Page 100 of Lost Lake
“You should probably talk to our director, Silas Tinsley,” he continued. “He worked more directly with her and could provide additional information. But I assure you as soon as you leave today, I’ll start an investigation into her work.”
Gabe glared at Trent. “From what you tell us, all she was doing was inputting data for you, not paying out money or taking in money. What exactly could she have done wrong?”
“On the surface, I couldn’t tell you. I’ll have to investigate and get back to you.” He gave them a patronizing smile and stood.“If that’s all, I have pressing matters to attend to, which now includes checking into this young woman’s work.”
His dismissive tone irked El, but she wouldn’t let him dismiss her before she was done questioning him. “Does a Howard Mason work for you?”
That got her first real response, a flash of surprise followed by a quick emotionless mask falling over his face. “Another name I don’t know.” He held his hand toward the door. “I must insist you leave now.”
She stood, but didn’t take a step. “One last thing. Where were you on Friday evening between seven and ten p.m.?”
“At one of our annual fundraisers. I can provide you with names and phone numbers for others who attended with me to confirm that.”
Just as Sloan had told them. “I appreciate the offer, Mr. Trent. I’ll get back to you if we need them.”
He headed straight for the door, not looking back at them, and held it open.
The only other questions El wanted to ask him would be about the van, and she wouldn’t give anyone a heads-up about that. She also wanted to question him about the girl who’d approached her at the home, but first she needed to check into the validity of her statement. She couldn’t risk alerting them that she suspected that something inappropriate was going on with the kids.
Keeping her mouth shut, she crossed the room to the door. Gabe didn’t seem as eager to leave and took sluggish steps behind her.
Once Trent’s door had closed, she stopped at Ms. Carlisle’s desk. “Thank you for all of your help. I just have one quick question for you. Can you tell me the last time Howard Mason stopped in?”
She blinked a few times. “You know I can’t share any information about Howard’s last visit.”
Ah, but you just did.
“He’s just such a great guy, isn’t he?” she asked, hoping Mason’s cop days had taught him to smooth-talk an assistant if he wanted to get anywhere. “You don’t meet many men like that these days.”
“No, you don’t. I always looked forward to his visits.”
“Okay, thanks again, Ms. Carlisle. Your help is appreciated more than you know.” El gave her a sincere smile. Not for her help, but for confirming that Howard Mason had a connection to Jonas Trent, adding an additional connection between his murder and Kenna’s.
“So Mason and Trent know each other,” Gabe said after they left Ms. Carlisle’s office. “Now we have a further connection between the murders.”
“Question is,” El said, “what does that connection mean? As a former cop, I would suspect he could’ve been one of Trent’s goons. But then, Talia doesn’t describe him as that kind of man, and he would have had to have gone against what he valued for most of his adult life.”
“He was dying. Maybe he didn’t have any money and wanted to leave some for Talia.”
“Could be. Hayden can tell us more about Mason’s finances. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for this to play out.”
At the elevator, Gabe punched the Down button. “What about Trent, though? Could he be more condescending or self-serving?
“Probably, but he really was thinking only of himself.”
“Do you like him for the murder and kidnapping?”
“Condescending and self-serving do not say murderer, so not at this point. He has an alibi, but I could see him hiring someone to do his dirty work for him.”
Gabe stared down at his feet as they walked, then he glanced at El. “Would it be worth it to him to kill Kenna to stop her from exposing financial fraud?”
“Good question.” El thought about the interview. “He’s riding high right now, and that could certainly bring him down. How far he would fall would depend on how he set up the fraud. He’s smart enough to have planned for a scapegoat to take the fall. We really need more details about what Kenna found.”
Gabe punched the elevator button again as if it would make a difference. “Then it’s time to go back to her journal.”
“Agreed.”
The elevator whisked open.
