Page 95 of Conrad

“No. I think they wanted it, but another company had bid for it. I can’t remember who the other company was.”

He put the steak in the pan, letting it sizzle, then grabbed his laptop from the counter, opened it, keyed in the password, and pushed it toward her. “Do you remember the name of the AI program?”

“Axiom?”

The word nudged a memory in him. “I’ve heard of that before.” He glanced at the steak, turned on his hood fan, then headed into his office just off the kitchen.

The night pressed through the high windows, and he flicked on the light. It splashed over his computer desk, the credenza behind it. He headed to his files and pulled out a thick folder. Opened it.

Yes.He still had the prospectus, the wordAxiomacross the top. He took it out to the kitchen, set the paper on the counter, and returned to the stove. Flipped the steak.

“Where did you get this?” she asked.

“It was a stock offering I was considering through a cybertech company I invested heavily in.” He went to the fridge, pulled out butter. “MetaGrid. They specialize in defense technology and, more important, AI applications.” He slathered the butter on the steak. “I lost my shirt on it.”

“Really?”

He covered the steak. Turned. “Over a hundred thousand dollars. They acquired Axiom, and then the offering went south, dropped in value so much that MetaGrid lost millions.”

She was typing. “Axiom is now owned by Declan Stone, as a part of his bigger company, Spectra.”

He raised an eyebrow. “He was at the wedding.”

“Yes. And he’s a friend of my father’s.”

Another memory slid in. “Now I remember why I noticed your dad’s picture on the mantel, the one with his fishing trip to Barbados.”

“He loves that picture. They caught a blue marlin, nearly a thousand pounds.”

“I remember the fish.” He turned and plated the steak. “But what I really remember is Declan Stone standing in the group. Is he on the board?”

She took the plate from him, and he added a knife and fork. “I don’t know. But”—she turned the computer toward him—“Axiomwasowned by Edward. I’ll bet this was his company, and after he died, the deal with MetaGrid tanked. And then Axiom was acquired by Stone’s company, Spectra. Quantex has shares in Spectra.” She dug into the steak.

“That was probably why Declan was on the fishing trip.” He pulled the computer toward himself. Did an internet search for Quantex, clicked on the picture for the current board. No Declan Stone.

“Do you think Stone would kill Edward to get his company?”

“This steak is delicious, and I don’t know.” She got up and helped herself to another bottle of water from his fridge.

He smiled at that, her making herself at home here. He could get used to this, someone hanging out with him in his kitchen, tossing ideas around.

No, he could get used to her, hanging out with him in his kitchen. In his life.

“We could ask Stein. He works for Stone.”

She slid back onto the chair. “That’s a start.” She took a drink. “The other start is to find out where Walsh is and why he sent someone else to meet me in the parking lot.”

“Are you sure the text was from Walsh?”

“It was from his phone number, the same one he used before to text me.”

“Maybe someone got ahold of his phone. How long has it been since you’ve heard from him?”

“Since before the wedding.”

“And then he just texts you out of nowhere, the day after your house is torched?”

“Garage, but . . .” She pushed her empty plate away. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

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