Richard hung his head. “It wasn’t like that. I love Elizabeth Ann. And Susan, too.”
“Sure you do,” Max said. “That’s why you found yourself a new squeeze who was younger, cuter, and—”
“Where exactly are you going with this?” Darden demanded.
“That maybe you got rid of the kid yourself,” Max said.
“What?” Darden’s face drained of all color and he practically choked on his own tongue. “Are you serious?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened,” Max said.
“I wouldn’t do that!” Darden blustered. “I couldn’t do that. My wife and I were at the Edina Country Club with two hundred other people eating rubber chicken and drinking wine that probably came in a cardboard box on the night Elizabeth Ann was kidnapped. Why, I could give you the names of fifty people I talked to that night.”
“I have no doubt you can,” Max said. “You’re a very smart man, Mr. Darden. And your bank account has more commas than a James Joyce novel.”
“So then . . .” Darden began.
“You could have hired kidnappers,” Max said.
“What do you think?” Darden said. “That I went on Craigslist so I could steal my own child? Be serious!”
Max lifted a shoulder. “You could have hired this guy Al.”
Darden placed both hands flat on the table and stared earnestly into Max’s eyes. “No,” he said. “I didn’t mastermind this kidnapping. You have to believe me.”
“I want to,” Max said. “I really do.”
*
AFTON watched Max with open admiration. He was doing a masterful job. Drawing Darden out, cutting off Slocum, asking the tough questions. She was actually taking notes, writing down his sly techniques that . . .
The door to her darkened room suddenly flew open. Thacker and three of the FBI guys, Keith Sunder, Harvey Bagin, and Don Jasper, walked in. Silently, like shadows, they took their places along the window.
“How’s he doing?” Jasper whispered.
Afton wasn’t sure whether he meant Max or Darden, so she said, “They identified the handyman and just finished a discussion regarding the girlfriend.”
“How’d all that go?” Thacker asked.
“Not very well for Darden,” Afton said.
Jasper nudged Keith Sunder. “You want to go in there and make a move? Like we talked about?”
Sunder nodded. “Sure.”
“What move?” Afton asked after Sunder had left.
“Just watch,” Jasper said.
*
THE door to the interview room opened, and Keith Sunder casually strolled in.
“Excuse me, Detective,” Sunder said. “I hope you don’t mind if I sit in for a few minutes.”
“Be my guest,” Max said. If he was surprised that the FBI agent was joining them, he didn’t show it. “You all know Special Agent Keith Sunder, don’t you? From our local FBI office?”
Darden and Slocum grudgingly bobbed their heads.
“Good,” Max said. “We were just about to move on to Mr. Darden’s job status.”
“Past or present?” Sunder asked.
“Let’s focus on the past,” Max said. “Novamed. You had a nice salary there with plenty of fancy benefits and stock options. A pretty sweet deal.” He paused. “Why’d you leave?”
Sunder leaned forward in his chair. “And why is your ex-employer so closemouthed about your departure?”
Darden didn’t answer. He just stared at the floor and unconsciously jiggled a foot. Afton recognized it as a classic stall pose.
“We’re waiting, Mr. Darden,” Max said.
The silence in the room was palpable. Even Afton could feel it through the glass. She wondered if there’d been mismanagement of funds or too many golf junkets on company time.
Finally Darden said, “It was time to move on.”
“And it’s blatantly obvious that you did,” Max said. “The question remains, why you chose to move on.”
“What happened over there?” Sunder asked. “Were you caught stealing proprietary information?”
Darden gave a disdainful snort. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“Help us out here,” Max said.
Darden lifted his head and said, “There was sexual misconduct.”
“An affair,” Sunder said.
“There was no affair,” Darden said. “Just an implication of sexual harassment.”
“Who’d you harass?” Max asked. “Who was the woman?”
Darden cocked his head and gave Max an incredulous look. “What? No, you’ve got it all wrong. It was a woman who was pressuring me!”
“What?” Max said. Now it was his turn to look surprised. “What woman? Who?”
At which point Slocum interceded. “That’s not relevant,” he said smoothly. “The issue is over and done with and there are sealed documents for both parties. Mr. Darden has cooperated with you voluntarily. Now, if you need any more information, you’re going to have to obtain a subpoena.”
“We can do that,” Max said pleasantly.
“Richard?” Slocum said. He stood up and cocked his head toward the door. But Darden remained seated.
“You’re going to find this guy, Al, right?” Darden asked Max. “You’re going to bring him in and question him like crazy?”