Page 37 of Fatal Conspiracy

Alayah did the math in her head. “We returned to the room about 0330 hours. If they move his time of death to even thirty minutes later, then we’re still suspects. We won’t know for sure until the autopsy is complete. That said, the only person with a reason to meet up with Josh would be Derek.”

“Gee, just when I think I’m in the clear,” he muttered.

“But you were with me all night,” Alayah reminded him. “Uh, I mean, we were in the same room, so I’m his alibi,” she clarified, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t see the smirk on Selina’s face.

“And we will need your skills to prove that alibi to the police. While it’s true Josh was not my favorite person, I had no reason to meet up with him at that time of the morning.”

“How do you want to break this down, boss?” Roman asked, leaning forward. “Our security services are no longer needed, which frees us up. Do you want us to head back to Secure Inc.?”

“You can’t,” he answered, leaning on a table. “Not until you’ve all been cleared. I want Zac and Declan to focus on using the hotel footage to clear everyone on the team. Text Zac the time you went to your room, if you left it at any point after that, where you went, and when you returned.” He turned to Zac and Declan. “Clear the security team first.” Zac nodded, so Cal continued. “While you’re waiting, start packing up the equipment. I want to send everyone out of here in waves to ensure we have enough vehicles left here to get everyone home.”

“What do you want me to do?” Alayah asked, and he held up his finger to her, which signaled to Derek that he wanted to discuss that in private.

“Roman, check in with Mina and see if she can get us that video footage from the marina. Have her send it to Alayah once she has it.”

“If she has it,” Roman said, pulling his phone out.

Cal grinned. “Right, if she has it,” he said, puttingifin air quotes, which made everyone in the room laugh.

Roman left the room with the phone to his ear, and Selina and Efren stood. “Since there’s nothing we can do,” Selina said. “We’re going to the museum.”

“The museum?” Cal asked in surprise.

“I heard that the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center shouldn’t be missed. It’s in Superior near the harbor.”

Cal smirked and dug into his pocket, tossing her some keys. “Have fun, you two lovebirds. Don’t get caught doing something I wouldn’t do.”

“Hooah,” Efren said as they left the room.

“Hooah?” Derek asked. “I thought that was what the Marines said.”

“It means heard, understood and acknowledged,” Cal said as he sat down. “H-U-A, but you say hooah. It’s an army thing.” He tapped the table to get them back on track. “Did you guys leave the room last night after you returned from the meeting with Detective Henry?”

“No,” Alayah said. “We went back to the room and passed out until I got the all-call alert.”

“Good, when we’re done here, text Zac that information. What I want you and Derek to do is track Josh and his interactions in this hotel during the conference. Who did he talk to? How many calls did he make? What was his body language on those calls? That kind of thing. I also want you to dig into his company and see what you see. Derek should be able to help you with questions about apps, sales, mergers, or contacts, right?” he asked him, and Derek nodded.

“At least as much as my knowledge of the industry goes. I won’t know the inner workings of his company, but we all deal with many of the same contacts, so I can help in that regard. What are you looking for exactly?”

“Any business dealings over the last year that may have angered someone enough to want Josh dead. A personal relationship that went bad over the last year or year and a half that was messy. A mistress who worked for a competing company or who had a secret. That kind of thing.”

“Josh was a known player,” Derek said with an eye roll. “That could take time.”

“Which we don’t have much of, so use your judgment. I’m hoping a pattern develops that will lead us in the right direction.”

“I won’t let you down, boss,” Alayah said with a nod.“We’ll work on that until the camera footage comes in from the marina. Once it does, I’ll break and search for any leads there. Do you want me to call you once I have the footage time-stamped with his movements?”

“Yes. I’ll come up, and we’ll talk in your room. The less we talk in areas under camera surveillance, the better. That’s why we all crammed into my suite. I’m at the trust-no-one stage of this debacle.”

“Can’t blame you there,” Derek said with a shake of his head. “This is madness that I never could’ve predicted a few days ago. We’ll head back to the room now and get started.”

With a nod from Cal, they left his room and headed to their own, both silent as they processed the information they’d just learned. Hugo Victor and Josh Hunt were murdered. That brought him back to the questions of why and by whom?

When they returned to their room, he set about ordering breakfast while Alayah logged on to her machines. He could tell she was aching to get to work, and so was he, something didn’t sit right with Josh having gone to Superior for a hookup. Did Derek doubt for a second that he’d entertained someone while at the conference? No, that was totally on-brand for the guy, but Josh was always about the wining, dining and being seen with a beautiful woman on his arm and money in his hand. A houseboat in the middle of the night was a bit too sleazy for him. Especially when he had a posh hotel room. Unless the woman he was meeting was married, he supposed.

After he finished making each of them a cup of coffee, he carried hers to the desk. “Thanks,” she said, glancing up at him with a smile when he set it down beside her.

“I ordered breakfast. It’ll be here shortly.”