Page 55 of Shadow of Death
Hunter hadn’t met her yet—not when she’d been conscious. Amy introduced him, and she thanked him, too.
“One more night. If I’ve responded well to everything to clean out my system, I get to go home tomorrow,” she said.
“That’s great,” Amy told her. “Glad to hear it! By any chance—”
“Do I remember anything else?” Magda asked. She shook her head. “I’m so sorry.”
“Agents are working to get a photo book together of the cult members they’ve brought in,” Hunter told her. “Maybe you’ll recognize one of them as someone who was hanging around the club.”
“I will be more than happy to help in any way!” she assured them, and then frowned. She was looking toward the door, and Hunter quickly turned to do the same. There was a man standing there.
A man they knew from their visit to the Barrington Advertising Agency.
It was Malcolm Barrington.
The man was dressed for work in a handsome suit.
“Excuse me,” he told them.
“Do you need one of us?” Hunter asked. “Have you heard from Hayden or Don?”
“No, I’m afraid I haven’t—and trust me, this isn’t like either of them. With all that’s gone on and hit the news lately, we’re all deeply concerned, all their coworkers, families, and friends. Hayden and Don are loved and valued. I came to check in on Carey and see how she was doing. I was delighted to see she’ll be going on home. And since I was here, I asked one of the agents if he thought it was all right if I introduced myself and checked in with Miss Kenward. I wanted to assure her if she wanted a...different job at any time, we’d be happy to find a place for her at Barrington Advertising.”
“That’s so nice of you!” Magda said. “Thank you. I—I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m just paying my way through college—”
“And I will be happy to work with you on that,” Barrington told her.
“Wow. I—I’m going to take a few days,” Magda said. “And then—”
“The offer remains open,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just here seeing Carey, and thought...well, you might want something different. Anyway, I’ll get out of your hair—and know again, you’re welcome at Barrington anytime.”
He smiled a little awkwardly and turned away. Hunter nodded at Amy and went after Malcolm and stopped him in the hallway.
“I’m sorry—I am a man who knows protocol. I should have asked permission from you before going to that young woman’s room,” Barrington said.
“It’s all right. Offering her a job was a nice thing,” Hunter told him.
Barrington nodded, looking away. “I heard, too, that one of the members of that wretched cult was in here, wounded. I found myself wishing that... Well, I want to be the person who can forgive, but I think of these young ladies who came so close to death and...well. Anyway. I have not heard from Don or Hayden. Your people haven’t found anything?”
“No, sir, I’m afraid not. Don was never in Vegas—we know that much.”
“But you broke up the cult on the cliffs—”
“We think there’s more to it than what we’ve seen,” Hunter told him. “You’re top brass at your company. It was nice of you to come in here.”
“We are a private company and it is my company,” Barrington said. “Naturally, I’m going to care about each and every one of my employees.”
“Of course.”
“And you are working to solve this thing all the way, right?” Barrington asked.
“At the local, state, and federal levels, yes,” Hunter told him.
“Thank you. Well, as you said, I am the big cheese. I better get myself to the office. Thank you, and you take care.”
“You, too,” Hunter told him.
He headed back to Magda’s room where Magda and Amy were both smiling.
