Mad, Bad and Blonde - Cathie Linz [57]
“Was there anything suspicious about his death?” Caine asked.
“Not that I could find. Why?” Buddy asked. “What are you thinking? That someone is knocking off everyone involved with the biofuel project?”
“That would include me,” Weldon said with a gulp.
“Don’t panic yet, boyo,” Buddy told him.
“I know you think Karl wasn’t guilty, but do you think he would commit suicide?” Faith had to ask.
“I don’t know,” Weldon said.
“Why have you been hiding out, Weldon?” Faith said. “Avoiding your apartment and work?”
“Because someone has been following me.”
“You were already out of your apartment and off work when I started trailing you,” Faith said.
“Same here,” Caine said. “Did you see the person trailing you?”
“No, but I did,” Buddy said. “Unfortunately I didn’t get a good look at him. Medium height, medium build, his shoulders were a little hunched like he spent time bent over books or something. He didn’t have the military bearing that Caine here has.”
“Unless Caine is going undercover,” Faith said. “In which case he can hunch his shoulders with the best of them.”
“You were in the Marines, right, Caine?” Buddy said.
“Yes, sir.”
“I was in the army myself,” Buddy said. “You Devil Dogs are a crazy bunch.”
“We like to think so, sir.”
“So where are you staying now, Weldon?” Faith asked.
“Somewhere safe,” Buddy said.
“What about the other guy? Nolan? Could he be following you?” Caine asked.
“I doubt it,” Weldon said. “Yeah, he was angry that the project was canceled after Karl’s death. The company that stole the information went bankrupt and never followed up on the biofuel ideas.”
“Nolan is still in the area,” Faith said. “And he’s still working as a chemist in the biofuel field. Have you talked to him, Weldon?”
“No. We never really got along very well.”
“He’s a prick,” Buddy said. “I tried talking to him and didn’t get anywhere.”
“Maybe he’d talk to me,” Faith said.
“Why?” Buddy asked. “Because you’re a woman?”
“And a former librarian,” Caine said.
Buddy raised both bushy eyebrows. “No kidding. I’m impressed. But I doubt Nolan would be.”
“It can’t hurt to try,” Faith said.
“Unless he’s the one who framed Karl,” Buddy said. “In which case he could hurt you quite badly.”
“We’ll go talk to him together,” Caine said.
“Maybe we should just speak to him over the phone,” Faith said.
“Good luck with that,” Buddy said. “He ignored all my calls. I had to go see him. He was not a happy camper.”
“Let me take care of Nolan,” Caine said.
Faith gave him a look. “We’re in this together, remember?”
“You seem like strange partners to me,” Buddy said.
“We’re not partners,” Caine said.
“What are you then? Rivals?”
“No,” Faith said. “It’s . . . well, it’s sort of complicated.”
“I can see that.”
“I’d like to make a toast.” Weldon raised his glass. “To Karl, the comic chemist.”
They all raised their glasses. “To Karl.”
“Did he tell you those chemistry jokes at work?” Caine asked Weldon.
He nodded. “What do chemists call a benzene ring with iron atoms replacing the carbon atoms?”
“A ferrous wheel,” Caine said with a grin. “Why do chemists like nitrates so much?”
“Because they’re cheaper than day rates,” Weldon said with a matching grin.
Buddy groaned.
“What is the dullest element?” Weldon said.
“Bohrium,” Caine said triumphantly before giving Weldon a fist bump.
“Those are good memories,” Weldon said wistfully.
“Yeah,” Caine said.
“Bad jokes, though,” Buddy grumbled.
As they all laughed, Faith was left wondering whose dad—hers or Caine’s—would ultimately be found guilty. The possibility that her dad might have botched the investigation wiped the smile right off her face. Because that gut feeling she’d had in the beginning that something was off with the way this case was handled just kept increasing bit by bit. In addition to that, she still didn’t know if her dad was cheating on her mom. She needed to find the truth on both issues.
On Monday, Faith