Page 22 of Over the Edge

He muted the TV and put the phone to his ear. “I figured you’d—”

“The cops dropped by.”

Not what he wanted to hear.

Eric set the beer can down and straightened up. “Why?”

“The wife gave them my name. Apparently she knew about my less-than-cordial relationship with her husband.”

“You didn’t tell them anything, did you?”

“Nothing incriminating. But I suggest you watch your back. I didn’t expect them to finger me, so who knows where else they’ll start digging? Depends how much the wife knows, or what the witness may have overheard.”

Witness?

“Someone saw the murder?” Eric muted the TV.

“According to my contacts in law enforcement, their personal chef was on-site. It doesn’t sound like she saw anything helpful or overheard Robertson’s end of the unpleasant phone conversation he initiated with me around noon. But if they go through his cell log, the call will show up. And that’s not a complication I need.” He blew out a breath. “I assume succession planning at the firm is in the works?”

Eric forcibly switched gears. “The officers are having an emergency meeting tomorrow morning. An email went out to the staff ten minutes ago.”

“Will you be there?”

He snorted. “A lowly accountant? Get real. Robertson never bothered to consult the peons who did the real work.”

“You’re not a lowly accountant. You’re a CPA and a manager. Besides, you won’t ever have to stew about Robertson’s attitude again.”

“True. So when is my payment coming?”

“After the smoke clears and I have the strip mall Robertson and I were both after. Until then, keep your ear to the ground in case the new management continues their former leader’s shady tactics.”

Eric frowned. “Transactions could be delayed because of what happened today, and I need that money.”

“With Robertson out of the picture, you should have a window to refill the coffers. No one will be doing audits during a management transition.”

“That wasn’t our deal. You said I’d have the money by mid-month.”

“You’ve only kept part of our bargain. As soon as I have the strip mall in hand, I’ll pay up.”

“What am I supposed to do if someone wants to review the books in the meantime?”

“Deflect and defer.”

“Easier said than done. I’m not the boss.”

“I’m sure you can find an excuse to drag out the process. It’s not that much money in the big scheme of things.”

Maybe not to Nolan, whose deals ran in the tens of millions. But if your bank balance was in the low four digits, fifty-thousand dollars was a fortune.

He forked his fingers through his hair.

High-end vacations, upscale restaurants three nights aweek, and those crazy expensive purses his wife favored would have to go.

“Auditors won’t agree. They red-flag anything that doesn’t balance. The amount is irrelevant.”

“You’ll have the replacement money before that happens as long as you do the rest of your job. Going forward, let’s switch to burner phones in case the police keep me in their sights. Get one and call me with your number tomorrow night. I’ll get one too. And keep your ear to the ground. Company grapevines can be a rich source of information.”

The line went dead.

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