Page 98 of The Luminosity of Loriana Harper

Colton arched an eyebrow. Then, subtly, he gestured for Dorrie to continue.

The next photo was, in fact, of a white guy.

“Okay, that’s Charles…something. God, what was his name?” After having spent two months trying to forget, now bringing forth those memories was giving him a headache. Pretty soon, he’d need a painkiller.

“What do you remember about him?”

“Ambitious little prick. And I mean that with all due respect. He came in after graduating from MIT and thought he was hot shit. And maybe he was. But his arrogance is what I remember the most. Oh, and his treatment of the rest of us.” He glanced between the two cops. “I’ll let you figure out what I mean.”

Colton gave a shake of the head. “We don’t make assumptions or try to fill in the blanks ourselves. We need you to tell us.”

“Okay fine.” Irrational anger rose within Mitch at being forced to relive his experiences. “Tactfully, I’d say he was racist. At first he tried to hide it, but once he saw few consequences for his actions, he let his bigotry shine through. He was producing some good work, so HR turned a blind eye.” Mitch rubbed his forehead. “After one terrible incident I witnessed between him and Vicki, I lodged a formal complaint.” He laughed, but it contained no humor. “When it became clear I was the one who would lose anything—and when Vicki begged me to withdraw the complaint—I did.

“Charles became insufferable after that.” He winced. “But Marjorie loved him. I tried to get her to see, but she accused me of being too sensitive. At the time, I wondered if she was right.”

“And now?”

“With the gift of hindsight? No question—the guy was a bigot. And Marjorie tried to gaslight me and the other employees. Tried to convince us what we were seeing wasn’t really there. That it was in our minds.” Mitch tapped the photo again. “He was a real piece of work.”

“I’ll share something with you that won’t be made public until the arraignment this afternoon.” Dorrie met Mitch’s gaze and her clear blue eyes showed…compassion? Empathy? Understanding? “He was arrested early this morning. The police believe they have enough evidence to charge him with Marjorie’s murder.”

A murderous rage rose within Mitch. He turned on Colton. “How often? How many times did I tell you that I had nothing to do with her—at all? Yet you kept poking. Kept insinuating. Kept raising doubts in people’s minds.”

“I never said anything.”

“But you implied it with your every word and gesture.” Mitch pounded the table. “You dragged me out of a party last night. Almost a dozen witnesses. You think people in this small town won’t talk?”

Dorrie collected the photographs and put them back into the folder. “We’ll pass along what you’ve said to the police officer who contacted us.”

“And say what? I thought the guy was a bigot? How does that implicate him?”

“I shouldn’t say anything—”

“Oh, don’t stop now.”

The woman nodded. “Apparently Ms. Dawes had initiated termination procedures. But, again, that isn’t common knowledge.”

Which meant she was going out on a limb to tell him. He offered a nod. “Thank you. Again, I won’t say anything.”

“You’re not in contact with your other colleagues?”

He shook his head. “Marjorie had me marched out—accused of spying for a competitor. Total bullshit, but what was the point of arguing? She always held the upper hand in our relationship. Herturningme inmade her look good with the higher-ups. A few weeks later, the trade papers announced they’d given her a promotion. I was, at best, collateral damage. At worst, I was the trash to be taken out. I blew town the next week.”

Dorrie tilted her head. “And you wound up here. That’s a good thing, I think.”

“If my reputation hasn’t been destroyed.” He leveled a long look at Colton.

The man merely lifted one shoulder.

Dorrie closed the folder. “We’ll let you get on with your day. Are you heading to Loriana’s?”

Mitch shook his head.

“That’s too bad. My brother, sister, and I always make an appearance. I think we’ll be there in an hour or so.”

“Aren’t you too tired?”

“For Loriana’s mincemeat pie? Never.” She offered a genuine smile. “And I’ll let her know you’re in the clear.”

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