Jim quirks the side of his mouth. “I wish there was something to say. He’s a devout bachelor. He never spends the night with anyone in his home. His company is competing with Disruptive to come up with communications software. We’ve been unsuccessful in linking anything directly to him.”
“Why do you think he’s behind it?” Marci asks.
“Tom Sutterland said both of our companies were competing for the contract with PeopleMover, and when we pinged where the spyware was coming from, it was within Bennett’s building.”
“His office building?”
I nod.
“Does he have the whole building?”
“No, which is what saves him right now,” Jim notes. “There are thirteen tenants in the building, including a coffee shop, eight technology startups, two retail stores, a technology recruiting firm, and the final is a broker of high-end Egyptian antiquities.”
“Egyptian antiquities?”
Jim nods.
“Can you give me the overview of what’s going on with Nate?” Marci asks.
Jim begins, and Fiona finishes. They don’t say too much more than what’s been in the press.
“And you can’t tell where the money Cecelia transferred went?” Marci asks.
“We can’t, and I don’t think the FBI can either,” Jim says. “The funds went to Cypress, and we lost them when they bounced from there.”
“This seems like an awful lot at one time.” Marci chews on her pen. “Could this be planned?”
“I’ve wondered that myself,” Jim agrees.
“We need to find the thread that strings everything together. Just about everyone who was there the weekend Cecelia went missing has had something troubling going on since then—the missing money for Nate, Jackson had issues with theft by a Chinese company, and now you guys have this strange set of events. It’s possible the company Tomas Vigil seems to be working for and Morgan Bennett are also related somehow.” Marci puts her pen in her mouth and stares at her paper. “I have to think about this.” She stands and turns to me. “I’ll see you in the morning at my office.”
“I’ll be there,” I say with more enthusiasm than I actually feel.
“Is it okay if I come?” Tinsley asks.
Marci smiles. “It is, but they’ll stick you in a waiting room—no internet and no computers allowed.”
Tinsley nods, and I know she’d sit in a room and wait. I love her for that, but it’s not necessary.
“You have work to do,” I tell her. “I’ll call you as soon as I’m done.” I look over at Claire. “The same goes for you.”
“You’re going to do great tomorrow,” Marci assures me.
Tinsley and Claire begin clearing the trash and plates from the table as I wrap everything up with my team.
“Try to get some sleep tonight. You’ve got this,” Marci calls as she slips out.
“Tomorrow the mayor of Las Vegas is having a press conference about Nate’s arrest and his being transferred to Vegas,” Fiona reports. “I have some reporters planning to ask her some hard questions, but I’ll need to be on the ground there in Vegas. I’d take your plane, but…” She shrugs.
I smirk. “You pissed off Detective Robards today.”
Fiona crinkles her nose. “I did. I ruined his plan, and he got himself fired in the process. Not even the union is backing him after he probably totaled your airplane.”
“Are you releasing the video?”
“Not yet, but let’s see how the FBI does tomorrow. I’ve released some of the affidavits from the friends you were with in Vegas.”
I take a deep breath. “Do you think all of this could stem back to Cecelia’s disappearance?”
“I hadn’t thought about it until we laid it all out together with Marci,” she says. “She’s good, and she may be on to something.”
I nod. “You’ll be in Vegas. What about Jim?”
“He’s here. He’s got his team working overtime on Heather McCoy, Cecelia’s money, and this mess.”
“I should send Kate flowers.”
“Jim’s fiancée?”
I nod.
“She might like that,” Fiona agrees.
I kiss her on both cheeks, and she heads out.
Claire rounds the corner and gives me a tight hug. “I want updates as you get them. Text messages are fine. And do whatever you need to do to get a decent night’s sleep.”
“What are you saying, baby sister?”
“I like Tinsley a lot, and I know you do, too. But just, you know… Make sure you get some rest.”
I roll my eyes as I nod, and she gets into the elevator. “Let’s get this wrapped up tomorrow.”
The door closes, and fear washes over me. I’m surrounded by material things, and I’d miss them, but I’d be lost without Tinsley every day.
Chapter 36
Landon
I’m up before my alarm sounds, and I dress in workout clothes. Despite Marci’s assurances, I worry I may not be home for a few days, weeks—or God forbid, months. Tinsley gave me lots of therapy last night, but despite the exhaustion, I didn’t sleep.
I enter my workout room, closing off the house and opening all the windows. It’s fucking freezing outside.
I set my Peloton bike for a moderate workout, and I carefully ride with my cast. After forty minutes of pounding on the bike, my legs are like jelly, my lungs are going to burst, and every pore on my body is sweating.
I smell coffee as I exit, and look out at the pool to find Tinsley doing her laps. She’s so graceful as she swims. I know she’d like a bigger pool, but she doesn’t complain. After I get my coffee, I stand and watch her for easily ten minutes. It’s after six when Tinsley pulls herself out of the pool and sees me. She smiles and grabs a towel to dry herself. She must be freezing.
Turning the kettle on, I pull down a mug and a teabag.
She comes over
