Page 79 of Search for the Truth
That part was partially true. The rumor mill had split between Hector being negligent and Hector trying to be a hero. The negligence story had gained more traction after the steel mill sent out the press release about his accident being human error. That’s why Beth had been sent in after all.
Elijah took the barb without emoting anything other than coolness.
“Mr. Martinez made a judgment call that was sadly not a call he should have made at all. We had many safety protocols in place to facilitate a solution that would have been safe and effective. Instead, Mr. Martinez put his own life in danger and paid dearly.” Once again, if Elijah had stopped there, a seed of doubt might have sprouted within Blake. Yet the man couldn’t help himself. This time, though, the addition cost him.
“In fact, the person in charge of the safety protocol put in place is here today. I thought maybe you might be interested in talking to him.”
Blake felt the familiar rush of adrenaline flood her system. The red flag that had sprouted was now in a forest of them.
To think, after everything she had been through in the last week, she had walked willingly into the final boss’s lair.
Because in that moment, Blake was sure she was talking to none other than the man behind Missy’s death and behind her sister’s accident. And who very much wanted to add Blake’s death to the list.
But why wait?
Why not kill her on sight at her house? Why not go in guns blazing to take her out? Why make an appointment to sit down and talk to her? Why ask questions? What could he want? What could—
Missy’s flash drive and Beth’s laptop.
But nothing of note had seemed to be on Beth’s laptop.
So that left the code on the flash drive.
Blake wasn’t sure where it fit exactly, but she bet her life that it was this man’s downfall.
“Oh, that would be nice,” she said to his offer. Though it was less of an offer and more of a warning. He had already texted something on his phone. “But, first, I have one last question, if you don’t mind.”
Elijah met her eye with a new smugness.
“Sure. What do you have for me?”
She decided it would be impolite to keep pretending to be someone she wasn’t.
So Blake dropped her smile and did something she had become quite good at during her career in law enforcement. She applied pressure where she thought she might break the man’s no-doubt carefully applied facade.
“How angry were you after you realized Missy hid her flash drive with the code before you killed her?”
It was like wiping red marker off a white board.
That fake politeness was no match for the burn of his rage.
Blake’s shot in the dark had landed. And it had hit a bulls-eye to boot.
But he wasn’t the only one shooting.
The door to the office flung open. Blake threw herself back, toppling over with her chair but managing to stay upright as she tried to scramble away from the new intruder.
However, the person who ran inside and immediately slammed the door closed behind him wasn’t a no-name lackey.
It was Theo, and he was breathing heavy.
“Gunman outside!” he yelled. He whirled around and pointed to Elijah. “Gun in here!”
Blake was so startled by Theo’s entrance she hadn’t noticed that Elijah was reaching for something. Her body went on autopilot. She threw herself across the desk ready to disarm the man.
Everything after that seemed to go in double speed.
A gunshot.
