Cash continued to speak over Caldas’s interruption and then leaned forward toward Margie. “Mrs. Brooksfield, I want to thank you for coming in today. I know it’s scary, but you’re doing the right thing by helping us solve the murder of Willy Grooms. Can you spell and state your name for the record?”
Margie did so.
“Has Willy Grooms ever spoken to you about a man named Javier Castillo?” Cash asked.
“No, ma’am,” Margie responded. “Never heard of him.”
“So, if I remember correctly, you work as a financial adviser?”
“A certified financial planner.”
“And your bank is”—Cash shuffled through some papers, then leaned back in her chair—“Mountainview Bank?”
Cash threw a leg over her thigh, casual-like. Caldas had warned them about this, Paul thought. The police will pretend to be your friends; don’t be fooled, she had said.
“Yes.”
“And to your knowledge, that was Willy Grooms’s bank as well?”
“Correct.”
“And you were advising him on his finances?”
“Yes.”
“Do you enjoy your work?”
“I love it. Get to make my own schedule, which is nice,” Margie said.
“Well, you can’t beat that. I wish I had flexible hours.” Cash laughed and scooched her chair closer to Margie. “Say, I’ve been rude in not offering you something. Coffee? Tea? Water?”
“Oh yeah, tea would be nice. With milk and sugar.”
Cash flapped her hand at Colcord, who obediently got up and left the room.
“From my understanding, you’re a pretty intelligent woman, in terms of financial stuff—right?”
“I hope so,” Margie said. The fussing with her hair had stopped, and she was looking more relaxed. Caldas, on the other hand, appeared tense. Paul had an uneasy feeling about this that he couldn’t shake. Margie was too trusting, always had been.
“Agent Cash, if you could give yourself and my client a little more distance, please,” Caldas said.
Cash shrugged and moved back a little, but was still seated next to the edge of the table. Colcord came back in and placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Margie. There was a chocolate chip cookie on a small side plate as well.
“Thanks,” Margie said, and settled into her seat more comfortably as she began to dig into the cookie. Paul wanted to tell her that she was getting too relaxed, but he’d been told not to say anything.
“You know I’ve been investigating this case from the beginning.” Cash leaned back in her chair again, tapping a pen against her leg. “Since you’reso good with this financial stuff, if someone wanted to defraud Willy out of money, what do you think we should be looking for?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
“We’re not here to deal with hypotheticals, Agent Cash,” Caldas interjected sharply. Her arms were crossed now, hands gripping her forearms and crinkling her suit.
“No, no, it’s okay,” Margie said, taking a sip of her tea. “I really don’t know, Agent Cash.”
“You can call me Frankie.”
“All right, Frankie.”
“Thing is, Margie, we have Willy’s financial records from Mountainview Bank. Do you think there’s going to be anything suspicious that we find?”
