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“Go ahead,” Matt said. “I only have a few more questions.”
When they left, Matt asked the others, “Who is Raul?”
“Head of security,” Lynn said. “He’s worked here forever, was one of our dad’s closest friends. He has a crew of six—we’ve never needed more. After Friday, he hired on additional security for the rest of the summer. We don’t want anything like this to happen again. They’re inspecting the boats every morning now.”
Doubling security must have cost them, but it was a smart move, Matt thought.
He finished up by asking Lynn for a few files and information about security that she didn’t have with her. She left the room and Adam was about to follow, but Matt asked him to stay.
“I can see that you’re both upset and angry about these events,” Matt said.
“Wouldn’t you be?” Adam demanded.
“We don’t know if IP is involved—or anyone in the group. Know that my team will be investigating every possible theory. We follow the evidence. But your animosity could be a hindrance, and I don’t want to have to talk to you about it later.”
“It’s been three days!”
Adam ran both hands through his hair and paced. He was the outward persona of how Matt sometimes felt. But experience, training, and age had taught him to contain his natural frustrations.
“Multiple agencies are working the evidence. We know a lot, Adam. Far more than we did Friday night. We have some of the best people in the country working this case, here, in Seattle, and in DC. I don’t give up. The bomber will face justice.”
“You believe that?”
“I do.”
“It would really help,” Adam said, swallowing some of his anger, “if you could get it out that this wasn’t West End.”
“Meaning?”
“What, you haven’t ruled us out? Do you actually think that Ted or Lynn or I blew up our boat and killed our crew and all those people? That we could be that...cruel? Heartless? Risk all that legal fallout and destroy our business?”
“Like I said, we must investigate every possible scenario. Insurance payouts are a powerful motivator for struggling companies.”
Matt had intentionally baited Adam to see what he would say or do. It was clear from his shocked expression that Adam was stunned by Matt’s words. Insurance scams were a dime a dozen, but hard to get away with—and Matt sensed that the savvy Colfax family would know that.
“Insurance? We have replacement insurance on all our boats. We don’t get like, what? A cash settlement? We get a new boat. For what? Nine lives? We want a new boat, so we kill nine people? I can think of half a dozen ways to get a new boat without killing anyone! If that’s one of your theories, it’s idiotic. I hope you know what you’re doing, because right now, I’m having doubts.”
“We’ll be looking at your insurance documentation—which is one of the things I asked Lynn to get for me—and can verify everything you’ve said. One thing to mark off the list—but I have to mark everything off the list.”
Adam wanted to argue but kept his mouth shut.
Matt didn’t honestly think it was an insurance scam, mostly because of exactly what Adam said—West End wouldn’t benefit.
Though insurance could be a factor; life insurance on one of the victims. At this point, among the Nava Software folks, only one had life insurance, a small policy that benefited a sister. The Marshalls had dual policies, benefiting each other—so that wasn’t a clear motive. Neil had a small policy that was part of his pension plan—that was split evenly between his two kids. But Jeffries? He had a substantial life insurance policy, and the beneficiary was his wife. If she predeceased him, it was split evenly between his mother-in-law and his three children.
“If you have any questions,” Matt said, “call me. I’ll tell you as much as I can about the investigation. But the last thing I want to hear is you—or anyone, frankly—making accusations or confronting potential suspects.”
Adam nodded stiffly. Matt turned to leave. Then Adam said quietly, “Kyle was my boyfriend. We’d been involved for—well, a while now. About a year.”
“Was it secret?”
“We didn’t announce it in the paper, but we’re both out, so it was pretty obvious to people who knew us.”
“Are you telling me this because you think Kyle being gay could be a motive for murder?”
“No. I’m telling you because I loved him, and it hurts that he’s gone.”
Matt commiserated. “Like I said, my team is the best. We’ll find out who did this. Talk to me if you need to talk about the case, but don’t let your emotions dictate your actions. It never ends well.”
