Some economic benefits could eventually pass through my estate.
Operational control would not simply transfer to a spouse holding a
death certificate.
Gregory’s recorded statement that becoming my widower would solve
everything was not legal expertise.
It was evidence of what he believed.
And what he believed was dangerous enough.
The next morning, Detective Ortiz returned.
She asked about Paige.
I told the truth.
Paige Miller was twenty-nine.
Talented.
Ambitious.
Sometimes impatient.
I hired her after seeing a hotel redesign she had done in Indianapolis.
I mentored her.
Six months earlier, I promoted her to senior designer.
Had I seen inappropriate behavior between Paige and Gregory?
I thought back.
A company holiday dinner.
Gregory touching Paige’s elbow while speaking.
A client reception where they disappeared for twenty minutes.
A joke Paige made about Gregory understanding “what creative women
need.”
At the time, none of it had seemed conclusive.
