Promise Not To Tell(52)

“That’s often the way big firms deal with embezzlers,” Cabot said. “It avoids the bad publicity.”

“What did you mean when you said that Sandra got scary?” Virginia asked.

“It’s hard to explain,” Kate said. “She seemed to be seething all the time. And she had mood swings. One day I found her sobbing in the restroom. I asked her if she was okay. She told me to fuck off.”

“Do you think she might have been the embezzler?” Cabot asked.

“I guess we’ll all find out soon enough,” Kate said. “If she was the one who was skimming off money, the losses should stop, right?” Kate started to close the door. “Look, that’s all I can tell you. I really don’t know anything else.”

“Wait,” Virginia said quickly. “One more thing – did Sandra have any close friends at the company?”

“Not that I know of. She wasn’t the type who attracted friends.”

Once again Kate started to close the door. Cabot took out a card and handed it to her.

“If you think of anything else that might be helpful – anything at all – please call me,” he said. “Day or night.”

“All right.” Kate took the card and closed the door.

Virginia heard the lock click into place. Without a word, she and Cabot walked down the hall to the elevators. She pressed the call button.

“Well?” she said. “What’s your take on her?”

“I think she’s nervous,” Cabot said. “But that doesn’t give us much to go on.”

His phone beeped. He unclipped it and checked the screen. His jaw tightened as he read the message. Without a word he clipped the phone back on his belt.

“What?” Virginia asked.

“A message from Anson. We’re expected for dinner again this evening.”

“Okay,” Virginia said.

“Okay?”

“You can do this, Cabot. You are a tough crime fighter. You can handle a teenager who just wants to know more about you.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do with a seventeen-year-old boy?”

“Give him a job.”

“A job? He’s seventeen.”

“Exactly,” Virginia said. “He’s seventeen. That means he probably knows a lot more about the online world than you and me and Anson put together. Ask Xavier to do some online research for you.”

She thought Cabot was going to come back with a hard no to that suggestion. But he didn’t. Instead he appeared to give the idea some serious thought.

“Huh,” he said.

CHAPTER 35

“It’s going to be all right,” Virginia said. “I’m not saying it will be comfortable, but it will be okay. All families are dysfunctional in one way or another.”

They were back in her condo, sitting on her sofa. The second dinner with Xavier and Anson had gotten off to a rocky start, but when Cabot had suggested that Xavier help Anson work on the little math book, Xavier lit up with enthusiasm. He had asked an endless string of questions while wolfing down half the pizza.

By the time Cabot and Virginia left, Xavier had been deep into the photocopied pages of the book.

“Easy for you to say all families are dysfunctional,” Cabot muttered. He swallowed some of his beer and set the bottle down. “You’re not the one who is suddenly developing a lot of connections with a family that, until recently, didn’t give a damn whether you were alive or dead.”

“I understand,” she said. “But it occurs to me that what you are witnessing is a change of generations in the Kennington family. The old man, as you call him, is gone. Now that he’s dead, the younger family members are taking charge. They may know some of the history of your relationship with the rest of the Kennington family —”

“That’s just it. I don’t have a relationship with the Kennington people.”

“Well, you do now. My advice is to deal with it.”

He glared at her. “Are you on the Kennington side of this thing?”

“I’m not taking sides. I’m offering advice.”

“I don’t need advice.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to give you some. Don’t worry, it’s free.”

Cabot raised his eyes. “And worth exactly what you’re charging?”

She looked at him. “Do you want my advice or not?”

He groaned. “I know you’re trying to be helpful. What’s your advice?”

“We both know that Xavier had nothing to do with what happened all those years ago.”

“I’m not arguing that point.”

“So try to look at him as an individual in his own right. He’s a young man who is going through some perfectly natural growing pains while simultaneously becoming the collateral damage that always comes down when divorce happens. With things in a bad way at home, it’s not surprising that he has suddenly developed a deep curiosity about his long-lost, mysterious cousin.”

“I’m not mysterious and I was never lost. The lawyer, Burleigh, sure knew how to find me. So did Xavier.”

“Well, it’s not as if you were trying to stay hidden,” she said. “Not like Quinton Zane.”