Page 48 of Run for Her Life
“She reached out to me.” His chest puffed as he regarded them. “It was about a week before her murder. She had some information she wanted to share.”
“Am I supposed to do a drumroll?” Zoe asked flatly.
“She stole a product from Harrington Group,” he declared.
Zoe’s chest deflated. Her grumpy, sleep-deprived mood melted away and her curiosity piqued. She looked at Aiden who narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
“What product?” Aiden challenged.
“It was a video game. She stole the code and the prototype.”
Adam was telling the truth. Dawn was keeping the theft under wraps—specifically, it hadn’t been made public that the product was a video game. “And she toldyouabout it? Why?”
“Because she wanted to sell a story, obviously. That’s why we are all here, aren’t we?” His titillating eyes landed on Zoe. “This whole notion you have about dispensing justice and doing the right thing, it’s all fiction. It’s a man-made construct. And while you are living your fiction, I am merely recording it.”
“Morality is fiction?” Aiden countered. “It’s interesting you say that considering you’re a suspect in a murder.”
His face fell. “I’m a suspect?” And then excitement unfurled on his face. “What a most thrilling development.”
“Okay, cut the crap. Why didn’t you tell us that you knew Annabelle and met her days before?” Zoe said, exasperated.
“Because I didn’t have any information related to her demise. She didn’t tell me she was being threatened. She simply wanted me to write an exposé on the Harringtons.”
“What exposé?” Getting information out of him was like untangling a knot one thread at a time.
“There was something about this prototype of the video game that was controversial and disturbing. That’s why she stole it. She thought it was unethical of the company to develop this in the first place. She never told me exactly what was so troubling about it. I even asked to see the game but she refused. She didn’t trust me entirely, I suppose. It’s why I met her that day. I was trying to convince her that I can’t write anything if she doesn’t give me more.”
Zoe sieved through his words. “I’m still not convinced about why you didn’t come forward. And then you went ahead and told everyone that Jackie is missing. You’ve been gaining a lot of visibility and traction since this case started. How many clicks are your blogs getting?”
“Enough forThe Seattle Timesto offer me a job.” He smiled shamelessly. “As much as I’m relishing finally becoming a big fish in a small pond, I have nothing to do with this. I’m merely recording what is going on and adding a slight twist to it. Though, me becoming a suspect was something I didn’t see coming. Writing myself into a story. Now that’s a challenge.”
She stared at him dumbfounded but Aiden was enthralled. Adam wasn’t just thirsty for gossip, weaving stories to keep himself entertained; there was a component of something twisted in him. The glaring lack of empathy. Like he viewed the rest of the world as characters in a story.
“If you don’t mind, I think I have more writing to do.” He stood up and buttoned his coat. His twinkling gaze lingered onZoe. “Something tells me you will be an intriguing character in this story, Agent Storm.”
A blazing, hot energy jolted up her spine as Adam walked away. “If he were innocent, he’d be defensive, uncomfortable. Instead, he’s reveling in it,” she said to Aiden.
“That’s the first problem. He’s reducing people—real, living people—to characters in his personal story arc. That level of depersonalization? It’s dangerous. It means he doesn’t see them as people. He sees archetypes, players, set pieces.”
She shuddered at Adam’s reveries. “Aiden, what was that?”
“That, Storm, is our top suspect.” He began gathering his things. “I’d check his alibi. Are you not going back to the motel?”
“No.” She stifled a yawn.
“It’s one in the morning.”
“I… can’t,” she admitted. She didn’t feel well. A fury was gathering pace inside her. Her mind felt as though it were trapped in a box with the sides closing in on her. She needed answers in order to escape but the questions kept piling up. “Do you think Jackie was also involved in the theft of the prototype?”
“Possibly. It also means the Harringtons have another motive to want the women dead.” He stopped by the door. “You sure you’re staying longer?”
She nodded. He lingered, waiting for her to change her mind or confide in him. She felt his looming presence suffocating. When he finally left, she exhaled and dove back into work.
Zoe spotted Lisa also toiling at her desk. “Want some?” she said, offering her Sour Patch Kids.
Lisa looked up, tired and fighting tears. “No, thank you.”
“Is everything okay?”
