interaction between his partner and the old man. As Kallie spoke, Mr. Treyson trembled. There were tears in his eyes. He listened and asked specific, direct questions. The pain of losing his son was obvious, and the man's grief didn't register as a pretense.
“Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your son?” Kallie asked quietly.
Treyson slowly shook his head back and forth. “My son wasn’t like me. He was a good man. People who did business with him respected him. Not because he ruled with fear, or maliciousness. They respected him because he was a good businessman who is… was ethical and loyal. Everything I’m not, Samuel was. He was the best parts of me. And now he’s gone.” The man stared toward the window and shook his head. He spoke to the skyline, not them. “Would someone come after me? Absolutely. I’m a bastard. Go after the business? Understandable. But this?”
He leaned forward. “Mr. Treyson, could it be somebody was trying to get to you by killing your son?”
Kallie gave him a quick glance and a slight nod. They were on the same page.
Watery, aged blue eyes swung his direction. "Oh… God. You don't think… is there reason to believe that?"
"We are examining all possibilities, sir."
"I have enemies. There are people who would love to see me fall to my knees." He leaned forward and dropped his head in his hands. "You'll be investigating two murders if I find who did this before you do."
"Threats of that nature aren't taken lightly, sir." Treyson had power and the ability to make the threat a reality.
“He’ll never know how I felt about him.” Treyson’s murmured words reached him.
He could only imagine what the guy was feeling. During his tours in the Marine Corps, he'd seen people like Sebastian Treyson. The ones who developed a clear zone around them, and could block emotions. It was a preservation tactic forged from necessity, so he understood the guy in front of him. He’d seen people’s regret for not telling those who were closest what they meant to them. He’d witnessed the scenario played out numerous times, both overseas and here working homicide.
The man lifted his head and stared directly at him. "Find who did this before I do, Detective, or that threat will become a reality."
"Sir, we'll need a list of who you believe would have a grudge or a reason to retaliate against you." Kallie took over the conversation, directing it away from the volatile ground they currently trod.
"I will have Latoya send that over to you. Give her your card on the way out." It was a dismissal. The man leaned back and closed his eyes. They both stood and started to the door.
"You know... I'm a bastard. Hell, I fucked his wife just because I could, and now... How do you take it back? I did it on purpose. I treated him like shit, used my money to make him crawl, all because he was everything I couldn't be. I was envious, and now he's gone." Tears rolled down the man's face. "How do I make amends?" The question was tossed to the universe, and not at them.
He wasn't sure why, but he responded, "Honor his memory, sir. Something good should come from this." It would be a start. Not that the relationship could be repaired, but perhaps the man in front of them could put himself back together as a better man.
Kallie followed him as they left and was the one to pass Latoya their contact information. They were silent until they got into the car. "Where to next?"
"We head back across town. Treyson had some receipts in his wallet."
"Yeah, I saw that." Kallie flipped open her notebook and thumbed through the pages. "Coffee shop and a dry cleaner."
"The coffee shop was where we got the lead to find Ava."
"Which led to the others. So, let's hit up the dry cleaners. The receipts were to be ready for pick up the morning after he was killed."
"And again, I ask myself why a billionaire would drop off his dirty laundry?" He drove a McLaren and was made of money. Why would he lower himself to mundane chores? Of course, nothing about Samuel Treyson was as expected. The man went for coffee with his girlfriend, took vacations with all his lovers, and by all accounts was everyone's best friend. This was probably just one more idiosyncrasy to add to the list of things that didn't make sense.
"He didn't trust