The Girl With No Name

Chapter Thirty-Four

The Eudora Hotel was as old as Denton itself. It was one of the largest, most ornate buildings in the city, standing twelve stories high and taking up half a city block. Josie’s feet sank into the emerald-green carpet as she and Noah walked into the lobby. The man behind the desk had fluffy blond hair and a toothy, painted-on smile that never seemed to falter. His “How can I help you?” sounded almost musical.

Josie and Noah flashed their credentials and said they wanted to speak to Eric Dunn.

“Just a moment,” the man said evenly. He picked up a phone, pressed some buttons and spoke in such a hushed tone that Josie could only make out a few words. When he hung up he said, “Mr. Dunn isn’t taking visitors.”

“I don’t care what he is, or isn’t taking. We’re here as part of an active investigation, and we need to speak with him,” Josie said.

The smile remained in place. Again, the man picked up the phone, dialed and had a conversation. This time he covered the receiver with one hand and said to Josie, “Mr. Dunn wants to know if you’ve got a warrant.”

“We don’t need a warrant to talk to him,” Noah said. “Unless he’s done something wrong.”

Toothy kept on smiling. “I’ll take that as a no,” he said and spoke into the receiver again. He hung up and said, “Mr. Dunn said you can call his secretary and set up an appointment.”

“And what’s her number?” Josie asked.

“I’m sorry, that’s private information. I can’t give that out to you.”

“We’re here to serve a death notification,” Josie said. “But if Mr. Dunn prefers to receive this information by watching the evening news like everyone else, that’s fine with us.”

For the first time, the receptionist’s smile loosened just slightly. “A death notification? May I ask who died?”

Josie softened her tone, mocking him. “I’m sorry, that’s private information. I can’t give that out to you.”

She didn’t know it was possible to glare while still wearing a painted-on smile, but somehow he pulled it off as he got back on the phone. Ten minutes later, Josie and Noah were being ushered into Eric Dunn’s penthouse suite. The main room was paneled in dark wood with ornate crown molding, the carpet was burgundy and every bit as plush as the floor of the lobby. Two matching burgundy couches flanked a large cherrywood, glass-topped desk which dominated the room. Dunn sat behind it, a panoramic view of the city of Denton spread out behind him. Josie counted four bodyguards—large burly men in black cargo pants and fitted black polo shirts who stood like bulky sentries around the perimeter of the room. Josie couldn’t help but wonder if they had been at Luke’s house the night he went missing.

One of the bodyguards indicated the couches. “You can sit,” he said gruffly.

Josie’s cell phone chirped as she sat down. She pulled it out and looked quickly at the text message from Gretchen. “Got Twitch’s phone powered up. 5 calls to the Eudora in the last week.” Of course. Calls to the hotel, but not specifically to Dunn. He could have been calling anyone at the Eudora, which is what Dunn would say. Josie slipped her phone back into her pocket and looked at Dunn.

He wore a tie over a silky gray button-down shirt. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up, revealing thin, hairy forearms. His brown hair was slicked back. He was even less attractive in person than in his photos. His cheeks were pockmarked with acne scars. His eyes were set closely together over a long, straight nose that somehow seemed skewed on his face. He had a look of incompleteness about him, as though he only needed a slight genetic adjustment and he would have been quite handsome. His eyes were dark and flinty. Without making any introductions, he said, “You’ve got ten minutes.”

Josie was thinking about how good it would feel to slap cuffs on his skinny little wrists. Noah said, “Mr. Dunn, one of your employees was killed in a car accident yesterday.”

Dunn took a slow pan around the room, looking at his security guards. “That’s interesting,” he said. “Because all of my employees are accounted for.”

“Denny Twitch,” Josie said.

Dunn turned his penetrating gaze on her. “Denny doesn’t work for me anymore.”

“For what it’s worth,” Josie said, “he called you here at this hotel five times in the last week.”

“Me? I didn’t get any calls from him here. He must have been calling another guest.”

Josie raised an eyebrow. “How many guests staying here in the last week do you think Mr. Twitch knew?”

“How should I know? I have no idea what he was doing. Like I said, he doesn’t work for me anymore.”

“When did he stop?” Noah asked.

Dunn leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands. “I don’t know. It’s been a while. A few months, maybe? I can have human resources get that information for you.”

“How about Mickey Kavolis?” Josie asked. “He was found dead with a gunshot to the face.”

Dunn looked to the man on Josie’s right. “Kavolis?” he said, as though he didn’t recognize the name. From the corner of her eye, Josie saw the man nod.

Dunn sighed. “Evidently he was on staff as well at some point. He doesn’t work for me anymore either. If you’re finished serving death notifications for people who no longer work for me, I’ve got meetings to get to.”

“When is the last time you saw Twitch?” Josie asked.

“I don’t know. Don’t remember him that well. Like I said, I can have HR pull his file for you.”

“How about Kavolis?”

“No idea. Again, I can have—”

Josie cut him off. “HR pull his file, yes, I know. Mr. Dunn, can you tell me why your former employees keep turning up murdered in my town?”

There was a split-second break in his bored façade—surprise—and then it was gone. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Murdered?”

He wanted to know about Twitch, Josie realized. He must have realized months ago when Kavolis disappeared that he had been murdered, but as far as Twitch was concerned, Dunn had no idea that he’d been shot. All they had told him was that he had died in a car accident. Josie didn’t speak. She and Noah let Dunn fill the silence. He said, “I thought you said there was a car accident.”

“I said he was killed in a car accident,” Noah said. “I didn’t say how or what happened leading up to the accident. Now, I believe my chief asked you a question.”

Dunn hesitated for a second. Then he said, “I see.” He smoothed his tie. “I don’t know why people are being murdered in your town.”

“Not people,” Josie said. “Your former employees.”

“I don’t know what these guys do after I let them go. It’s not really my concern.”

“Why were they let go?” Josie asked, although she knew what he was going to say.

“I can’t tell you that off the top of my head. I’m sure it will be in the HR files.”

Josie hadn’t expected to get anything out of Dunn so his denials and hedges behind his HR department were no surprise.

“When’s the last time you talked to Kim?” Josie asked.

Dunn gave them a tight smile. “Kim who?”

“Your girlfriend, Kim Conway,” Noah said.

“Oh, that Kim,” he said. “I don’t remember. We broke up months ago.”

“How many months?” Josie asked.

Dunn looked at the heavy gold watch on his left wrist. “Your time is almost up,” he said.

“When did you arrive here in Denton?” Josie asked, changing tactics.

Dunn shrugged. “A few days ago. I was asked by Tara—the mayor—to attend a charity benefit.”

Josie held up her cell phone, the photo she had taken of Kim Conway on it. “Kim’s face has been all over the local news for the last two days. We were asking for help identifying her. You didn’t think it might be helpful to give us a call and let us know our Jane Doe was your ex-girlfriend?”

“I don’t have time to watch your local news, Miss…”

“Quinn,” Josie filled in.

“Chief Quinn,” Noah added.

Dunn looked from Noah to Josie and back. “Chief, is it? As in the chief of police?”

Josie nodded. The smile that Dunn gave her then made her skin crawl. It was as though a mask had slipped from his face and beneath it was something ugly and unsettling, like a mass of insects scattering to reveal a picked-over carcass. “Denton does enjoy putting women in power, doesn’t it?” he said.

“When is the last time you spoke to Kim Conway?” Josie repeated.

Ignoring her, he looked at Noah. “Are you her secretary?”

Noah bristled. “Lieutenant Fraley.”

“Was Kim pregnant?” Josie asked.

Something in Dunn’s dark eyes flared, but he tamped it back down, keeping his gaze on Noah. “Lieutenant Fraley, tell me. Do you like working beneath these women?”

“Chief Quinn asked you a question,” Noah answered.

“I like powerful women,” Dunn went on. “Especially when they’re on their knees.”

“What is your relationship with Misty Derossi?” Josie asked.

Dunn spared her a glance. “Never heard of her. What’s her position? Deputy chief? Assistant mayor?”

“She’s fighting for her life at Denton Memorial,” Noah said. “She was attacked trying to defend her newborn child. He’s missing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“I’ve never heard of her, so no, I wouldn’t.”

“We have reason to believe Denny Twitch was involved,” Noah said.

“What Denny did after he left my company doesn’t concern me,” Dunn said.

“Have you ever been to Foxy Tails?” Josie asked him. “The strip club here in Denton?”

Dunn laughed. “Do you think I need to visit strip clubs?”

Josie turned in her chair and took a slow pan of the room. Then she met his eyes again. “Yeah, I can see that you’re overwhelmed by the number of women throwing themselves at you.”

Without missing a beat, Dunn said, “You’re here, aren’t you?”

Josie said, “Have you ever donated to a sperm bank?”

Again, Dunn laughed. “Honey, I don’t need to donate my sperm. There are plenty of women out there willing to take it. Just ask your mayor.”

Josie strongly doubted that Tara Charleston would let this creep lay a finger on her, but she didn’t say anything. Dunn was playing a game, and Josie wasn’t about to rise to the bait. “You said Kavolis doesn’t work for you anymore, but your company paid the charges on his rental car after it was impounded.”

Dunn waved a hand. “So? I have people who tie up loose ends like that.”

“Do you? What kind of people?” Josie asked.

Dunn looked at his watch again. “I believe your time is up.”

“Why did you and Kim Conway break up?” Josie asked.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Dunn said. “Isn’t she in your custody?”

Josie didn’t answer. Instead, she stood, and Noah stood with her. Together they walked to the door where one of the bodyguards held it open. Before she left, Josie turned and said, “Since you arrived, we’ve had two murders and a couple of missing persons cases, and all of the cases involve people from your organization. If I were you, I wouldn’t piss off the powers that be in a city where you’re trying to build a casino.”

Dunn’s eyes blazed again. “Sage advice, Chief. It’s never wise to piss off people who have what you want most, is it?”