Page 23 of Fatal Conspiracy

Cal held up his hand to stem his angry words. Actually, they were more desperate than angry. “Listen, son, I want you to understand that we’re not trying to pin this on you. Just the opposite is true. At the very least, we need to prove that you have no financial gain from Hugo’s death.”

“I don’t. I’m now unemployed, so I’ll have to take a lower-paid position within the company, if they’ll rehire me, or move on.”

“Mina is working to learn who gets controlling power for the company now,” Roman said.

Derek shrugged. “I would assume it’s Curtis or the entire board for a period of time. That’s how it’s usually done so that things can continue to run smoothly in the interim. From there, I would think the company would be sold via the terms are stated in the will.”

Alayah paused her typing to turn to him. “You don’t think Hugo would just leave it to someone in the company?”

“It doesn’t work that way in business,” Derek said. “Though…” He frowned, and Cal motioned for him to spit it out. “The board members have a salary, but they don’t have shares in the business. Hugo owns the business himself. Owned the business himself,” he corrected.

“Which means while you may not be privy to who the company goes to upon Hugo’s death, the board might be.”

“Maybe, but I just remembered an argument that broke out at the last board meeting. Honestly, it was the reason Hugo agreed to speak at the conference. He wanted to get away from the office for a few days and decide how to approach the matter.”

“Was it a serious argument or something minor that could be easily fixed with open communication?” Cal asked.

“This was the most serious argument I’d ever heard inthat boardroom. The board wanted to take the company public, but they couldn’t do that without Hugo’s agreement.”

“And Hugo didn’t want to do that?”

Derek shook his head as he bit his lip. “He threatened to fire them all and said the only way they’d get his company was—”

“Over his dead body,” Alayah finished, and he nodded.

“Looks like they got their wish,” Cal said.

Derek didn’t want to believe that one of the people he worked closely with every day was responsible for Hugo’s murder. Then he remembered what Ryland had said last night in the car. Everyone was capable of murder in the right circumstance.

They might have just found their motive.

Chapter Thirteen

Derek inhaled deeply as he stood on the hotel balcony. Fresh air was exactly what he’d needed after a long day of making lists and questioning everything he knew about the man he’d worked with for years. When the conference had resumed as promised, he and Alayah had stayed in his room to hunt down the Black Marlin Technologies board members. All had been accounted for in Minneapolis except for Curtis, who was accounted for in California at the time of Hugo’s murder. Upon hearing of Hugo’s death, he took the four hour flight back to Minneapolis. Derek expected a call from him soon. Was he dreading it? Yes. He expected to be blamed for Hugo’s death.

The terse text he’d received from Curtis saying he’d be calling was enough for Derek to question his choices. Rather than guess, he called Ryland for advice. Should he even talk to him, or should he let his calls go to voicemail? Ryland suggested he answer and get a feel for the temperature at the main office. There was little Curtis could do to him, so he should approach the call calmly but not offer any information that wasn’t already public knowledge.

While he waited for the call, he worked on compiling a list of anyone with deep enough pockets to purchase Black Marlin Technologies. Derek was certain it wouldn’t be Curtisor anyone else on the board. They didn’t have the capital. Hugo was unlikely to leave the company to a single individual, but the possibility existed that he would leave it to the board as a whole. If that happened, the board would take the company public and protect everyone’s job. He understood their argument, but he also saw Hugo’s side. He’d started the company with nothing and had built it into what it was today. Hugo knew that taking a company public was often a nightmare scenario that destroyed friendships, not that his refusal not to hadn’t resulted in possibly the same thing.

Hugo had told Derek on the way to Minneapolis that he was making plans for semiretirement. He wanted to live a little before he was too old to enjoy a sunset cruise in Alaska or the company of a beautiful woman. Had that surprised him? Yes. Honestly, he figured his boss would work until he’d had a heart attack on the job. Ironically, he had, but it wasn’t of his own doing. It left Derek to wonder who else knew about his retirement plans. Hugo never came out and said he was selling the company, but it wasn’t a business you could give only part-time attention to. He would have to sell or hand over his control of the business to someone else for it to run smoothly. Suddenly, Derek wished he had asked more questions. He’d just thought it was Hugo being Hugo, and there was no way the man who was so consumed by work would ever walk away from it.

Thinking back over the last few years, he could see Hugo moving toward retirement. He attended fewer conferences and was less excited about every little development that came across his desk. He relied on Derek to keep things running while he took long lunches and early dinners. Maybe that was why he had started to feel so jaded about his work over the last year. His work had frequently become him doing Hugo’s work. He stood up straight onan inhale. Why hadn’t he thought of that until now? Maybe because when in the trenches, a person didn’t see anything around them until they climbed out.

His phone rang, and he glanced at the number, taking a steeling breath before answering. “Curtis,” he said as a greeting. “Thank you for getting back to town so quickly.”

The man on the other end was silent momentarily. “I’m still in shock. What the hell happened?”

“I wish I could tell you,” Derek admitted. “We did the same thing we do for every conference.”

“But somehow, a lethal dose of antifreeze ended up in his water? The water you poured into the bottle?”

Derek had already braced himself for the accusation, but it still hurt to hear it from someone he’d worked so closely with. He was not about to discuss this with him, as Ryland warned him the call may be recorded. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to return to the office,” he said instead. “It could be a week, but hopefully less. Once I’m cleared to leave town, I’ll head back.”

“Whatever for?” the man asked, disdain lacing the two words. “Your employment here has been terminated based on Hugo’s death. Your personal effects will be shipped to your house.”

“I see.” Derek had been prepared for that scenario, but it still hurt. He had considered them friends and had hoped they’d look out for him. He would get his final pay, as per his contract, but then he’d be on his own. “Maybe we should sit down and talk about this. You may need my help until Hugo’s will is read and the business secured.”

“As though we’d need help securing the business from a glorified secretary. I think we can manage while Hugo’s lawyer sorts out his wishes. You may leave your work computerand phone at the front desk. Your credentials have been pulled, so don’t bother trying to log in.”