I couldn't help a snort at the mention of the model girlfriend.
"Anyway," she went on, "VizaSoft had the backing to implement some of Connor's bigger ideas. So he left."
"Ideas like Athena's Quest," Sam said.
"Yes, that was hyped up quite a bit, wasn't it?" The disdain in her voice was clear as her eyes went to the applications again, shuffling mine to the back.
"There was certainly a long line at the VizaSoft booth at Gamer Con yesterday," Sam pointed out.
Phoebe's head snapped up. "You were there?"
Sam looked from Chase to me. "Uh…yeah. I'm…a fan," she quickly covered.
Phoebe nodded, though I could see something flitting behind her eyes. "Yes, well, Connor always did have lots of female fans."
"That's the best thing about your games," I piped up. "The feminist undertones. The women aren't token characters but stars of the show."
Phoebe turned her gaze toward me. As if suddenly remembering I was there, having mentally dismissed me as a candidate already. "Thank you. I think so too." She put her pen down, giving me her attention. "Which game is your favorite?"
"My favorite?"
"In our goddess series."
I licked my lips. "Oh, they're all so great, it's hard to pick one," I said, racking my brain to try to remember the names Ellen had mention at the con the day before. There was something about a Sphinx? Or a Nyx?
"I, for one, think your latest is the shining star. Hera's Pride," Chase jumped in.
I sent him a silent thank-you.
"Yes. That was Connor's favorite too." A look of sadness crossed her features, true emotion at his passing showing for the first time in the little frown between her eyebrows.
I bit my lip, wondering how far I could press before we were officially the nosiest intern applicants ever. "I heard that Connor's death is being investigated as a homicide. You don't have any idea who might have wanted to harm Connor, do you?"
The frown deepened. "No." She shook her head as if shaking herself out of a dream. "But then again, I haven't seen Connor in forever, so what would I know about his life?"
"Did Peak Games have a booth at the convention?" I asked.
"Uh, yes. Of course. We wanted our games to be represented."
"So you were at the convention when Connor…when it happened?" I settled on.
"No," she said slowly.
"Oh? Who was manning the booth?" Sam asked.
"We do have employees, you know?" she said, nodding toward the closed door.
Right. "So, you were…here?" I asked, fishing for an alibi.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why?"
Why indeed.
"We're just excited to learn about how a real CEO manages her company." Chase gave her a big smile with teeth and everything.
Her expression was still wary as she moved her gaze from me to Sam to Chase's grin. "I see." She picked up her pen again. "Well, we're looking to hire a minimum of four interns this summer. Three will work the floor, and one will work directly with me." Her eyes went to Chase. "Tell me about the Homepage?"
For a second I thought our jig was up and she'd figured out why we were really there.
"The Homepage?" Chase asked. To his credit, his voice didn't even go up into the soprano register with the kind of guilt I felt spreading across my cheeks.
"Yes. How many reporters do you manage on the school paper?" Phoebe asked. "Because we are looking for interns who have management potential down the line."
I did a mental sigh of relief.
"Oh, uh, seven. But a lot of what we do is virtual."
Phoebe nodded. "Well, we'd expect most of your time here to be in the office. We like to be more hands-on with our interns."
"I can do hands-on." It might have been my imagination, but I could swear there was the slightest hint of flirt in Chase's voice.
"Yes, well, let's look over the rest of your application then, shall we?"
CHAPTER SIX
Ten minutes later Phoebe had promised Chase that he'd hear back from Peak Games soon about the internship, and she'd given both Sam and me wan smiles that said we needed to up our games.
"Were you flirting with her?" Sam asked Chase as we crossed the parking lot back to his Camaro.
"What?" He scoffed. "Come on. No."
"If that's what it takes to get ahead, I'm never going to get an internship on my college app," Sam sulked.
"At least she didn't look at your application like it had been done in crayon," I reasoned.
Sam shrugged. "Still. Look who gets the job: the flirt."
"I was not flirting!" Chase protested again as he unlocked his car and we piled in. "Besides, I'm not her type. She clearly had a thing for Connor."
"Clearly?" I asked, turning to face him. "What 'clearly'? I didn't get that."
"Think about it. They were partners…they worked closely together…" He trailed off, giving me a knowing grin.
"You know, just because a guy and a girl work together, it doesn't mean they're into each other," I reasoned.
Chase's grin grew into a positively wicked smile. "Yeah, well, it doesn't mean they aren't either."
I licked my suddenly dry lips, hoping we were still talking about Phoebe and Connor.
Or maybe hoping we weren't.
"Well, even if they had been a thing," Sam piped up from the back seat, "it had to be a thing of the past. I mean, he left her, right? She'd be pretty ticked after that."
"Right." Chase sat back in his seat, fastening his seat belt. "But ticked enough to kill him?"
I shrugged, fastening my own belt. Tightly. "I guess it depends on if the split really was mutual or not." I paused. "You think the manager would know?"
"Connor's manager?" Sam asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, what was his name…Pruit? Phoebe said he had a hand in everything Connor did. He must know the details of the split."
"You think he'd talk to us about it?" Sam asked.
"Worth a try," Chase said, pulling out his phone.
A few quick clicks later he had the number for Silicon Valley Management on speaker phone. Three rings in, it was answered by a recorded voice that told us their offices were open Monday through Friday from nine to five and to please call back during business hours.
Chase hung up with a shrug. "I guess we can try again later."
Out the car window I could see the sun beginning to set. "While this has all been fun, I think I better get home before my mom—"
My phone chirped. I glanced down to see a text from Mom.
Where are you?
Too late. The SMother had caught my scent.
I'm with Sam, I sent back, feeling guilty for letting her assume I meant at the library and not riding around with Chase trying to ferret out a murderer.
Her response was immediate, like she'd been standing there staring at her phone, waiting for my reply.
Can you come home now? David is coming over for dinner.