Bob stands and walks over to a filing cabinet. “His laptop wasn’t here when we cleaned out his office. You might want to ask Lily. Or maybe the cops took it after he died. Blake refused to use a computer on our network, so I can’t even ask our IT guy to get into it.” He returns to his chair andhands me two manila folders filled with papers. “I did find these files in his desk. They didn’t really give me much information, though if you can find his laptop, maybe they’d make more sense to you.”
I hold up the folders. “Thank you very much. I’ll talk to Lily about the laptop.”
He nods. “I hope, no matter what, you do what you can to help Lily.”
I’ve never meant anything more when I say, “There’s nothing more important to me right now.”
A warmer smile forms on the man’s face. I stand and start toward the door before I stop and pivot back to look at him.
“If you had to take a guess, who do you think murdered him?”
“The list of possible suspects is long, Chris. Besides Lily, I’m probably on it too. So there’s really no way to tell who else.”
I leave Bob’s office with a renewed hope that I might be able to pull this off. I might be able to keep Lily where she needs to be.
Out of prison and by my side.
21
Lily
“Iwent to see Bob Marshall today.”
My fork freezes halfway to my mouth at Chris’s admission. I lower it back to my plate and dab my mouth with my napkin. Bob was always very kind to me and seemed like a good guy. But it surprises me that Chris went to talk to him.
“Oh yeah? About what?”
Chris looks down at his plate before locking eyes with me. “The visit you had the other day scares me.”
My stomach drops.
“Those dumbasses are laser-focused on you and are ignoring other possibilities. It was time I started looking into what they’re choosing to ignore.”
What he’s telling me is what I already know, but having it vocalized has a new wave of fearengulfing me.
My throat feels unusually dry. I take a sip of water before asking, “Did Bob offer anything helpful?”
Chris’s grin confuses me. “Bob is a big fan of yours. He’s solidly on Team Lily.”
Fondness for the older man has me returning Chris’s smile. “I knew I liked him.”
Reaching over, Chris squeezes my hand. “He also gave me some files that he found in Blake’s office. Based on what Carlos told me and a few comments Bob made today, I wonder if there’s something about a business deal he did.”
Chris hesitates, and I demand, “I know there’s more, so just go ahead and tell me.”
“Bob said he thinks Blake stole money from the firm.”
I grimace and close my eyes. “I know I’m not responsible for what Blake did, but I feel so bad that he’d do that.”
“That’s because you’re a better person than that asshole.”
I don’t know if I necessarily believe that, but I stay silent.
We continue eating for a few minutes before Chris asks, “You don’t by any chance have Blake’s laptop, do you?”
My eyes widen. “I’ll be right back.”
I rush to the guest bedroom and grab the laptop from where I shoved it in my bag, fully intending to tell Chris about it, but with everything else going on, I kept forgetting. Returning to the dining room, I set it on the table between where Chris and I are seated.
