Page 26 of Gage
Gage looked at Suzanna and winked before turning back to Jansen. “Do you have any questions for Mrs. Dawkins? I’m sure she’s willing to answer anything. She’s been very cooperative with filling in the blanks on my end.”
“Uh…I don’t…I appreciate Mrs. Dawkins willingness to answer any questions, and I’d like to set up a day and time to sit down and go over things, now that the dust has settled. But right now, I’ve got someplace I need to be.”
“Of course. We appreciate your time and cooperation, detective. We can see ourselves out.” Gage reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card with his phone number and email address. “You can contact me here if you have any questions, or find out anything else pertinent to the Dawkins case.”
Grabbing the card, Jansen was out the door like his feet were on fire. Gage looked at Suzanna, then a Bas, and finally checked the videocamera in the corner, making sure the light wasn’t on. It hadn’t been earlier, but it never hurt to double check.
“That went well.”
Suzanna looked at him like he’d lost his mind, but he knew in his gut when he got Jansen’s notes, he’d find some little kernel of fact mixed in with all the rhetoric that would lead him in the right direction. Sometimes in these types of cases, it wasn’t the quick sprint that got him to the finish line, it was the marathon. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure they had time for the long, slow race.
“Let’s go talk to Blackthorn.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Donald isn’t inthe office. His assistant said he’s working from home for the next few days.” Suzanna stared at her phone, a bit confused after talking with Donald’s assistant. “It seems he hasn’t been into the office in the last two weeks. Doesn’t that seem strange, especially since he’s pretty much in charge now that Steven is…gone?” She couldn’t bring herself to say dead, even though it had been long enough to sink in.
Almost six months had passed since that horrible morning. She could still remember the shock of seeing Steven lying beside her, his eyes open and sightless. Could feel the warm stickiness of the blood coating her hands, smell the coppery tang in the air. Time may have faded the shock, but the memories remained, sharp and fresh and vivid.
“How upset do you think he’ll be if we simply show up at his house?” Gage drove with the smooth efficiency of a racecar driver, controlled and focused. She envied that. Driving was not one of her strongest traits, as evidenced by her many parking tickets. Which reminded her, she needed to take care of the latest one, which she got a couple of days prior to Steven dying. In the aftermath, with all the drama and hubbub, she’d forgotten to deal with it.
“Honestly, I don’t care if it upsets him. We need answers about what was going on with Steven’s company, and what they were working on with Sandoval Enterprises.” She toyed with the bottom edge of her shirt, running her fingers over the stitching in a nervous motion. Steven hadn’t confided in her much abouthis business. He’d occasionally tell her when something new and exciting happened; otherwise, he kept the details mostly to himself.
“Is it unusual for Blackthorn to work from home?”
“I have no idea. What Donald did and didn’t do about his working status wasn’t really discussed. Steven liked going into the office. He liked dealing with the employees, checking in on the projects his staff worked on. New ideas, new inventions, Steven was always right in the middle of things. Never afraid to get his hands dirty.”
Gage reached forward and tapped something on the GPS on his phone, which he’d attached to the dash. The mechanical-sounding voice had been turned off, and he simply followed the map. Again, the opposite of what she’d do. She needed the automated voice telling her when to turn, and when the next street was coming up. Probably why Steven liked her to take a driver, because she had a tendency to get lost, even with the best of directions. She might be more than competent with everything else in her life, but put her behind the wheel of a car and she became Donna-doesn’t-know-anything.
It didn’t take long before they were pulling up in front of the Blackstone house. Larger than the one she’d shared with Steven, it always seemed grandiose and ostentatious. She knew Elizabeth loved decorating their mansion, though she’d refused to use Allison’s service, claiming she had someone she used regularly. From the over-the-top formal furnishings, Suzanna wondered if the man had any instincts on what passed for quality and class, or if he simply had lousy taste. She was betting on the latter.
“I don’t see Elizabeth’s car, she might not be home, but the Lexus belongs to Donald.” She nodded toward the sleek black car parked in in front of the home’s entrance. Grand double doors dominated the home’s entryway, their shiny red paint theonly bright spot of color anywhere. Even the flowers lining either side of the walkway and entrance were a cold and sterile white. She couldn’t help feeling a splash of color would warm things up, provide more of a welcome. Of course, maybe they didn’t want to make people feel like they wanted to visit, much less stay.
Climbing from Gage’s car, she strode toward the front doors, Gage and Bas quickly catching up with her. A tingle of excitement shot through her. It felt good to finally be looking for answers instead of sitting back and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Her whole life felt like it was in limbo until now, and at least this felt like the first step forward since Steven’s death.
Lifting the ornate brass knocker on the front door, she pounded it several times. When Gage shot her a scowl, she simply shrugged. Yes, she knew he wanted to be in charge, could even appreciate that he was better equipped and had more experience investigating cases like hers, but she was tired of sitting still and letting everybody else determine what happened to her life—to her.
The front door swung inward revealing a tall, slender woman dressed impeccably in a business suit. The dark navy color suited her olive complexion, and her dark hair was pulled back into a neat bun at the nape of her neck. A pale blue button-front blouse with the first few buttons open revealed a pearl pendant on a gold chain with matching pearl drops in her ears. Suzanna didn’t recognize her, but that wasn’t unusual since she’d rarely visited the office.
“Can I help you?” Her voice was as elegant and cultured as her appearance, and suddenly Suzanna felt underdressed and outclassed.
“We’re here to see Donald Blackthorn.” Gage’s deep voice came from just over her shoulder, and from the corner of her eye she saw him flash his ID. Probably a badge accompanied it, she thought, and wondered which one he’d pulled. So far she’dseen the FBI one, the CIA one, and something else she couldn’t remember. Mysterious didn’t begin to describe Gage, and she wanted to unwrap the enigma and delve deep to find the real man.
“I’m afraid Mr. Blackthorn isn’t available at the moment. We’re working and cannot be disturbed, Mr. Newsome. You’ll need to make an appointment—”
“We won’t take much of his time. I’m sure he’d like to see Mrs. Dawkins.”
Her eyes widened at Suzanna’s name, making Suzanna wonder what this woman knew about her. Gossip ran rampant through Steven’s office after his death. Donald and Elizabeth both had mentioned several employees having to be terminated because of giving interviews to the paparazzi and gossip television programs.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Dawkins. I didn’t recognize you. Still, Mr. Blackthorn is dealing with business issues and cannot be disturbed.”
“I’m afraid Donald will have to forgive the interruption, but I will be speaking with him now. Please move aside.” Suzanna put as much steel into her words as she could muster. She wasn’t used to bossing people around, it wasn’t in her nature, but she also wasn’t a milquetoast to be pushed around and walked on either.
Without waiting for the woman to say anything else, Suzanna strode through the door, knowing Gage and Bas would follow her. Fortunately, she knew where Donald’s office was from previous visits, when he and Steven would sit together after dinner meetings. Sometimes she and Elizabeth would join them.
Donald was on the phone when she looked through the open door, standing at the large floor to ceiling windows behind his enormous desk. His back was to her, so he didn’t notice her or the others come in. From his posture, she could tell he wasn’thappy with whoever was on the other end of the line. His tense shoulders and rigid posture gave evidence to his stressed reaction to whatever was being said.
“Donald, these people…” His assistant’s words trailed off when he made a slashing motion with his hand, never turning around. Curious. Suzanna would never have imagined Donald being so abrupt and discourteous. He always held himself with such a refined demeanor, always poised and in charge of his emotions. This was the antithesis of what she’d expect of him. She was seeing a whole different side of her former husband’s business partner.
