Page 56 of Sinful Beauty

“And why is that? Is there something going on in the offices you don’t like or don’t want to be a part of?”

I smooth over his eyebrow with the pad of my thumb and lean forward and press a kiss to the tip of his nose. “No. Silly. Where would you get an idea like that? I just…the position is feeling stagnant. My time there is…I suppose I’m ready for something new.”

“Not too soon, though, right?” His brow furrows, and I set about smoothing the creases.

I love you. It’s on the tip of my tongue, pushed forth from my unruly, heedless heart. “Well, I need someone to be receptive to my application, so I’d say not too soon is a safe bet.”

“If you have a change of heart, let me know.”

Chapter21

Tristan

Two weeks have passed since Chamonix, one month invested covertly investigating Lumina, and photos cover my home office wall. As I study the Venn diagram on the wall, one thing has become clear. For an organization that once prided itself on hiring employees for life, there’s been quite a lot of turnover and unexpected death.

The former CEO and CFO died two years ago. While the helicopter crash is credited to poor weather, I’m now wondering what event was so pressing the two men climbed into a helicopter in the face of high winds and an impending storm. The press coverage reported they were simply flying to a meeting in Munich.

William Salo, the unlucky chap with a knife through the eye and a wife conceivably willing to cash in, reported to a man named Doug Dolsten. He left Lumina about six months before William’s death. An Interpol colleague requested a meeting with him, expected and understandable given William’s involvement in a woman’s abduction, and that meeting is in a fortnight. He claimed a busy travel schedule with his new firm, and indeed, we confirmed he’s currently in the United States at a conference.

Nelson Peltz, the current president, is obviously a person of interest, but our tech team has reviewed his call logs and text messages and we uncovered nothing suspicious. If anything, he appeared to have minimal contact with William Salo.

We’ve scoured the firm’s phone logs and travel records, and as suspected, there’s no trail to Moscow. That would have been almost suspiciously lucky for someone to be so careless.

My interactions with the current CEO and CFO have been minimal, but we’ve uncovered nothing suspicious about the two. Of note, both are new to the company, brought on by the board for their experience in the pharmaceutical industry and their wealth of contacts. Since neither of them has direct experience with research, and both hail from the same pharmaceutical giant based in the United States, it’s highly unlikely they would be involved in the scam, as we believe it began before they joined Lumina.

It’s convenient and fortunate that I work down the hall from Peltz, but in truth, the more I observe him, the fewer suspicions I harbor. He has all the markings of an executive treading gingerly to reach retirement, and only worried that someone, mainly me, might alter the plans for his golden years. If he once held higher ambitions, my hunch is being overlooked for the CEO spot when it opened up destroyed any dreams once harbored. On a day-to-day basis, he’s relatively hands off with his direct reports, delegates everything he can to Lucia, and spends more time out of the office at long lunches and, when possible, golf with clients. My gut tells me he’d do nothing illegal because he’s too close to cashing out.

There’s a woman by the name of Cristal Litchfield who worked on William Salo’s account team. Her background report uncovered that her second cousin is a member of the Russian mafia. That doesn’t implicate her in a crime, but she has the connection. She doesn’t work on my account and thus far has dodged my invitations for an introductory meeting. I move her photo and bio to the center of my wall.

The others on Salo’s team are too baby-faced to have been involved years ago. Might some of them be complicit in a scheme to test drugs on unwilling test participants? Certainly, but we’ve checked all their financials and nothing is out of place.

And Saint’s source specifically said we’re looking for an older Swiss man.

I’m working from home today because I’m turning my attention to our clients. I followed Saint’s intel initially, looking within Lumina, but I’m running out of leads. In meeting after meeting, I have yet to come across anyone who has appeared remotely nefarious. I’ve compiled a list of the individuals working directly with William Salo, and those who worked directly with Salo’s former boss, and I’m waiting for Ozzie to provide background reports, but my expectations are low they’ll uncover anything fruitful.

My mobile rings and I glance at the screen before answering.

“You miss me, don’t you?”

Nigel snorts in response. “Now that you mention it, I have been having trouble sleeping at night.”

“Melatonin’s good for that.”

“I’ll take it under advisement.” Dry humor and Nigel go hand in hand, but I sense from his tone there’s more to this.

“Something wrong?”

“Penny let me know you’re working from home today so penciled in to call you.”

There’s no point in asking how his assistant knew where I was working today. If it truly bothered me, I’d turn my mobile off and store it in the vault.

“Looking for an update?” I wish I had one to give.

“Giving you one. Dr. Dolsten passed away yesterday.” I twirl the dry erase marker between two fingers. Two weeks before a scheduled meeting with Interpol. “Automobile accident in California.”

“Was he the driver?”

“Yes.”

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