Cindy wasn’t here to dispute his view of life, or look into his business dealings. She held her focus tight on her sister’s death.
“What has all this got to do with how my sister died?” Cindy repeated.
“It could be just coincidence that your sister got killed in the Greenstone Hotel,” Evan said suddenly then, swerving in another direction. “The last killing there happened two months ago. Everything’s been quiet since. I was sure it was all over.”
“Tell me about the women who were killed there?” Cindy liked that he was finally talking and wanted to flush him out more.
“Each woman was killed the same way – poisoned,” he commented. “They went to sleep and never woke up.”
Cindy hadn’t heard that. It wasn’t what happened to Ann, either.
“Each woman was connected to the glitzy life here,” Evan went on. “Everyone who investigated the case came up with the conclusion that the killer wasn’t out to get the women. The killer was after their boyfriends, the big, hedge fund guys the women hung out with. Finally, they realized that each of the women who got killed was with a guy from the same hedge fund.”
“That’s a huge fingerprint,” Cindy murmured, “shouldn’t be hard to come up with the killer after that.”
“That’s what I thought,” said Evan. “But when you don’t want to find out something, evidence conveniently gets blurry, or lost.”
“The police got rid of evidence?” asked Cindy.
“I didn’t say that,” Evan’s jaw was set firm. “You’ll never find me accusing anyone. The whole thing just looks suspicious, if you asked me.”
“What hedge fund were these guys involved with?” Cindy asked then.
“It doesn’t even matter now,” said Evan. “It wasn’t my hedge fund if that’s what you want to know.”
“A rival company?” asked Cindy.
Evan laughed loudly then. “I really don’t have any rivals,” he said. “Maybe some people think they can compete with me, but compared to my assets, they’re all small fry.”
“What do you think the motive for the killings was?” Cindy was tired of the bantering.
“Who the hell cares?” Evan retorted. “It doesn’t matter a damn.”
“Of course it matters,” Cindy took exception.
“Not to me. All that matters to me is that I had no part in it,” Evan declared. “People get killed all the time over money. Who knows, maybe it was a furious investor who lost money, getting back at the big guys? Maybe it was a jilted lover? Maybe it was someone else trying to take the whole fund down?”
“Or, maybe an inside deal that went bad?” Cindy mused. “And the fund covered its tracks beautifully. Of course evidence would disappear if the fund didn’t want its dealings made public. People were paid off, big time.”
“Okay, so now you proved you’re a terrific detective,” said Evan smiling. “But, just remember, it wasn’t my fund.”
Cindy looked directly into his eyes then. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their encounter. His eyes were open and gleaming, hiding nothing. In the flash of a moment, Cindy trusted him completely. He saw it, too.
“Thank you for believing me,” Evan responded quickly. “Listen, there’s no end to the annoyance factor of this, either. The cops keep contacting me, one way or another, won’t let it alone. I’m getting sick of it, I really am.”
Cindy was pleased to hear that the cops were still trying to solve the case though.
“I don’t like being hounded by anyone,” Evan’s lips grew thin, “let alone by the police. Doesn’t sit well with me.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Cindy said softly.
Evan calmed down at that. “Not you, believe me. I’m not talking about you. I like having you here.”
“Thank you,” said Cindy.
“In fact, I hope I can see you again,” he smiled.
“I’m spending every minute working on the case,” Cindy replied quickly, “and then spending what time is left over with my family and partner.”
“Of course,” Evan replied quietly. “I meant I hope I can help you out with this.”
“I hope you can, too,” Cindy breathed.
“Tell me about your sister’s husband,” Evan said then, lowering his eyes.
“Frank has a mid-sized business of his own, back in Wisconsin. He’s not involved with any hedge fund,” Cindy assured him.
“You never know, you’d be surprised,” Evan answered skeptically. “Maybe he’s not involved with the big investors, but there are smaller funds here that take everyone.”
Cindy suddenly felt exhausted, both from the wine and conversation.
Even saw it immediately, and pulled his chair closer. “Look into a guy named Tony Beggio,” he whispered loudly. “He’s a slimy guy that runs a smaller fund – always surrounded by questionable characters looking for a quick fix. Maybe your brother’s involved with him?”
“It’s highly unlikely,” Cindy looked at Evan blankly, “my brother in law is not a slimy guy.”
“Look into Tony Beggio anyway,” Evan insisted.