Keegan 00 Soft Case by John Misak

relationship up until now?”
    “We were getting along fine. I was happy to see him get away from the company. It was bringing him down. He really had nothing else to contribute. He was done with it, had been for a few years. If you know the business, then you know that Techdata really hasn’t come up with anything groundbreaking in a long time. They have just been rehashing old technology. I guess that’s what most companies are doing now. I can’t say I was really happy about him getting into politics, but at least that would be more exciting than software. I knew he was good for it. I knew he would succeed.”
    All throughout this, I watched Sondra closely. Partly because I wanted to try and see what she was feeling, and whether or not she was hiding. I also watched her because, when in her presence, you have to watch her. You really have no choice. The woman had charisma, a certain chemistry.
    “Back to your husband’s state, can you think of anything that could be interpreted as suicidal behavior?”
    “Like what?”
    “Well, suicidal people tend to give things away, things that at one time were important to them. They also can be angry, apologetic. Can you think of anything?”
    “Well, in a sense, he was giving away his company, if that counts. As far as the other stuff, I just don’t know. He seemed to want more time to spend with his kids. He seemed upset that he couldn’t go with us to the Bahamas.”
    “Did you press him for why he wasn’t going?”
    “I never pressed him on things like that. That was his business; he had to do what he had to do. No sense in making him more miserable. He had enough on his hands.”
    “So,” Rick said, “you’re saying that your husband could have conceivably killed himself. You think he was capable.”
    This statement drew a look of discomfort from Sondra.
    “Oh my God, I don’t know.” Her eyes began to water. I watched closely, to see if she was acting. She was so damn good it was tough to tell.
    “I’m sorry if this is difficult, ma’am, we just need to know.”
    “I understand,” she said. “This is just so difficult. And it has been very hard on his children.”
    “Of course,” Rick said. “Do you know of anyone who might want to kill your husband?”
    “Kill him? Everyone liked him.”
    “Could there have been someone who had something to gain from his death?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Was there anyone who would have benefited from his passing?”
    “Well, his insurance policy obviously won’t pay if his death is deemed a suicide.”
    “I know,” Rick said. “What about his will?”
    “To be honest, I am not that familiar with it. I am sure that his half of the company went to the kids and me. He probably gave something to charity; he was a very charitable person. Other than that, I don’t know.”
    “What about the sale? Will it go through even though he has passed away?”
    She shook her head. “I haven’t even thought about that. I want to see what his children think. If either of them would be interested in working there. I think his son might.”
    That struck me, the part about the sale. It made me doubt that the partner had any ulterior motives. He obviously would have benefited more if Mullins would have sold him the company outright, instead of having the wife and the heirs to deal with. If what Sondra was saying was true, then she had the power to stop the sale. No reason why Chapman would want to deal with that on purpose. At least, there was no reason I could think of. And I had my mind in the most suspicious mode possible. That’s what I thought.
    “Well, if you could, I would like you to try and think over the next day or two, who might want your husband dead,” I said.
    “You think he was murdered?” she said, her voice raising in tone.
    “We don’t know, Mrs. Mullins. We have to consider every possibility.”
    She nodded. She was done. Maybe it was because she couldn’t handle anymore, or maybe her pre-made