‘What’s this?’ he asked, unfolding it to see a large architect’s drawing.
Erin snatched it back from him and folded it up, hiding it away under the coffee table. ‘It’s nothing, just something from work,’ she said briskly.
Chris looked at her curiously, but let it drop and turned back to the stove. ‘Listen, I don’t want to sound like a broken record,’ he said, putting a bacon sandwich on the table in front of her. ‘But I really think you should call that detective. And I’m not sure you should be going in to work today, given what we know about your boss.’
‘I am going to work, Chris,’ she said defiantly. ‘I’ll call Michael on my lunchbreak, I promise.’
Her voice sounded confident but she didn’t feel it. She was apprehensive about seeing Adam, but she felt drawn to the office. Besides, Michael Wright was possibly not going to take her seriously with a far-fetched notion about rare bottles of wine stashed on Karin’s kitchen counter. She needed more evidence, and she knew that the office was the only place she had any chance of finding it.
‘Erin. I’m serious,’ said Chris, touching her arm and seeking to meet her gaze with his. ‘This is getting dangerous. We shouldn’t be meddling. I don’t want anything to happen to you,’ he added softly.
‘It won’t,’ whispered Erin. ‘I’m just going to do my job.’
‘Well, if you haven’t called Wright by this evening, I’m going to call him myself.’
‘But what if Adam’s innocent?’ said Erin. ‘What if the wine theory is just bogus? We’re playing with people’s lives here. If he’s suddenly a suspect, that will get out in the media; his reputation won’t ever really recover from something like that.’
‘And what if he’s guilty, Erin? What then?’
68
The Midas Corporation offices had been understandably sombre and quiet following Karin’s death. Adam seemed to have retreated into himself and spent the whole time in his office with his door closed.
Colleagues scurried around, but there was no chitchat in the kitchen or hallways; everyone just put their heads down and worked.
Erin had barely sat down at her desk when her phone rang.
‘Can you step inside a moment, please?’ said Adam, his voice low and flat. She’d had little interaction with him over the past few days and a flutter of nervousness appeared in her stomach. But why? Did she really think Adam was a murderer? As she walked to his office, she began to wonder. The police said that Adam had been with Marcus on the night of the murder, but where? And for how long? But surely Adam’s alibi must have been convincing, or wouldn’t DCI Wright have arrested him by now? The questions tumbled around her head as she sat down in front of Adam.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Adam, registering Erin’s mood.
She nodded.
‘Well, I appreciate you being here,’ said Adam. Erin looked away. His once-sexy chocolate eyes suddenly felt penetrating, cold and unnerving.
‘I’m sorry you had to find Karin,’ he continued. ‘I feel terrible about sending you around.’
‘You weren’t to know,’ she said, feeling herself flush. It was the first time they had talked about what had happened. Adam pushed his lips together in a tight line.
‘Well, the police tell me that the body may be released in the next few days,’ he said sombrely. ‘And I know Karin would have wanted an appropriate send-off. Could you find a hotel room for a reception after the burial? Something chic. She loved flowers. Let’s have lots of flowers.’
‘Lilies? Roses? She liked Verbena roses. Or did you have anything in mind?’
‘My ex-assistant Eleanor used a fantastic florist for an event at the beginning of the year. Phone them up, tell them what we want. I want it to look beautiful.’
Their eyes locked and Erin felt a wash of fear up her spine. She blinked hard to stop her eyes betraying her.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ asked Adam. ‘I can cancel my lunch and we can go to talk if you like.’
Erin shook her head a little too vigorously. ‘I have plans. I’m sorry.’
‘Well, how about later tonight? I’m on a site visit this afternoon and then going to Mikhail’s party tonight, but I don’t have to stay long. People won’t expect me to, anyway.’
She felt her heart beginning to beat faster and the adrenaline pump around her veins. He had never showed this much concern for her feelings or emotions before. She was only there to serve and make his life easier. Now he wanted to get her alone.
She stood up quickly and smoothed her skirt down nervously. ‘It’s fine, Adam. It really is,’ she stuttered. ‘Now I had better go and find the number of the florist. As soon as you know a date for the funeral, can you let me have it? Thanks.’
She returned to her desk in silence and sat motionless in her chair, her head bowed, her fingers locked together on her lap, willing her heart to slow down. She had to stay normal, she didn’t want him to suspect anything. Keep working, don’t show him you’re flustered, she told herself. Taking a deep breath, she clicked on her computer to look for Eleanor’s wonder-florist. Luckily, Eleanor had been a very organized woman and had left a folder on Erin’s desktop of her contacts, diary entries, addresses and notes. It was the inside track into Adam’s life: where he went, what he did, his likes and dislikes.