Page 48 of The Perfect Poise

“Do you represent Chloe Baptiste, Isabella Moreno, and Fiona Greene,” he asked flatly.

“In tax-related matters, yes I do,” Kingman replied directly, without any attempt to be evasive.

“When was the last time you saw any of them?”

Kingman sat back down at his desk and punched the keyboard in front of his desktop.

“I met with the Greenes just yesterday morning,” he said. “For the other two, I’ll need to look it up.”

As he typed, he gave no indication that he found their presence or questions even vaguely troubling. He scribbled a few things on a notepad, then looked up.

“I last met with the Baptistes two months ago, just before Thanksgiving. For Ms. Moreno, it was longer. We met last April, just before she submitted her taxes. But I do have records of short phone conversations with her in the months since. The last call was in October.”

“Are you at all curious about why we’re here, Mr. Kingman?” Jessie asked, hoping to shake him out of his officious, robotic persona.

“In light of the news about both Chloe and Isabella’s murders,” he said evenly, “I can only assume that Fiona has been killed too, and that, as the tax attorney for all three, you felt an obligation to talk with me to see if I have any information that might be of value.”

“I have to say that you seem surprisingly unperturbed by the brutal murders of multiple clients,” she noted.

“Would you like me to be disingenuous?” he asked. “I was their lawyer, not their bestie.”

“In that case, do you?” she pressed.

“Do I what?”

“You said we were likely here to see if you have any information of value,” she reminded him. “Do you?”

He shrugged noncommittally. “I’m not at liberty to discuss anything related to their tax situations.”

“What about their personal situations?” Ryan wondered.

“I didn’t know them personally.”

“Apparently you knew Fiona Greene well enough to get into a heated argument with her yesterday morning,” Jessie said. “What was that about?”

Kingman paused briefly. For the first time since their arrival, he seemed slightly thrown.

“All I can tell you is that it was in regard to a professional matter,” he finally said. “Beyond that, I can’t disclose the particulars.”

Jessie sensed agitation rising in her chest and didn’t feel like making much of an effort to control it.

“You understand that we’re investigating three murders,” she said sharply, “and you have a connection to each victim. Maybe you should be a little more forthcoming.”

“And yet,” he replied slowly. “I choose not to be.”

“That strikes me as very suspicious, Mr. Kingman,” Ryan pointed out.

“You’re free to draw your own conclusions.”

“In light of your lack of cooperation,” Ryan said, “we may need to ask you to come back to the station for a chat.”

Kingman sighed and leaned back in his chair. “In that case, you should know that I won’t go with you voluntarily. But if you feel that you need to arrest me, that is at your discretion, of course. I would just ask to call my attorney first.”

“You have a criminal attorney?” Jessie asked.

“Doesn’t everyone?”

Jessie glanced at Ryan, who looked ready to pull out the cuffs.

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