Not aggressively.
Enough.
It landed against her cardigan.
Beth caught it.
Opened.
Read.
The name at the bottom:
Martin Voss
Regional Operations Vice President
Beth’s eyes narrowed.
The suited man stepped closer.
“Ms. Crawford.”
She handed him the letter.
His expression hardened too.
Jimmy noticed.
“You know him.”
Beth looked toward Jimmy.
“Yes.”
“How well?”
“He reports directly to our Chief Operating Officer.”
Jimmy laughed.
“Of course.”
Beth folded the letter carefully.
“Come with me.”
“No.”
“Jimmy.”
“I said no.”
“We can go somewhere private and talk.”
“This isn't private?”
He gestured at the empty bus shelter.
“No boardroom.”
“No lawyers.”
“No security.”
The suited man looked almost offended.
Jimmy glanced toward him.
“Mostly.”
Beth ignored that.
“I need to understand what happened.”
Jimmy looked at her.
“You needed to understand before your company fired a man who has a kid and a mortgage.”
Her expression tightened.
“You're right.”
The answer was so immediate he had no prepared response.
Beth continued.
“I am not asking you to excuse it.”
“I am asking you to give me enough to investigate.”
Jimmy looked away.
The anger felt good.
It was easier than fear.
Fear had been waiting beneath everything since six thirty.
Mortgage.
Food.
Lucy.
Health insurance.
School trip.
Winter heating.
How long could forty-seven dollars become a life?
He looked back.
“You really want to investigate?”
“Yes.”
“Then go to Harrington.”
“I will.”
“Unannounced.”
Beth paused.
Jimmy smiled humorlessly.
“Exactly.”
She understood.
“If they know you're coming, you'll see a clean line.”
He nodded.
“New sensors.”
“Correct paperwork.”
“Everybody smiling.”
Beth looked toward her SUV.
Then toward Jimmy’s ruined suitcase.
She made a decision.
“Get in.”
“No.”
“Not the boardroom.”
“Where?”
“Harrington.”
Jimmy stared.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
The suited man finally spoke.
“Ms. Crawford, the board meeting—”
“Move it.”
“They're already assembled.”
“Then they can remain assembled.”
“Your father—”
Beth’s eyes flashed.
“Do not invoke my father to schedule me.”
The man stopped.
Jimmy looked between them.
Interesting.
Beth turned to him.
“Come with me.”
He hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because if you're lying, I want to know.”
Jimmy’s eyebrows rose.
“And if I'm not?”
“Then I want to know faster.”
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he looked at the SUV.
“I’m wet.”
Beth glanced at his soaked shirt.
“Leather seats.”
“That seems like your problem.”
The suited man looked away to hide a reaction.
Beth smiled.
“There you are.”
“What?”
“The man from five minutes ago.”
“He was unemployed too.”
“So nothing has changed.”
“Everything changed.”
Beth looked at him.
“Maybe not everything.”
That landed harder than he expected.