“Why would I steal money from a profitable company I owned?”
“I’m supposed to be asking the questions.”
“You haven’t asked me anything yet,” Dominic pointed out.
“I’m getting to it,” Mark snapped. “You know I’m starting to see a resemblance between you and that sister of yours.”
Dominic’s brow lifted.
“Yeah, I know about that, too. I know about your record. I know about your father. And I know what you did for Nora.”
There was nothing to say, so Dominic remained silent.
“Were you planning to embezzle two million dollars but got caught before you could?”
“No.”
“When did you discover the books had been altered?”
“That night. When I saw that the figures had been changed, I thought it was a mistake. Or a joke. I didn’t know what the hell it was. After Steven called me, I quickly understood that I was being set up. Because of my past I couldn’t take the chance that anyone, especially the police, would believe me. I ran.”
“Tell me about this program you needed to come back here to get your hands on. The one you told Nora about.”
“It’s very dangerous. In the wrong hands it could mean disaster.”
“You think Denny was killed because of it.”
“It’s the only explanation,” Dominic answered. “He told somebody about it. I know that much. I think he was killed to stop him from telling anyone else.”
Mark shook his head. “Haskell’s killing wasn’t spur of the moment. The financial statements were changed before Denny was killed. Whoever did this had a plan. Two birds. One stone.”
And now Dominic knew that Serena had been involved in that setup. She would have had access to his files. She could have replaced the real statements with the doctored ones. It hurt him to know that she had betrayed him, almost as much as the news of her death.
“I bet you think that person is Steven Ford,” Mark suggested.
“Yes,” Dominic said tightly, the word sticking like a chicken bone in his throat.
“Why?”
“A third of the company wasn’t enough for him. He must have wanted it all. I would never have approved the development of Denny’s program. Never. If he knew that and wanted to get me and Denny out of the picture, this was the way to do it. Two birds. One stone. His company.”
Hernandez stood. “I’m going to go call Steven. Bring him down here for questioning. In the meantime, I’m putting you in a holding cell. You can call a lawyer.”
“I don’t need a lawyer yet.”
“Fine. But you’ll sit tight until I hear what Ford has to say about this. That’s the way it’s got to be.”
Dominic nodded.
“When your wife finds out I’m not ready to let you go, she’s going to hit me again, isn’t she?”
For the first time in a long time Dominic felt his lips twitching into a smile. “Yes, she probably is.”
The detective headed for the door, then stopped. “As far as you know did Denny have a girlfriend?”
“A girlfriend? No. You have to know Denny. He wasn’t very socially adept.” Dominic stared at his hands and then a memory came to him. “Wait. Caroline said something to me. When we were arguing about something else. She said there was office talk about Denny having a crush on someone. I didn’t believe it. Figured it was just gossip.”
Hernandez’s eyes drifted off, and Dominic felt as if he were putting something together.
“I’ll be back.”
Mark stopped in front of the two women who seemed to be leaning against each other for support.
“Why don’t you both go home?”
Caroline stared at him. “I’m not leaving without Dominic.”
“Look, this is going to take a while. He’s got to stay here until I get a few things sorted out. There’s no point in you sitting up all night.”
“I’m not-”
“Leaving,” he finished. “Stubborn and violent. Hey, shortcake, wake up.” Mark bumped Nora’s leg with his foot. She immediately popped her head up.
“What? I wasn’t sleeping.”
“Take Mrs. Santos home. It is Mrs. Santos?”
“It is,” Caroline agreed.
Mark crouched down. “Listen, I understand you want to be loyal and stick by your man. But you’re not doing him any good by sitting here in a hard chair not getting any sleep. Go back to the house. Take a hot bath, do whatever it is women do. Then you come back tomorrow and you’ll be ready for whatever’s next.”
“What’s next?” she asked wearily.
“I don’t know. But I want the truth, Caroline, even if that’s not the easy answer.”
He hated the doubt he saw in her eyes.
“Trust me,” Mark urged her.
“I told you,” Nora interrupted. “He’s not the worst detective in the world. I think we can trust him.”
Mark stood up and smiled down at his pint-sized partner. “You know, shortcake, you keep talking like that I’m going to think you like me.”
“I’ll be extra careful, then. Come on, Caroline. Let’s get out of here.”
Nora got Caroline to her feet and guided her to the station’s doors.
Abruptly they both stopped. Mark wondered what was up until he saw the station’s newest arrival.
Steven Ford had just walked through the door.
“Caroline!” Steven called out rushing up to her. “Is it true? Is Dominic here? Is he okay?”
“Get away from me,” Caroline told him.
Mark saw her reach for Nora’s arm and hold on tight.
“Let’s get out of here. Now.” Caroline moved around him and Nora followed. Together they left arm in arm.
“Caroline.” Clearly the man was confused. “I don’t understand. Wait.”
Mark watched the interaction. “Let them go,” he said as he approached Ford.
“I don’t understand. What’s happening? I want to see Dominic.”
“First things first. I’ve got a few more questions I would like to ask you.” Mark steered him in the direction of a hallway that led to the interrogation room. He opened the door and allowed him to walk in of his own accord.
“What is this?” he asked. “Where’s Dominic?”
“Have a seat Mr. Ford. I have to tell you that if you would like, you may call your lawyer.”
“I don’t want a damn lawyer. I want to know what this is about.”
“This is about the death of Denny Haskell and Serena Almonde.”
“Serena?” Steven whispered. He reached for the chair and dropped into it. “No, that’s not possible.”
“The police found her in her car a few hours ago, I’m afraid. She was killed sometime early yesterday afternoon.”
“How?”
“Car ran her off the road into a tree.”
The man winced at the news.
“Where were you around noon yesterday, Mr. Ford?”
Steven gulped a few times and blinked his eyes, as if he couldn’t stop himself.
“I was at the office,” he finally said.
“Can you think of any reason why someone would want to kill Serena?”
“I still can’t think of a reason why someone would want to kill Denny!” he shouted back. “None of this makes sense.”
Just then, a discreet knock sounded at the door. Mark got up as a uniform officer slipped him a piece of paper, then quickly retreated.
