Page 36 of Go Alone

Marcus nodded. “I’ll see if I can get access to a computer and the firm’s records. It’s a long shot they’ll have incriminating evidence in their records, but I might be able to find gaps that will let me know where to look.”

The door opened, and the two FBI agents stepped out. Anita pressed the button for the second floor. The doors closed in front of her a moment later, and the elevator descended with a soft whisper.

Kate surveyed the lobby in front of them. It shouted wealth. The carpet wasn’t quite plush, but it was several orders of magnitude nicer than the thin hotel-special typically found in office buildings. The reception desk was a tall obelisk of dark, richly oiled hardwood. Two large pots on either side of the desk held cycads. A high-backed leather chair made of the same dark hardwood sat behind the desk.

A man sat in that chair. He was in his late thirties with medium-length brown hair carefully and professionally styled and hazel eyes. His skin sported the kind of tan that people in Ohio could only get if they were farmers or rich enough to vacation somewhere tropical. Kate guessed the latter in his case, judging by the gold watch he sported on his right wrist.

At the moment, his hazel eyes were wide enough to bulge from their sockets, and his skin only showed its tan on his ears and the tip of his nose. The rest of that skin was as pale as if he’d seen a ghost. Which, in a way, he had.

Two officers flanked him. Kate nodded at them, and they stepped back politely.

She looked at the shellshocked partner. “Dennis Quill?”

The man swallowed. His eyes turned at Kate rather than to her. “Yeah,” he said hoarsely.

He was in shock. This was going to be a tough conversation.

“Hey, bud, you mind if I use one of your computers?” Marcus asked in a lighthearted tone.

Dennis blinked. “Sure. You can use mine. Password is Honest3_dQ17.”

“Can you write that down?”

Dennis blinked. He made no attempt to use the fountain pen sitting in an inkwell directly in front of him.

“That’s all right,” Marcus said with a smile. “I’ll figure it out.”

He glanced through the open door of the conference room and winced. Kate followed his gaze and saw Raymond Brannigan’s body in a very undignified position.

“That’s not how he was when I found him,” Dennis volunteered.

Kate turned back to him. A touch of focus had come back to his eyes, though his face remained devoid of color. “How did you find him?” she asked.

“Sitting at the table resting his head on his hands like he was praying. Or napping. I thought praying at first. He never showed up to work this early, but we have a big case with Allan Mining Company, and I thought maybe he wanted a little Divine support. He was a Baptist.”

“When did you find him?”

“Just after five. I left him alone because I believed he was praying. He was a Baptist.”

Dennis delivered his repetitive answers in a flat voice, but when Kate asked, “When did you check on him?” a shudder ran through his body.

When he spoke again, his voice trembled. "Um… Maybe fifteen minutes after I got here. I was going through my schedule, and I looked up, and he hadn't moved like at all. I got suspicious because it was weird, right? Like, he should have moved."

He laughed, as though it was the funniest thing in the world to notice that. He was coming out of shock, and a rollercoaster of emotions would follow. It would be a while yet before he could get them under control, but he could understand and answer questions right now.

“So I went to talk to him,” Dennis said. “I thought, maybe he fell asleep and the cleaners just didn’t want to wake him because, you know, old, rich lawyer. Maybe they were scared.”

“Was he an intimidating person?”

Dennis scoffed. “No. He was a teddy bear. He was like Santa Claus. I think…” He lifted a shaky hand to smooth back his hair. “I think I was just afraid to admit the truth.”

Kate nodded. “I understand that. This must be horrible for you.”

“It’s…” Dennis shook his head. “Dennis is a good guy. I just don’t get it.”

“How long have you known him?”

“Eleven years,” Dennis said. “I started as a junior associate right after I passed the bar exam. I spent nine years working my way up the ladder, and he guided me every step of the way. You know, he didn’t have to, but he noticed me. He noticed my integrity and my work ethic, and he shepherded that. He would tell me, ‘Dennis, the best thing about you is that you’re not an asshole. It’s really hard not to be an asshole in this industry. You hold onto your morals as much as you can. You don’t let them go.’ I… I looked up to him.”