Murder.Com (2 page)

     
"A nice cup of black coffee to start."
 
Angie rubbed her temples.
 
"Champagne always gives me a headache."

     
"You gave a nice party."

     
"Thank you.
 
But no one would miss a celebration that served Marty Casale's hors d'oeuvres."

     
Marty's cheeks turned a rosy pink.
 
She ducked her head, grinning broadly.

     
Pouring a cup of coffee, Angie touched Marty's shoulder.
 
"I'll eat with Bud when he gets back from golfing.
 
You know him, a creature of habit.
 
He'll hit this door famished as soon as his game is over."

*****

     
Ken Weber, Bud's right hand man at the company, accompanied him on the golf course.
 
They'd known each other since college and together had formed Nevers Computer Technology;
 
Bud, the CEO and Ken, the President.

     
Ken stood head and shoulders above the foursome of men as they said their good-byes at the edge of the course alongside the parking lot.
 
Bud turned his clubs over to the caddy and started for the clubhouse.
 
Ken's long strides soon caught up with his rapid pace.
 
"Hey, Buddy, what's with you today?
 
Your game showed maybe too much champagne last night?"

     
"Partly."

     
Bud had noticed Ken eyeing him through the set of eighteen holes and expected his questions.

     
"Something bothering you?"
 

     
"You could say that."
 
Bud paused, "Melinda paid me a visit."

     
Ken stopped in his tracks, his sharp green eyes narrowed.
 
"When?"

     
Bud continued walking.
 
"Last night at the party."

     
"What the hell?"
 
He hastened up alongside Bud.
 
"I didn't see her."

     
"Fortunately, I stopped her before she got inside"

     
"Shit.
 
What'd she want?"

     
"You realize she's graduated from college and is twenty-three years old?
 
Hard to believe."

     
Ken nodded.

     
"She doesn't want the money to stop.
 
If it does, she'll talk.
 
Said her mother's furious, but she doesn't care.
 
She's taking the matter into her own hands now."
 
He halted and looked at Ken.
 
"But that's not all that's bothering me.
 
What in the hell is ABC Wafer Company?"

     
Startled, Ken stepped back.
 
"What are you talking about?"

     
"I'm not an accountant, Ken.
 
But something fishy is going on with the books."

     
Ken rubbed the back of his neck and looked out over the golf course.
 
"Damn.
 
Then we better get an auditor."

     
A woman's voice from across the parking lot distracted them.
 
"Ken! Bud!
 
How'd you do?"

     
Sandy, Ken's wife, who'd been playing tennis on the club's courts, came toward them.
 
"Oh dear, looks like I've interrupted a serious conversation."

     
Bud watched Ken put on a big grin and slip his arm around her shoulders.
 
"No problem, just trying to figure out why Bud's swing fell so short today."

     
Sandy raised a finely-arched brow and grinned.
 
"What you're saying is the other guys whipped your butts."

     
Bud forced a smile.
 
"Yeah, something like that."

     
Sandy glanced at Ken.
 
"Ready to go?"

     
"Yeah."
 
He threw a skeptical look over his shoulder at Bud.
 
"We'll talk later."

     
Bud watched the couple walk away.
 
Then with a sigh, he headed toward his car in the parking lot.

     
Driving home, he thought about how he'd broach the subject of Melinda to Angie.
 
It wouldn't be easy; he knew she'd be full of questions.
 
Suddenly, a news bulletin came over the radio mentioning the local high school.
 
Bud turned up the volume.
 
He learned that Highway Seventeen had been closed due to a serious accident involving a semi-truck and a school bus full of high school seniors heading for the beach.
 
He remembered Ken mentioning that his twin girls were going to the beach with their school today.
 
Swerving to the side of the road, he made a U-turn.

     
The minute he approached the Weber's driveway, he saw Ken and Sandy backing out.
 
He sensed the twins were on that bus.
 
Ken rolled down the car window, his face pallid.
 
"There's been a wreck."
 

     
Bud nodded.
 
"I heard on the radio.
 
That's why I'm here.
 
Any news?"

     
In tears and looking on the verge of hysteria, Sandy wiped her eyes.
 
"Not yet."
 
Her voice trembled.
 
"We're on our way to the hospital now."

     
Bud watched as they gunned past him.
 
"Dear God," he said aloud.
 
"I do believe things come in threes.
 
First the accounting entry, then Melinda's visit and now this wreck."

     
When he got home, he rushed inside and tuned the television to the local news station.

     
Angie hurried into the TV room.
 
"What is it?"

     
He pointed at the screen.
 
"Bad wreck.
 
The Weber twins were on that school bus."

     
Her hand went to her mouth as she stared at the overturned yellow bus hanging halfway over the edge of the road.
 
"Are you sure the girls were on it?"

     
"Yeah, I just left Ken and Sandy.
 
They're pretty shook up and were headed for the hospital."

     
Angie slid into the chair, her eyes glued to the TV coverage of the grisly wreck as paramedics lifted a stretcher with a covered body into an awaiting ambulance.

     
Bud shot a sideways glance at her, folded his arms across his chest and continued to watch the news.
 
He felt guilty that this tragedy bought him time at the expense of the Webers' girls.
 
At least for a while, he wouldn't have to answer questions about Melinda.

Chapter Two

     
The small community rallied together after the accident.
 
Having no children of her own, Angie loved Cindy and Wendy Weber as if they were and felt great relief that the twins had survived the horrific crash with only minor cuts and bruises.
 
However, she still worried about their mental state after Sandy told how they'd watched as a classmate bled to death.

     
Angie spent most of the next few days at the Weber home, offering comfort to the girls and helping Sandy.
 
At Marty's insistence they prepared meals for the families of the victims and for those exhausted parents spending long vigils at the hospital with their critically injured children.
 
Angie delivered those dinners and lunches.
 
The week passed in a blur.

     
Bud sat in his office, glued to the computer, tapping a pencil on the desk.
 
The more he studied the books, the more hidden entries he found.
 
He now knew that someone had skimmed a lot of money out of the company, deleting profit over a long period of time.
 
He tossed his pencil across the desk.
 
To think he'd trusted his staff without reservation.
 
But the evidence proved that someone had betrayed him.
 
Hands clasped behind his back, he went to the window and stared out.
 
He'd have to call in an auditor to find the full extent of the embezzlement.

     
Rubbing his neck, he sighed.
 
As if he didn't have enough on his mind, Melinda had to enter the picture.
 
There hadn't been an opportunity to sit down and discuss it with Angie.
 
But he knew she would bring it up soon, especially now that the twins were better.
 
He let out another deep sigh and rubbed his temples.
 
"Why can't life be simple?"
 
Grumbling, he locked the files on the computer and shut down.
 
"Might as well go home and get it over with."

     
Angie's car wasn't in the garage when he pulled in, but Marty greeted him when he strolled into the kitchen.
 
"Good evening, Mr. Nevers."

     
"Hello, Marty."
 
He sat down at the table, set for one.
 
"Where's Angie?"

     
"The Weber's.
 
She took over a meal."

     
He picked up the fork and twirled it between his fingers.
 
"Aren't things about back to normal over there?"

     
"Yes, sir."

     
Bud noticed she avoided his gaze.
 
"Marty."\par
     
"Yes, Mr. Nevers."

     
He dropped the fork on his plate, making a loud clatter, then hit the table with his fist.
 
"Cut the formality, Marty.
 
You know Melinda came to the party last Friday night."

     
Her shoulders and back stiffened as she moved to the sink.
 
"Yes.
 
I begged her not to come."

     
"Did Angie mention it to you?"

     
"No, not a word.
 
But why should she?"

     
"Once I tell her about Melinda, she'll probably fire you."

     
Marty whirled around, her eyes narrowed.
 
"Why tell her?
 
She'll only be hurt.
 
You're the one who'll be caught in the middle."

     
At that moment, Bud heard his home-office phone ring and left the room.
 
Fifteen minutes later when he returned, Marty had gone.
 
It didn't surprise him.
 
He sat down at the table, ate his lukewarm dinner, then sauntered into the television room to the wet bar where he mixed a stiff scotch and water.
 
Relaxing in his leather recliner, he felt the exhaustion of the week slide over him.
 
He knew he couldn't delay the Melinda matter much longer, but he sure didn't want to discuss it with Angie tonight.
 
With slow dragging steps, he took himself off to bed.

     
Marty Casales walked to her bungalow on the other side of the garage and stepped into the home she cherished.
 
She'd grown up with Angie and had been employed by the Nevers for twenty-five years.
 
The thought of it ending squeezed her heart.
 
She loved Angie Nevers.
 
The woman didn't have a selfish bone in her body.
 
Glancing around the room, she let her mind drift back over the years.
 
Angie had had this cottage specially built for her so she could remain on the property.
 
At the time, Angie had dreamt of having children and wanted her as a nanny.
 

     
Angie carried her first baby for only four months, the second for five.
 
She tried to be brave, but after the doctors told her she couldn't bear children, she went into deep depression, unable to take care of herself or her home.
 
Marty stepped in and took over, becoming Angie's caretaker for over a year.

     
Troubled by her memories, Marty went to the cabinet and pulled out the vodka.
 
Unchecked tears streamed down her cheeks.
 
She collapsed into a chair and lifted the bottle to her lips.
 
Glancing around her little bungalow, she closed her eyes in shame.