“Really?”She smiled for real now, humbled by his comment.She had a vague memory of Grady coming to Tommy’s funeral.She hadn’t known her brother’s teammates very well, only Micah as they’d been friends through school.“That would be great.”
She dug into her meal, suddenly hungry.Prayer had given her the strength she needed to get through this.The worst was over.They were safe now.Once she gave her statement to the police, she was convinced they’d finally believe her.
Obviously, it helped that she had Micah as her alibi for the time frame of the fire and Damien’s murder.
“You know, I still have my phone.”She finished her eggs and toast, then dug in her purse for the device.“I might have access to my work email.”
“You think so?”Micah frowned.“I’m sure they cut you off when they let you go.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”She held the phone to her face to unlock it, then checked her work email.Everything was still there.“Richard must have forgotten to terminate my access.”
“Interesting.”Micah rose and carried their empty plates to the counter.“Give me a few minutes to wash the dishes, then we’ll review your messages.”
Setting the phone aside, she stood.“I’m not sure we’ll learn much, I never had access to Damien’s personal email that he used from home, but it’s worth a shot.”
“That’s surprising that Damien didn’t share his personal email.”He glanced at her.“I’d think he’d want your help with all his correspondence.”
She shrugged.“Gwen didn’t have access to Richard’s personal email either.We talked about it once.I will say there’s plenty of work to do without adding that to the mix.But you’re right, I did manage my boss’s personal and professional emails at my last job.”
“Makes me think Damien and Richard had something to hide.”
“Maybe.”She wondered if Damien had found a new girlfriend after they’d broken up.Not that it mattered.She would have wished Damien well in his new relationship, if he was still alive.“It’s hard to believe Damien is gone.”
“To be fair, we don’t have a positive ID yet on the dead guy,” Micah pointed out.“It’s possible Damien is still alive.”
She waved that off as she dried the last of the dishes.“I know for a fact that Damien was wearing those cufflinks the day he went missing.He always dressed in a nice suit, shirt, and tie.I’m sure he’s the one who was killed.I just wish I knew why he’d been murdered.It’s related to the money, sure, but was he killed because he stole it?Or did he figure out who did and was killed so he couldn’t talk?”
“Maybe your email messages will reveal a clue,” Micah said.“You might see something that triggers your memory.”
“Okay.”She handed him the towel, then returned to the table.She picked up her phone and opened her work email.Micah pulled up a chair and sat close, leaning in to see the screen too.
His nearness was distracting, but she did her best to stay focused.“Okay, here are some of the messages about the Wild Prairie Data Center.”She opened the most recent one but didn’t see anything unusual.The next one was just as innocuous.
“What about messages between you and Damien?”Micah asked.“We should look at them since it’s likely the police will be going through them.”
She glanced up at him, then scrolled to the most recent message from Damien.“This message string is related to the data center.Mostly setting up meetings.Nothing unusual there.”
“Go back in time,” Micah suggested.
She was hesitant to go too far back, knowing that some of their more personal messages would be revealed.Yet he had a point about the police getting access to them.In fact, she would be surprised if they hadn’t already gotten a search warrant for the information.
Her cheeks burned as she reviewed some of the messages, especially the ones where Damien had flirted with her.She abruptly thrust her phone at Micah.“You can see them for yourself.There’s nothing interesting in there.”
He scanned her email, then looked at her.“Sounds like he was very interested in seeing you again.”
“He wasn’t.”She resisted the urge to cover her flaming cheeks.Even the back of her neck felt hot.“I mean, he sounded all flirty and cute over email, but in person, things were different.Especially after I, uh, made it clear we weren’t going to sleep together.”
“He’s an idiot,” Micah said.“He should know better than to expect that.”
Thinking of how Lori had mentioned his staying overnight, she knew that wasn’t necessarily true.“Somehow, I don’t think Damien suffered rejection very often.”
“I guess, but he should know the difference between women who are easy and those who are worth marrying.”Micah turned his attention back to her phone.She was caught off guard by his comment about her being the type of woman a man married.Flustered, she tried to remind herself that he wasn’t referring to himself in that statement.
No matter how much she wished otherwise.
“I hate knowing the police will see those messages.”She wished for the zillionth time that she’d been smart enough to avoid dating her boss.“It’s embarrassing.”
“You can’t change the past.And honestly, I don’t see anything else here that raises any concerns.Certainly not to the point of murder.”He handed the device back to her.“You should keep looking, though.You’d be more inclined to spot something unusual.Especially in hindsight.”
