Lilith: a novel Read Free Page B

plenty of problems with it.
    “What we have here,” Koenig said, “was a man who was relaxed and at complete ease one second, and dead the next.”
     

4.
    After the autopsy, Maribel and Alan headed for the law office where Robert Billings had worked in the IT department. Alan instructed Dave to head back to the ODCI office. Two detectives would be enough for the interview with Billings’ former coworkers. Besides, there was a lot of evidence and data to gather and assemble. Due to the nature of the case, much of that evidence was electronic and computer-related in nature, and Dave Hennessy was by far the most knowledgeable of the three in that area.
    The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office is located in Corryville, near the city’s EPA building and the University of Cincinnati. Alan and Maribel therefore had a short drive downtown to the offices of Holley, Steinmetz, & James .
    Holley, Steinmetz, & James was one of the more prestigious law firms in Cincinnati. It ranked right below Taft, Stettinius, & Hollister—the Cincinnati firm that had once been headed by the sons of a U.S. president.
    Holley, Steinmetz, & James occupied a suite of offices on the tenth floor of a riverfront office that overlooked the city’s John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge—a scenic piece of nineteenth-century architecture that had been under construction during the Civil War. Once inside the gleaming, marble-floored lobby, Alan and Maribel had no trouble locating the firm’s suite: It was indicated in bold in the building directory mounted near the lobby’s main elevators.
    Once at the main reception desk of the law firm, they were greeted with delicate solicitousness. They had not made an appointment in advance. This was not done in order to keep any potential suspects off-guard and vulnerable. Alan did not believe that he was likely to find Lilith among Robert Billings’ former coworkers. The problem, rather, was that Billings had been murdered only last night, and there had simply been no time for such a courtesy.
    Nevertheless, it was obvious that the management of the firm had been expecting a visit from law enforcement. Robert’s death had already made the local news, after all. The receptionist asked if Alan would like to speak to one of the firm’s senior partners; and Alan said, no, that wouldn't be necessary. Billings had been a low-level employee in the IT department, and the senior partners in a large firm like this would have barely been aware of his existence. Instead Alan asked to speak to Billings’ supervisor in the IT department, and as many of his coworkers as could be made available—anyone who had worked with BIllings on a daily basis, and might therefore have insights into his final days.
    Alan and Maribel were ushered into an ultramodern, sparsely furnished meeting room that the firm likely used for client consultations. They were asked to have a seat at a table that dominated the room. After a few minutes, three people filed in: a man and woman in their mid-twenties, and another man who looked a bit older, perhaps pushing forty.
    “I’m Joe Kinney,” said the older man. Kinney was tall with light brown hair. Maribel and Alan stood to make the introductions. They shook hands.
    The young woman was introduced as Andrea Smith. She was blonde and pretty, but in a toned-down, corporate way. She wore her hair in a ponytail.
    “And this is Mick Halpern,” Kinney said, introducing the other one. Halpern was too young to be afflicted with male pattern baldness, but he sported a shaved head nevertheless. Alan also noticed that Halpern wore a single gold earring, and he wondered how Halpern fit in at the hyper-conservative Holley, Steinmetz, & James. Perhaps Halpern was given some leeway because he wasn't an attorney, but a member of one of the firm’s auxiliary departments.
    The introductions and handshakes concluded, they all sat down at the table. There was just barely room for all five of them.
    “I was