Page 91 of Heist

Chapter Twenty-Three

Austin sat in her office staring at the list of contact information she had compiled. As much as she hated it, she was about to start digging into Patrick’s life in search of the best witnesses to call in his defense if the case went to trial.

She hoped against all hope that Jax would uncover something that would lead to the charges being dropped.

With a sigh, she picked up the phone and dialed the first number. Lydia Stewart.

“Eastman Enterprises, Lydia speaking.”

“Hi Lydia, this is Austin Yates, I believe we’ve spoken a few times.”

“Of course, Miss Yates. Mr. Sutton hasn’t landed yet, but I can put you through to his cellphone if you like.”

She smiled. “No thank you, Lydia. I’m actually calling to talk to you.”

“Oh. What can I help you with then?”

“I’m compiling a list of potential witnesses if his case goes to trial. I was wondering if you would be willing to sit for an interview. We can do it via video call if you like. I just need to ask you some questions and see if you would be a good witness for him.”

The older woman cleared her throat. “I like Mr. Sutton. I’m not sure how comfortable I am with this sort of thing though.”

Austin knew it could be overwhelming to have to answer probing questions from a lawyer, but Patrick and Lydia had worked together for a long time. She had reason to believe the woman would be a great character witness.

“What kind of witness are you looking for? I have no real knowledge of the case, but I do want to help.”

“That’s fine. I’m looking for character witnesses.”

She could hear Lydia shuffling pages. “I can probably do that. Would talking to some of his former employees and such help? I can get you a list of some people.”

“That would be wonderful, Lydia.”

By the time she ended the call, she had an interview scheduled and an e-mail with a list of names and numbers of people she could talk to.

Setting her smaller list aside, she decided to work from Lydia’s list next.

“Hello,” a feminine voice answered in a sing-song voice.

“Hi. Um hello. I’m calling to ask how well you know Patrick Sutton.”

The woman laughed. “Well, I guess that depends on what you mean by know. I worked for him. Then I slept with him, and now I can’t stand him. I heard he stole a diamond or something. You a reporter?”

Austin cringed. Stacey was definitely not going to be helpful.

“Something like that,” Austin said, scratching her name off the list. “Thanks for your time.”

She ended the call and moved on to the next. Three phone calls later, she was realizing just how much of a player Patrick was.

With a sigh, she pushed the list aside and dialed Holly’s work number.

“Elijah Barrett’s office, Holly speaking.”

“Hey there, future Mrs. Barrett, it’s Austin.”

“Hey, you, what’s going on?”

Austin took a deep breath. “When was the last time Patrick had a serious girlfriend?”

Holly was quiet for a minute. “I’ll be honest, I’m not sure. Elijah would probably know better than I would. I didn’t exactly keep tabs on his love life after he left home. Why do you ask?”

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