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?“How did you know about that?” Winsley blurted, aghast.
?Mark looked at me with surprise as well.
?“I know that you weren’t happy with the way Randall ran them,” I bluffed, as I tried to remember everything I’d overheard her say to Charles Nederlander.
?The older woman threw her shoulders back and stood a little taller, as if to prepare for a fight.
?“There’s no crime in that!” she argued indignantly. “I am quite convinced that Randall Lawrence was cheating me.”
?Mark jumped in, “How?”
?“Selling and buying shares and funds at a rate much faster than served me,” Winsley exclaimed. “I believe he did this often, to increase his fees. I also feel that some of my earnings were not getting to my account!”
?“Did you lose any money?” I wondered.
?“I’m not sure. According to Randall, I did not. In fact, he claimed substantial gains.”
?Mark was operating with me now. “Couldn’t you check?”
?“My online access recently stopped working. I asked Randall to meet me at the conference with all of my financial transactions, so I could bring it to my accountant.”
?“So you met with Randall?” I concluded.
?She eyed me suspiciously. “No, and now we all know why.”
?“Which brings us around once again to why you are in Ms. Poole’s room,” I ordered.
?“I received a message from Randall on Wednesday,” she implored.
?“You spoke to him?” Mark asked.
?“No, of all things, he left a message on the hotel voice mail.”
?Mark continued. “What did he want?”
?“He told me that he needed to go out of town for a few days, and that he was giving my reports to Candy Poole,” Winsley snorted. “He said I could pick them up from her.”
?“So why come here now?” I insisted.
?“And how did you get a key?” Mark added.
?We were working together like a well-polished team. Winsley didn’t know what hit her.
?“I didn’t get a chance to see her,” Winsley babbled. “I realized that if the police found my reports…well, it might suggest I had something to do with the poor girl’s demise.”
?“I see,” I told her.
?“So I went to the welcome booth. There is always an extra key for all the staff at the attendee’s booth.”
?“I have to tell you, Ms. Cunningham,” Mark expounded, “if there were papers in this room, the police would be sure to take them.”
?“I thought they might be hidden,” Winsley said slyly. “Ms. Poole and Randall were always so clever.”
?I glanced about the room. “I would say almost everything was collected by the crime scene technicians.”
?“Well, then,” Winsley said with a grimace at the red stain on the floor, “I must be going. I would appreciate it if you did not mention any of this to the police.”
?“If it suits our needs, we won’t.” I crossed my arms in defiance.
