Page 96 of Conrad

He folded his arms over his chest. “I think the bigger question is, Did Walsh and Edward know each other?”

“Walsh owned the apartment complex, so it’s possible.”

“Do you think Edward told him about Axiom?”

“Why would it matter? Walsh was in real estate, not cybertech.” She pulled back the computer, turned it.

Frowned at the screen. “What is this picture?”

“It’s the Quantex board. I was checking to see if Stone was on it. He’s not.”

“I found the connection.” She turned the computer back around and pointed to a man in the back, sandy-brown hair, in a blue suit. “That, right there, is Derek Swindle, Walsh’s partner at S & W Management Group. I always thought he killed Edward, I just couldn’t put together why. But if Edward told Walsh, he might have told Swindle.”

He leaned in. “He’s in the same picture on the mantel. He was on the fishing trip, with Stone.”

She leaned back. “What if they knew about the offering, decided that Quantex needed it instead?”

“But that would be too suspect. So they had to launder the transaction. Swindle killed Edward, and Stone swooped in to pick up the bankrupt company, Axiom, to merge into his own.”

“Or Stone killed him,” she said.

He stilled. “Or neither. We have twelve people here who could be culpable, if we’re going that direction. Including, and I hate to say this—your father.”

She cocked a head at him. “Are you suggesting?—”

He held up a hand. “No. I like your dad. But I’m asking the question—who might benefit from this?”

“Anyone who invested in Quantex.” She’d been typing and now pulled up a chart. “This is the Quantex stock price before and then after they acquired the Spectra stock.” She turned the computer. “They had a stunning 209.9 percent, fifty-two-week rate of return last year. Their monthly rate averages over 21 percent.”

“Wow. That’s life-changing.”

“Maybe life-ending, for Edward,” she said. She closed the computer.

“Here’s the thing,” Conrad said. “We can’t connect Swindle to any of this motive without proof that he knew—or someone else knew—about the AI program. And that doesn’t prove murder. We need proof that he burned down Edward’s place and proof that connects him to the ballistics report. Which the police don’t seem to have, let alone the right forensic report.”

“Which brings us back to the argument that Sarah and Walsh had on her doorstep. Didn’t Walsh say he had the forensic report? How would he have gotten that—and why?”

Oh no.A dark swirl had started in his gut. “Penny?—”

“We need to get into Walsh’s office—probably his home office—and see if we can find the report. Maybe that’s even why he texted me?—”

“Unless he’s dead and someone else texted you!” He didn’t mean to raise his voice.

Okay, maybe he did. He picked up her plate and put it in the dishwasher. Closed it with more force that he’d planned.

She said nothing. But she was smiling, almost conspiratorial.

“I don’t like that look.”

“Like I said. We need to get into Walsh’s house.”

He closed his eyes. “No, Pen.”

“Yes. If Walsh has a different forensic report than the police, we need to know why . . . and who has the power to suppress evidence with the police.”

He should call Stein, because only one person came to mind. A guy with power, money, and his own security force.

“Whoever can do that is behind the murders of at least four people.” Her gaze hit him hard. “And the attempt on me.”

---