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"You never went anywhere with him?" Ski asked.
She hesitated and looked across at Dodge. "Should we wait until morning, when Mr. Carlisle can join us?"
Before Dodge could answer, Ski said, "I'm only after information about Starks. You're not a suspect."
Dodge's eyes narrowed on him as he forked spaghetti into his mouth. "Okay, Deputy, go ahead. But watch it. Berry, if you're uncomfortable answering a question, don't."
Ski looked at Berry and let his raised eyebrows repeat the question because his mouth was full. She said, "I never rode anywhere with Oren."
He held her gaze for several seconds, then blotted his mouth with his napkin. "Thanks, that was delicious."
There wasn't a morsel left on the plate. He'd used the bread to sop up the extra sauce. Since the thank-you had been directed at her, Berry said, "You're welcome. But all I did was warm it up. Mother actually made it. I'm a terrible cook."
He smiled across at her mother. "I'm glad my stomach growled in front of you."
Warmly, she returned his smile.
Dodge shifted in his seat, touched the pocket of his shirt where he kept his cigarettes, then folded his arms across his chest, looking surly and put out over something.
Ski pushed his plate aside and rested his forearms on the edge of the table. He turned toward Berry. "I talked to several of the female co-workers whose names you gave me."
"They told you about Oren's inappropriate flirting?"
"More like inept flirting. Teasing that fell flat, awkwardness in social situations, that sort of thing. They described more of a nuisance than a creep."
"He's a creep," she said stubbornly. "Intelligent. Even genius. But as a human being, his ick factor is off the charts. He wasn't as persistent with the others as he was with me and Sally Buckland. Did you talk to her?"
"Yes."
"And?"
He divided a look between Dodge and Caroline before coming back to her. "Maybe we should wait on your lawyer after all."
On the surface, his statement seemed meant for her benefit. But it also had the undertones of a dare, from which Berry wouldn't back down. "Ask your questions."
"Berry."
"It's fine, Dodge."
"Not fine, it's damn foolish."
Ignoring him, she held Ski Nyland's stare. "Well?"
"Sally Buckland told me in no uncertain terms that Starks had nothing whatsoever to do with her resignation from Delray, and that to suggest such a thing was ridiculous. She also said that if you had called him a stalker you were lying."
Berry's breath slowly leaked from between her lips, which were parted in astonishment. "Why would Sally say that?" Then, her voice rising, she demanded, "Why would she say that?"
"Berry--"
"No, Mother," she said, cutting her off. "Something is terribly wrong here." She scraped back her chair, got up and rounded it, then leaned against it as she faced the other three.
"I'm telling you that Oren made Sally's work environment so miserable, she resigned. He redirected his attention to me. I have no idea why Sally is denying it now, but I'm telling you the truth."
"I believe you, Berry," her mother said. "In fact, no one here has disputed you. So please sit down and let's talk this out."
"Thank you, I prefer to stand. But I do want to talk this out." She shot a hard look at Ski, wishing that just once she could cause a disturbance in his steady gray gaze. "Well, what else?"
"Did you attend the office Christmas party with Starks?"
