Page 34 of Defending Love

Chapter Thirty-Three

Eli

“ N o fucking way am I taking you to him. We contact the police.”

“And say what, that my father did something horrible eight years ago that resulted in his death.” She picked up the page. “This isn’t enough evidence. We need more.” She looked at me pleadingly. “I’ll wear a wire. You can do that, can’t you?”

I took a step back and lifted my arms over my head. “I’m not risking your life. If you’re right, Stephen Elliott is capable of murder.”

“He can’t just shoot me in his house. You can come with me.”

“No,” I said. “I’ll interview him for you.”

Dani shook her head. “He won’t tell you anything. I’m not sure he’ll tell me. I have to try.”

“Will he be at the board meeting tomorrow?”

“Yes,” she said. “I can’t wait until tomorrow. I must find out today.” She turned toward the window. “It’s still early. I just called him.”

“You called him?” What the fuck?

“He said he spoke to Mom and Mom wants me to use her proxy to vote in favor of Preston Ayers.”

“What did your mom say?”

“I couldn’t reach her. Remember, I asked for Jack’s number. He said she was in therapy. But Stephen said other things. He claimed to never have had access to Dad’s safe.”

“Damien said he did.”

She nodded. “I know. That means Stephen is lying. Why?”

“Or Damien is.”

“Stop it,” she said louder than necessary. “Wait. Wait.” She turned a circle. “You couldn’t confirm Damien’s fingerprints on the letter that Dad supposedly wrote, but you did say they found Stephen’s on there.”

I closed my eyes and exhaled. “You’re right.”

Dani reached for my arms. “Take me over to his house. He lives on the north side in the Butler-Tarkington area. I’ll call him and let him know I want to talk to him about Ayers. He won’t be suspicious.”

“Fuck, I don’t like this. Ask to meet him someplace public.” I pulled out my phone and ran a quick search. “There’s a place called Meridian Restaurant & Bar on North Meridian. Ask him to meet you there.”

“And you can set me up with a wire?”

My gut was telling me not to do this.

“Wait,” she said. “If I can get him to say something, is it even permissible in court if he doesn’t know he’s being recorded?”

“Indiana is a one-party consent state. As long as one person, you, know you are recording, it’s legal.”

She bobbed her head. “Let’s do this.”

Fuck was playing on repeat in my head as I went over to the room with all the things from Larry.

I wasn’t even sure he’d brought me the equipment I needed.

Out of the closet, I pulled a suitcase. Opening the clasps, I looked inside.

There was a blue velvet bag. “Fuck, I was hoping I didn’t have what we needed. ”

“But you do?” Dani questioned.

“Yes.”

She squeezed my arm. “Eli, you’ll be with me. Nothing will happen. I need to know what Stephen knows about David Carpenter and the deal Dad made. That note said that he paid David money he didn’t have. Where did he get it?”

“I’m changing clothes again.” I scanned her curves. “What about you?”

“I suspect the restaurant will want more than these yoga pants. I’ll call Stephen and change.”

As I closed my suit coat over my holster, Dani came into the bedroom. Her long hair was again piled on her head and her casual clothes were replaced by navy-blue slacks and a white blouse. “Stephen said he could meet me at Meridian Restaurant & Bar at five o’clock.”

“I fucking wish there was another way to do this. Maybe you could call Damien.”

Dani’s expression fell. “Eli, I need to know that it’s Stephen who’s lying and not Damien.”

The microphone I attached to Dani’s bra strap was smaller than a penny. We tested it a few times and her voice came through my phone where I would record her conversation. “This has a decent range. If the restaurant is busy, that could make it more difficult to pick up his voice.”

“I’ll sit as close as possible.”

I didn’t like that either.

It didn’t take long on a Sunday evening to reach the restaurant. I pulled the SUV around the log building and parked in the back lot. “Have you figured out what you’re going to say?”

Dani tugged on her lip with her teeth. “I’m going to wing it.”

“I won’t be far away. If you need help, say the word and I’ll be there.”

I saw Stephen Elliott at Derek’s funeral. As soon as we entered the restaurant, I spotted him sitting at a table for two along the wall next to the bar. His mostly gray hair was full and wavy. His expression was stoic until he saw Dani.

“I’ll sit at the bar, where I can keep an eye on you.”

Dani nodded as she walked toward the table. Her voice came through my earbud and was recording on my phone. “Stephen. Thanks for meeting me.”

“Let me flag down our waitress, and I’ll get you a drink. You’re a red wine drinker, right?”

“Good memory,” she said, taking the chair across from him.

“What is it that you want to know about Preston?”

From my angle, I saw him point to a dish in the center of the table.

“I hope you don’t mind. I ordered this charcuterie board. Help yourself.”

Dani shook her head. Placing her arms on the edge of the table, she leaned forward. “No, thank you. I came to find out what deal Dad and Preston had regarding David Carpenter.”

A waitress approached.

“The lady would like your best cabernet,” Stephen ordered.

“Right away,” she said and walked away.

“That wasn’t necessary.”

“I don’t like to drink alone.” He chuckled. “There wasn’t a deal to my knowledge.”

“There was,” Dani said. “And you knew about it. I found proof. Is that deal what got Dad killed?”

“Danielle, I’ve known you all your life. You’re a scientist, not someone prone to dramatic stories.”

“David Carpenter was the son-in-law of Eric Olsen, the dean of the research department when Damien started trying to get his hands on the Propanolol research. Of course, it wasn’t Propanolol yet.

Eric Olsen was killed, and eventually Preston Ayers was named dean of research.

David Carpenter was ill due to an exposure to what…

chemicals, something to do with the research? ”

“You really do have a vivid imagination. Here, have some brie cheese. It’s delicious.”

Dani continued, “Somehow, Dad convinced David to work for Sinclair. The research had been shut down by the university. Even though I was told it was intellectual property and not a patent, intellectual property is still protected by law. Sinclair Pharmaceuticals would have needed permission from the research department to allow us to research, develop, and manufacture Propanolol.”

“You’re asking questions that are better left buried.”

“As in, buried with my father.”

Stephen lowered his tone. “As in left alone.”

The two sat straighter as the waitress delivered Dani’s wine.

She didn’t pick it up. “Dad paid David a lot of money. Where did he get it?”

“Sinclair is solvent.”

“It is now,” Dani said. “It wasn’t back then. This all occurred during the ‘dark Darius days.’ You said that yourself the other day on our call.”

“I really can’t recall. It was years ago.”

“Why now?” she asked. “Why have Dad killed now?”

“I suppose that’s for the police to decide.”

“You had a virus put on my technology and my parents’. It searched for keywords. What were you looking for?”

Stephen leaned back. “I understand you’re dealing with a lot of things right now, Danielle, but these accusations…”

“Guardian Security traced the virus to your personal computer.”

Now she’s bluffing.

Stephen picked something off the charcuterie board and popped it into his mouth. “I’m an old man. I know nothing about those things.”

“IP addresses don’t lie. Virtual network made it harder to track but not impossible.”

He brushed his hands over the table as his napkin fell to the floor. Stephen leaned down to pick it up, but Dani was faster. My eyes were on her as she lifted the napkin.

She handed it back. “Dad considered you his best friend.”

“The feeling was mutual.”

Dani lifted her glass of wine and took a hearty drink. “What did you gain from his death?”

“I lost a dear friend.”

The sound of Dani’s cough echoed in my ears.

“Oh, dear,” he said, “your lips are blue.”

Fuck.

As I rushed from the bar, Stephen Elliott whispered, “You shouldn’t have been so noisy.”

Dani reached for her throat as I pulled her from the chair. I spotted the pecans right away. Her lips were pale, and her pulse was weak. I opened her lips to her swollen tongue. In the bottom of her glass, submerged in the wine, was a pecan.

“You son of a bitch. You tried to poison her.”

“I don’t know what’s happening.” Stephen stood. “Help. Someone call an ambulance.”

“She’s allergic to nuts.”