Wolfie. However, Brody was next in line after her, and he would have loved to have been a Wolfgang.” He laughed at her expression. “What? Wolfgang is an awesome name.”
She blinked at him like he had five heads and twenty eyes. “First, never say ‘defo’ again, and no, it really isn’t.”
“What, you don’t like my ‘hip’ language?”
An inelegant snort shot from her. “Hip? Hello, Boomer.”
“Oh, hell no, you did not just make me fifty something and millennial snark my ass.”
“If it speaks like it’s fifty…” She let the sentence trail off before muttering, “Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…”
He glanced at her. Whoa… That teasing smile and those sparkling eyes lassoed a rope around his chest and drew it tight. She was beautiful. He forced his attention from her and tried to breathe again. “Watch it, Detective, or I’ll be dumping all the bullshit leads on you.”
“As if I’d allow that.” She flipped through her notebook as she spoke. “Where do we start today?”
“We're heading across town. Treyson Enterprises has a special meeting of the board of directors at 9:00 this morning. I want to catch them as they come into the meeting, sequester them, and then interview each of them separately.”
“How did you find that out?” She turned and narrowed her eyes at him.
“Miriam Treyson’s attorney sent an email last night, or should I say this morning. By the time stamp it was intentionally sent when he didn’t think I’d be awake to get it.”
“Damn, that bastard has a passive-aggressive streak, doesn’t he?”
“He does.” He slowed down, driving through a bank of slush on the road.
“Makes me wonder if that bastard worked for Samuel, too,” Kallie tossed out.
“Why’s that?”
“Just suspicious of everyone at this point. I mean, do we know for a fact the person Samuel wanted to bring into the fold was actually a woman?”
Good point. Damn good point.
9
Kallie followed him when they exited the private elevator. “Well, that was a complete and utter waste of time.”
He agreed. The Board of Directors for Treyson Enterprises were nothing but pompous, positioning, megalomaniacs. The world revolved around them. Of course, none of them knew of anyone who would want to hurt Samuel Treyson. He hadn’t expected anything less.
“Detectives, my name is Latoya. I’m here to take you to see Mr. Treyson.” The soft silky voice behind them spun each of them on their heel.
The woman was strikingly beautiful. Glancing at her clothes, he'd hazard a guess that she shopped at the Black Crane or other stores of that ilk. He shoved his hands into his parka. “I’m sorry, I was unaware we had an appointment with Mr. Treyson.” So, Daddy wanted to talk to them. The elder Treyson was on their list, but they were told he was still out of the country.
“He just arrived from Switzerland. If you would please accommodate us.” The woman’s disdain dripped from her words.
Obviously, they’d been measured and found lacking. That was okay. He enjoyed being underestimated. He exchanged glances with Kallie and subtly nodded his head. She arched an eyebrow in acknowledgement. They wanted to get a good measure of Sebastian Treyson. Now was the time.
As they followed the woman down the richly decorated hallway, he centered himself, adjusting to the curveball in their schedule and the pending conversation. The woman waved a hand directing them toward a closed door. Kallie did the classy thing. She stopped and knocked. There is no way he would’ve.
They heard a muffled command from behind the door. Kallie turned the handle and opened the wooden panel into a luxurious corner office. The floor-to-ceiling windows showcased Hope City’s skyline. The drab cold gray of the winter’s day couldn’t take away from the splendor of the cityscape. This far up, everything looked beautiful. Well, except for the man sitting on the ornate Victorian couch in the corner of the room. That man looked like hell.
“Mr. Treyson?” Kallie walked across the room and extended her hand to the gentleman who struggled to get off the couch. He finally stood, and Kallie continued, “My name is Detective Redman, this is Detective King, we’ve been assigned to your son’s case.”
The elderly gentleman sagged back onto the couch. He dropped his head into his shaking hands. “Have you found the bastard who killed my boy?”
He and Kallie exchanged glances. This wasn’t the overbearing son of a bitch he thought they’d meet. When Kallie took a seat across from Sebastian Treyson, he sat down in a chair further away to observe the