Page 25 of The Negotiator

Matthias glanced out the window then back to Garrett. “For his sister-in-law? That’s creepy as fuck.”

“I don’t know how to say it without sounding creepy.” There really was no way to pretty it up. “But I’m not sure Lauren sees it.”

Matthias shook his head. “I wish I could unsee it.”

“Then we have the problem of the locks and the alarms. Lots of motives, but how did the killer get in?” When Matthias started to talk, Garrett spoke right over him. “And do not tell me the evidence points toward Lauren.”

Matthias took another look outside. This time his gaze lingered a bit longer before he responded. “Oh, please. No way did she do it.”

The concentration break didn’t bother Garrett. He guessed Matthias was keeping a watchful eye on Lauren outside. So long as that was true, Matthias could do all the staring he wanted to. But the emphatic support of her was still a surprise because Matthias suspected everyone. “Look at you, believing in people. That’s new.”

“First, Kayla loves her so even if Lauren did kill the fucker, and I totally would get why because that guy was an ass wipe, I’d support her. I’d also give her a lecture on better ways to hide the evidence.”

“I love your practical side.” Only Matthias. Actually, no. Most of the Quint Five would answer that way. Since he’d started hanging out with them and spending most of his days with Wren, the response made sense to Garrett. He ran with a very protect-your-own crowd.

“Pissing off Kayla does nothing for my private life.” Matthias shot Garrett a man-to-man you-get-me look. “Besides, I don’t see how Lauren, a woman who is sympathetic to her husband’s mistress, is a killer. It doesn’t fit.”

Garrett both loved and hated Lauren’s quick support of Maryanne. Name calling was bullshit and Bob had deserved to be censored before he could malign her. But having Lauren believe in Maryanne worried him because the other woman might be cut from the same con-artist cloth as Carl. She just might be better at scamming, and Lauren had been through enough.

“My money is on Bob. If he was in on the drowning, I’m betting he helped fake the bank and investment documents that fooled Lauren, too.” Matthias took a bottle of water from the center of the table and cracked open the lid. “Have you seen them? Wren says they are expert quality, which makes me wonder if Bob is pulling a scam on anyone else.”

“Well, I’ve read the file Wren compiled on Carl. He wasn’t the brains here. Lauren kept the place afloat despite him then thrived once his inept management was gone.”

“Bob is a financial guy. If people find out he’s playing with documents and running frauds, he loses everything.” That sounded like motive to Garrett.

“And if Carl didn’t stay dead as planned, he made himself into a loose end.”

“Exactly.”

“I’ll have Wren dig deeper.” Matthias took another look out the window. “In the meantime, you may want to head outside. The conversation between Lauren and her lovesick brother-in-law looks serious.” Matthias shook his head. “The creepy fucker.”

At least Garrett wasn’t the only one saying it now. “That’s exactly how I think of him.”

Jake stood in front of Lauren on the pier. The smell of fish and salt and dampness floated around them. Boats rested in the water next to them and her back stayed to the office. She knew if she looked in the window and saw Garrett peeking out she’d have to roll her eyes, and that couldn’t happen. Not when Jake seemed very serious.

The color had drained from his face. “Boyfriend?”

“That’s the part that bothers you?” They’d talked about fraud and Carl’s games. Bob’s possible complicity. And Jake was worried about her love life, something she hadn’t had until very recently.

“I’ve seen him around. Heard rumors.”

About Garrett? That didn’t make sense. “What?”

Jake folded his arms across his stomach and stopped shifting around. His intense gaze never wavered. It stayed trained on Lauren. “I had no idea you guys had moved to the serious stage.”

Apparently she was supposed to make some sort of public announcement. That was news to her, so was the idea of having a boyfriend.

Rather than fight Jake on this and get frustrated, she went with standard relationship lingo. In this case, it fit. “It’s complicated.”

“Look, Lauren.” Jake’s arms dropped to his sides and he moved in closer. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. How much do you know about this guy?”

Right before he could take her hand, she stepped back. Jake had always been the touchy type. At first she thought it was sweet. As someone with no real family, being enveloped by Carl’s comforted her like the perfect soft blanket. But then it got weird.

Jake had turned strangely possessive after Carl disappeared. She knew it was his way of protecting her, but the last thing she wanted was to spend time with anyone related to Carl. Unfortunately, that included Jake, which she knew wasn’t fair, but nothing about her marriage and interpersonal relationships was.

She tried to turn the conversation back to the real reason they’d met today. Sure, it was for Matthias and Garrett, with Detective Cryer’s blessing, to size up two of the other suspects. But she really did want answers. “Look, the bigger issue here is Carl and finding his killer.”

“Bob.” Jake sighed. “I hate to say it but he has the most to lose.”

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