Kirby argued with him, and eventually we were able to get out of the building.”
She lowered her head, tears springing to her eyes. “We were sure Tristan would try to kill me. We went for a quick dinner to make plans. He gave me Wade’s name and told me to leave California. When he drove me home, Tristan was waiting inside my house. He had a gun.”
Wiping away a tear, she took a pillow from the bed and hugged it, then slowly turned to look at him, cheek resting on the pillow. “Tristan found a knife in my kitchen and tried to stab me. Kirby stopped him. He and Tristan fought, and Kirby was stabbed. Tristan forced me to handle the knife. He was wearing gloves. He never used his gun and took the knife with him when he left. The police found it in a Dumpster near my house. As Kirby lay there dying, he told me to go as we’d planned. I called for help for him and did as he suggested. Now I wish I never had.”
Because going to Wade had led to more trouble. Lincoln reached over and touched her back, rubbing gently. “Did Wade help you the way Kirby said he would?”
“At first. He arranged a false ID for me. But he held that over my head, tried to get me to start buying guns through his store so that he could sell them illegally on the street. He was getting greedy. I refused, and he began to get violent. Then he discovered I was gathering information on him. Most of the money he made from the illegal gun sales went to Tristan. Tristan is running the operation.”
“Why was Wade killed?” Lincoln asked, although he already had a pretty good idea.
“He knew about Kirby, that Tristan was the one who murdered him. I told him. He must have threatened to go to the police.”
Because Wade wanted more money out of the gun operation. So Tristan had killed him. If what Sabrina was saying was true, she hadn’t known Wade was in on the gun sales until after she’d gone to him for help.
Lincoln believed her. She was telling him the truth. But there were some things she was keeping from him, such as why she’d gone to the gun show. Why would someone who worked for an insurance company take interest in firearms? He supposed it was possible. Lots of people had hobbies outside of work they didn’t share. But other aspects of Sabrina’s personality didn’t fit the profile of a gun enthusiast. Her femininity. Her relationship with her dog. Hell, the dog itself. Although a hunting breed, Maddie was no hunter.
Perhaps she’d known about OneDefense, taken an interest in the company and planned to get a job there. What drove her? What was she after? To expose Tristan? Or use what she had on him to get what she wanted? What could that be? Money? Or was meeting Kirby innocent?
Now that Tristan had thwarted her efforts to clear her name, what would she do? What would they do? It was time for him to take charge.
“Go pack a bigger bag. We’re going to California,” he said.
“What? No. The police are looking for me there.”
“They’re going to be looking for you here, too. If they haven’t pieced together Kirby’s murder and your false name yet, they will very soon.”
“How do you know that?”
“They’ll recognize you in photographs, for one.”
The rest would be simple logic. How could she be Sabrina Tierney, wanted for questioning in one murder investigation, and Remy Lang, a person of interest in another? Both in different states. Of course, it would appear she’d run from one only to land herself in trouble with another.
He watched her lower her head as she drew the same conclusion. The only way to clear her name was to expose Tristan. And how would they do that when she was continually being linked to murders?
Chapter 4
Sajal Kapoor whistled as he pushed his blue janitorial cart along the polished floor of a wide hallway at OneDefense Corporation. He’d grab himself a soda before heading up to the executive and management offices to finish up his night. He was more anxious than usual to leave. His wife worked part-time at a bank. Their schedules worked well for their son and daughter, ages ten and fourteen. Sajal took them to school in the mornings and his wife picked them up. But he was always eager to get home to see her. His wife and kids were his world. He was a simple man and, frankly, was glad there were people like the ones who ran this company. He preferred his undemanding job over that life. He put in his forty hours and went home. His weekends were devoted to his family, not work.
Things sure had turned out different than his dad had always taught him. Left out of those teachings was the reality that a man had to sacrifice a family life if he wanted to make a lot of money. That wasn’t something Sajal had the slightest desire to do.
His parents had moved to the United States before he was born and raised him to believe this was a country where dreams came true. This gun company wasn’t his idea of a dream, but it gave his family health insurance and a roof over all their heads. His wife’s income went for food and clothing, and his income covered the rest. They even managed to save a small amount each month.
Hearing Enrique and Jasper at the espresso machine, a smile perked up Sajal. Tuesday night at ten o’clock in Newport Beach, California just got a little brighter. Jasper always wore jean overalls. He was OneDefense’s senior electrician. Enrique was one of four handymen. Leaving his cart near the long cafeteria island, he went to the two.
“Sajal,” Enrique greeted in his Spanish accent.
“Good morning,” Sajal said with a slight Indian accent he’d gotten from his parents, who still spoke their native language frequently. They hadn’t mastered English as well as Sajal had. Growing up here was different than immigrating.
Jasper handed him an espresso. He took it with a nod of appreciation and sipped.
“We were just talking about Kirby Clark,” Jasper said. “I heard on the news this morning that there’s still no sign of Sabrina Tierney.”
The entire company had been abuzz over Kirby’s murder. And why wouldn’t they? It wasn’t every day a man was murdered at your place of employment.
First, a rumor had spread that Kirby and the head of HR had been having an affair, then he’d turned up dead and the woman had disappeared.
“You think she did it?” Jasper asked.
“I heard another woman who was seeing Mr. Clark showed up last Tuesday asking questions about Sabrina,” Enrique said. “The two didn’t know about each other. He was bangin’ them both. And you will not believe this...the other woman is married!” Enrique’s eyes popped wide open, and a big, white, toothy smile formed on his face. He was loving the gossip.
“Explains why he kept her a secret,” Jasper said.
Sajal wasn’t so sure all of this gossip was accurate. “Sabrina’s assistant said Sabrina and Kirby were just friends. They went to lunch and dinner a lot but didn’t sleep together.”
“That’s what they’d want you to believe.” Jasper finished his espresso. “I think Sabrina found out about the other woman and killed him.”
Sabrina Tierney had always been kind to Sajal. She’d worked long hours and had usually been in her office when he’d come by to empty her trash, one of the last things he did before leaving for the night. She’d hand him the trash can and ask him how his family was doing. She even remembered their names. It was rare when someone at that level acknowledged him so genuinely. No, that woman had a good heart. He didn’t care what the news said. She didn’t kill Kirby. He may not be the brightest man on Earth, but he had a good sense about people, and Sabrina had never given him a bad feeling.
“Have you ever met her dog?” Sajal asked.
Both Enrique and Jasper looked at him without answering, mystified over his question, in such contrast to the scandal.
“No owner of a dog like that could be a killer,” he continued. “She brought her in sometimes, when she worked real late.” Which had been often. “That