The P.U.R.E. Read online

  “Did Doug mention anything about the new inventory work?” I wanted to steer Jon back onto work topics and off me.

  “He’s been tight-lipped about what he’s been working on. And, I know you’re trying to change the subject,” he said. We reached our cars, and after looking around, he asked in a low voice, “Did you pull the alarm, Gayle?”

  “Now why would you think that?”

  “Because you were missing for a suspiciously long amount of time after the alarm went off. I almost went looking for you.”

  Our gazes met and locked.

  I dipped my head before righting it. “Alright, you got me. Yes. I did, but here’s why. Doug stole my copies of the documents I lifted from Jayna’s office. I didn’t realize it until this afternoon when I wanted to read them and they weren’t in my briefcase.”

  “The briefcase last night’s visitor emptied all over your living room floor?”

  “Yes. A few pages might have slipped under the sofa when I picked up but not all of them. I’m positive they were in there. So, I snuck into Jayna’s office while she was out and took them to make new copies, but when I tried to put them back, she was sitting at her desk. Yadda, yadda. The end.”

  Jon shook his head and laughed softly. “I don’t think you’ll ever cease shocking me with your ability to get into trouble.”

  “It’s a bad habit of mine.” I grinned as I unlocked and got in my car. Jon waved goodnight and got in his.

  • • •

  After a quick run and a shower, I kicked back to re-read the documents I’d copied from Jayna’s files.

  I’d copied a few additional pages on the second run through. One was an email from Kenneth to Jayna. Her reasons for saving the email were obvious. Kenneth rambled on about how much he loved her and how they would soon be together. He included so many x-rated references, I blushed, and I thought I had seen it all. He told her Darla had agreed to a divorce, and she only needed to be patient a little longer, and they’d be set. The email was dated May of the prior year.

  The next page was a more recent pair of emails. Jayna declared her undying love and pleaded for him to give them another chance. She asked if he’d found someone else.

  Don’t these people know emails to and from work addresses aren’t necessarily private?

  In Kenneth’s reply, he apologized and encouraged her to move on. He suggested she consider leaving Aphrodite if she found their situation too awkward to bear.

  Nice. Make her leave.

  He continued on, saying he’d always treasure their time together, blah, blah; you deserve better; I’m no good for you anyway, etc.

  The entire exchange read like a bad movie script. I had to wonder, again, what made Kenneth so special he had at least three women crawling in and out of bed with him. An average-looking exterior and a surly personality only shrouded the mystery further.

  I moved on and found a series of directions from one of those online map sites. Opening my laptop, I looked up the addresses in the property tax record database and discovered them to be directions from Kenneth’s home to Rocky’s, to Bob Turner’s home, and to the park at White Rock Lake where they found Kenneth’s body.

  With dinner in hand, I contemplated what all the pieces meant and what role, if any, Jayna might have played in Kenneth’s death.

  17

  I’d turned on the overhead lights for the immediate vicinity near my desk, leaving the rest of the floor dark, and worked for over an hour.

  “Hi.”

  I jumped and covered my racing heart with my hand. “Jon, you scared me half to death! What are you doing here?”

  “I was worried about you.”

  As my pulse slowed, I drew in a breath. “You’re a good friend to check on me, but I told you I’d be okay. Doug left at least a half hour ago, and there‘s a guard on duty in the lobby—”

  “Who’s too far away to do anything to keep you safe from insiders. I can’t believe Doug made you come in to do this tonight.”

  “Eh, he’s a dick. What else is new?”

  Jon moved into my cubicle and leaned over my shoulder. “How much more do you have to do?”

  “I’m about half done.”

  “Half? What time did you start?”

  “Er, well I got here around nine, but Doug was still working. I snuck off to the Library and read my book until nine thirty. When I came back, he’d left, so I started searching through the files.” I pointed to the audit trunk, a black half-sized footlocker.

  “Looking for what?”

  “I wanted to check out the last round of inventory and capital stock.”

  “Has your curiosity been satisfied?”

  “No. Those files were missing.” I huffed.

  “I’m here now, so why don’t you let me help.”

  I considered his offer for a second, and after he gave me a crooked smile and a shrug, I said, “Thank you, Jon. I really appreciate it.”

  For the next half hour, we worked at lightning speed in two adjacent cubicles, preparing the referencer’s aid. We passed files back and forth over the wall and soon developed an efficient communication shorthand. At ten forty-five, we finalized the aid, stacked the files, and locked them in the audit trunk. We stared at each other in silence, but something unspoken strained at the seams.

  “Before we leave, I want to show you something you’re going to love.” He flashed me an impish grin. In the elevator, Jon pressed the button for the fifty-fifth floor. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as the elevator rose, wondering what he had planned. He appeared to be plotting something in his head, running through the logistics while his brow furrowed. Had my companion been anyone but Jon, I’d have worried about my safety.

  Only emergency lighting lit the floor. The suite itself was locked via electronic keypad, accessible only to the partners with offices on that level. For security reasons, management changed the code every few weeks.

  Jon pulled out a slip of paper from his back pocket and entered a code into the keypad. The electronic door’s lock clicked. He gave me a huge shit-eating grin and pushed open the door saying, “Milady.”

  I peered at him over my shoulder as I preceded him into the executive suite. I was liking Bad Boy Jon—a lot.

  “Follow me,” he said after I stopped to let him pass.

  I couldn’t help but smile and happily did as I was told.

  We snaked our way around the floor, but as we drew near Bob’s office, I noticed his light was on.

  Jon came to an abrupt halt as voices seeped into the hallway. He pulled me into the conference room across the hall. The room had a narrow window next to the open door, but the rest was sheltered from view.

  “What’s he doing here, and who’s he talking to?” I whispered to Jon.

  Jon shrugged. “I don’t know, but I want to stay and find out, don’t you?”

  I nodded, and we ducked beneath the conference room table, close enough to peer out and listen.

  “How did you get the latest code?” I asked.

  “I lifted it from Doug.”

  “Whoa! You’re good!” I didn’t think he had it in him to be so sneaky.

  He turned to me and grinned. “I wasn’t sure if or how I planned on using the information, but something told me you might find a good use for it. That’s another reason why I came tonight.”

  “I think you’re beginning to understand me a little too well,” I said.

  “I’m working on it.” He leaned over enough to lightly bump me with his shoulder.

  I wish he’d just kiss me already.

  You could kiss him, ya ditz.

  I already did, ya putz, and nothing happened.

  Only because he was engaged and you were drunk.

  Go ahead then. Might as well wipe your ass with a doomed office romance before you flush your career down the toilet. You know it’ll happen.

  I muzzled my warring inner voices and strained to make out the words of the external voices. Two men talked, one of who
m I assumed was Bob. Jon and I were too far away to recognize the other voice.

  The light escaping from the office dimmed right before Bob and Doug emerged, one carrying files. They continued talking as Bob turned off the light and pulled the door shut behind him.

  “You need to rein in this nasty habit of yours, Doug. I know you think you’re too smart to get caught, but I assure you, one day you will. This one’s a lot smarter than we thought.”

  “I’ve been good lately. And she’s not all that smart.”

  “What do you call the texting? Remember, if I get one whiff her sexual harassment claim is going to be taken seriously, you’ll be out on your ass. I’m done saving you.”

  I gave Jon my best ‘I-told-you-so’ mug. He patted me on the back.

  “Don’t worry,” Doug said. “What do you want me to do with these files once the referencer is done?”

  “Shred them, of course. Every single page, including the covers. Then take the shreds, split them up into two or more garbage bags, and dump them in multiple random dumpsters far away from here,” Bob said. “We only want the original inventory papers to survive. The others we’ll chalk up to a tragic first year staff mistake. Fix the cash and equity sections tonight yourself. I’ll get the clean opinion reversed with Hardinger’s blessing, and that’ll be that. It’s much easier now that Kenneth’s not around to interfere.”

  The pair of them made a hard right and continued slowly down the hall.

  “What about the Dalrymple shares?” Doug asked.

  Bob laughed. “What Dalrymple shares?”

  Their voices faded as they turned the corner.

  I turned to Jon, my jaw slack. “Were they talking about shredding the Aphrodite files? I can’t believe they think they’d get away with that.”

  Jon moved from beneath the table and brushed off his pants as he stood. “Not only those files, but it sounds like others too. I’m guessing they plan on pinning the destruction on you or me.”

  “Well, at least Bob isn’t going to be signing off.” The whole shredding business gave me the shakes.

  Jon offered me a hand as I followed him out from underneath the table.

  “Kenneth’s murder seems to have altered their original plans.” Jon peered down the hallway in both directions.

  “Let’s give Doug a little lead time to get out of here. Then I need to go back to fifty-two. I left my purse in my cubicle. It doesn’t sound like Doug’ll destroy any project files until after the referencer does his thing tomorrow. So … we’ve got a little time to figure this out.”

  • • •

  Fifty-two was dark when we stepped off the elevator.

  I touched my finger to my lips. “You should hang back out of sight. If Doug came to check on my progress with the referencer’s aid, I don’t want him to know you were here.”

  “Are you sure? What if he’s still here and tries to bother you? That might have been his plan all along—to get you alone.”

  I lowered my voice as we neared the final turn that would lead to the cubicle I had been using. “He could have done that long before you showed up. I don’t think he will since Bob’s little talk, but don’t hang back too far. If I raise my voice, or you see him try to touch me, make a noise so he realizes we’re not alone. Stay out of sight if you can.”

  “Something feels really off about this.” Jon stayed put and leaned against the wall.

  When I rounded the corner, I caught my breath. Doug stood in my cubicle, his back to me. I approached in stealth mode and watched as he held my wallet. The possibility he had “borrowed” my apartment key seemed entirely probable.

  He jerked slightly, as if startled, and turned, giving me a smile—not the slightest bit nonplussed at being caught red-handed.

  “What the hell are you doing going through my stuff?” I kept my voice low because I wanted to know what his game was and didn’t want Jon to scare him off—not yet.

  “I thought you left your purse behind by accident. I was only trying to find your address so I could get it back to you.” He held up my driver’s license. “Number eighteen-A, Shadypark Lane, eh? I’m familiar with that apartment complex. I think I have a friend who lives near you. Maybe we’ll run into each other.” His veiled threat mocked me.

  I extended my palm and glared at him. “You needn’t trouble yourself with the challenge of being a decent guy.”

  He smirked and tossed my wallet and license over his shoulder. The wallet landed with a loud thud on the desktop, and my license fluttered to the floor. “Just trying to be a good citizen.”

  I heaved a sigh as he moved to leave, his eyes fixed on the hall ahead of him. He bumped me hard on the shoulder as he passed.

  I retrieved and re-secured my license and returned the wallet to my purse but didn’t hear him double back to stand behind me.

  “Why didn’t you return any of my text messages, Gayle?” He was far too close as he rasped in my ear.

  Despite my willing it not to, my heart raced. “I didn’t get any texts from you.” I kept my back to him.

  “Oh, yeah, you did. You even saved them. I took the liberty of erasing them all. Can’t let HR get the wrong idea now, can we?”

  He laughed and reached up to tuck a stray lock of my hair behind my ear. I tilted my head away and drew my arm forward.

  I jabbed my elbow back toward his stomach just as I had in Aphrodite’s file room. He must have anticipated my move, however, and grabbed me by both elbows, closing the gap between our bodies.

  “Come on, Gayle. Don’t you know you turn me on even more when you fight with me? I’ll bet you’re a wildcat in bed.”

  Hot breath fanned the back of my neck, the rank smell of garlic and tequila assaulting my nose. I refused to give in to my fear, but I’d had enough of him and was ready for Jon to step in and bail me out.

  “Let me go!” I raised my voice to a near shout and tried again. “Doug Martin, get your fucking hands off of me!”

  “Oh, baby, you’re so hot. I like you feisty. Do you talk dirty when you’re being fucked?” He removed one of his hands from my elbow and grabbed my breast.

  I sucked in air, spun around and slapped him as hard as I could across the face. The force knocked his head sideways. Before he could recover, I drove my knee into his crotch and shoved him away. He toppled over, moaning on the floor and holding himself.

  While he writhed, I snatched my purse and scanned for the files he’d carried out of Bob’s office. They weren’t in my cubicle, so I ran to the one in front of mine.

  Nothing.

  Off to the next one Doug normally used before racing to the other side of the divider. In the cubicle Jon had used to help me with the referencer’s aid, I found what I sought.

  Footsteps had me whirling.

  Jon!

  Doug’s face loomed mere inches from mine. My fingers searched behind me for something to use as a weapon. All I found was a ruler. I didn’t think measuring his nastiness would be much of a defense.

  Where the hell is Jon?

  “You little bitch. I’ll take those files.” He yanked them from my arms and trapped me against the desk’s side return.

  I arched back until my shoulders touched the cubicle divider wall. My purse fell to the floor and spilled its contents. The movement distracted me long enough for Doug to thrust his face right up next to mine.

  “Too bad I don’t have the time to tame you tonight, but next time I will. And oh, Gayle baby, it’s gonna be—”

  An unseen force yanked him backward and slammed him against the wall. Jon pinned Doug and punched him repeatedly, never uttering a word himself.

  Doug dropped the files to the floor after the first few blows. Blood flowed from his nose and lips, and soon he stood only because Jon held him up. Jon continued to rain punches until Doug no longer even tried to defend himself.

  Though I had enjoyed the show up to that point, especially Doug’s squeals of pain, Jon needed to stop.

  “Jon! That’s en
ough! You’re going to kill him!”

  I seized his right forearm and tugged until he froze. His left fist was poised for another blow while he held Doug up with his right. Despite his cold, dispassionate appearance, he was anything but. My own hand trembled on his arm where I held him.

  Jon turned, gazed first at me, his eyes still wild with fury, and at the ruler I wielded as if it were the mightiest of weapons. I watched the last glimmers of his rage wink out.

  He released his grip.

  Doug crumpled to the floor, already forgotten like yesterday’s trash.

  Who is this person in front of me, and where’d he learn to fight like that?

  I should have been horrified by the excessive violence. I wasn’t. In fact, I was a little aroused by it. By Jon. I imagined him pushing me up against the same wall, ripping my clothes off, and taking me right there, with Doug at our feet.

  While I contemplated my sick erotic fantasy, Jon ran to the cubicle Doug had cornered me in. He barked out something, snapping me back to reality. We needed to get the hell out of there, and fast, before Doug regained his senses and called security. I didn’t want to think much beyond that.

  “I need to check his pockets to make sure he didn’t take anything from my purse!” Grimacing, I reached in and found a set of car keys and his wallet. I opened the wallet and made a mental note of the address on his driver’s license. He had seventy-five dollars cash, a few credit cards and a picture of a woman holding a baby. Tucked in one pocket was what appeared to be a proverbial little black book. I slipped it in my pocket for some light bathroom reading. Mixed in with the money, I found a folded up scrap of paper with my address written on one side. On the flip side, he’d written a five-digit number—probably the code to fifty-five.

  “Son of a bitch,” I said as I gawked at his bloody face. With a black magic marker I found in a nearby desk, I wrote ‘Loser’ on his forehead. The pen was mightier than the sword—ruler in my case.

  “Gayle! Catch!” Jon threw my reassembled purse to me. He snatched up the two files Doug dropped, and I tossed Doug’s wallet in his lap.

  “We’re going in my car!” he announced as we approached his Porsche, parked next to my Honda.