Читать книгу The Bachelor Takes A Wife - Jackie Merritt - Страница 8

Keith Owens was well aware of Jason Windover’s air of contentment as he and his friends prepared cups of coffee for themselves at a serving cart, then sat in comfortable chairs around a table in one of the Cattleman’s Club’s private meeting rooms. Jason good-naturedly laughed off the teasing remarks about his and Merry’s honeymoon, from which they’d returned only the day before, because it was all in fun and he’d expected some tongue-in-cheek banter from his buddies. But he wasn’t above giving back at least part of what he was getting, and Keith, being the only bachelor remaining in the group, just naturally seemed to be his best target.

“Just you wait, old pal,” Jason drawled. “Some sweet-lookin’ little gal is out there this very minute, just biding her time for the right moment to rope and hog-tie Royal’s most elusive executive.”

“Elusive executive?” Keith repeated with a laugh, and looked around the table for confirmation or denial from Sebastian Wescott, William Bradford, Robert Cole and, of course, Jason, all of whom wore big smiles. “Is that what I am?”

“Sounds like an apt description to me,” Sebastian said. “Good work, Jason.”

“Thanks,” Jason said with a cocky grin at Keith.

“All right, I get it,” Keith said. “I’m the last bachelor among you jokers, and you’re not going to let me forget it. Well, put this in your pipes and smoke it, old friends. I happen to enjoy bachelorhood.”

“So did we when we were young and foolish,” Rob said with an overly dramatic sigh.

Everyone laughed, because they’d all been bachelors only five months ago and they’d been neither young nor foolish. Only one thing had happened to change their status from single to married—falling in love, which was a mighty powerful force, as they had discovered. And not a man around that table—other than Keith—believed that Royal’s “elusive executive” would remain a bachelor for long. After all, hadn’t he already tossed his hat in the ring by naming New Hope Charity for battered women as the beneficiary of the Cattleman’s Club’s annual charity benefit? That decision would bring Andrea O’Rourke, Keith’s old college flame, back into his life, since she was the volunteer at New Hope who dealt firsthand with public donations. It seemed to the men around the table that if Keith hadn’t wanted contact with Andrea, then he would have named an entirely different charity to receive this year’s check.

No one said so, though, as some subjects weren’t up for open and verbal conjecture. They could tease Jason, because he’d just come back from his honeymoon, but they couldn’t make light of Keith’s sudden interest in renewing ties with Andrea.

“Much as I’m enjoying this,” Keith interjected, “I think it’s time we got down to the reason we called this meeting. Dorian.” The other four friends sobered at once. They all shared the strong suspicion that Dorian Brady had murdered Eric Chambers, an accountant at Wescott Oil. But so far, they had no proof of his involvement.

Keith continued. “We’ve been doing our best to keep an eye on Dorian during your absence, Jason, and none of us have spotted anything suspicious. In fact, it appears that, if anything, Dorian has been deliberately maintaining a low profile.”

“That’s suspicious in itself,” Jason said. “Don’t you agree, Sebastian?”

“Dorian was never low-key before,” Sebastian soberly agreed. He was understandably more deeply affected by recent events than the others, since Dorian was his half brother. “Except when it fitted his agenda. As you all know, his showing up out of the blue was one hell of a shock. We look so much alike, I never for a minute doubted his story about Dad being his father, and I still don’t. Putting him to work at Wescott Oil was a bad error in judgment, however. My only excuse was that I really wanted to help him.”

“None of what happened is your fault, Sebastian,” Keith said quietly. “How do honest people deal with a snake like Dorian? He’s deliberately gone out of his way to undermine your authority and good reputation with the company and the community in general. Don’t blame yourself for anything Dorian’s done.”

“Considering his background with Merry’s sister even before he came to Royal, he was a louse then and he’s a louse now,” Jason said stonily. No one could disagree with that summation, and the conversation changed directions.

“What we still can’t figure out is his motive for murder. What was Eric Chambers to him, other than a co-worker? It simply doesn’t add up.”

“And let’s not forget Dorian’s alibi,” Will said. “Maybe we should talk to Laura Edwards about that. Double-check her story about Dorian being at the diner at the time of Eric’s murder.”

“Why would she lie?” Sebastian asked and got up for a coffee refill. “I’ve wrestled with motive since the murder, and I have a hunch that it’s somehow connected to me. Jason, I know you were uneasy about Dorian from the start.” Sebastian resumed his seat. “Why?”

“We’ve covered this ground before,” Keith said.

“Yes, but obviously we’re missing something,” Sebastian said. He frowned slightly and added, “What could it be?”

“His computer files imply that Dorian was blackmailing Eric,” Jason reminded them all. “Merry discovered that.”

“Yes, but those files do not explain the blackmail. What was Eric up to that Dorian was able to discover and use against him? Maybe if we knew more about Eric,” he mused. “What do we really know about him?”

“He worked for Wescott for quite a few years,” Sebastian volunteered. “He was a very private individual with a cat as his only companion. He was divorced long before coming to work for Wescott, so no one I know has ever met his ex. He lived alone—with his cat—in a small house. That struck me as odd, because he made a good annual salary.”

“Which he could have been paying to his ex-wife in alimony,” Keith said.

“But he wasn’t. His wife had remarried quite a while back, ending the alimony payments, and there were no children for Eric to support. He could’ve afforded a much better home, considering his earning power.”

“Follow the money,” Jason said, half in jest.

But the simple concept simultaneously struck all five men as critically important. They looked at each other, and several of them nodded. Months ago, money had gone missing at Wescott Oil. Sebastian, accused of killing Eric and taking the money—a ridiculous charge when he owned the company and had more money than he could ever spend—had been completely exonerated and all charges against him had been dropped. Since then, everyone had been concentrating on Eric’s murder. The missing money was still unexplained, a loose end left dangling.

It could be the clue they had been hoping to uncover and follow up on.