“I have to admit, I thought I was a goner.”
“I'm glad to see you up and about.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Can you tell me what happened last night?”
“Well, I don’t really know. I got this sharp pain in my chest. Everything tightened up. It got hard to breathe. Next thing you know, I was on the ground with all these people staring at me. I could have sworn I left my body for an instant.”
"It's a good thing the EMTs got to you when they did. What did the doctors say caused the event?"
"Turns out it was just heartburn. They couldn't find a damn thing wrong with me. But they did all kinds of tests. ECGs, CATscans, you name it. They said I probably had a panic attack. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”
"I'm sorry to hear about that. If you don't mind sharing, what kind of stress?”
A grim frown tugged his face. "Without going into too much detail, my daughter got a bad diagnosis. I can’t even bring myself to say it. It's got me worried sick. It's one thing to go through hard times yourself, but it's another to see your kid go through something like that. And there ain't a damn thing you can do about it." He shook his head.
"I'm sorry.” After a pause, I said, "How did you find yourself at the charity gala last night?”
"Well, I’ve got a soft spot for the kids. I figured it was a good cause. I like to give back when I can.”
"You must have a considerable net worth,” I said with doubtful eyes.
Rick grinned. "I’ve got more money than I could ever spend in this lifetime or the next.”
Maybe the fact that Rick had so much money was because he lived well below his means.
"I'm sure you're aware of the incident that occurred at the gala last night.”
His mouth tightened, and he shook his head in disgust. "That kind of thing just makes me sick. Those people are why we can't have nice things in the world."
I dug into my pocket and handed him a card. I didn’t think he’d have much to add, but I said, “Get in touch if you remember anything suspicious about the evening.”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t remember much. It’s all a blur now.”
We thanked him for his time and strolled back down the dock toward the parking lot.
“What do you make of that guy?” JD muttered. “Think he was in on it?”
I had looked him up on the way over. Rick didn’t have a criminal record. I was unable to get an idea of his net worth. From a profile I found on a professional site, he had a background in finance and had worked as an analyst for a number of years.
My phone buzzed with a call from the sheriff. I swiped the screen and held the device to my ear. “What’s up?”
“I need you two nitwits to get to the mall.”
“What happened now?”
“You’re not going to believe this.”
7
JD and I parked in the lot and hustled through the mall to the chaos.
It was a horrific scene.
Deputies kept onlookers at bay. The crowd gawked, took pictures and video, and posted to social media.
It was something out of a surrealist painting.
