Snow Blind - Lori G. Armstrong [95]
Not surprising. That attitude mirrored most local attitudes about Indians and it pissed me off, but I managed to bite back a smart retort. “Why keep her on?”
“’Cause I guess she could sweet talk a honeybee from a flower. She’s added nearly half a million dollars to the Prime Time Friends coffers since they started it.”
A kick in the gut couldn’t have sucked the air from my lungs any faster. Money was one helluva motive. In addition to Luella’s awareness of how the COO felt, she might be looking at a big score before she bailed out of the program entirely.
Honestly, I was as confused and conflicted about the case as I’d been at the beginning. I sighed.
“I hear that sigh a lot from my kids, Miz Collins.”
“Sorry. Much as I appreciate it, you overloaded me with information, Bud.”
“Does that mean you’re saying no?”
“No. It means I need to think about it before I make a decision.”
337
“Well, at least you didn’t throw me out on my ear.”
“Did you expect me to?”
Bud pushed to his feet and reached for his coat.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure. You have quite the toughas-nails reputation. You didn’t get that by bein’ an easy mark fallin’ for every sob story comin’ down the pike.”
He buttoned his duster and slipped on his gloves before he looked at me again. “But I’ve no doubt you’ll do the best thing for everyone.”
The man didn’t know me. Our past association had been confrontational at best. Now he acted like he had my number cold. “Why?”
“Because puttin’ the screws to me would be sweet revenge. And I’d do the same damn thing if I were in your position.”
“I’m nothing like you, Linderman.”
“I know. That’s why I’m convinced you’ll do the right thing, Miz Collins. Good day.”
The open and shut case didn’t seem so open and shut anymore.
338
I mulled over Linderman’s visit.
It’d be reasonable to protect his business interests and blame Vernon Sloane’s death on murder rather than negligence. But when the pieces were laid out, I realized I’d been just as quick to jump on the “accident” bandwagon as everyone else. Why? Because no one wanted to believe someone could be so cold as to let an old man freeze to death?
For money?
No one working at Prairie Gardens would blink about Luella taking Vernon for an “outing”—even out to die. At five percent, her personal cut of five million was substantial.
Just not as substantial as Amery’s one hundred percent.
If I took the case, would it prove Kim’s accusation 339
right? I’d do anything to make problems for Kevin and his relationship with Amery?
Wrong. It had nothing to do with Kevin. We weren’t working for Amery. In fact, when I went through the file folders, I noticed he’d voided her last check and the contract. So if I decided to help Linderman, Kevin couldn’t claim we were contractually obligated to Miz Grayson. The only conf lict of interest was his personal relationship with the dead man’s granddaughter.
What about the conflict Martinez has with Linderman?
Yeah, it might piss Tony off, but it was my business. I seriously doubted he wanted me sticking my nose into his affairs. I hadn’t questioned him on the identity of the redheaded bombshell he’d been doing business with. Since Linderman was a shell of his former self I hardly saw him as a physical threat. Was it naïve to think Linderman had changed?
Are you hoping that helping Linderman will prove any man—including your father—is capable of change?
Again. Not the same thing. Sheriff Richards practically dared me to snoop around. It was as much about my ego to uncover information, or browbeat it out of people, to prove my worthiness as an investigator, as it was guilt out of helping Doug Collins.
Regardless. It was another fucked-up situation. It bugged the shit out of me I didn’t know what my dad 340
and BD Hoffman had