Mad, Bad and Blonde - Cathie Linz [37]
“You’re welcome.”
“Hey, did I tell you that I beat Caine out for a new client? On my second day on the job.”
“Yes, you may have mentioned it a few thousand times.”
“Did I also mention that I looked into Caine’s father’s case?”
Megan’s eyes widened. “No, that’s definitely news. So what did you find out?”
“On the surface it seems like a no-brainer. Dr. Karl Hunter was a chemist working for American Research Corporation on a project to develop an affordable biofuel. He was in charge of the project. There were only three other people involved in it. Details about the biofuel were sold to a rival company. A large amount of money showed up in an offshore account in Karl Hunter’s name.”
“Does Caine know all this?”
“I don’t know. I assume so.”
“You should tell him. Maybe then he’d stop thinking his father was innocent.”
“Yes, but the thing is that the case is almost too neat and tidy. My gut tells me there may be more to the story. I found a brief reference to the research assistant named Weldon Gronski vouching for Karl’s innocence. He was never thoroughly interviewed, however. That raised a red flag for me. I want to track that guy down and talk to him.”
“Why?”
“Leave no stone unturned.”
“You don’t think West Investigations botched the case, do you?”
“I don’t want to think that, no. But I need to be sure. What would make a man like Karl with an exemplary record suddenly sell corporate secrets?”
“Obviously it was money.”
“Why then? Why that particular project? He’d worked on other equally important projects.”
“Did he have a gambling problem?”
“Not that I could find. Like I said, I just need some more information.”
“Does your dad know you’re doing this?”
“No. And don’t tell him or my mom.”
“I won’t.” Megan proficiently used her chopsticks to dip her sushi into a small bowl of soy sauce. “So when do I get to meet this Caine?”
“You don’t. Why would you even want to?”
“Because he’s clearly made a big impression on you.”
“A bad one.”
“Are you sure about that? I mean here you are, helping him investigate his father’s case.”
“He has no idea I’m looking into it.”
“Would he approve?”
“Like I’d care.”
“It seems to me you care too much. It seems Caine has made more of an impact on you than Alan did.”
“And how shallow would that make me? I was engaged to Alan for almost year. And yet Caine’s the one I keep thinking about.”
“Maybe because Alan is out of the picture, and you keep running into Caine.”
“He does that on purpose, you know.”
“Have you seen him since that lunch where you conned your way into winning that client?”
“It wasn’t a con. It was my knowledge of White Sox trivia.”
“Right. So have you seen Caine since then?”
“No.” She looked around. “But I fully expect him to show up anytime now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked through that door.”
“I would,” Megan said. “How could he know about our Sushi Tuesday?”
“I may have mentioned it,” Faith muttered. “Before I knew who he really was.”
“Wow. Is that him?”
Faith pivoted in her seat, her heart pounding. She saw the man entering the Sushi Place. “No, that’s not him.”
“Too bad.”
“What do you mean, too bad? You’d be happy if he showed up here?”
Megan shrugged. “At least I’d finally get to meet him.”
“He’s not a nice person.”
“He helped you transport your wings.”
“And he never did say what he was doing standing outside the library.”
“A man of mystery.”
“You’re my cousin. You’re not supposed to take his side.”
“I’m just curious about this guy who has such a strong effect on you.”
“By ‘strong effect,’ you mean he seduced me. Do not remind me.”
“Sorry.”
“You know what I need? I need to get back to my worst-case scenario approach to life. Had I kept that up, then I would have had a backup plan for the wedding falling through. And I would have been suspicious of Caine in Italy.”
“What if Jane Austen had thought that way?”
“She was never jilted at the altar.”