“I don’t know.”
“Well, let’s figure it out. Tell me about the gun.”
“What about it?”
“What do you think? Why did you have a gun, what were you doing with it, where did you keep it, who had access to it, who could have taken it?”
Clay took a breath. “I had it for my job.”
“Why?”
“Occasionally I had to make deposits, withdrawals, carry large sums of money. Mostly during the day, but sometimes at night after work I’d make deposits. I didn’t feel safe walking around with the money on me, so I got a gun.”
“Who knew you had it?”
“I don’t know. David Castleton, of course. He was my boss. Aside from him I wouldn’t know. It wasn’t any secret or anything.”
“How about his father?”
“Whose father?”
“David’s father. Wasn’t he in charge of that division?”
“Yeah. But he wasn’t really hands-on, you know what I mean? He was a cream puff. Only had his job because he was the old man’s son.”
“Yeah, but did he know about the gun?”
Clay frowned. “You think he killed his son?”
“We’re running possibilities here. You tell me Kelly didn’t do it. You want to tell me Stanley Castleton didn’t either?”
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe not. Tell me something. Are you innocent?”
Clay stared at him. “I told you that.”
“You didn’t steal over a hundred grand from Castleton Industries?”
“Hell no.”
“Well, someone did. If it wasn’t you, who was it?”
“I thought it was David.”
“Well, he’s dead. Who’s next on your list?”
“I don’t know.”
“How about Stanley Castleton?”
“I can’t see that. I mean, the guy’s such a wimp.”
“How well did you know him?”
“Hardly at all. But-”
“Then let’s not cross him off the list. Did he have access to the gun?”
“I suppose so. But I still can’t see it. I mean, Stanley Castleton, for Christ’s sake.”
Steve sighed. “Let’s forget the parties involved and talk about the gun. Where did you keep the gun?”
“On my belt. I had a clip-on holster. My jacket covered it.”
“You walked around all day long with a gun clipped to your belt?”
“No. Just when I had to carry cash.”
“Fine. That’s what I mean. When you weren’t wearing the gun, where did you keep it?”
“In my desk.”
“You kept the gun in your desk?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyone know you kept the gun in your desk?”
“I don’t know.”
“Anyone ever see you put the gun in your desk?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Or take it out and clip it on?”
“Maybe. I don’t remember.”
“Ever show off with the gun? You’re talking to someone you wanted to impress, you say, ‘I gotta make a deposit,’ you’d open the drawer and take out the gun and clip it on your belt?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Any secretary there you were sweet on, you might want to impress?”
Clay flushed. “No.”
Steve held up his hand. “Hey. I’m not attacking your personal life here. I’m trying to get a handle on what’s happening. I need to establish that someone else had access to the gun. And more than just access, I’d like to establish that they would have known about it.”
“You want me to say I showed someone the gun?”
Steve took a breath, rubbed his head. “I don’t want you to say anything. I’m not asking for perjured testimony here. Frankly, it wouldn’t be worth a shit anyway. What I want are the facts. So stop trying to figure out what you want to say and what I want to hear, and just concentrate on the basic problem. Someone knew you had that gun and took it. Now, who could have done that?”
“Well, David.”
“Right,” Steve said. “But the suicide theory is out. So unless David took it and someone found it in his apartment and killed him with it, that doesn’t help us. In fact, it hurts us, ’cause the most likely person would still be Kelly. Now who else?”
Clay’s brow furrowed. He shook his head. “I don’t know. Anyone could have known, could have done it, but I simply don’t know.”
“Great,” Steve said. “Now when was the last time you saw the gun?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t remember. It’s been a long time. I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Well, think about it now.”
“I don’t know. I used it for cash transactions. They all sort of blend into each other. I can’t remember the last time. I had my own problems. I was distracted.”
“Right. With the embezzlement. Go on, think about the embezzlement.”
“What about it?”
“You got wind something was up, and you sent a memo to Milton Castleton.”
“Yeah.”
“And you faxed it.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Fine. Now from that point on, did you have reason to use your gun?”
He frowned. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?”
“As a matter of fact, no, I’m pretty sure not.”
“Why is that?”
“Because that was one of the things. That was worrying me, I mean. One of the reasons I wrote the memo. There seemed to be something funny with the figures and no one had asked me to make a deposit for a while. Which had me paranoid. I was afraid they might peg me.”
“You weren’t paranoid. They did.”
“Yeah.”
“But from the time you sent the memo, you don’t recall ever seeing the gun?”
“When you ask me like that, no, I guess I didn’t.”
“Okay. Good. Now let me ask you something else. When you weren’t using the gun, did you always leave it in your desk-”
“Yes.”
“Let me finish. Or did you ever leave it at home?”
“Oh.”
“Well, did you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, think about it. After you made a deposit-at night, after work-did you go back to the office to put the gun away or would you go straight home?”
“I’d go home.”
“So you’d take the gun home.”
“Yeah.”
“You bring it back the next morning?”
“Sure.”
“When you took off the gun at home, where would you leave it?”
“On my dresser.”
“On your dresser?”
“Or in the drawer.”
“Which was it?”
“Either. Both. It was no big deal, you know. I never thought about it.”
“You ever forget and leave the gun at home?”
“Not that I remember.”
“But you could have?”
“I could have, sure.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think? Your sister cleaned out your room, packed your stuff for storage. If you left the gun home, that’s when she would have got it.”
“Then I’ll say I didn’t.”
“What?”
“If they ask me, if they put me on the stand, I’ll say I didn’t. I’ll say I never kept the gun at home.”
Steve frowned. “I told you, I’m not asking for perjury.”
“I know. You’re not asking nothing. I’m just telling you what I’m gonna say.”
Steve held up his hand. There was an edge in his voice. “Let me tell you again. I’m not interested in what you’re gonna say. I’m interested in the facts. Just between you and me, is it possible you left the gun at home?”
“Yeah, it’s possible. But I’ll never say that. I promise.”
“Thanks for your support,” Steve said dryly. “Okay. Now we got the gun. It could be at the office, it could be home, you’re not sure which. Am I right?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. Never mind now who you think you’re helping. Where do you think the gun was?”
“At the office.”
“That’s your best guess?”
“Yeah. It’s possible it was home, but I don’t think so. If you ask me, I think I left it at the office. If they ask me, I’ll swear I left it at the office.”
“Okay. Fine. But say you left it at home. Your roommate- what’s his name?”
“Jeff Bowers.”
“Okay. This Jeff Bowers-what about him?”