Page 76 of Sunburned

“You’re handling everything really well, all things considered,” I said gently.

“Thanks.” He sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. “I’m glad it looks that way. I’m—” He closed his eyes and took a breath, stopping the tears before they fell. “It’s not something I ever thought I’d have to deal with.”

“Have you heard anything about what happened?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

“You guys fought before the dive.” It wasn’t a question. We both knew I’d seen him exit Tyson’s room enraged. But I hoped it would elicit some kind of explanation.

He leaned back in the chair. “I didn’t mention that you and I had spoken last night, but I did tell him I realized the timing of your visit couldn’t be coincidental. He got angry and accused me of blackmailing him, which I told him was preposterous. That’s when you saw me storm out. You talked to him after that?”

I nodded. “He told me he’d taken out the money the blackmailer demanded and wanted to meet them this evening. I tried to talk him out of going, but he seemed set on it.”

“Do you think this blackmailer has anything?” he asked.

I paused. “There were keys in the lining of Ian’s shoe. My contact on the police force told me, but it hasn’t been mentioned publicly. One was to his safety deposit box.”

“Have the police opened it?”

I shook my head. “Figuring out which box would be impossible without any more information.”

“Did you tell Tyson about the keys?”

“No. I’d planned to, but he was so antagonistic when I got down here, and so paranoid…I decided not to mention it. The blackmailer hasn’t said anything about them either, but maybe that was what they planned to reveal at the meeting this evening. I mean, Ian told us he kept the keys in his shoe—he could have told anyone else too.”

He nodded, following along. “You think Ian told people he was blackmailing us?”

“It certainly seems that way.”

“So, Tyson would’ve been afraid there was some evidence inside the lockbox that Ian had been blackmailing us, which would have given us a motive to kill him.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “But even if this blackmailer did know about the keys, they couldn’t know for sure what was inside the lockbox. Hell, none of us know that.”

I could see the gears in Cody’s mind turning as we looked at each other, both of us at a loss. “Can you think of anything else they might have?” I asked.

He rubbed his bloodshot eyes. “No.”

I couldn’t either, unless there were things Tyson hadn’t shared with me…which was entirely possible. Probable, even. But also impossible to know. I sighed. “Then I don’t see what good could come of meeting them.”

He clicked the end of his pen. “So how do we find out who it is?”

“Does it matter anymore?” I asked. “It was Tyson they were blackmailing, and he’s gone. You’ve got bigger things to deal with now.”

He let out a groan, dropping his forehead to his folded arms on the desktop.

“Did you have operating instructions in place in case Tyson wasn’t able to perform his duties as CEO?” I asked.

He nodded. “I’m interim CEO.”

“And do you know how his shares will be conferred?”

“No. That’ll be in the will.”

“The police will be asking, so you’ll want to get ahead of it,” I said.

“I’ll make a call.” He looked like a lost little boy. “Anything else I should do?”

“Get yourself a lawyer if you don’t have one already. A criminal defense attorney. Sooner rather than later.”