toward a suspect. During her sleepless night, she’d realized nothing had changed. JC was still making the rules—trying to, anyway—and bending them for his own purposes. Letting her go home, and then showing up at her house. Coming to her office, and acting…how? Almost as though he wanted to start something again. But then he’d zing her, or go into cop mode, which made her wonder if it was all a ploy. If he still suspected her of being involved—allegedly involved—in Marcy’s death.
She wanted to rub her temples. The whole mess was giving her a massive headache.
“This is pointless.” In one smooth move, she rose from her desk, slung her purse over her shoulder, and grabbed her briefcase.
“What are you doing? I’m not finished.”
“Then walk and talk. I have a meeting.”
His foot hit the floor with a responding thud . “I have an investigation.”
“And I have responsibilities to other people. I’ve already told you everything I know about Marcy.” She stepped around the end of her desk. “So either arrest me, or start walking.”
JC stood, blocking her escape route. “I want to know about Tim Stevens’s business.”
“You know damned well I can’t discuss client business.” She glared at him. “The basics of Tim’s company are in the public domain. Go look them up yourself.”
“You could give me that insight you’re so famous for.”
With a snort of impatience, she shifted the briefcase to her other hand. “Tim’s a developer. He contracts some projects, builds them for other people. He owns and leases other ones, like the new office complex he’s building near Southridge.”
She sidestepped JC while he scribbled a note.
He followed her into the hallway. “I need a list of the properties he owns and financial information on each one. And the latest statements for Alejandro Montoya’s restaurant.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you crazy? I can’t give you that.”
“Why not?” He returned her incredulous stare. “You’re not a lawyer. It’s not privileged information.”
“You and I both know it’s privileged. The ethics requirements of my license are very clear. No unauthorized disclosure of financial information.”
He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “I work corporate mergers and acquisitions in Seattle. Breathing a word about the transaction won’t just bring the deal to a screeching halt, it could bring the Securities and Exchange Commission down on me like the proverbial ton of bricks.”
She waved her free hand, indicating the entire office. “The same rules apply at Desert Accounting. And in case you missed the point, that means don’t bother asking anyone else here because they won’t tell you, either.”
“I’m trying to catch a murderer, not coddle a—” He bit off the remaining words.
She slammed a fist onto her hip. “A what? A bean counter?”
“Most people want to help the police.” Every line of his body reflected frustration. “I thought you wanted to find Marcy’s killer.”
“Wait a minute.” She punctuated her words with a pointed finger. “Are you saying Tim and Alex are officially suspects now? That’s insane.”
“If you think they’re so innocent, you shouldn’t mind giving me the financial information. If it clears them, I can move on.”
Everything JC did—showing up, the Spudnuts, playing nice—had just been a ploy to soften her up and get her talking, so he could slide in questions about Tim and Alex. Damn, but the man was infuriating. “How is their financial information remotely related to Marcy’s murder?”
“I need the information.” JC sounded impatient.
She turned and stalked toward the lobby. “You can move on to another suspect. Alex and Tim didn’t have anything to do with Marcy’s death.”
JC trailed her down the hallway. “What makes you so sure?”
“What makes you so sure they were involved?”
“What are you hiding?”
She glared at him over her shoulder. “Give me a
She wanted to rub her temples. The whole mess was giving her a massive headache.
“This is pointless.” In one smooth move, she rose from her desk, slung her purse over her shoulder, and grabbed her briefcase.
“What are you doing? I’m not finished.”
“Then walk and talk. I have a meeting.”
His foot hit the floor with a responding thud . “I have an investigation.”
“And I have responsibilities to other people. I’ve already told you everything I know about Marcy.” She stepped around the end of her desk. “So either arrest me, or start walking.”
JC stood, blocking her escape route. “I want to know about Tim Stevens’s business.”
“You know damned well I can’t discuss client business.” She glared at him. “The basics of Tim’s company are in the public domain. Go look them up yourself.”
“You could give me that insight you’re so famous for.”
With a snort of impatience, she shifted the briefcase to her other hand. “Tim’s a developer. He contracts some projects, builds them for other people. He owns and leases other ones, like the new office complex he’s building near Southridge.”
She sidestepped JC while he scribbled a note.
He followed her into the hallway. “I need a list of the properties he owns and financial information on each one. And the latest statements for Alejandro Montoya’s restaurant.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you crazy? I can’t give you that.”
“Why not?” He returned her incredulous stare. “You’re not a lawyer. It’s not privileged information.”
“You and I both know it’s privileged. The ethics requirements of my license are very clear. No unauthorized disclosure of financial information.”
He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “I work corporate mergers and acquisitions in Seattle. Breathing a word about the transaction won’t just bring the deal to a screeching halt, it could bring the Securities and Exchange Commission down on me like the proverbial ton of bricks.”
She waved her free hand, indicating the entire office. “The same rules apply at Desert Accounting. And in case you missed the point, that means don’t bother asking anyone else here because they won’t tell you, either.”
“I’m trying to catch a murderer, not coddle a—” He bit off the remaining words.
She slammed a fist onto her hip. “A what? A bean counter?”
“Most people want to help the police.” Every line of his body reflected frustration. “I thought you wanted to find Marcy’s killer.”
“Wait a minute.” She punctuated her words with a pointed finger. “Are you saying Tim and Alex are officially suspects now? That’s insane.”
“If you think they’re so innocent, you shouldn’t mind giving me the financial information. If it clears them, I can move on.”
Everything JC did—showing up, the Spudnuts, playing nice—had just been a ploy to soften her up and get her talking, so he could slide in questions about Tim and Alex. Damn, but the man was infuriating. “How is their financial information remotely related to Marcy’s murder?”
“I need the information.” JC sounded impatient.
She turned and stalked toward the lobby. “You can move on to another suspect. Alex and Tim didn’t have anything to do with Marcy’s death.”
JC trailed her down the hallway. “What makes you so sure?”
“What makes you so sure they were involved?”
“What are you hiding?”
She glared at him over her shoulder. “Give me a
Similar Books
