“All right,” he lied.
She broke the hug and stared at him. “We’re going to figure this out.”
They joined the others at the table, but Constance didn’t eat. She briefly confirmed Elliott’s account of what she had done after the meeting, and when the group fell silent, Hiro stood from the table.
“We must start with motive. I believe the most likely explanation is that Nora was killed because she opposed Absolom Two.”
Elliott stood. “I take that as a veiled accusation against me.”
“Your perception is incorrect.”
Daniele held her hands up. “Let’s back up a second.”
Elliott strode to the door. “You can back up without me.”
“Elliott, where are you going?” Daniele asked.
“This will hit the press soon. We need to make a statement. If we don’t, the narrative will get away from us.”
Hiro cocked his head. “And what precisely is our narrative?”
“The truth: a wonderful human being was tragically and senselessly taken from us. And Sam Anderson and his daughter had nothing to do with it.”
Without another word, Elliott marched out.
“He’s right about the press,” Constance said. “If the public perception is that you’re guilty, it’ll be hard to change that—even after the facts come out. And kids can be cruel. We need to get ahead of this for Ryan’s sake.”
“True,” Sam muttered.
“Back to motive,” Daniele said. “I’m not sure the Absolom connection is right.”
“How so?” Hiro asked.
“I think Absolom—and the next generation of it—is on our minds, and that’s the first thing we see. But we should look at the more obvious motives. The two classic reasons for murder.”
“Which are?” Sam asked.
“Love and money.”
Sam shrugged. “Not sure that helps. If love is the motive, that would seem to lead back to me.”
“But framing you doesn’t,” Daniele said. “Think about it—what if the person who killed Nora was in love with her? The killer finds out you’ve been seeing her. They know it’s getting serious. And they can’t handle it.”
“Then why would they frame Adeline?” Constance asked.
Daniele focused on Sam. “I believe you can answer that.”
“Maximum pain.”
Daniele nodded. “The only thing worse than losing your future is seeing your kids lose theirs. Whoever killed Nora might have seen an opportunity to strike back at both of the people responsible for their unreturned affection: Nora and Sam.”
“That leaves money,” Hiro said.
“And Nora would have left a lot of it,” Daniele said. “Her shares in Absolom Sciences are worth billions.”
Hiro nodded. “But she doesn’t have any children. And she’s a widow. Who would it go to?”
“I think we should find that out. And I think we should make a list of everyone who knew the contents of her will.”
“I agree,” Sam said. “But if it’s for the money, why frame me?”
“Convenience,” Daniele said. “In homicide investigations, the police almost always start with lovers and former lovers. You were there. There was an altercation. It works out well.”
“Next steps?” Constance asked.
“I’ll call Tom Morris,” Daniele said. “Nora may have filed her will with the company.”
“I’ll start trying to track down any former romantic acquaintances,” Hiro said.
Sam turned to Daniele. “I hate to ask, but Ryan’s still here at the station. And…”
“You want me to keep him? Of course. I’m happy to, Sam.”
*
When they left, Sam began clearing the take-out containers from the dining table. A small slip of paper was lying under one of the sushi trays. At first, Sam thought it was the message from a fortune cookie, but there weren’t any of those with the meal.
He picked it up and read the short message:
LOOK UNDER THE TABLE
He felt his pulse quicken.
Still holding the slip of paper, he moved to the door, locked it, and set the short note back on the table. They would need to get fingerprints off of it, though he figured that was likely a long shot.
He looked under the dining table, but there was nothing there. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled under and peered up.
Taped to the underside of the table was a small cream-colored envelope.