16. The Man And The Mask

“Well, hello Kathy Chatsworth,” he said with a little bow. “I remember you from the Heart Gala. What brings you here?”

She held out her hand and he shook it. “I was hoping you had a few minutes to talk. I’m pulling together information on Shaye Alderson, and wondered if you could tell me something about her as a person.”

Ashbury’s smile faded. “Absolutely. Are you working with the police?”

“No,” she said, a little too quickly. “Right now I’m gathering information for an article.” Sandy would be upset if she mentioned the investigation, particularly since he didn’t know she was there.

“Come into my office.”

Kathy took a luxurious leather chair by the window, Grant sat opposite and said, “How can I help?”

“I don’t know much about Shaye and I’m trying to build a picture. Did you know her well?”

His expression was blank, almost as if he hadn’t heard the question. Kathy waited. Would he be candid? Was he putting up a mask?

He smiled. “I’m VP of computer technology, and I want all our people to feel comfortable with our systems. When someone new starts, I sit with them and explain the technology available.”    He stopped and waited for the next question.

“You’ve got a lot of people here. I met two today and they both said how easy you are to work with.” He made a dismissive gesture and she pressed on. “But what about Shaye. Did you have much to do with her?”

He sat back and unbuttoned his jacket. “Actually, we knew each other before she joined Wade Williams, so, yes, I knew her a little better than others here.”

“Can I ask how you knew her before?” Kathy jotted a note on her pad before smiling up at him. “If you’re not comfortable answering that’s fine, I don’t want to pry.”

Ashbury glanced over to his desk. Kathy followed his gaze and was startled to see his screensaver was a picture of a smiling Shaye.

***

“We were at high school together,” he said. “We were in the drama club and in graduation year we were in a play together, not the lead roles,” he laughed, “just support characters, but we had some interesting dialogue together.”

Kathy could see him remembering. The neutral mask slipped and was replaced with a faraway look, as if a warm breeze had touched him.

“We had a couple of dates but nothing too serious. We were going off in the summer to work and then going to different universities in the Fall. Shaye didn’t think it would work to have a long-distance relationship,” he said it in a mocking, sing-song voice. “I agreed, of course.” He brushed at something invisible on his trousers. “Maybe if we’d gone to the same university the romance would have carried on.” Kathy heard longing in his voice and did not interrupt.

He picked up a pen and flipped it back and forth, then cut his eyes back. “When she came to work here, I hoped to rekindle our relationship. We talked outside of work, met for coffee sometimes, but she made it clear she thought of me as a big brother rather than boyfriend material.”

“Did that affect your relationship at work? Did you feel awkward? Was there any ill feeling?”

“Oh no,” he seemed surprised by the suggestion. “God no. I’d never make things awkward for Shaye. We got along fine, and who knows,” he said almost defiantly, “we might have grown close again given time – if she’d lived.”

Kathy looked down at her list of questions. She hadn’t anticipated this kind of openness or his obvious love for the girl. He was voluntarily making himself a person of interest. She had to learn more.

    “Thanks for your candor, and that’s enough about Shaye, for now. What about you? I’d like to know a little more about Grant Ashbury.”

She was not surprised to see the mask slip back into place.

“I grew up in this town and lived here all my life,” he said, flipping his $200 Cross pen back and forth. “I took computer science at the University of Toronto and Chris Wade, son of the founder of this company, was my roommate. He was taking business studies so he could eventually run the family business. We took holidays together, I met his family, we got along. I graduated with excellent grades and they offered me a job.” He finished and raised an eyebrow as if to say your turn.

“Wow, that’s interesting. What about outside work? What do you do when you’re not slaving in front of a computer screen?”

“I’m not married,” he smiled, “not yet. No dogs or cats. I work long hours. One thing I do still enjoy is history, the Middle Ages to be precise. It was my minor in university.” He tossed the pen and it landed on the glass table with a clatter. “I know about the dagger.”