Page 126 of Burning Caine
“You won’t even be at Foster when I come back?”
“No, I’m going on the road.”
She looked down and gave a small nod, before heading to the passenger side. “Do you ever keep any of your friends?”
Chapter 51
Samantha
“Hedidwhat?”Ilaunched from my seat in the Pines conference room, hollering at Cliff.
He sat calmly with his hands clasped over his stomach. “Roger accepted the invoice you found and paid Olivia yesterday afternoon.”
I dragged my hands over my face in disbelief.
“She owned a twenty-thousand-dollar painting that burned in the fire, so he paid her fair market value for it.”
I hit the table. “Goddammit!”
“And he wanted me to pass along his thanks—”
“His what?”
“—for saving the company nine hundred eighty thousand dollars.”
“I can’t believe you’re this calm, Cliff! That was fraud!”
He stood slowly with a sigh. “Bobby Scott was his friend. You know how he is.”
“Fuck!”
“Watch your volume, Sam, or you’ll get a reputation like mine,” he said with a smirk.
“Did they at least cancel her policy?”
He shook his head and patted me on the back. I stormed out of the conference room, slamming the door for good measure. There was nothing more I could do. Back to my stupid, fucking, boring property claims.
Before I turned the corner to the Pit, a commotion by the front doors caught my attention.
“Am I under arrest? No! So don’t touch me!” Roger walked down the hall and shot me a venomous look as he headed out the front doors. Escorted by two officers, Matt hot on his heels. Janelle, Harry, and a man I hadn’t seen in years had been following them but approached me instead of leaving.
“Elliot?”
Janelle looked from me to him. “You know Special Agent Skinner?”
“It’s been too long, Sam.” He stood a few inches taller than me with skin almost as dark as Janelle’s and short black hair, gleaming FBI shield at his waist.
“What’s someone from Art Crimes doing here?”
“So, you haven’t forgotten me? Just ignoring my calls?” He shook my hand and grinned. “I was already in Lansing, thanks to you.”
“Let’s go to a conference room.” Harry led us to the Oaks, and we sat. Quinn slipped in out of nowhere to join her partner. Why were we all here? Together?
Everyone at the table sported some level of a smile. Except me. “What the hell? Those officers were taking Roger—”
Janelle held up a hand. “Get comfortable, Sam. This will be a bumpy ride.”
She opened the folder she’d been carrying under her arm and flipped through photos as she spoke. “Everything went down at the Haberdasher Café exactly like we planned. Olivia was right. We have Kathy Becker on surveillance admitting to the blackmail, to being in the Scott residence with the intention of setting the fire, and to witnessing Bobby Scott fall and hit his head. And leaving him to burn.”