Page 43 of No Good Deed

Nico picked up a remote and a screen lowered from the ceiling against one wall. Tessa clicked a couple of keys and the spreadsheet appeared on the screen. “We’ve got four men to focus on first. Can you tell us about them, Piper?”

Being the center of attention sucked. Her heart rate increased, and Troy leaned in. “It’s just us. A circle of friends. Or just talk to me. Forget everyone else.”

Piper nodded and squeezed her hands together. “Okay. The first guy is Adam Bedlow. He’s a courier who does deliveries in our building, not only for our office, but for most of the local businesses. He brings blueprints and plans to clients who need hard copies. He’ll go for coffee or food for lunches.”

Troy rubbed his hand on her shoulder. “And why is he on the list?”

“He’s one of those guys who never looks you in the eye. He’s always looking past you. Searching your computer screen, looking at the items on your desk, pictures. Things like that.”

Troy grunted. “Sounds like possible blackmailer behavior.”

She nodded. “Next is Jeremy Mattick. He and I were hired at the same time. He’s full of himself and is always winking at women.”

A chorus of Eww from the other women in the room had her smiling. “Exactly. He’s a creep and believes every woman secretly thinks he’s hot. He’s not.”

Troy’s fingers kept soothing her. “The third guy?”

“Ethan Westerlake is exactly as pompous as he sounds. He’s a senior level planner and has been with the company for a long time. He’s entitled and refuses to work on projects that aren’t high profile or for wealthy clients. I think he gets the people working in his area to do most of the work for him, and then he claims all the credit. He prefers to schmooze with the clients.”

“Charming.”

She nodded at Graham’s sarcastic comment. “Kyle Hamilton works at the accounting firm down the hall. He’s another creep who thinks all women should be attracted to him.”

“Is he in your office a lot?”

Piper nodded. “More than he should be. He seems to have a radar for when the bosses are in meetings. He likes to sit on the edges of our desks and lean in.”

Another chorus of Eww.

“This makes it sound like urban planners are creepy. They’re not. Most men I’ve worked with are respectful, hard-working, and smart. Normal, nice people. These guys are the exception.”

Troy kissed her hair again. “So all four of them would have had relatively easy access to your Cloud Gate USB tin?”

She nodded. “It sat on my desk all the time. It’s a fun object, and tons of people have picked it up. Everyone knew it was full of USBs that they were allowed to take.”

Sam spoke up. “Have any of these men changed how they behaved toward you recently? Any of them pay you more attention than usual? Or less? Anyone try to chase you out of your space or crowd you in more than normal?”

All good questions but just thinking about it was upsetting. She closed her eyes to try to focus. Finally, she said. “Maybe Ethan. He’s the type to ignore a junior planner unless he wants something. But he did stop at my desk a few times in the last few weeks to discuss some projects.”

“Do you remember him touching the Cloud Gate or paying it any extra attention?”

She sighed. “Maybe? A lot of people pick it up while we’re talking. I think he did, but it’s hard to remember.”

Josie smiled. “Don’t try. Sometimes, the memories pop up more easily when you shove them to the back of your head.”

Tessa nodded. “I agree. We’ll check out these four and see where that leads us. Social media, photos, anything online. Most people don’t realize how much they reveal about themselves with their online presence. We might find something there.”

Nico nodded. “This is what we do. Let’s divide and conquer. We’re going to find this asshole.”

CHAPTER 16

Phail Faster

The hum of energy zipping around the room amazed Piper. The team had split up into smaller groups. Each took a different man and area of research. Work history, criminal records, social media. Searching for information and posts that would provide an alibi for the break-ins, the mugging, or the car crash.

It was like being back in school when everyone was excited about an idea and working on a fun project. She’d missed that.

They worked almost two hours before Tessa put up a new spreadsheet on the wall screen. This one only had Adam, Jeremy, Ethan, and Kyle.

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