“I’m so sorry about this. Don’t they realize that someone would notice if I were dragging around a body or digging holessomewhere?”
“I said something to that effect. I agreed to give them our surveillance footage. I even checked security records, which show that you didn’t use your key card this weekend. If you were here, you would have had to come through a publicentrance.”
“That would have made carrying a dead body awkward. And for the record—no, I didn’t come in thisweekend.”
“Right. Good. Well, I guess that’s it.” Kevin got to hisfeet.
“I’m really sorry aboutthis.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s more of a disruption to your life than ours.” He stood and turned to leave the greenhouse, when Sharon, the office manager, hurriedin.
“Can I talk to you?” Her gaze flitted toMia.
The two of them stepped outside for a moment, Sharon leaning close to him as if she didn’t want to be overheard. Then Kevin took out his cell phone and made acall.
Mia did her best to focus once again on internship applications, but she couldn’t stop glancing out the window. Once when she did, she found both Kevin and Sharon looking at her. She let out abreath.
You’re imaginingthings.
Kevin came inside again. “Mia, this is difficult, but I’m going to have to ask you to come with me to the frontoffice.”
“What’s goingon?”
“We can talk about it when we getthere.”
Shit.
This couldn’t begood.
She slipped into her parka and followed him outside, her stomach knotting. Two of the security staff—Beth and Michael—were headed straight towardher.
You have no reason to beafraid.
Maybe not, but her pulse spikedanyway.
“They’re just going to walk with us,” Kevinsaid.
“Why? What’s goingon?”
“We’ll talk about that in myoffice.”
Damnit.
Beth and Michael fell in beside Mia, flanking her, as if they thought she might try to bolt. But she had no reason to run. She hadn’t doneanything.
The walk back to the office building seemed to take forever, her co-workers watching her with furtive glances until her cheeks burned with frustration and fury. One of the guards held the door open for her, and she walked into thewarmth.
“This way.” Kevin motioned her into his office, then spoke quietly to the two guards, who planted themselves outside Kevin’sdoor.
Mia was at the end of her patience. “What the hell is goingon?”
Kevin looked at her as if he’d never seen her before. “One of the grounds crew went to run branches through the wood chipper, but it jammed. Inside, he found a plastic bag filled with bloody towels and a bath mat. There was also a driver’s license. It belonged to AndrewMeyer.”
“What?” Mia gaped at him, unable to believe what she’d just heard. “You can’t possibly believe thatI—”
“We can talk about that when the policearrive.”
* * *