Renee pulled out a chair and sat across from us, yet she couldn’t hide the look of irritation that had spread across her face. I took the lead as soon as Leonard left the room.
“Renee Booth. Can you spell that out for me?”
She cocked her head as if to be coy. “It’s spelled just like it sounds.”
I glanced up. “Humor me.”
She sighed. “R-e-n-e-e B-o-o-t-h.”
“Thanks. Did Leonard explain why we wanted to speak with you?”
“No, and I don’t have a lot of time. My clients expect me to be available to take their calls.”
She tipped her wrist and looked at her watch. I imagined that drawing attention to her Rolex was her way of showing us she was successful.
“It’ll take as long as it takes, Mrs. Booth. Now, we’d like to know about your relationship with David Ramsey.”
The color drained from her face as we held her stare.
“You can begin whenever you’re ready,” Frank said.
“Um, I don’t know what you’re insinuating.”
“I believe you do. Should I call Mr. Princeton back in so he can refresh your memory of the talk he had with both you and David about workplace fraternization?”
“Fine. Whatever. David and I are friends.”
“Does your husband know about those long lunch breaks and your late-night friendship?” Frank asked.
She inspected her acrylic fingernails. “My career doesn’t interest my husband, only my paycheck.”
“Maybe your actual job duties don’t, but I bet your ‘friendships’ with David Ramsey and Zak Fortello would.”
She shot Frank an angry glance. “What is it you want to know? Like I said, I’m probably missing calls.”
“You haven’t wondered why David didn’t show up for work today?”
She shrugged. “We worked late last night, so maybe he overslept.”
Frank tapped his pen. “Or maybe he’s dead.”
I cringed at his blunt comeback, but it was effective.
“What! No, that’s impossible. We were together until after one—” She caught herself and stopped talking.
“Until after one in the morning? Is there a chance that your husband knew about you and David? Or is Zak crazy jealous enough to kill him?”
“You can’t be serious. David is really dead? I can’t even process that.” Her eyes filled with tears.
“Well, somebody murdered him during the night, and it could very well be because of the relationship you had with each other. What is your husband’s name, Renee?”
“Ross.”
“Does Ross have a bad temper?”
“Sometimes, but he was in bed when I got home.”
“Is he the jealous type?”
She dabbed her eyes and nodded.
“Does he have a police record?”
“Yes, for battery, but that was before I met him.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Four years.”
I smirked. “Stale already, huh?”
She glared at me.
“Where does Ross work?”
“He’s laid off right now from a manufacturing company.”
I smiled. “A big shot stock broker married to a laid-off factory worker. Hell, I’d step out on him too.”
She snarled at me. “Did they teach you how to be a jerk at the police academy?”
“Nope. It comes naturally when I deal with cheaters. Now, what can you tell us about Zak?”
“He shouldn’t even be working here. The man is out of control and has way too much testosterone. He fought with David all the time.” She gave us a raised brow. “He’s the person you should be talking to.”
“And we will as soon as we’re finished with you. Back to the initial question. Did you and David have an intimate relationship?”
“Yes. He said he was going to file for divorce after his son turned twenty.”
It was none of Renee’s business that Lucas would never turn twenty—or that Kathy was also dead.
I asked my final question. “How long had your relationship been going on?”
“A year and a half, and it wasn’t just a fling, Detective McCord. We loved each other. Now, I really need to go to the ladies’ room. I think I’m going to be sick.”
She stood up and rushed out of the conference room. Seconds later, Leonard peeked through the half-open door.
“Should I have Zak come in?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind.”
A few minutes later, Zak Fortello entered. He was a medium-built man and looked to be in his mid-thirties with slicked-back black hair and extremely white teeth. I pointed at a chair.
“Have a seat, Mr. Fortello. We have questions for you about David Ramsey.”
He chuckled. “That asshole? I’m surprised the idiot knows the difference between a stock account and the stock of a gun.”
I rubbed my chin and frowned at Frank. “Funny how he just mentioned a gun stock.” I looked at Zak. “Is there a reason you have guns on your mind?”
He huffed. “I don’t have guns on my mind, so don’t try to psychoanalyze me. I was being facetious, nothing more.” He tapped his fingertips on the table. “Well? Why am I sitting here with two cops?”
I corrected the man, whom I immediately disliked. “We’re homicide detectives, not cops.”
“Cops, detectives—all the same to me.”
“David Ramsey was murdered earlier this morning. What were you doing between two and three a.m.?” I knew he wasn’t the shooter since Zak was far from bald.
“Sleeping, the same as most people at that time of night.”
“You have anyone who can corroborate that?”
“Yeah, my cat.”
Zak came off as neither surprised nor concerned about my announcement. “So you don’t care at all that a coworker of yours was just murdered?”
He rocked back in his chair and smiled. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
“Wow. You’re really something. How about telling us a little about yourself, Zak.”
“Why? Am I under arrest for something?”
“No.”
“Then if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”
I shook my head as he walked out. “People amaze me. The lack of compassion he just displayed is actually shocking, and between us, we’ve seen a lot of jerks in our careers.”
Frank waved off my comment. “Don’t let an ass like him get in your headspace. He isn’t worth it. Come on. Let’s go.”
We met up with Leonard again, gave him our cards, and asked that he call us if Zak or Renee began to act strangely.
“Don’t hesitate to call if anything about David comes to mind or if another employee seems suspicious.”
“I will. What should I do with David’s belongings?”
I couldn’t say his wife would pick them up, and we hadn’t reached out to anyone other than the Carters yet. “Just box the stuff up. Somebody will come for it soon enough, and I’m sure there’s paperwork that has to be signed too.”
Frank thanked Leonard for his help. “We’ll get those files back to you as soon as possible. I bet a broker like Zak would love to take over David’s client list.”
Leonard shook his head. “Well, thankfully, that’s my call, not his.”