“They mentioned that. They asked me a lot of questions about her life—who she spent time with, who she talked to on the phone, whether she kept anything here. They wanted to search the place, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I’m all for cooperating, but I’m a lawyer; I know when someone is putting a case together, and I’m a target.” He stopped talking. “Where’s Wyatt?”
“He’s just using the restroom.”
“Is he? Or is he looking around?”
As Carter straightened, ready to investigate, Wyatt came around the corner.
“You know, I think I’ll have that coffee after all,” Wyatt said. Taking in the tension in the room, he added, “What did I miss?”
“Carter said the FBI came by this morning,” she replied. “He’s afraid they are going to try to pin Noelle’s death on him.”
“And I am innocent,” Carter proclaimed. “I would never kill anyone and certainly not the woman I loved.”
“They’re just going down the checklist of usual suspects,” Wyatt said. “If they had any real evidence, you’d have been arrested.”
“What is your involvement in all this?” Carter asked, giving Wyatt a suspicious look. “Isn’t your job just to sit behind a monitor and check for intruders at Nova Star?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Wyatt said, not taking offense at Carter’s rude comment.
“Wyatt is trying to help me figure out who killed Noelle,” she interrupted. “He’s also protecting Nova Star and its employees, one of whom is you. He suggested we come over here today so that we could alert you to the fact that you might be in danger because Noelle spent time here, and whoever was looking for something at her apartment might come here next. So, you might not want to attack him for doing his job and being concerned about you.”
Carter frowned. “Sorry. I’m not myself today. I appreciate your concern. I can’t imagine what Noelle could have left behind that someone would be looking for. I thought the attack was random. Now it sounds like something else was going on.”
“Did you notice Noelle talking to anyone new, being on her phone a lot, acting out of the ordinary?” Wyatt asked.
“No. But the last week or so, I was working late, because the upcoming launch had tripled our workload, and I wanted to show I was ready to take on a bigger role. Noelle and I were missing each other a lot. But she was fine with it. She told me she wanted to spend more time with you, Avery, so she was going to ask you to go to the pier with her Friday night. I told her to have fun.” His voice broke. “That’s the last thing I said to her.”
She bit down on her lip as emotions threatened to swamp her once again. “She was having fun. She had cotton candy, and she looked like a little kid, eating that pink, sugary confection.”
“I can’t imagine why she would have wanted to eat that,” Carter said, wrinkling his nose in distaste.
No, he couldn’t have imagined it, she thought. No matter what Carter had said about him and Noelle being in sync and having a lot in common, she still wondered if Carter had really known Noelle at all.
But maybe that wasn’t his fault. Maybe Noelle hadn’t let him see the real her. Perhaps she’d had other reasons for spending time with Carter.
Shaking her head, she realized she was going down a path she didn’t want to go, but she couldn’t turn around just yet. “You said Noelle really liked her job and that she also wanted to move up. Do you know if she was talking to anyone about a transfer?”
“She spent a lot of time with Kim in media relations. I know she was doing some work for her, but she never said what it was. Press stuff, I guess. She’d have been good at that. She was great with people. Her phone was always going off with texts and calls.”
“Really? Because I saw her phone at the police station, and she didn’t have any texts on there, none with you, and only a couple with me, setting up our plan for Friday night. Did she have another phone, Carter?”
“I—I don’t know. I don’t think so. It had that yellow polka-dot case.”
“That’s right, it did,” she said, realizing the phone she’d seen at the station had been in a simple black case, but she’d seen the other phone numerous times before. “She must have had two phones. Maybe whoever searched her apartment was looking for her other phone.”
“Can we look around for it here?” Wyatt asked.
“No,” Carter said sharply, shaking his head. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I know you two have more information than I do, and I don’t like it. I will look for the phone, and if I find it, I’ll turn it over to the FBI.”
“What are you afraid of?” Wyatt challenged.
“Nothing. But this is my apartment. Noelle was my girlfriend, and this is my call. You both need to go.”
“Hang on,” she said, sliding off the stool. “We’re on the same side, Carter.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
“Well, it’s the truth. And we still need to talk about a memorial for Noelle. Her friends at work are going to want to say good-bye, to celebrate her life, and you need to be a part of that.”
“I told you I’d give you some money. How much do you want?”
“I don’t want money; I want your input. You just said you loved Noelle. Don’t you want to give her an appropriate send-off?”
“An appropriate send-off?” he asked in bewilderment. “I don’t even know what that is. She’s gone, Avery. She’s not coming back. There’s no chance to say good-bye. It’s done. Do whatever you want. And if you need money, I’ll chip in. But I can’t plan anything. I can’t.”
She heard desperation in his voice and saw anger and sadness in his eyes, but there was some other emotion at play, and she didn’t know what it was.
“I’ll show you out,” Carter added, waving them toward the door.
“Carter—”
“I’m sorry, Avery. I know I’m being an ass, but I can’t do this right now. I will look through Noelle’s things. I’ll tell you if I find anything.”
“Okay, thanks.” As they stepped outside, he slammed the door behind them. “That was weird,” she said, looking at Wyatt. “Did you find anything on your way to the bathroom?”
“I didn’t see a phone with a yellow polka-dot case, not that I was looking for that, but I think it would have stood out. When I left you and Carter, he was being cooperative. That changed fast.”
“It did,” she said, as she got into the car. “As soon as Carter started talking about the FBI grilling him and wanting to search his apartment, he suddenly realized you’d been gone awhile, and it freaked him out. He’s hiding something and acting crazy. One minute I think he’s grief-stricken and the next minute I feel like he’s just angry and pissed off that Noelle’s death has inconvenienced his life. He says he loves her, but he wants nothing to do with her memorial. Before all this I thought he was stable and a little boring. I was wrong.”
“From what I’ve heard you say about Noelle, it doesn’t seem like they go together.”
“She said he reminded her of me and that she needed someone to hold her feet to the ground. If she loved me for that, maybe she would love him for that, too.”
“Was that really why she loved you? Because I think there was a lot more to your friendship than that. You weren’t just her anchor—you were her friend. You believed in her. You cared about her. You wanted the best for her. You even went out of your way to get her a job after she’d cut all ties to you for years. Those kinds of friends don’t come around very often, and I think Noelle knew that.”
“Thanks,” she said, feeling a little teary at his words. “For saying all that. I’d like to believe our friendship was real, but there’s a part of me now that isn’t sure Noelle didn’t use me to get into Nova Star. Maybe I helped start this whole security breach. Anyway…Noelle had things at Carter’s place. Anyone who was in contact with her probably would have known about their relationship. If whoever killed her is still looking for something she had, then why haven�
��t they gone to Carter’s home? Or do you think they just haven’t gotten there yet? I don’t know if he understood that he could be in real danger.”
“If Carter is involved, then he would not have any reason to run, Avery. And if he doesn’t understand what danger he might be in, then he’s not as smart as I think he is.”
“I can’t imagine Carter stabbing Noelle. That doesn’t feel right.”
“He didn’t have to do it himself to be involved. It’s also possible that he and Noelle were working together, and he had no idea she was going to be taken out. I think part of his anger was covering up fear.”
“It could just be fear that he won’t get his promotion,” she said bitterly. “Who would be worried about that at a time like this?”
“His fear went deeper than that.”
“Maybe. I keep hoping I’ll get answers, and all I get are more questions.”
“The answers are coming.” He started the engine. “Let’s go to work. I want to check Noelle’s desk, and you said you had something to do, right?”
“Yes, I do. And I’m sure that the police or the FBI already looked in Noelle’s desk.”
“I’m sure, too,” he agreed. “But we’re going to be there anyway, so why not check it out?”
She let out a sigh, not sure how it was going to feel to see Noelle’s empty chair and know she would never sit in it again. “I hope I can do this.”
“You can,” Wyatt said, drawing her gaze to his. “You’re stronger than you think.”
“I guess we’re going to find out.”
Chapter Thirteen
When they entered the lobby of Nova Star on Sunday afternoon, Jed Collins, an older security guard with dark-gray hair and bright-blue eyes, gave them a welcoming smile from behind the front counter. Wyatt liked Jed. He was in his late sixties, but he was an ex-cop, who had a good eye for detail. They didn’t work together often, since Wyatt spent most of his time on the fifth floor in the security center, and Jed was usually at one of the entrances.
“Ms. Caldwell, I’m very sorry for your loss,” Jed said. “I know you and Ms. Price were friends. It’s horrific what happened to her.”
“Thank you, Jed. I appreciate that,” Avery said, accepting Jed’s warm hand clasp.
“I don’t know if her family needs any help with expenses, but if they do, please let me know.”
“I will do that. We’re still trying to figure things out.”
“It’s shocking. Ms. Price was such a happy, outgoing person. She always stopped and said hello. Of course, most of the time, it was because she was looking for her badge in that big, messy bag of hers,” he added with a sad smile. “But still, she was a sweetheart. She even brought me sunflowers to give my wife when she had her foot surgery.”
“I didn’t know that,” Avery said.
“She said she loved working here, never felt more at home, like we were all family. I can’t believe someone killed her. Do they know who did it?”
“Not yet,” she said tightly.
“We should get going,” he put in, sensing that Avery wasn’t quite ready to hear a lot of condolences from well-meaning employees. “Everything quiet around here, Jed? The police or FBI been around?”
“Yesterday there was a lot of action. Haven’t seen anyone today. Engineering is busy with the launch coming up, but the rest of the building is empty. I hope you two don’t have to work too long today.”
“Not too long,” Avery said, handing over her bag as Jed waved her through the security X-ray scanner.
There were three scanners in the lobby as well as scanners at two other entrances to the large building. The engineering building and science labs were in an adjacent wing that had a separate entrance and additional security procedures for employees or guests to enter. But none of that security would make a difference if there was a mole inside the building.
Wyatt placed his phone and wallet in a small container and made his way through the scanner. Then they headed across the slick marble floors, past the display of model rockets that soared two stories high, the gift shop that was now closed, and the press room that would be filled with reporters starting tomorrow.
The entrance to the two-story auditorium where Avery ran her shows was located past the bank of elevators at the end of the first-floor hallway.
“Should we check Noelle’s desk first?” he asked, as he punched the elevator button.
“Seems like the best place to start,” she said, a heavy note in her voice.
“I can do it myself.”
“No, you were right earlier. I need to see her desk today, when there aren’t dozens of other people around, watching my reaction.” She squared her shoulders and stepped into the elevator as if she were going off to do battle.
He knew what she was feeling. He’d lost more than a few friends to violence in his life, and the first few days and weeks were always rough.
“After we check Noelle’s desk, I need to go to my office and then the auditorium,” Avery added. “And I don’t need you looking over my shoulder for all that.”
“That’s fine. I have some work to do, too.”
“Really?” she asked with surprise. “I thought you’d put up a fight.”
“You’ll be safe in your office and in the auditorium.”
They got off the elevator on the third floor where the business, legal, and accounting departments were located. Noelle had been assigned as an admin for all three departments and had sat with a dozen other admins in a room filled with large cubicles and the latest equipment with seated, standing, and treadmill desks as well as oversized monitors, printers, and small filing cabinets for storing duplicate copies of information stored on the company’s web server.
A bank of windows threw some nice light over the area, and as they walked toward Noelle’s desk, which was in the middle of the room, he made a mental note of the names listed on gold placards on the cubicle walls next to Noelle’s desk. Kathryn Sams and Jaycee Lawrence were apparently Noelle’s closest cubicle buddies, and it definitely might be worth having a conversation with both of them.
Avery stepped into Noelle’s cubicle, her expression tense and wary, as if she was afraid of what they would find, although he didn’t believe they’d find much. He knew the FBI had already swept her desk and cubicle, but he wanted to see it for himself, as did Avery.
There was a yellow polka-dot mug on the desk that immediately captured his attention. Apparently, Noelle really liked yellow. But the top of the desk was clear of any other items. He opened the drawers and found nothing more than blank notepads and pens.
“Avery?”
A woman’s voice brought both their heads up.
“Kathryn,” Avery said in surprise.
“I can’t believe Noelle is dead,” Kathryn said, shaking her head in disbelief.
As the two women hugged for a long minute, he made note of the fact that the short brunette was the woman who sat next to Noelle. If anyone might have overheard something or been privy to Noelle’s confidence, it might have been her. Although, he would have thought that Noelle would have shared more with Avery, given their long history. If she hadn’t, it had to be because she didn’t want Avery to know what she was up to.
“I keep hoping it’s a dream,” Kathryn added, her gaze moving toward Noelle’s desk. “It’s so neat,” she added, a note of surprise in her voice. “Did you clean out her desk?”
“Not me,” Avery replied. “The police and FBI were here yesterday.”
“Oh, of course, that makes sense.”
Wyatt couldn’t help noting how Kathryn’s gaze darted around Noelle’s cubicle, as if she were looking for something. Finally, her gaze came to rest on him, and she started. “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Wyatt Tanner. I work upstairs in security.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve seen you around.”
He wondered if that were true, since he didn’t really wander around much, especially not on this floor.<
br />
“Are there any leads on who killed Noelle?” Kathryn asked him.
“No. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?”
“Me? No!” she said somewhat emphatically. “I don’t know anything.”
Wyatt noticed Avery’s gaze sharpen at Kathryn’s denial.
“Noelle didn’t mention she was in any kind of trouble?” Avery asked.
“Was she in trouble?” Kathryn countered.
Avery shrugged. “I don’t know. It certainly feels that way now.”
“But you were with her Friday night. If she did have a problem, she would have told you. She always said you were good friends.” Kathryn licked her lips. “There was one odd thing.”
“What’s that?” he asked sharply, drawing her gaze back to his.
“Her boyfriend, Carter. He came by Noelle’s desk Friday night, and he was going through her drawers. He seemed angry about something. I asked him if he needed help, and he said Noelle had called him and told him she’d left her phone here, and he was looking for it. I helped him search for it, but we didn’t find it. He seemed really annoyed.” She paused, licking her lips. “He’s—he’s not a suspect, is he? I heard something rumored to that effect.”
“Everyone is a suspect,” he replied. “Did you notice Noelle having a problem with anyone else? Did she go out with other people in the company besides Carter?”
“I don’t think so. I mean, she was really pretty, and very popular, and there were always a lot of men coming around to say hello or ask for her help. But she seemed most interested in Carter, especially after she was assigned to the patent office for a few days. I remember when she came back, she said that she found the legal stuff really interesting, that it was amazing all the things the company was inventing. Not that she knew what any of them were. We used to laugh about how we rarely knew what we were writing letters or memos about,” she said with a teary smile. “Noelle said she was really over her head when she helped out in Kyle Tremaine’s office one day. She said the man was clearly brilliant, but she could barely understand a word he said.”
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