Chapter Two #2
“The building inspector?” Lexi looked genuinely surprised, while seemingly aware of his death.
“Yes.” Cooper met her eyes. “He was killed last night.”
She nodded. “I just learned about that a little while ago. It’s so sad.” Lexi paused. “I understand it was a carjacking?”
“We’re still looking into that,” he told her candidly.
She considered this. “Not sure how I can be of any help to you, Agent Reid, but I’ll try my best. If you like, we can go into my office—”
“Fine.” He followed her into a spacious room with interesting angles, surrounded by window walls, contemporary office furniture and some typical architect tools, such as a drawing board.
They sat by the window in chestnut-brown barrel swivel chairs.
Lexi waited a beat, then asked curiously, “Why is the FBI looking into a possible carjacking? Or am I missing something here?”
“You are, I’m afraid…” Cooper admitted, a catch to his voice. “Eckhart was being investigated by the Bureau for suspected public corruption.”
“Seriously?” Lexi’s lower lip hung down in disbelief.
“Yeah. He was accused of taking bribes in exchange for receiving preferential treatment from a building inspector.”
Lexi frowned. “And you think I tried to bribe him…?”
“Not saying that,” Cooper put out convincingly. “This is strictly routine as part of the investigation,” he insisted, even while knowing it went further than that.
Her features softened. “So, I barely knew Horace, apart from some brief chats here and there on what was expected in the process of performing his duties in order to get the necessary approvals along the way on projects I was involved with. I can assure you that everything was aboveboard. I never offered him any money whatsoever. It’s not the way I do business. ”
Cooper saw nothing in her inflection or body language that made him question her honesty. But that didn’t mean she was totally innocent of any wrongdoing either.
“That’s good to hear,” he said of that last declaration. “I just need to know if Eckhart ever tried to solicit you for money in order to get any favors from him, relative to the job?”
“Absolutely not!” Lexi’s voice raised an octave.
“If he had, I would have reported it to the authorities,” she insisted.
“Our conversations were strictly professional—and often in the presence of developers that I worked for. If Horace was crooked, I had nothing to do with it. My reputation as an award-winning architect is extremely important to me. I would never do anything to jeopardize that by trying to cut corners against the interests of myself or my clients.”
Again, Cooper was given no reason to doubt her sincerity or integrity as an architect. Or, for that matter, a human being. But what about other architects who worked at the studio who may have had contact with Horace Eckhart?
Cooper fixed his gaze on her beautiful face and asked coolly, “Is there anyone else working here that I can ask about Eckhart?”
“No, not since my husband died two years ago,” Lexi answered somberly, the pain of her loss plainly evident in her voice.
“I work alone as an architect and architectural consultant. Not even an assistant, though at times I feel as if I could surely use one.” She drew a breath.
“If you’re wondering about the De La Garza Architects name of the company, it was the name we created when establishing it.
It was easier to keep than change after Jonathan died. ”
So she’s widowed, too, Cooper mused with surprise, given her age.
But then, he wasn’t much older and forced to deal with the same thing in having to do for himself what he once had a marital partner to share the ups and downs with.
This twist certainly seemed to make it that much less likely that Eckhart’s alleged public corruption involved Lexi De La Garza in any way.
“I’m sorry to hear about your husband,” Cooper told her, feeling her pain more than she knew.
Lexi nodded maudlinly. “It’s gotten easier over time—somewhat.”
“That’s good.” He sighed, thoughtful as he stood. “Well, I think I’ve taken up enough of your time.” He wanted to leave it there, but felt compelled to add for clarity, “As I said, it’s just routine work as we look for answers…”
“I understand.” She nodded, a tiny smile playing on her lips, then rose to her feet. Lexi peered at him and, wrinkling her dainty nose, asked pensively, “So, you think that Horace may have been killed related to bribery?”
“Still too soon to tell,” Cooper confessed. “All possibilities are on the table—including being a victim of a carjacking that happens more often than it should in Maricopa County, unfortunately.”
“Well, I hope you figure it all out,” she said. “Wouldn’t want Horace’s death to go unanswered, however it happened.”
“Neither would I,” he stressed to her. “We’ll get to the bottom of it—one way or the other.
” In his mind, that meant continuing the investigation into public corruption and looking at the building inspector’s homicide as an added element, with direct ties or not.
Cooper had a feeling that it was more likely the former than latter.
But gazing at the appealing architect, he no longer saw her as being caught up in the middle of a bribery scheme, per se—though not ruling out that it still could have landed on her doorstep, if only by association.