Page 46 of Elliot

“Not too long?” Maya asked, leaving her desk and coming to stand next to him. He narrowed his eyes and headed toward Jessica’s office. Maya was on his six.

When they reached the door to the office, Jessica was tearing apart her desk drawers and muttering to herself.

“Trouble finding it?”

Jessica jumped and clutched at her chest. “Lord, you scared me, but yes, I can’t find it. I always keep it right here.” She tapped the bottom of the drawer.

“Well, keep looking. The key will be invalid, but we still want to account for all the keys.”

“Sure, I know it’s here,” Jessica said, looking through stacks of paper she’d pulled out of another drawer.

Elliot motioned for Maya to head back to her office. “Please call your housekeeper and ask her if she has her keycard.”

Maya frowned but retrieved her phone and made the call. She hung up a moment later and nodded. “She has it.”

Jessica ran out of her office. “I found it! It slipped behind the drawer somehow. I had to take the desk apart to get to it.” She stared at him smugly as she handed it over.

“Thanks.” Elliot nodded and pocketed the key card. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at Maya. “Rob and Silas are here with you. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“I have enough work to keep me here until midnight, so take your time,” Maya said as she walked to her desk.

Rob walked into the office as he walked out. Silas stood beside the office door and nodded to him as he made his way down to Asher. They had an interview to conduct.

CHAPTER 16

Elliot made his way to the nurses’ station with Asher. They were given Dillon Ulman’s room number. The door was open, and the man was on his phone. “I promise I’m not mad. It’s okay. Yes, nothing has changed. You have every right to want to do that, but the timing wasn’t right. Exactly. Nothing has changed. Stick to the plan we discussed. It will work.” Dillon looked up. “Hey, I’ve got to go. I’ve got company.” He ended the call and looked up at them. His tone changed to a polite question. “Can I help you?”

“Mr. Ulman, my name is Asher Hudson. I’m with Guardian Security. We’re working in conjunction with the NYPD on the shooting where you were injured. May we speak to you for a moment?”

“Sure. The cops who talked to me after my surgery said you’d be by. What can I do to help?”

Asher took out his phone and called up his document. Elliot leaned against the doorjamb, being as inconspicuous as his six-foot-four-inch frame could manage. “First, you weren’t on the guest list. Could you tell me who you were at the function with?”

Dillon frowned. “I wasn’t on the guest list? Oh, wait. No, look at the list for Demeter Pharma. We were one of the sponsors. I was the representative who attended.”

“You work for Demeter Pharma?”

“I do. I’m the CFO.”

Elliot wondered what Asher was getting at. They already knew that information the night of the incident. Asher nodded and typed away on his phone. “Can you tell me what happened as you exited?”

“Man, I wish I could, but it’s all kind of a blur. The emcee told us all to leave. The push of people was unbelievable. As soon as I got out, I felt a burning stab in my chest and shoulder. The force of it knocked me backward. Then it was bits and pieces. Seeing the cops, the ambulance ride, and then waking up here.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t have much else.”

Asher nodded. “May we have permission to talk to your doctor about your injury?”

“Why?” Dillon frowned and looked down at his shoulder.

“To see if they found a bullet, you know, standard stuff.” Asher downplayed the reason they’d discussed on the way to the hospital. Everyone else had been hit in the lower extremities due to the height and angle of the shooter on that side of the building.

“Ah, sure. I think I’ll have to sign something. You know, privacy and all that.” Asher nodded and reached into his pocket. “A HIPAA release. I carry them whenever I talk to people who’ve been injured in an incident. It saves time.”

Dillon took the form and pen Asher offered him and awkwardly signed it. From his angle, Elliot watched as Asher filmed the man signing the document. Asher was damn good. “Thanks so much.” He put his phone away and turned but snapped his fingers and turned back. “Mr. Ulman, do you know Maya Callahan?”

The man’s face transformed into a blank page. “I do. I do not like her. We have a history.”

“And yet you went to the awards ceremony where she would be recognized. Why?”

Dillon spoke slowly, and his eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t aware she would be there.”

---