The Price of Greed

CHAPTER 21

Gloria teetered on the edge of panic, waiting for Victor to confront her about Grover. It had been two days and so far he hadn't said a word and that worried her even more. With Grover dead, Victor might begin to think that she had the codes and that could work to her advantage. She tried to find sense in all the stew of possibilities. Grover's murder put a whole new spin on the situation. Her brain recoiled suddenly; where the hell was the disc?

If the police had it, why didn't the detective mention anything in the interview? Gloria's head was spinning with questions. She wondered if Milo got it back somehow. Was that possible? She shook her head. The man had the brains of a mud ball. Charlotte? Was that possible? Cutter? Too many people involved. These thoughts filtered through Gloria's mind as she turned her thinking to the interview with the Detective.

She was glad he hadn't been allowed to ask about the divorce. She didn't want any questions concerning Milo until she was positive he had his act together. It was bad enough the idiot hired a lawyer. Now with the murder of Grover, he was out on a limb that could break off under both of them. Gloria decided the risk of speaking with him before the police was worth it... if they hadn't already. She had to know that Milo wasn't buckling at the knees.

Her call and the possible scenario she painted simply reinforced his doubt and fear and it had taken a few moments to calm him down and see the logic in getting together. He agreed to meet her but as with Jarlayne, it had to be someplace safe and private.

They settled on the poorly lit service road behind the city power facility. It was a popular spot for young lovers and at any given time a number of couples practiced their heated passion uninterrupted. Anonymity was the watchword so parking spots were taken at discrete distances apart.

Milo saw her car pull up near a large oak and the lights blinked off. He opened his door and got out, shutting it quickly to limit the time the dome light was on and made his way across the grass to Gloria's car, repeating his hasty maneuver.

"This is nuts." She said, as he slid onto the leather upholstery.

"I don't care. I'm in enough of a spot as it is."

"Well you didn't help by hiring a lawyer." She argued back. "Did you fix that yet?"

"Uhm- kinda..."

"Kinda? Milo you are the dumbest jerk I've ever met in my life!"

"I told you already why I did that. I admit it was a mistake. I never thought about the cops being involved, why would I?"

"Because of who I am... the sister of the victim, the man you met at the hotel, remember?"

"More than I knew at the time."

She made a fist and hit the steering wheel.

"Hey, I got fired for following your lead. And I didn't know your brother was going to be murdered did I?" He turned in the seat and faced her. "I didn't even know he was your brother. You were setting me up weren't you?"

Gloria stared out into the darkness ahead of the car. Is he playing me, she thought?

"Why would I set you up for anything? You knew what you were doing when you agreed to copy the codes."

"Yeah, I was doing you a favour, remember?"

"In return for something you quite enjoyed, as I recall."

"But you and your brother were going to bolt with the codes, weren't you?"

"I was planning on using it to stop Victor from leaving me penniless; he was planning his divorce before he found out about us."