Chapter Three
Theo’s office occupied the entire third floor of a business complex in old town. When Ryan and Grace entered, the office was almost empty. A pretty young woman who sat alone in her cubicle was studying her face in a compact hand-held mirror. She looked up at Ryan for a brief moment, made eye contact, then turned away to continue her beauty regimen.
A friendly looking middle-aged person, having a large paunch and baby face, who was sitting behind a vast desk in his glass room office, got up and leaned forward to shake hands with Ryan. The name plate on the desk read Wilton Muniz.
Ryan said, “It must be a very hard day for you; your boss’s wife got murdered, you’re getting calls all day, everybody inquiring about it.”
“Yeah, I thought it was suicide. I was shocked as news broke in the evening that she was murdered.”
“Any idea who could have killed her?”
“I didn’t know her personally.”
“Did she ever visit her husband’s office?”
“No, Theo said she had other interests like charities, fund raising, and setting up non-profit organizations.”
“Was it a complaint?”
“No, he mentioned it casually once or twice.”
“Did Theo talk about Nancy often?”
“No.”
“Were they on good terms?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, did Theo come to the office yesterday?”
Wilton took out a pencil and drew circles on a scribbling pad.
“He was in the office for the entire day, he left about seven, I think.”
“But he reached home only in the morning.”
Wilton thought for a moment, pencil poised in his hand.
“Sorry, I forgot. Three days a week, Tuesday to Thursday, he would be at the office and video conferencing with our staff in the Pacific Asia where we have started our new business ventures. When it is night for us, it is morning for them. He’d spend the night talking with sales people, giving tips, and reading sales reports.”
“Then he was actually in the office last night?”
“Yeah, he might have returned to the office around nine after having dinner in the restaurant.”
“Didn’t you find that odd, a newly-married man, spending his entire day in his office?”
“Theo often said that in this highly-competitive world, you needed to sacrifice something to get something.”
“Okay, he stays alone in the office.”
“No, we recruited a night-time staffer to assist him.”
“I want that staffer’s address.”
Wilton talked in the intercom and pointed at the woman with the hand mirror. “Tabitha will provide it.”