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“I never thought through the situation like that,” Kyle shared reluctantly as the tension began to ease from his shoulders.
“Did you recognize the man who said these things?” Brook asked, more interested in the male subject than her client. Everything else could be explained away easily. “Did you get a good look at him?”
“I was so shocked to hear what was being said about Millie that I didn’t want to turn around and be caught listening,” Kyle explained with a shake of his head. “I’m sorry, but by the time that I got my drink, Millie had joined me. I have no idea if the man was still standing behind me or if he’d left when he caught sight of her.”
“Kyle, are you saying that you left the fundraiser last night because you thought there might be truth to what this man said about Millie?” Brook didn’t mean to offend his sense of pride. Well, that technically wasn’t true. She just really needed to understand the situation. “Did you even explain to her what you overheard? Maybe give her an opportunity to defend herself?”
“No offense, but I didn’t sign on to get involved with someone who could potentially be a serial killer,” Kyle said as he straightened his back in defense of his actions. “Millie and I haven’t seen each other in quite a while, and I thought that last night was a way for us to reconnect.”
Not to mention that such an event could have been a financial windfall for the hedge fund, but Brook didn’t bother to add her two cents on the subject. Her previous statement had given her opinion of his choices loud and clear.
“I appreciate you letting me know what happened last night,” Brook said as she softened her tone. She had to remind herself that it wasn’t her place to judge. What she could do was figure out who had been talking loud enough for Millie’s date to overhear and cause him to leave in the middle of their date. “I’ll look into the situation.”
Kyle seemed to want to say more on the subject, but he eventually reached for his briefcase and stood from the couch.
Brook realized that he could have gone to the police with this information. Such allegations would have made headlines. Instead, the media coverage had been playing clips of Dr. Kolsby’s retirement speech and the picture that was taken of him and Gary Heinsel. The grey cloud over the hospital these last few weeks seemed to have dissipated with a simple fundraiser. It was amazing how such views could be altered with the right spin campaign.
“Kyle?”
He’d made it to the doorway of her office before she stood from the chair. She waited until he turned around to ensure that their next run-in wouldn’t be an uncomfortable one.
“Thank you for informing me about last night. For what it’s worth, you made the right decision to distance yourself from the situation.”
“Millie had two men watching over her last night. In hindsight, that protective detail meant that no one in her presence was in any danger. I didn’t even take a minute to think about that,” Kyle said with regret as he slipped his right hand into the pocket of his dress coat. He pulled out a set of keys that would no doubt unlock the main doors of his office. “I don’t have a high opinion of myself right now.”
She could only monitor his departure with a tinge of regret.
She hadn’t handled the situation as well as she could have, either. Unfortunately, she couldn’t rewind the clock. What she could do was figure out who had wanted to plant such seeds of doubt in Kyle’s mind about his date. What purpose was there to be gained by spinning the focus back onto Millie?
Brook had been right about today.
The team had their work cut out for them, and caffeine would be her closest ally next to the manpower represented by her team.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Brooklyn Sloane
December 2022
Tuesday — 1:42pm
“MillieGwinnwasjusttaken down to the station for questioning. Her protective detail was shown the door shortly after the police took her into their custody. The uniform officers weren’t too keen on having two armed men at the scene, either.”
Brook had just collected a bottle of water to offset the amount of coffee that she’d consumed throughout the day. She slowly closed the refrigerator door as she digested Alex DeSilva’s statement. It was easy to connect the dots on why Detective Soerig had pulled such a stunt, especially given that she’d only been promoted to detective last week. Her inexperience was now on full display.
Considering Soerig’s initial opinion on Millie and the investigation, Brook had to assume that the detective was getting pressured by her superiors.
“Was Millie at the hospital when this happened?” Brook asked, turning on her high heels and making her way out of the kitchen. “Or at her apartment?”
“Apartment,” Alex replied, sitting back in his chair if the faint squeak was anything to go by. She’d known exactly where he’d called her from, because she’d heard the annoying sound every time that he’d adjusted his lean frame during their previous meeting. “I’m not sure what has changed in the investigation, but I figured you would have let me know if you’d dropped her as a client. I already called a lawyer. He should be at the station before she even arrives with the uniformed squad.”
“I appreciate you front-running the situation.” Brook pulled the phone away from her ear when she stuck her head into Sylvie’s office. “I need you to go down to the police station. Soerig is bringing Millie in for questioning.”
“How does Soerig even know what happened last night?” Sylvie asked as she quickly pushed her chair away from her desk. She didn’t waste any time collecting her dress coat. “Do you think that Kyle called the police?”
“No. Soerig was probably at one of the lakes with Theo and Raines this morning. I instructed Theo to keep them in the loop. Soerig probably shared the intel with her superior.” At least, Brook was hoping that was the case. “Alex called one of their lawyers, but since this is a joint operation, I want you there for any questioning that Soerig somehow manages to conduct. I suspect any lawyer worth their money isn’t going to allow their client to be questioned based on a hearsay statement made by an anonymous source.”
Brook raised the phone back to her ear as she retraced her steps.
