“We won’t keep you long.”
“Whatever you need. We all thought M.K. was on her little vacation.”
“We’re just following up, and we’d like to see her work space, have a few minutes with her supervisor.”
“You could say I’m everyone’s supervisor, but you’d want Jim—James Mosebly. Accounts manager, and M.K.’s mentor. Hold on.”
She went to the door, poked her head out. “Hey, Nat, go grab Jim for me, would you? They just nailed down a major ad campaign,” she told Eve. “Jim, M.K., Alistar, and Holly. Jim took M.K. under his wing when she came on board, and he heads most of the projects she works on.”
“How about outside the office?” Eve asked. “Any socializing?”
“Sure, and quite a lot actually. We’re a friendly group here. My philosophy is community and cooperation over competition. When we hire, we don’t just look for talent and work ethic, but personality. Will this person fit? No sharks need apply,” she added with a smile.
“I worked at a firm for eight years, and that tank was full of sharks. You couldn’t be sure, from day to day, if somebody might swim up and bite your leg off. I climbed out of the tank, juggled finances, talked the bank into a start-up loan—and I talked Jim and Selma into coming on.”
“It looks like it worked out,” Peabody commented.
“We’re small, but happy. Hey, Jim. Jim Mosebly, Lieutenant Dallas and Detective Peabody.”
Eve gauged Linny at mid-fifties, and put her colleague about fifteen years her senior. He had flyaway gray hair crowning a round, cherubic face. He wore baggy jeans and a royal blue polo over a solid, sturdy body. Like Linny, he wore sneakers—his on the battered side.
“Mary Kate,” he said in a voice with the faintest drawl. “You found her.”
“We haven’t located her as yet.”
“What can I do? What can we do?”
“You worked closely with her. Did she ever mention anyone bothering her?”
“She didn’t. She was wrapped up in that slick bar owner. Stars in her eyes, and it wasn’t like her.”
“How so?”
“She’s grounded. Smart, steady. He’s just a blip. Not that I said that to her. You don’t hear sensible advice when you’re in a haze.”
“You met him?”
“Stopped in for a drink a couple of times so I could, well, size him up some. We look out for each other here. We’re family. Didn’t like the look of him. He has user all over him. I’d hoped this trip with him would clear the haze. If he’s hurt her—”
“We don’t believe that’s the case. When did you last see or speak with her?”
“Ah … June third—the last day before she started her vacation. The team had wrapped up the Nordo campaign, so I was taking them out for a little unwind time, but she ducked out. She and the bar guy were due to leave the next morning and she wanted to finish packing. She said,” he continued with a smile. “Believe me, someone as organized as Mary Kate would have had everything in place. But she opted out. We all walked out together, a little after five, I think, and she peeled off at her subway station. She was lit up,” he added. “Just lit up.”
Mosebly let out a breath. “I wanted her to see him for what he was. Not that I didn’t want her to have a good time—she deserved one. But I wanted her to come back shed of him. And all this time. Dear God, Linny.”
“She’s smart and she’s strong. We’re going to find her.”
“We’d like to see her work area, and have a word with Alistar and Holly.”
“Of course. I’ll take you. She’s a pretty thing,” Mosebly said as he walked them out, headed for the stairs. “Young, pretty. I didn’t like the idea of her walking home, even just a few blocks, so late at night from that bar.”
“You knew about that, her routine?”
“I did.” He moved briskly down the stairs, a man in good physical shape who likely used them often. “She mentioned she enjoyed helping out at the bar, meeting people, having a little time with what’s-his-name.”
“Teegan Stone.”
“Right.” He moved through a maze of workstations and activity, paused at one. “I know Holly had a few things to say when it came out she didn’t stay the night, and he couldn’t be bothered to walk her home. But Mary Kate brushed that off. I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but I’m going to tell you anyway. I think he’s a man who could hurt women as well as use them.”