No Way to Die by M. D. Grayson Read Free Book Online

saying is, you will be the first one they want to interview. If they thought a murder had been committed, you’d be the first one they’d want to sit down and talk with. If we get that far, they will almost certainly want to make themselves comfortable that you had nothing to do with it, as we have just done. They’ll work you over pretty hard—they’ll want to seriously test your conviction.”
    “Katherine,”Dad said, “if it comes to that, we’ll bring in the best legal advice for you. You’ll be ready.” She nodded.
    “It’s just a heads-up,” I said. “Anyway, after the spouse, I’d want a list of brothers and sisters, then of business associates—particularly those connected with the company or anyone who had an ownership stake in it.”
    “He has no living relatives,” Katherine said. “There’s just one business partner.”
    “Who’s that?” I asked.
    “Holly Kenworth is—was—Thomas’s assistant and main business associate. Holly is a bright young mathematician. She’s very smart. Thomas always felt that Holly could handle much of the same work that he did. I doubt if she’s that smart, but I know Thomas always thought highly of her. She has a small ownership interest in the company as well. In the technology business, you often reward people with stock options in order for them to be willing to pour their creativity into a project.”
    “Anyone else?”
    Katherine considered it for a moment, and then shook her head no. “That’s it. If I think of anyone else, I’ll call you.”
    Dad said, “I have some of the company paperwork—the LLC organization papers, for instance. But I’m not sure if I have the latest set.”
    “Who’s the LLC manager?” I said.
    “Originally, it was Thomas,” he said.
    “And now that he’s gone?”
    “I’m not certain if the company had a succession plan. Certainly, Katherine is far and away the majority owner—90 percent, I believe. But for real information regarding ACS, you need to talk with the company attorney directly,”Dad said. “I only represent Katherine in this matter, not the company. The company itself has a relationship with Meiers-Day.” Meiers-Day was one of the larger law firms in Seattle.
    “Who’s the contact?” I asked.
    “I think it’s one of the partners over there—a guy named John Ogden.”
    Toni’d been writing this down in her notebook. At the mention of the name, I glanced up at her. I caught her pausing as she digested the name, maybe the slightest hint of a smile on her face until she realized I was looking at her. Then, any trace of a smile quickly vanished.
    “We know him,” I said. “We’ll give him a call. Toni, do you have anything else?”
    “Not for now,” she said.
    “Okay,” I turned to Katherine, “Katherine, this has been really helpful. Again, we’re deeply sorry for you and your kids having to go through this. Initially, I’d say we’re very interested in helping you get to the bottom of what really happened.”
    “Thank you,” she said. “I would be very grateful.”
    I continued. “What we’d like to do is talk to the police and find out why they’re so convinced it was a suicide. If they don’t mind us rooting around, then I want to run this past all of my work associates to make sure it’s an assignment we can really help with.”
    She nodded.
    “I’ve already explained your rates to Katherine,”Dad said.
    “And they’re acceptable?” I asked.
    She nodded. “If Thomas was murdered and you can get the police to reopen the case,” Katherine said, “I’ll consider your fee a bargain. As a matter of fact, if that happens, I’ll double your fee.”
    “That’s very generous,” I said. “We’ll go to work and try to figure out exactly what happened. We’ll be in touch,” I said, and Toni and I stood to leave.
    * * * *
    The windshield wipers worked in a slow, intermittent pattern to flick away the drizzle as I drove us back up Highway 99 to the office.
    “What