Chirp(29)

He’d gone back to see Helga Scudder with the lame excuse of following up on a couple of points, but the truth was he liked her and was trying to figure out how to ask her for a date. He’d been out of circulation too long, and she was the first female to get his attention since his wife died.

“Mr. Fraser?”

He looked up at the maid standing in the doorway. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Mrs. Montgomery will see you now. This way, please.”

She led him into a room with arched bookcases and oval windows with a panoramic view of a small lake. His current employer sat behind an ornate desk. Holy crap. Helga had mentioned the widow’s beauty, but Tom wasn’t prepared for just how beautiful.

Long dark curls cascaded to her shoulders. Thick lashes hooded emerald eyes. And even from this distance, he could smell her exotic scent. Something floral with a hint of cinnamon. Everything men dreamed of—sex and money. All wrapped in a tight blue silk dress. Grant Montgomery had been one lucky bastard. At least for a while.

She sat ruler straight, as if on a throne. The only thing missing? A crown, and he felt like the court jester.

She smiled and rose to her full height. “Come in, Mr. Fraser. It’s so nice to meet you in person.” Didn’t offer her hand, just motioned for him to sit. Perhaps he should have kissed her ring. Couldn’t miss the damn thing. Three carats, at least.

He sat on the black velvet chair facing her.

Marla reclaimed her seat and shuffled through papers. “I appreciate the weekly reports. However, it seems you’ve made no new discoveries. Simply verified the prior investigators’ findings. That’s disappointing.”

“True, but I like to check all the facts for myself, and I’ve barely gotten started. The men before me didn’t follow up on sightings posted on the reward website. I’m in the process of doing that. It’s a tedious procedure, but that may be our best shot at finding her.”

Marla tapped her nails on the desk. “Impressive. But you did say tedious. How long will it take?”

“Hard to say. But I have two computer techs working on it, so hopefully sooner than later.”

He wanted to ask about the kid’s inheritance and why Marla believed a girl would run away from such massive wealth, but decided against it. No need to rile her. She was paying him damn good money.

She fixed her eyes on him. “Hire more men. Whatever it takes. Thelma will see you out.”

He didn’t know how Marla summoned the maid, but within a few seconds she appeared. Probably black magic, because the widow possessed the power to cast a spell for sure.

Tom sat in his car and gathered his thoughts, then headed downtown. Next stop: Montgomery Steel’s CEO, William Sherman, who was, according to Helga, the girl’s godfather.

As he drove he replayed his first impression of Marla. She wasn’t only beautiful, she was smart. Street smart. No doubt she’d educated herself on how to get a man’s attention by stroking his ego. Beauty and manipulation were a dangerous combination.

Since the company provided valet parking, Tom pulled right up to the front door. Anytime he could save his knees stress, he took it. The tallest high-rise in Houston loomed over most of the surrounding landscape. Fifty stories of curved blue glass and metal reflected light in all directions. He hated heights, and a glass elevator made the phobia worse. Especially when he had to go all the way to the twenty-ninth floor.

The doors opened into a general reception flanked by two hallways. The young woman sitting at the desk looked up. “May I help you?”

“Tom Fraser to see Mr. Sherman.”

She typed something on her computer and nodded. “Sharon will escort you.”

Before Tom could thank her, a perky brunette spoke. “Right this way, sir.” She led him to the end of the hall. “Go right in.”

A gray-haired man rose from behind his desk and stuck out his hand. “Bill Sherman. Have a seat, Mr. Fraser.”

Tom shook the man’s hand, dropped into one of the leather high-backs, and got right to the point. “What happens to your job once the Montgomery girl takes over?”

“I retire.”

Oh, so this was how it would be. Answer questions as if on the witness stand. Say no more than necessary. “Forced or your choice?”

Sherman shouldered back in his executive chair. “My choice.”

Tom leaned forward. “I’m not your enemy. Just trying to do my job.”

Sherman narrowed his eyes. “I’m not so sure about that. You work for Marla, and that puts you on the opposing team.”

“So you won’t help me?”

“Grant was like a brother,” Sherman said. “He made one mistake in his life—marrying that woman. She fooled us all. Even I thought it was a good match. The age difference bothered me, but she seemed to love him. Turned out Marla was a money-grabbing narcissist.”

Tom blinked at the strong language. He had yet to find anyone who liked her. “Enlighten me.”

“She wasn’t faithful. One of Grant’s long-term employees kept quiet for a while because she didn’t want to hurt him, but she finally came to me. Once she did, I hired an investigator and gathered proof. By then Grant was sick again. He wasn’t up to a bitter divorce battle, so he endured it.”

The CEO rested his arms on his desk. “I’m sixty-eight. I was ready to retire three years ago, but I promised Grant I’d stay until the company was safe.”