Free Last Fairytale, The by Molly Greene Page A

are concealing a deeper connection, since their second homes, so to speak, are so close together.”
    “Another good point.” Gen made more notes. “And we can be damn sure Hackett and Garcia will withhold lots of details. We can’t even guess at what that might be right now. Anything else?”
    “Not that I can think of.”
    “It’s a good start,” Gen said. “We’ll try to answer these questions and fill in more as we go forward.”
    “What’s the plan?”
    Gen turned away from the board and took a seat at her desk. “Well, it seems a shame to pass up the opportunity to get better acquainted with Elergene’s CEO. Can you do it?”
    “Sure.”
    “Never know what you might learn if you spend time with the guy.”
    “What I’ve seen so far hasn’t been impressive.”
    “Oh, come on. He’s a good-looking man. You didn’t meet him under the best of circumstances. Give him the chance to show his real stripes.”
    “I’ll just be doing it to see what I can find out.”
    “Suit yourself.”
    “Genny, what’s in it for you?”
    “Practice, my dear. Just practice. And contacts. One of my goals will be to cultivate a friendly acquaintance with Detectives Mackenzie Hackett and Eric Garcia. It might help on future cases. You never know.”
     
    * * *
     
    That afternoon, Bree dialed the number at Elergene and requested Taylor Vonnegon’s office. The operator asked for her name and put her through.
    “Taylor Vonnegon’s suite.”
    “This is Cambria Butler, calling for Mr. Vonnegon.”
    “Ah, Miss Butler. I’m sorry, but Mr. Vonnegon is very busy this afternoon.” His secretary’s voice could have flash-frozen a bucket of boiling water.
    “I’m sure he is. I’m returning his call. I’ll leave a message and he can call back when it’s convenient.”
    The woman’s voice turned sweet. “I’m sorry, my dear, I didn’t know he’d reached out to you. I would imagine he probably wanted to extend his deepest apologies for any discomfort you may have been subjected to while you were here.
    “So,” she continued, “I would be honored to do that on his behalf, and tell you how extremely sorry we are for any inconvenience the situation caused. I’ll let Mr. Vonnegon know you called and that I delivered his message. That way you can put us out of your mind and move on.”
    Bree’s back stiffened. Clearly Vonnegon’s gatekeeper was the woman from Friday night, and she was handling things again. “I appreciate your kind words. Even so, I’d like to speak to Mr. Vonnegon in person. Perhaps I should just drop by the office and let him know I tried to get through on the phone.”
    The woman hesitated. “No need to go out of your way. One moment, please.”
    A scant minute later, Taylor’s voice was on the line. “I wasn’t sure you’d return my call.”
    “And miss another free meal? You don’t know me.”
    He laughed. “I’m glad you’re not angry. I hope you’re not, anyway. I’m running out of ways to apologize.”
    “Did you call Garcia?”
    “Yes. I spoke with him Monday morning, as promised. He said he wasn’t really thinking you were the most likely suspect, either.”
    “He could have told me that himself.”
    “I’m sure he will. I think it’s a police tactic to get people tired, hungry, and stressed. Then they make mistakes. They say things they shouldn’t. Apparently you passed his interrogation with flying colors.”
    “Did he share any new developments?”
    “Not really. They’re just beginning. The initial examination was not conclusive, so the coroner doesn’t have an answer yet about what killed Andrew.”
    “And nobody’s come forward with a tip or an idea? Nobody called in a confession, took credit for the killing?”
    “No. That’s the sort of thing terrorists do. The Irish Republican Army does that. I would think most homicidal maniacs avoid confessions.”
    “I’m trying to think outside the box.”
    “No one has come forward. That would make it easy,