won your mom over, but your dad had fifty questions. He really doesn’t like suits.”
She laughed. “He hates ’em. But if he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have bothered asking questions.”
“He all but asked the name of the girl I lost my virginity to.”
Now Grace was laughing. “Awww, he loves you.”
Dameon shook his head. “I told your mom I’d stay through lunch, but as long as you’re going to be okay, I have to get back to the city.”
“I am now. Thank you, Dameon. I wasn’t thinking yesterday.”
“You’re obviously not alone. I’m glad Carson can help.”
She sighed. “He’s expensive, isn’t he?”
“I don’t want you thinking about that.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
Dameon placed a finger on her lips. “Stop.”
She would figure out a way to make it up to him.
“It’s good to see that smile again,” Dameon said.
She lifted her lips, asking for his kiss.
Dameon dipped his head to oblige.
Her dad’s voice yelled from the front door. “Are you going to molest my daughter on the front lawn or come inside for lunch?”
She broke away and giggled.
“I think he hates me.”
“He’s an ex-cop. If he hated you, he’d tell you to leave at gunpoint.”
Grace had never met a private investigator, and she certainly didn’t picture Michelle Overland when she thought of one.
In her midfifties, Michelle looked more like a PTA mom than someone who investigated anyone or knew anything about what Grace was going through.
Grace welcomed Michelle into her condo and played hostess before they sat down at her dining room table to talk.
“I’ve already spoken to Carson in depth. He e-mailed me your statement and a copy of what the city gave you when they sent you home. I’m going to ask a lot of personal questions, and I’m sorry about that. I need financial information, your banks, loans, debt. Absolutely anything you can tell me about your accuser. I need phone numbers and any online social media you use.”
“Wow. It really sounds like I’m the bad guy.”
Michelle smiled. “I’m looking for anything to prove you did do it so I can prove you didn’t.”
“Sounds backward.”
“Your employer has your work records. They have to audit to obtain anything not work related. So we’ll get a jump on that first. If they want your personal stuff, they have to make a move on the chessboard first.”
“Officially accuse me of taking a bribe.”
“Exactly. If and when that happens, they have to give your lawyer any evidence they found at the office.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “All they are going to find is that I was overworked and did the job of two people.”
“Tell me about Richard. I get the feeling he doesn’t like you.”
Grace shook her head. “Richard may not like me, but he’s not the kind of guy to plant something in my office to prove I did something I didn’t do.”
Michelle looked at Grace as if she was five. “You really never know what someone is capable of. I can tell you plenty of stories.”
“I have only been with this job for five years. For the first two, almost everything I did had to have a second signature on the plans. There are a lot of eyes on nearly everything I do. We work independently on some things, but for a lot of stuff, we work as a team. So if someone put my signature on something I didn’t approve, chances are there had to be a second one there somewhere.”
“Is there anyone in the office who might be taking bribes?”
Grace shook her head. “There are five of us. Richard, who took the senior position six months after I was hired. Before then, he was like the rest of us. Yeah, he’d been there the longest, but he had his own caseload and had to report to the boss. Adrian has been there the longest after Richard. If he’s guilty of anything, it’s overlooking an issue and signing off on it because he wanted to get out of work on time. Lionel is recently divorced, spends his free time watching the games during happy hour for the two-dollar beer. Evan is the next in line as far as seniority. I consider him my friend. We get along the best. He has my back.”
“How so?”
“He just does. He worked the Sokolov property with me. Knew the guy was an ass. He mentioned to Richard more than once that the guy was stalling and wasting our time.”