Page 12 of Dark Memories
“At this point we can’t rule anyone out, but I’d put both of them at the bottom of the list.”
“Agree.” No doubt James was full of curiosity as to exactly who Delaney was. He’d introduced her as a friend who would be visiting for a few days. Since Zach never brought women home, especially to stay over, that alone would pique his chef’s interest.
Because he didn’t know when he’d be bringing Kali home—a fact that was killing him—he’d given James the rest of the week off to avoid any questions, whichhadput questions in his chef’s eyes, but whatever. Although he didn’t believe James was involved in any way, he wasn’t willing to risk James letting something slip to the wrong person.
Zach picked up a yellow pad and handed it across the desk to her. “This is my list. There are five people on it.”
“Okay, let’s take them one at a time. The first, John Meyer. Who’s he?”
“He was my comptroller until six months ago when I fired him for sexual harassment. It was a complete surprise when three women walked into my office and told me that he’d been saying inappropriate things to them, touching them inappropriately, and asking them out for drinks. Until one told the other and then a third said he’d been harassing her, too, each was afraid to report him. They found the courage to do it as a group. John was married at the time with three children. On meeting him, he’d strike you as meek, a stereotypical accounting person.”
“How long did he work for you?”
“Four years. Started as my accounting manager and worked his way up to comptroller. I honestly never saw that coming, that he’d sexually harass an employee. I knew he and his wife had been having some problems recently, and she’s since divorced him. He didn’t take it well when I fired him.”
“He’s number one on your list, so you must think he’s capable of plotting revenge against you.”
“Of all the people on my list, he has the most reasons.”
“Okay, second is Arturo Russo.”
“I took over a company that he felt belonged to him. It didn’t. His father owned Russo Lending, a mortgage company. It had been doing quite well until he brought Arturo onboard after he’d graduated college. Six years later and after one too many fights with his son, and after Arturo made one too many shaky loans to some shady characters, Mario decided he’d had enough. He’d hoped to retire soon, but realized if he left the business in his son’s hands, it would take him less than a year to run it into the ground. Mario was the one to approach me, but Arturo blames me for”—he made air quotes—“‘stealing the family’s business.’ Not true, but Arturo made threats that maybe I should have taken more seriously.”
“By shady characters are you referring to the mob?”
“Mario didn’t specifically say that, but that was my impression.”
She lifted her gaze from the yellow pad, meeting his eyes. “If it’s him, and if the mob is involved, they do have their own code of honor. I don’t think they’d find it tasteful to hurt a little girl.”
“I hope you’re right. You’ll recognize the next name.”
She glanced back down at the sheet. “Your ex-wife made your list?”
“Cinda is always wanting more, and although her divorce settlement was more than generous, she recently decided it wasn’t enough. I disagreed.” That he could even suspect Kali’s mother was just wrong, but there it was. “I have sole custody. Cinda didn’t bother to fight me on that because having responsibility for a kid would cramp her style. I don’t think it’s her, but on the other hand I wouldn’t put a stunt like this past her simply because she’s mad at me.”
“Do you think that’s just talk or would she actually do something like this?”
“With Cinda, who knows? She’s unpredictable and a drama queen. I’d like to think that she has enough motherly instinct in her not to pull a stunt like kidnapping her own daughter, but that’s debatable.” Although he couldn’t see her sending a text, threatening to kill their daughter.
“Listen, I made this list shortly after Kali went missing, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m not taking Cinda off, but I’m moving her to the bottom because I don’t think she would do this no matter how angry with me she is.”
If he could go back and do things over, he’d find a way to save his daughter and keep Delaney in his life. But he’d been young and scared that Cinda would follow through on her threat, and he hadn’t seen a way out.
“I never understood why…” She exhaled a breath. “Never mind. Not my business.”
“Why I married her?”
Chapter Five
Harry wanted to bite off her tongue. Simply asking the question showed him too much. She’d never believed that he’d told her the full story. Eight years ago it had mattered, but no longer. Or so she kept telling herself.
She had known they’d been college sweethearts. Knew they’d been engaged but had broken up a few weeks before Harry met him. He’d told her once that Cinda had been two different people. The sweet, caring girl before he put an engagement ring on her finger and, in his words, thescheming shrewafter.
There had to have been hints of that before the engagement that Zach had chosen not to see. Harry had met Cinda once on the night she’d shown up at Zach’s apartment. The woman had taken one look at her before dismissing her as insignificant.
Cinda was, or had been back then, a man’s wet dream. Harry had seen that as soon as Zach had answered the door and let her in. Sultry, exotic, and dripping sexual vibes, Cinda had flipped her long raven-black hair over a shoulder, turned her cat-shaped chocolate-brown eyes on Zach, and said, “I’m pregnant.”
That had been the end of Zach and Delaney.
