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ChapterFive
Journey gripped the car door handle. The once-steady beat of her heart had ratcheted up a hundred percent as she watched the coroner load the black body bag into the back of their van.
How could this have happened? She had just met with Fred, and now….
“I can’t believe he’s dead,” she whispered into the quietness of Prentice’s car. They were sitting in his Ford Taurus, staring out the windshield. Law enforcement had come in heavy. Though some had already left, the detectives on the case and medical examiner were still on the scene.
“As of yesterday, Fred was our key witness. Now, he’s gone. This case is falling apart, and that low-down dirty murderer might walk.”
Journey knew she was being a little dramatic, but deep down, she was concerned. They only had circumstantial evidence against the CEO, Dennis Stratton, and considering the defense team he’d hired, Journey would have to bring her A-game. She couldn’t walk into that courtroom in the coming weeks or months with what little they had and expect a victory. They needed to build a stronger case if she had any hopes of winning.
“Don’t worry. Fred might’ve been a key witness, but he’s not the only one,” Prentice said, removing his tan newsboy cap and setting it on the center console. As he stared down at his cell phone, he rubbed his bald head, something he often did when deep in thought.
“Well, we know one thing,” Journey said. “Since the CEO is behind bars, he couldn’t have killed this guy.”
“That doesn’t mean that he didn’t have him killed,” Prentice said, drinking coffee he’d been nursing for the last couple of hours. No doubt it was cold by now.
“That’s true,” Journey conceded, wondering what this would do to her case.
When authorities called them about Fred’s murder, saying that he’d been killed sometime around eleven p.m. the night before, she and Prentice had just met with Marta Polczynski. So far, Journey wasn’t sure she could use the woman as a witness even though she was one of the three accountants who worked at Leverage Construction.
Marta was holding something back. Journey wasn’t positive, but she’d been interviewing witnesses a long time, and she would bet that the accountant knew more than she was letting on.
Journey just didn’t know what.
Marta wanted them to believe that Leverage Construction was the perfect place to work, where employees were treated like family, and everyone got along great. It was possible that was the case, but it was her overly-cheerful demeanor that hadn’t sat well with Journey.
How could anyone be cheerful when a coworker was recently murdered where they worked? Yet, not once did Marta express any empathy, ask questions regarding what happened the night of the murder, the fate of the CEO, or even show any concern for her own safety. It was almost as if someone had gotten to her.
Had she been threatened? Or was she somehow involved in the murder?
From what the DA’s office knew, she wasn’t involved. If not that, maybe this was how she handled traumatic situations. If it was, it was the opposite of her coworkers who’d been questioned. Those people had clearly been grieving, and they showed sympathy for Joyce’s family and even the construction company as a whole.
Journey couldn’t stop wondering—was Marta involved in the murder somehow?
Hopefully, the woman would be like Fred and eventually come forward and tell them everything she knew. If not, Journey planned to take another go at her.
“Yes!” Prentice said, jarring Journey out of her thoughts. “Joyce’s husband is willing to talk to me again. Should I see if he’s available now since he might be able to add something to the case?”
Journey nibbled on her bottom lip as she contemplated whether to try and question the guy today. She had already ruined family day, but she was hoping to make up for it by being home when Laz and Arielle arrived.
She sighed and stared out the window, noting how law enforcement vehicles had mostly cleared out. Now would be a perfect time to chat with the victim’s husband. Maybe he could shed more light on Joyce’s role with the company and whether she was having any trouble with anyone on staff. When they’d first questioned him, he’d been so distraught he was in no condition to answer many of their questions.
“Journey?” Prentice said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Either you can meet with him alone today, or we both can meet with him Monday morning. But right now, I need to get home.”
She first needed to stop and pick up dinner from Laz’s favorite restaurant. She also needed to make a few more stops to add to her apology tonight.
“Monday it is. I’ll drop you off at home, then give him a call.” Prentice started the car and pulled away from the curb. “Speaking of home, did you tell your hot-headed husband that someone threatened you?”
“If I had, I wouldn’t be in a car sitting next to you. He would’ve become my shadow. Then again, he might not care,” she mumbled, then regretted her last words.
Laz wasn’t the most patient person in the world and was often quick to react, but his parting words to her that morning were so unlike him. He had raised his voice at her a few times in the past when they had heated discussions, but nothing like this morning.
“Ahh. Well, it doesn’t take my A-1 investigation skills to recognize when there’s trouble in paradise. Want to talk about it?” Prentice asked as he split his attention between her and the road.
“Not really…except I think Laz is going to leave me.”
