Lost in Time(9)

Without another word, Elliott marched out.

“He’s right about the press,” Constance said. “If the public perception is that you’re guilty, it’ll be hard to change that—even after the facts come out. And kids can be cruel. We need to get ahead of this for Ryan’s sake.”

“True,” Sam muttered.

“Back to motive,” Daniele said. “I’m not sure the Absolom connection is right.”

“How so?” Hiro asked.

“I think Absolom—and the next generation of it—is on our minds, and that’s the first thing we see. But we should look at the more obvious motives. The two classic reasons for murder.”

“Which are?” Sam asked.

“Love and money.”

Sam shrugged. “Not sure that helps. If love is the motive, that would seem to lead back to me.”

“But framing you doesn’t,” Daniele said. “Think about it—what if the person who killed Nora was in love with her? The killer finds out you’ve been seeing her. They know it’s getting serious. And they can’t handle it.”

“Then why would they frame Adeline?” Constance asked.

Daniele focused on Sam. “I believe you can answer that.”

“Maximum pain.”

Daniele nodded. “The only thing worse than losing your future is seeing your kids lose theirs. Whoever killed Nora might have seen an opportunity to strike back at both of the people responsible for their unreturned affection: Nora and Sam.”

“That leaves money,” Hiro said.

“And Nora would have left a lot of it,” Daniele said. “Her shares in Absolom Sciences are worth billions.”

Hiro nodded. “But she doesn’t have any children. And she’s a widow. Who would it go to?”

“I think we should find that out. And I think we should make a list of everyone who knew the contents of her will.”

“I agree,” Sam said. “But if it’s for the money, why frame me?”

“Convenience,” Daniele said. “In homicide investigations, the police almost always start with lovers and former lovers. You were there. There was an altercation. It works out well.”

“Next steps?” Constance asked.

“I’ll call Tom Morris,” Daniele said. “Nora may have filed her will with the company.”

“I’ll start trying to track down any former romantic acquaintances,” Hiro said.

Sam turned to Daniele. “I hate to ask, but Ryan’s still here at the station. And…”

“You want me to keep him? Of course. I’m happy to, Sam.”

*

When they left, Sam began clearing the take-out containers from the dining table. A small slip of paper was lying under one of the sushi trays. At first, Sam thought it was the message from a fortune cookie, but there weren’t any of those with the meal.

He picked it up and read the short message:

LOOK UNDER THE TABLE

He felt his pulse quicken.

Still holding the slip of paper, he moved to the door, locked it, and set the short note back on the table. They would need to get fingerprints off of it, though he figured that was likely a long shot.

He looked under the dining table, but there was nothing there. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled under and peered up.

Taped to the underside of the table was a small cream-colored envelope.





EIGHT


For a while, Sam simply stared at the envelope attached to the bottom side of the dining table.

He knew he should call the police and have it fingerprinted and analyzed.

But what if it incriminated him somehow?

Whoever had taped it there was clearly a step ahead of him. And there were only four people who could have put it there—the only four people who had sat at the table: Elliott, Hiro, Daniele, and Constance.

His closest friends and colleagues.

Could he add Tom Morris, the Absolom chief counsel, to the suspect list? Sam thought back. No. The entire time Tom had been in the room, he had sat in the lounge area, never at the dining table.

Could someone else have gotten in here? No. The room had been guarded by a staffer from Absolom Security while he was gone.

It had to have been left by one of the four.

Sam reached up, pulled the envelope free, and flipped it over. The entire outside was blank.

He opened it, slipped the folded page out, and read the typed message.

Sam,

You have a choice.

Confess to Nora’s murder, and Adeline will go free. No harm will come to her.

If you refuse, I will send the police irrefutable evidence of Adeline’s guilt.

You have until 5pm.

Choose wisely.

Absolom awaits.

The small page shook as Sam’s hand began to tremble. His chest heaved as he sucked in breath after breath, but try as he might, he couldn’t fill his lungs. It was like they were shrinking.

He was suffocating.

His legs felt weak. He staggered to the couch, closed his eyes, and tried to breathe.

He was losing the battle.

He was dying.

A knock at the door sounded a million miles away.

“Dr. Anderson!” The man’s shout was muffled, as though Sam was underwater. “Dr. Anderson! Are you all right?”