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“Damnright,” Mike shot back. Everybody smiled, and I peeked out the window.
My father shot me a dirty look. “TJ, why so jumpy? You owe somebody money?”
John answered, “Me, for one.”
Everyone chuckled, and my father put his arm around Stan. “You and I need to sit down and talk over the acquisition. The show must go on.”
John frowned. “Dad, we discussed it already.”
My father interjected again. “Stan might want my thoughts, too, son.”
I had to check out the Hyundai driver. “I’ll let you lawyers talk. Stan, good seeing you again.”
“You too, TJ.”
“Fine, TJ,” my father called back.
“Catch you later, TJ,” John added, and they walked Stan into his office like a kid in a custody battle.
I crossed to the door, but felt a hand on my arm. I turned around to see Mike, fixing his rich brown eyes on mine.
“TJ, hold on,” he said, his voice low. “Not everybody thinks it was suicide.”
Chapter Eighteen
One look at Lillian Duvall told me she was in mourning. A petite woman in her sixties, she sat crestfallen at the desk behind a large monitor. Her graying hair slipped out of its ponytail, and she had on a black sweater and pants. The office had a modest desk, but there was a tall plant with large green leaves in one corner and, across the way, a shelf with lush ferns, bluish-purple African violets, and verdant English ivy. Framed close-ups of tropical birds covered the walls.
“Excuse me,” I said softly, interrupting her reverie.
“Oh!” Lillian peered around the monitor, blinking puffy blue eyes. She straightened, trying to rally. “I’m sorry, can I help you?”
I introduced myself, entering the office. “You probably know my father and brother, who represent Runstan.”
“Of course. You look like your father.”
“I’m younger,” I shot back, and Lillian smiled. I realized I wanted to cheer her up, a wish I hadn’t known I had before this very moment. “Do you mind if I sit down? I wanted to speak with you.”
“Go ahead.” Lillian gestured to a chair.
“I’m sorry about your loss.” I took a seat. “I came with my dad this morning, to see how you all were doing.”
“Thank you.” Lillian sighed heavily. “It’s so hard to believe that Neil’s gone. He was a great boss and a wonderful friend. He called in and told me he was sick, but even that worried me. He never got sick. I worried about him all day.” She paused, swallowing hard. “He’s only been here a year, but he left a mark on you. He wanted to make things better. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yes. Judging from this office, I do. He’s made it special, with the plants.”
“He used to say he liked oxygen, not plants.”
I smiled, liking Lemaire’s sense of humor. It was hard to remember he was an embezzler.
“He was a kind man in a world that’s not very kind.”
I sensed Lillian hadn’t had an easy life. She had an aura of someone who’d lived alone for a long time. Or maybe that was me.
“He was a dream to work for, really. He treated everybody with respect and he worked hard. He took ownership of everything. He even did the grunt work. He didn’t leave it for me.”
I wondered if it freed him to embezzle without her knowing. “That’s nice, considering the acquisition. That must have been a lot more work.”
“Yes, it was, but as soon as Stan told us he was selling the company, Neil kicked it into gear. He handled the books, and that was fine with me. I even got a vacation this year, two weeks with my sister and her kids in the Outer Banks. I never could take that much time off when I worked for the old accountant.”
