Moon Shadow
Chapter Four
“Looks like Miss Holt is MIA. No one seems to know her whereabouts.” Pacey commented.
“Rather convenient.” Joey observed.
“Maybe. Too early to judge. But for now we get to interview the illustrious heads of Parker Enterprise.”
Pacey opened the door for Joey as the entered the large, ostentatious building which was the headquarters of Parker Enterprise. They walked through some decadent looking corridors where a gorgeous redhead sat in the reception desk.
“How can I help you?” She queried.
“Detectives Witter and Potter.” Pacey announced as he and Joey flashed their badges. “We’re here to talk to Mr Ron Anderson.”
“One moment please.” The redhead dialed a number. “I have Detectives Witter and Potter here sir.... Very well sir.”
The redhead glanced coolly at the two of them. “Mr Anderson will be down shortly to talk to you.”
“Thank you.” Joey replied. “By the way, is there a ladies room nearby?”
“It’s down the hall to you left.” The receptionist instructed.
Joey departed to the bathroom leaving Pacey to chat with the receptionist.
“So how long have you worked here?” Pacey asked casually.
“Around six years now.”
“Seems like a good place to work.”
“Yes it is. Very nice.” The receptionist answered non-committal.
“What did you say you name was again?” Pacey asked, his voice husky and seductive.
She blushed under the full force of Pacey’s charm. “Yvonne.”
“Nice to meet you Yvonne.” Pacey smiled. “So tell me more about yourself.”
*****
Joey watched in amusement as she saw Pacey quietly chatting to the receptionist,
the redhead obviously basking in the glow of Pacey’s flirtations. She heard
the girlish laugh that escaped the receptionist’s mouth and rolled her
eyes.
Pacey Witter strikes again.
“Detectives Witter and Potter?” A large, burly man around his fifties walked briskly towards them.
“Yes sir.” Joey answered as she walked forward to greet the man.
From the corner of her eye Joey saw Pacey finish up with the receptionist and joined her.
“My name is Mr Anderson.” He proffered his hand for Joey and Pacey to shake. “Why don’t you follow me and we can talk to my office?”
They quickly found themselves in Mr Anderson’s top floor, spacious office fully aware of the attention they had been attracting from the employees of Parker Enterprise.
“I’m sorry to have to meet you under such circumstances. Jerome’s death was unfortunate. He was a brilliant man, a genius. Well-liked and respected. The circumstances of his death are tragic and I can’t imagine anyone who would want to have killed Jerome.”
“So you wouldn’t say that Mr Parker had any enemies?” Pacey questioned.
“Enemies. Well of course he did. Jerome was a businessman, powerful; he was bound to make several enemies. And his genius left many envious. But enough to kill him? No. I don’t think so.”
“So no death threats? No one who was particularly upset with Mr Parker?” Joey continued the line of questioning.
“We get several death threats. Nut jobs. Disgruntled people. You can’t take these things seriously.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have on file somewhere these various death threats?” Joey asked.
“As a matter of fact we do. But I advise you to take them with a grain of salt. I’ll have my secretary fax them through to you.”
“How is business? We understand that Mr Parker had some new top-secret software about to come out.”
“That’s correct. It is a new operating system that is expected to revolutionize the computer industry. Of course I cannot divulge information about the software. But why do you ask?”
“We’re wondering if it might have anything to do with the business.” Pacey answered.
Mr Anderson perused his lips. “I doubt it. I mean we were having trouble with a Mr Perry Riner. He was the head programmer working on this new software. We discovered he had been leaking valuable information to our competitors and unfortunately has to dismiss him. It was ugly. Now that I think about it…there were several death threats issued to Mr Parker by Mr Riner. The man had an ugly temper but I never expected him to be a murderer.”
“Could we please have the files on Mr Riner?” Joey requested.
“Yes. Of course certainly. Do you really think he did it?”
“We’re currently investigating all leads.” Pacey replied smoothly. “How was your relationship with Mr Parker?”
“He was a close friend. A surrogate son. I can’t believe he’s dead.” Mr Anderson said sadly.
“And do you know much about Mr Parker’s relationship with a Miss Louisa Holt?”
“Charming, sweet woman. She and Jerome adored one another. Geez, Louisa must be heartbroken.”
“I understand they had difficulties?” Pacey queried.
“Every relationship has difficulties but the two of them loved one another. The media tends to blow things out of proportion. One fight and the two were breaking up. No, Louisa and Jerome were engaged. It wasn’t announced as yet but the two definitely had plans on getting married.”
“One final question.” Pacey stated. “Where were you on the night of Mr Parker’s death?”
“Surely I’m no a suspect?” Mr Anderson asked, shocked, confused and a little outraged.
“No of course not.” Joey reassured Mr Anderson. “It’s just a standard question we have to ask.”
“Oh. Well I was in bed with my wife. Sleeping.”
“Thank you very much for your
time, Mr Anderson. You have been a great help.” Pacey and Joey got up.
“Here’s our card if you need to contact us and we will be waiting
for the faxes about the death threats and files on Mr Riner.”