Free Executive Dirt: A Sedona O'Hala Mystery by Maria Schneider Page B

have fallen off his arm because it wasn’t possible to securely buckle the broken band anymore.
    I gulped.  Had he raised his arm in defense and the leather been sliced with a knife meant for his head?  I stuffed it in my backpack.  I didn’t want to think too hard about it. My hand froze as the conversation I’d just overheard played in my head. “He wasn’t wearing it.”  Who wasn’t wearing what?
    I fingered the watch.  Obviously, Joe wasn’t wearing it when he died. Ick.  I dropped it in the pack. Cary couldn’t have been talking about Joe’s watch.  Why would he care about a watch?  Like it or not, I was obligated to return this to Joe’s heirs.  I guess that meant his mother.  Oh wait.  His mother could be involved in illegal dealings just like her son. Yeah. I did not want to involve myself with her any more than I had to.  Well, Huntington could give it to her, maybe after he arrested her.
    I peeked around the chair. A pair of jeans went by without stopping. From that attire, it could have been any of the engineers, including me, except I was huddled under a desk like a fool. Why hadn’t I just run for the exit?  It was well after five.  I had a right to leave!
    With a sigh, I pushed my way out. Would it be overkill if I crouched down on my way out of the rat maze?
    Probably.
    Roscoe and Kovid were chatting just outside cube city.  I gave them a weak smile and dodged around them on my way to the stairs. My walk was not a run, but it might have won a few races.
    Someone called my name from behind me, but it was impossible to tell who with as hard as I was breathing. Besides, I could take the stairs way faster than Cary could ring the elevator up to the third floor.  I’d be out of the building and in my car before he arrived down on the first floor.
    If you never look back, you can claim you never saw them.
    Of course, just sneaking out of work to bake a tiramisu wasn’t enough of a challenge. At six o’clock when Mark was due to show up, I was outside helping Dad install the last of the blueberry plants in my new raised bed. Darkness was already creeping into the yard.
    I didn’t remember gardening being this dim. “We could wait until morning,” I grumbled.
    Dad ignored me, of course.
    We dug about in the soil, unwrapped the roots and set them in the ground.  The blueberry bushes were nothing but twigs, with no sign of spring budding whatsoever.
    Mom was busy puttering about inside, having generously offered to unbind the material from the serger and rethread it.
    We hadn’t finished installing the last bush when she bustled out the back door and leaned over to whisper.  “Mark’s brother is here. It was very nice of you to invite him too.”
    Of course I hadn’t done any such thing.  Huntington always invited himself places. “Steve?”
    “He looks just like Mark, but his eyes are blue.  I think he’s taller too.”
    “What’s he doing here?”  I slapped my hands mostly clean and then brushed them on my sweatpants.
    Mom said, “Well, of course I invited him in for cake. It was obvious he is family since he looks just like Mark.”
    “Yes, I know.  Dad, are you coming?”
    “There’s still time to mulch these in.  I’ll finish that.  You don’t want them to dry out or for the roots to get too cold.”
    Mom rolled her eyes at me and tugged me to the back door.
    By the time we hurried back inside, Mark had also shown up.  Steve, being Steve, had had no problem letting Mark in while we were out back.
    Mark had made more of an effort with his hair than normal.  Instead of it just being combed, it had been gelled into place. I gave him my best smile before turning to his brother.
    “Steve,” I said coolly. “You’ve met my mother?”
    He smiled, ever assured.  “The elegant and lovely lady who answered the door, yes. You look nothing like her. I’d never have guessed.”
    He was right, but it was rude to say so.  Mom’s strawberry blonde curls were