Chapter Twenty-Two
Derek knocked on Cal’s door, offering Alayah a smile as they waited. It was late, but they’d done what he’d asked and tracked Josh through the entire conference until he’d left for the final time last night.
The door opened and Cal motioned them in. “I was starting to worry you’d fallen asleep.”
“Sorry, boss,” Alayah said, and Derek noticed her grimace. It hadn’t been her fault, and he jumped to defend her.
“It’s been a lot of back-and-forth with Secure Watch to find the information and then to verify it.”
Cal held up his hand. “I apologize for saying that. I’m frustrated with the lack of movement on the case. Not from lack of trying but from lack of evidence. I know everyone is doing their best to find something that will bring this all together and make it make sense.”
“For all our work, we don’t have much,” Alayah agreed, opening her laptop and setting it on the bed, which was the perfect height for her to use while standing.
She’d mentioned to him on the way over how tired she was of sitting, and he vowed to grab some food and let her walk around the hotel a bit once they finished here.
Then, he’d take her back to the room for a shower and bed.
He just hoped she’d be in his bed again tonight because he loved nothing more than holding her as he dropped off to sleep.
He found a sense of safety being with her that he’d never experienced with any other woman.
That spoke to his heart in more ways than one.
“You’re not helping my mood much,” Cal said with a chuckle.
“Trust me, we both agree,” Derek said. “However, with Mina’s help, it was easy to alibi all the tech bros that Josh encountered at the convention.
That part hadn’t been too hard since he hadn’t done his presentation yet and the convention had only been up and running for one full day.
If there were interactions at his hotel or in the community, we wouldn’t know because we don’t have access to his schedule or the hotel feeds from his hotel. ”
“That’s fair. Nothing stood out to you as a negative confrontation?” Cal asked.
“Only one,” Alayah said, clicking the mouse and letting the footage play of Hugo and Josh backstage.
“That was right before Hugo died?”
“Yes. I didn’t know it was there since I stopped watching that part of the feed to track Derek once he left Hugo backstage,” Alayah explained.
“But if you look closely, Hugo turns his mic off before arguing with Josh and then back on after the exchange. We never would’ve heard their interaction from the control booth. ”
“Too bad. It would be nice to know what they said.”
Derek lowered himself to the bed next to her computer.
“It was probably the same old song and dance where Josh wanted to buy the new cyber app, but Hugo wouldn’t sell.
I could repeat it verbatim, but I’ll spare you the details.
Suffice it to say Hugo was tired of the constant emails and contact from Virtual Scorpion Productions about it.
He swore Josh had everyone on his staff email us every week. ”
“Reeks of desperation to me,” Alayah said, shaking her head.
“Wait, what?” Derek asked and Alayah glanced at him.
“I said it reeks of desperation. Why did he need Black Marlin’s app so badly if he could create his own?”
“She’s right,” Cal said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Did we ever get his financials?”
“We got some, but Mina is still working on getting everything. That’s easier said than done with a company that knows how to protect its servers. Nothing she’s found so far has set off any alarms. The company had plenty of money, and there were no mergers or any evidence of an attempted coup.”
“For all intents and purposes, Virtual Scorpion was the next Black Marlin,” Derek confirmed. “I always assumed that the reason Josh wanted the app was to merge the two companies and make it a powerhouse in the industry.”
“Would Hugo have gone for that?” Cal asked.
“Absolutely not. He always called Josh a gnat on the bottom of his shoe. Just to be extra annoying, he pronounced the g every time.” He smiled at the memory, and the part of him who would miss his boss in his day-to-day life reared its head again.
He was grateful when Alayah reached over and took his hand in hers, squeezing his fingers. It helped him focus again.
“Then we’re missing something,” Cal said. “There had to be a reason Josh was so desperate to get the app. From the interaction I just saw between them, that is the word to describe it.”
“Running out in the middle of the night in your pajamas to a deserted parking lot also suggests that,” Alayah said. “Did you get any new details about Josh’s death since our last check-in?”
“All we know is that his manner of death was blunt force trauma to the head. The autopsy revealed he was already dead when he hit the water, as there was none in his lungs.”
“Which means there won’t be a murder weapon to find,” Derek said with a groan.
“Cops thought it was probably a rock, which is likely now at the bottom of Lake Superior.”
“Did the cops offer up that information willingly?” Derek asked, and Cal shook his head with a grin.
“Selina was a cop back in the day, and she’s good at talking the talk and walking the walk. She’s extremely skilled at drawing information from the cops by letting them think she is one.”
“That’s why they wanted to go to Superior this morning!” Derek exclaimed, smacking his hand to his forehead. “Well, at least it wasn’t a wasted trip.”
“I would say it’s a perfect crime, but there’s no such thing,” Alayah said, still typing away on the computer.
“We all know that, but our hands are tied a little tighter because Virtual Scorpion didn’t hire us.
Had they done that, we could access everything, but not when we’re trying to siphon information from other sources that are built to protect that information. ”
“This might be one we have to let the cops solve, but I want my people cleared so we can leave,” Cal groused. “This has been an unmitigated disaster in multiple ways.”
Derek could understand why Cal felt that way. It was true for him as well in all but one way. One small but very significant way, and her name was Alayah.
Fingers tapping on the mouse pad, Alayah tipped her head side to side as though stretching her neck, but he’d seen her do this multiple times before and knew she was thinking. “We’re missing something. Do we have Hugo’s autopsy report yet?”
Cal shook his head. “No, they had to run tox screens on him, so it takes longer. We know he died from antifreeze ingestion, but the cops want to know if there was anything else in his system.”
“I need to talk to Mina,” Alayah said, drumming her fingers on the bed.
Cal grabbed his phone and called Mina, going through their usual greeting before putting it on speakerphone. “What’s up?”
“We’re missing something with Josh’s financials. Did we check his personal finances or just Virtual Scorpion’s?” Alayah asked.
“They’re tied together,” Mina answered. “At least, from what we could find.”
“Would you check again?”
“What are you looking for?”
Derek wasn’t sure if she asked because she was skeptical or to gauge the situation.
“A reason why he’d need this app that Hugo was bringing to market. We know the business didn’t need capital, but there had to be a reason he wanted an app that, according to Derek, was far better than one he could develop himself.”
“You’re thinking blackmail?” Mina asked.
“That or a secret baby momma who was bleeding him dry to stay quiet about having his kid. I don’t know, but I know we’re missing something.”
“Okay, I trust you, Alayah. Give me some time. Whiskey, out.”
Alayah closed her laptop. “I wish there was more we could do, Cal. I feel as helpless as you do right now. Unfortunately, my options are limited with the equipment I have on the premises, so we have to depend on Secure Watch to help.”
Cal patted her back gently. “They will. If there’s something to find, they’ll find it. In the meantime, why don’t you get some rest—”
Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Cal walked to it and checked the peephole before pulling it open.
Derek recognized both men standing at the door.
Ryland Frye, the defense attorney Cal had sent a few nights ago, stood beside Anthony Duffy, the attorney for Black Marlin Technologies.
He stood slowly as the men walked into the room.
“Anthony? What are you doing here?”
“Mr. Duffy reached out to me to help him facilitate this meeting,” Ryland explained. “He has some interesting things to say that may change the picture here.”
“First of all, I want to say how sorry I am to hear about Hugo’s death. I know you two were close.”
“As were you,” Derek said with a nod. “I’m sure you were equally pained to lose a good friend.”
“He was a good friend, but as I was his attorney, I was privy to certain attorney-client privileges the rest of the board wasn’t. When I was notified of his death, I returned to Minneapolis immediately from my vacation to deal with the situation.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re here,” Derek said. “My involvement with Black Marlin Technologies ended with Hugo’s death. I assured Curtis I would turn in my badge upon my return. He already stripped me of my login rights, so I can’t access any company records.”
“I heard,” he said with an eye roll. “I spoke with the board and informed them that they must continue to run things as usual while I sorted out Hugo’s will. I assured them once that was done, we would get together to discuss our next steps. However, I already knew what Hugo’s will stated.”
“I’m confused,” Derek said, glancing between the lawyers. “If you already knew what the will said, why didn’t you tell the board? Again, my employment with Black Marlin ended with Hugo’s death.”
“Your employment, yes,” Anthony agreed. “However, you are Hugo’s sole beneficiary. You now own Black Marlin Technologies.”
* * *
“HEY, YOU’RE OKAY,” Alayah said, taking Derek’s hands after he sat.
“Take a deep breath with me.” She inhaled and waited for him to do the same before she blew it back out again.
After they had spoken with Hugo’s attorney, Derek asked to return to their room.
She couldn’t blame him, considering the bombshell that Anthony had dropped.
“Why didn’t Hugo tell me he was leaving the company to me?” he asked again, even though Anthony had answered the question several times.
“Plausible deniability,” she said, hoping that would make it easier for him to grasp than how the lawyer had explained it. “If you didn’t know that’s what he was going to do, you couldn’t tell anyone.”
“Curtis is going to be livid. I wouldn’t doubt if he takes this to court.”
“Isn’t he just an employee?” she asked in surprise. “You made it sound like Hugo owned the business.”
“Curtis is a board member and is employed as the chief financial officer, so while he doesn’t have any control over the company, he controls the coffers.
” He stood to pace around the room. “I don’t know if I even want the company.
I’m tired of living in the city, not to mention I don’t want to become consumed by work like Hugo was. ”
“He left you the company to do with as you wish. You could sell it,” she suggested. “Either way, he’s set you up for life financially, which is what he wanted, according to the lawyer.”
Derek ran his hands down his face and sighed. “That’s true, and I’m grateful. I’m extremely grateful, but I’m not looking forward to dealing with the board. After that last phone call with Curtis, it won’t go well. A confrontation with him could get ugly.”
“It could, so I think it’s smart that you take Anthony’s suggestion and address the board together.
You don’t have to do any of this alone. I may not understand how you’re feeling right now, but I do know that, despite the issues that come with inheriting a company like Black Marlin Technologies, it’s important to remember that Hugo loved you above anyone else.
He had to, to trust you with the one thing he spent his entire life building.
There’s something to be said for celebrating that kind of love, right? ”
He dropped his hand from his hair as a breath left his chest. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it’s true. We should celebrate that aspect of it a little bit. Hugo would want that.”
“He would, and since we’re on hold while we wait for Mina to find us another avenue to investigate, why don’t we grab a shower and have dinner? Room service? Or do you want to go out?”
“Go out to eat or stay in and eat dinner in bed with you? Not even a hard call. Dinner in bed with you,” he said, pecking her lips.
“I didn’t say anything about dinner in bed,” she teased, enjoying his playfulness.
“You didn’t have to,” he assured her as he stood and kissed her hand. “Your eyes told me what they want. I hope my eyes tell you that I want you.”
“If your eyes don’t, your lips do,” she promised as he leaned down for another kiss. “Go grab a shower while I order dinner.”
“Thank you,” he whispered, his lips near hers again.
“I can handle ordering dinner, Derek.”
“Not for dinner, but for being you. For keeping me calm when my world spun off into orbit and I couldn’t orient myself again. For believing in me when people I’ve known for years don’t anymore.”
She put her finger to his lips until he quieted.
“The people who matter still believe in you, Derek Benjamin. You’re a good person, and that is evidenced by Hugo’s gift today.
If I know you, and I think I know you somewhat well by now, you’ll use that gift for good. I can’t wait to watch it all unfold.”
“Are you sticking around, Alayah Heath?” he asked, stroking her cheek tenderly.
“At least until you get sick of me and send me packing.” As scary as that was to admit, it was time she did. Maybe she hadn’t known him for long, but the way she felt about him didn’t need time. It was there the moment they met.
“That will never happen,” he promised.
Never say never, was all she could think.