Page 14 of Gage
“The D.A. didn’t question an autopsy this short? That’s a huge red flag. Suzanna’s attorney will hammer the medical examiner over this. Why the rush?” Gage turned to Suzanna. “Was your husband under medical care with a physician? Did he have any kind of medical condition you were aware of?”
“The only medication Steven was on was an inhaler for his asthma. He’d been to his physician about six weeks before he was—killed—and got a clean bill of health. He was having a workup for dizziness, but they hadn’t found anything.” Suzanna kept looking between Jean-Luc and Gage, watched as they had some sort of unspoken conversation between them. Typical men, she thought.
“What about his funeral? Anything unusual about it?” Gage continued to shoot questions at her at a rapid rate. She didn’t hesitate in her responses.
“Not really. His business partner took care of all the details. I was kind of in shock between his death and being questioned by the police, the FBI, and a bunch of other people.”
“Other people? What other people?” Gage turned toward her, his expression guarded. She wanted to demand he tell her what he was thinking, but thought better of it in the crowded room.
“They were some men from the government. They asked me a lot of questions about what Steven was working on, how many people knew about his projects. Things like that. My attorney was present the whole time.”
“I’m definitely going to need to talk to your attorney.”
“I’ll call him and let him know to get in touch with you.”
Gage turned back toward Jean-Luc. “I had planned to head back to Dallas with Suzanna tomorrow, but with what happened this morning, I’d rather have her someplace where I know she’ll be safe, especially while I’m investigating her husband’s death.”
“Good idea. Did you have any place in particular in mind? We have several safe houses in and around New Orleans where we could stash her indefinitely.”
Suzanna stood and leaned forward, palms against the tabletop. “Wait just one second. I’m not going to be wrapped in bubble wrap and placed on a shelf like some fragile doll. I want to find whoever killed my husband. I’m the one who has everything at stake. I’m sure you’re all good at your jobs, but I won’t be pushed aside.”
“Nobody’s going to keep you out of the loop, Suzanna. But there are going to be times when I need to talk to people involved with your husband’s death, and if you’re there, they won’t feel free to talk to me. Add in the fact somebody’s obviously trying to frame you for his death, and what happened this morning and you’re talking about a recipe for disaster.”
She glared at him, hating that his words made sense.
“I don’t want to be handled like I’m incompetent or treated like I don’t have a brain in my head. I came to New Orleans to meet with you, but I have responsibilities in Texas. I can’t simply sit back and twiddle my thumbs.”
“Nobody is asking you to do that. I’m simply asking you not to be in Dallas for the next week or two.” Gage didn’t back down, meeting her challenge head on. A little part of her liked that, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
“Guys, how do we know Ms. Dawkins’ husband’s death and today’s incident aren’t related? Sure, they seem to be individual and isolated, but what if they are somehow connected?” Gunner’s question brought silence to the room, and Suzanna’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought there might be a connection.
“Good question. Ms. Dawkins, how many people knew you were coming to New Orleans? Who did you tell?”
“Um, my best friend, Allison. Trust me, she’d never tell anybody. Besides, she’s in L.A. right now, up to her eyeballs inher latest design project. I told my assistant, Dorothy. She made the travel arrangements, got the plane tickets and the hotel reservation. Dorothy had worked for my husband for years, and she’s been working for me since his death. Brandon McKinney, because he’s the one who recommended I talk with Gage about helping me find out who killed my husband. That’s all.”
She watched Stefan furiously typing on his laptop. “Brandon McKinney, got it. I need last names for Dorothy and Allison. I can get them, but it’ll be faster if you give ’em to me.”
“Allison Stuart. She’s an interior designer. Dorothy Granger. She’s been with my husband’s company for at least a decade. Basically his right hand, knows everything about his company and what my husband and his partner were working on.” Suzanna drew in a deep breath. “None of these people would betray me. I’d stake my life on it.”
“You might be,” she heard the muttered response, but couldn’t tell who said it.
“Stefan will do a background check on each, just as a precaution.” Jean-Luc gave her a conciliatory smile, and Suzanna fought the urge to roll her eyes. These people didn’t know her friends, not the way she did. She’d give her life for any of them, and she knew they’d do the same. Checking into them would be a huge waste of time.
“Let’s get a schedule set up for the new few days. By then, I should have a better handle on things.”
Suzanna sat down, watching him closely. She wasn’t sure she liked the look in his eyes, like he’d made a decision that gave him a sense of satisfaction, and a devilish grin crept across his lips. Oh, yeah, he was up to something and she had the feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever it was.
“Bas and Ranger are going to cover twelve hour on/off shifts for the next couple of days. We’ll toss Etienne into the rotation as needed.” Jean-Luc gestured toward his brothers as he spoke.
Gage nodded. “Hope y’all don’t mind going out of town for a few days.”
“Out of town? Thought we were setting Ms. Dawkins up in a safe house here.” Bas looked between Suzanna and Gage, and she shrugged. This was the first she was hearing about leaving town.
“I want to get Suzanna someplace where we’ve got a good chance of keeping her safe. Dallas is too big, logistically it would be a nightmare to try and keep her out of the public eye twenty-four/seven. And I don’t want her to have to be stuck in her home and not be able to go anywhere or be able to talk to anybody while I digging into our mystery. So, I’m taking her some place where she’ll be surrounded by people who I personally know will watch over her, keep her safe. The place is secure with state-of-the-art security, monitoring done not only by the company who installed and created it, but also by a computer expert who’s the best I’ve ever seen. No offense, Stefan.”
Suzanna watched as Jean-Luc’s shoulders stated shaking, trying to hold back his laughter without much success.
“What’s so funny?”
