Page 21 of Shadow of Death
Milly Garrison shook her head. “I’m... Well, I’m out here. I’m the face of the company when people arrive, but I don’t spend time in the main offices, on the floor... I mean, everyone is great, but I can’t say I know my fellow workers well. I know how upset and worried everyone is. Oh, I mean, I’m upset and worried, too—but I’m not someone Don Blake would have confided anything to. I know they say he went with Carey and I hope he’s okay...”
“Theysayhe went with Carey?” Amy asked.
“Oh, I mean, as far as I know, he did. It’s just...well, Don was—is—very good-looking and he knows it. And he’s...nice! I don’t mean he’s not nice. It’s just Carey can be kind of shy, and she’s the outdoor type. And from what I’ve seen, Don likes the ultrasophisticated more... I don’t know. More elegant woman.”
“I thought you didn’t know him well,” Amy said, frowning.
“I don’t. But I’m the receptionist. I see people who come to meet people, and some of Don’s clients are well... He does some clothing and makeup accounts. I’ve seen him with model types—and I wouldn’t have hurt Carey for the world, but I personally didn’t see Don Blake being interested in Carey. She is truly sweet and kind, and everything about her is warm and wonderful, and... I just never saw the two of them together. I mean, I knew she had the crush, but...he’s a charmer. And I sure didn’t see him wanting to settle down anytime soon.”
“I see,” Amy said, and smiled. “Thank you so much. We really appreciate your opinions and your candor. It could really help us find Don Blake. We’ll see you tomorrow and thank you so much again.”
“I—you’re welcome, of course! We all want to help. I’m just not sure we can.”
“Right. One big family,” Hunter said, hoping his smile appeared as sincere as Amy’s.
They left the building at last. Amy glanced at him.
“Well?”
“Kumbaya,” Hunter murmured.
“You think something there is suspicious?” Amy asked him.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure what. But when something looks too good to be true, it is. Private company, one big family. I don’t know. And we do know Don Blakewaswith Carey—and if they were so not right for one another, why was he with her?”
“So, you’re suspicious of the company or Don Blake?” Amy asked him.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure on that one yet. And if we do find Don Blake’s body—”
He felt his phone vibrating and quickly glanced at the caller ID. He glanced at Amy. “I think we’re about to find out. It’s Andy. Putting you on speaker, Andy,” he told his friend and coworker.
“Hunter, our guy in the pit can’t be Don Blake,” Andy told him. “Same approximate height and weight, but not Don. No match on dental work. And another reason it couldn’t have been Don—Adler estimates the body was deep in that pit for a week to ten days. And something was different—this guy was shoved deep into the pit. He didn’t die the way the others did. He was stabbed straight through the heart.”
“Stabbed?” Amy repeated.
“Stabbed with precision,” Andy said. “They’ve dug through that place for hours and hours now. They haven’t found the weapon. And thankfully, they only found the one body.”
“All right, then, thanks. We’re going to take a cruise by the hospital to see Carey, and then interview Loretta Peterson and Brenda Hayes. Just leaving Barrington Advertising now.”
“Anything?” Andy asked hopefully.
“Not yet. We’re coming back tomorrow. We’ll keep in touch.”
He ended the call and looked at Amy. “Well, now we can tell Carey that while we haven’t found Don, we can still hope he’s all right.”
Amy smiled and said quietly, “I know we work the case, what’s needed for the case, and we can’t let emotion into it—”
“Can’t say I really agree with that mantra. Sometimes, emotion is good,” he told her. “Amy, it’s okay for you to like Carey, and you don’t want to cause more pain to a traumatized woman if you don’t have to. Seriously. We’ve both been at this for a while now. We’re doing all right. Okay, mostly. Even if you did fall asleep on me last night.”
“Oh! Well, you could have woken me up.”
“Too cruel. Not even I am that cruel,” he teased. He grasped her hand as they continued walking to the car. “See, I know there will be more nights to come.”
She laughed. “And days. You know, days when we’re looking out at and playing in beautiful semitropical waters—and then plowing into dark, mucky pits.”
“Well, sure. There is that.”
She grinned. “Let’s get to Carey! We still have a long afternoon ahead of us.”
