“Mrs Connor.” Ben Rossi stood, hands in pockets, on the pier. His black sunglasses masked his eyes.
Ellie’s heart pounded and the words snapped out. “Why are you here?”
“Eleven o’clock at the yacht. I hoped Jack might appear.”
There was a sympathy in his tone that cut through her anger and as tears prickled the back of her eyes, she was thankful for her sunglasses.
“Me too.” She climbed onto the pier. “But he hasn’t, so I’m going to do my best to find him.”
“Keep a list of who you contact and the responses. It might help.”
“So, you’ve decided he is missing.”
“He’s obviously missing. I’m investigating the possibility of foul play.”
“Why would anyone hurt him?”
“Any suggestions?”
Not willing to talk to Ben, Ellie stalked away from the yacht, past a couple of other boats and across a dirt track to the carpark. At her car, she dug in her bag for keys.
“What if Dennis only gave you part of the story?”
With a small jump, Ellie glanced around. She’d not heard him follow her and he stood staring back down the pier, arms crossed and legs apart.
“Dennis said he’d waited for Dad, who never showed. Instead of looking for him, he went sailing alone.”
“But, did he?”
“I don’t understand.” Ellie joined Ben.
“Jack Bannerman doesn’t miss appointments and is never late. Perhaps he was here at the arranged time. Perhaps they did sail out, a long way out.”
“And?”
“Something happened. Jack fell overboard. Might have been helped over.”
“Are you crazy?” Ellie dragged her sunglasses off. “Dennis and Dad are family. Dad isn’t dead and Dennis is not a killer. How could you say such a thing?”
“Is there a reason Dennis would want Jack gone?”
“Gone? Or dead? Neither, for your information. I told you, they were family as well as business colleagues.”
“And families are the most likely to kill their own.”
“Oh, for God sake.” She swung away.
“Is Dennis divorcing you?”
Ellie dropped her keys. Ben scooped them up, playing with them in one hand as he removed his sunglasses with the other. If it was compassion in his eyes, she didn’t want it.
“My keys, please.” She held out her hand.
“You deserve better.”
“My keys, detective.”
With a shrug, he dropped them into her palm.
5
Upstairs. Downstairs
The sub-penthouse floor of Bannerman House offered expansive views across the city. The executive of BWG worked here in glass offices with a central reception hub. Jack had one end of the floor for his huge corner office and his Personal Assistant—Joni’s work station.
Between the corner, along the windows, Dennis, as Chief Operations Officer, had the office beside Jack, then Campbell, Chief Finance Officer, was next. Their shared PA, Mark, used the reception area with two receptionists. At the other end of the floor, Ellie’s office was smaller, quieter. She had no PA, having the reception team at her disposal, or any one of the sales and marketing staff housed on the floors below. Where everyone else had their name on their doors, Ellie’s was a simple “Bannerman Foundation”.
Any other time, this floor was abuzz with movement and chatter. Considered the heart of the company, this was where decisions were made and where the future was built.
Today the mood was anything but upbeat. At the long, curved reception desk, four staff, including Mark and Kay, answered phone call after phone call.
Jack’s office was empty, the door closed. Joni sat at her desk with a lost expression. Dennis’ office was also empty, briefcase on his desk along with a steaming coffee cup.
Only Campbell was there. His door closed, he spoke at length on the phone, then hung up and turned to a laptop. Beside it was a PC with two monitors.
Two files lay on the desk, one titled “Future” and the other “Foundation”. He flicked through the former, intent on the contents, then tapped his laptop keyboard to complete an email. With a sigh, he hit send, his eyes straying back to the “Foundation” file. His shoulders tightened.
Several floors below was a much smaller room, its single window overlooking the next building. No Melbourne skyline here, just a workspace filled with monitors, filing cabinets, and a large desk.
“Glorified security guard.” Behind the desk, Paul stared at a photo on the wall. Jack and Ellie at a black-tie event, with Paul standing behind.
“Time you realised that.” Dennis walked in and dropped into a chair opposite Paul. “You’re overpaid.”
“Get out.” Paul snarled.
“We need to chat, don’t you think?”
“You don’t want to do this.”
“But I do. Actually, I want to fire you, but might have to wait a bit longer.”
Blood rushed into Paul’s face. “Such confidence from a murder suspect.”
“I’m not going to be blamed for something I didn’t do.”
“Of course, you did it. Or made it happen.” Paul swung his chair and stood. “I heard that conversation after the board meeting, and I’ll prove you got Jack out of the way.”
Dennis was on his feet in seconds, hands balled at his sides. “You’ve lost your mind. Bit hard to prove something that didn’t happen.”
“You believe that, Dennis. Then you won’t see it coming.”
“Are you threatening me? Are you setting me up?”
Paul sniggered.
“You think this is funny? Jack’s missing and until he returns, I’m going to be running things, so I’d be stepping carefully, baby. Very carefully.”
A sharp tap on the door interrupted.
“Detective Rossi. Please come in, Dennis was just leaving.” Paul stood and offered Ben his hand across the desk.
“Any news about Jack?” Dennis asked.
“Nothing about his whereabouts.”
“Do you need to see me?”
“Just Mr Dekeles for now. I’ll be in touch.”
Dennis straightened his tie and turned on his heel.
“Take a seat, Detective.”
“How’s your relationship with Dennis Connor?” Ben sat and crossed an ankle over a knee. “How long have you known him?”
“Too long. He wants to fire me but doesn’t have the power, so that should answer the first question. And he’s been here for five years. Appeared one day and won’t leave.”
“Chief Operations Officer. Second in command?”
“He thinks so. Not sure what he does. I think Jack owed him a favour and when Ellie decided to take a year off to travel, he needed someone to fill her role. She came home and Dennis managed to keep the job and win the woman.”
“And what does she do now?”
“Ellie runs the Bannerman Foundation. Looks after the causes. You know, big businesses today have their pet projects to help the less fortunate. She’s good at it and it’s as much her passion as a career.”