn to take charge of that file."
"Sure," Max said. "But your stepsister isn't here to do that, is she?"
She angled her chin. "That leaves me."
"You might want to see what's in that file before you stake your claim."
He had a point, she thought.
"Crap." She took the packet of keys out of her purse. "Let's go."
"Where are we going?"
"Louise's storage locker. I assume you know where it is?"
"Yes," Max said. "I know where it is. In fact, I was getting ready to take a look at it when you called."