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“No need to butter you up, your sunny disposition is pretty much perfect,” he goaded with a cheesy grin.
“Well, I’m busy.” I flipped a page over and tried to read the rest of the details, but Jeremy sitting five feet away made it difficult.
“I was looking through the initial information and it’s an interesting case. I remember when Ducate, I mean Adam—after all, there are two Ducates now—” he grinned again, “I remember when he represented Deacon before. It was 2016, right?”
I looked at the date and nodded. “Yep.”
“He seems to be a decent enough guy, perhaps too trusting if you ask me.” Jeremy fished a pen out of the pot on the corner of my desk and clicked it over and over again. “But this one is a little tricky. Who had access to the funds in question?”
I glanced at Jeremy. Was he actually trying to be helpful? I quickly scanned the facts before me. “There were three people with access to the funds. Deacon, Susannah Weathers, the head of financials, and Fenton Avis, the Director of Social Services. That’s it. But there’s nothing to indicate either Susannah or Fenton had anything to do with the missing funds. Plus, they ended up in an account that Deacon had access to.”
“Deacon and Randa Pitt, right? That’s his girlfriend if I remember correctly,” Jeremy added.
I nodded, not understanding his point. “Right. Randa Pitt is Deacon’s girlfriend and she’s a joint account holder.”
Jeremy clicked the pen a few more times before putting it back into the pot. “I always look at the significant others. They usually know something. And if Randa’s name is on the account, she’s a good place to start in order to get a better idea of what the hell is going on. It’s amazing to me she wasn’t charged along with Deacon.”
I chewed on my bottom lip considering his suggestion. “The police didn’t feel she had anything to do with the embezzlement. They felt Deacon acted alone. But that’s a good idea. Thanks, Jeremy,” I said hesitantly, unsure if his help came with a catch. Or at the very least a baited comment.
Jeremy shrugged indifferently. “Sometimes it’s nice having a second set of eyes on a situation. And it seems to me that someone did something very stupidly, or incredibly calculated, for Deacon to get caught so quickly. My dad always said stupid is as stupid does. I remember thinking how smart he was for saying that.” His mouth twisted, a painful stretching of lips. “That was until I realized he’d lifted his greatest saying from Forrest Gump.” He smacked his knee with his hand and stood up. “Should have known. The bastard never had an original thought in his life. And he sure as hell never gave me a thing that was worth a damn.” The naked bitterness in his voice took me aback.
“Jeremy—” I had no idea what I was about to say, only that his fleeting vulnerability made me want to reach out to him. To bridge the gap between us.
Thank god the impulse didn’t last long.
“Anyway, given my vast knowledge and extensive experience in all areas, I’m sure I can help you out in one way or another,” he added. And there he was. The jerk I had come to know and loathe.
“Sure,” I replied dryly.
He grabbed a handful of Skittles from the bowl on my desk and popped a few in his mouth. “You and your brother sure do have a sweet tooth, huh? He always keeps Reese’s Pieces in his office. Tries to hide them from me too, but I know all his hiding spots.”
“I didn’t say you could have any,” I argued, pulling the crystal dish out of his reach like a five-year-old.
Jeremy grabbed another handful. “One for the road.” And then he winked. My belly flipped over, which infuriated me. “Let me know if you need any more of my help.”
“I’m sure I won’t,” I called out to his retreating back. “Ugh.” I rubbed my temples, feeling the start of a headache that had Jeremy Wyatt written all over it.
**
“Thank god you called. I need a drink or five,” I groaned, sliding into the booth opposite Hannah. Sweet Lila’s was heaving, but somehow my bestie had finagled a table in the corner.
I had spent the rest of the day pouring over the Palmer case. Jeremy had been right to look at Randa Pitt, Deacon’s girlfriend. In doing some digging it turned out that Randa and Fenton Avis, the Director of the local social services, had been involved several years ago. It was an interesting connection that I planned to look into more closely after meeting with Deacon next week.
But it was a Friday night and I was in the mood to get a little bit wasted.
Who was I kidding? I was always in the mood to get wasted. And my girl Hannah was my partner in crime. It was a wonder that I did so well in school given how often I was hungover.
