Read Between the Tines Page 8

  I stepped into a mini-foyer with two banks of elevators facing each other and glass doors leading into office areas on the opposite walls. "You sure have a lot of security around here. Seems like overkill for making pickles."

  He chuckled and punched the up button for the elevator. "Probably so, but you'd be surprised at the things people try these days. This floor houses personnel and information technology so we're extra careful here."

  "Personnel. Then Gary's office is on this floor. Can I see it?"

  "I'm not sure what purpose that would serve." His words, though he tried to make them sound questioning, were said with an unyielding tone meaning no way.

  So I did what I always do when told no. Cleared the refusal from my head and pushed back. "Karen wants me to be thorough. It would be a shame to further traumatize the widow."

  His face blanched, and he seemed to think over my request. Something was odd about this guy. On the surface, he seemed likeable and jovial, but a current of something else ran under the lumpy surface. He was like an obedient plant. Contrary to their name, some of the varieties are the most disobedient perennials around, aggressively invading neighboring plants. The perennial was named one thing, but acted another way. Just like Nathan who was now looking around as if seeking escape.

  I opened my mouth shamelessly to bring up Karen's name again, but before I could speak, he said, "Follow me."

  He went to the glass doors on the right and slid his card again. I stifled my guilt over repeatedly using Karen to gain information and followed him into cubicle land. We turned to the left at the end of a row of perfectly aligned workstations. He stopped by an oversized cubicle with a woman whose hair was threaded with silvery strands. She sat hunched forward, pecking at her keyboard.

  "Irene." He placed his hand on her shoulder.

  She jumped and spun her chair. "Oh, Mr. Jacobs. You scared me." Her deep brown eyes were wide either in shock from the unexpected interruption, or, I was beginning to think, in fear of Nathan Jacobs.

  "This is Paige Turner, a friend of the Buzzys'. We're going to take a quick peek in Gary's office." Nathan put his hand on my shoulder and moved me foreword.

  I resisted the urge to shrug it off and smiled at Irene. "Hi."

  Irene peered at me over her reading glasses. Her eyes had grown tight and apprehensive. "I don't think I can let you do that, Mr. Jacobs. The police were here late yesterday, and they said Gary's office is off limits." She held her breath as if expecting Nathan to retaliate for her refusal.

  He took his hand from my shoulder and ran it around the collar on his starched white shirt. "They were already here, huh? At his office? Do they think his death has something to do with work?"

  She released her lower lip from a thorough chewing she'd engaged in during the awkward silence. "I'm not sure. They asked me quite a lengthy list of questions about Gary's normal schedule, and then they spent a long time in his office. When they came out, they had Gary's computer and warned me not to let anyone, no matter who they were, into the office. They even put that seal on the door."

  Nathan's eyes flitted about as if he didn't know what to do. I didn't blame him. This was a surprise to me, too. I thought I was the first one on the scene. Maybe Mitch came up here right after I'd called him about Gary's car.

  Wait, he took Gary's computer. It had to have something of import on it. Maybe he had a home computer that he synced with this one and it held the same info. I had to get through my questions with Nathan and get out of here before Mitch snatched that one, too.

  I cleared my throat. Both pairs of wary eyes cut my way. "We wouldn't want to do anything to get you in trouble. We can skip seeing his office. Nice to meet you, Irene." I backed away, and when we were out of earshot, I faced Nathan. "I just remembered something I have to do, so can we get to my questions?"

  Eyes still focused in the distance, he jerked his head toward the aisle before us. "Follow me."

  We strolled past cubicle dwellers, their faces whipping our way as we passed. Were they interested in us, or was this the same look prisoners had when they peered out of their cell? If you forced me to sit in a windowless cubicle all day instead of spending time in a garden, I'd feel like I'd been jailed.

  Back in the foyer, Nathan continued to finger his collar as if Irene's news had a severe impact on him. Maybe he had something to hide or more likely the police coming to the office made him fully embrace Gary's murder and realize that the killer could have been someone they both knew.

  The elevator door opened revealing two women dressed in professional attire. One redhead, one brunette, both chatting and laughing like Lisa and I often did when no one was around. Nathan pounded into the car, and their gazes turned to him. As if he controlled a switch to silence them, they clammed up. The redhead scowled and took a step back. The brunette stuck her chin out as if daring him to say something. I offered a conciliatory smile and stepped into the elevator.

  "Ladies," he said and punched the button. "How are you this morning?"

  The redhead grunted, the brunette mumbled, "Fine," then looked at her feet.

  Hmm, maybe Nathan wasn't well liked around here. Not surprising I suppose, as people often saw the accounting staff as the bad guys, controlling the purse strings of the company. Somehow, though, this felt a little more intense than that. I made a mental note of Nathan's ignorance of their behavior and rode in silence.

  We got off on the fourth floor, and I could feel the women relax when we departed. Hmm. Was there really something to this? I followed Nathan past another land of cubicles to his corner office, boasting floor to ceiling windows overlooking green pastures and grazing cows. A mahogany desk with one of those costly ergonomic chairs looking like an alien creature filled the center of the room. Nathan mounted the chair like a king taking his throne. I settled into one of two plush armchairs, crossed my legs and laid my note pad on them so I could easily see the questions I'd filled the pages with last night.

  I consulted my chicken scratches and tapped the first question with my pen. "First off, can you think of anyone who might want to kill Gary?"

  Nathan shook his head in vehement swings. "No, of course not. I mean, Gary had his share of people who didn't particularly care for him, but no one who might want to kill him."

  No one? Hmm, not what Mary Stills said. "How about Barney Rubble?"

  Nathan's mouth dropped open the same way it had when Irene announced the police had cordoned off Gary's office. "How'd you hear about him?"

  I ignored his question. "Do you think Barney Rubble was angry enough over losing his job to kill Gary?"

  Nathan looked at the ceiling and seemed to give my question an honest evaluation. "Well, Rubble is the prime example of a disgruntled employee who might go postal. A loner, outcast, shunned by co-workers, thought his firing was undeserved. So, yeah, I guess he could have done it."

  "Were there others like Barney?"

  He shrugged. "I'm sure Gary terminated a lot of people who didn't wish him well, but I never heard of anyone reacting like this Rubble guy."

  "What exactly did he do?"

  "The usual swearing and shouting the day he was let go. Then he sent a nasty letter to most of the executive management team threatening to take the team out. Won't be the first guy to send something like this and won't be the last."

  From the sound of things there had to be other potential suspects. "Any way I could get a list of terminated employees from you?"

  He scoffed and flicked lint from his sleeve. "Not if I want to keep my job."

  Mitch would have access to this information. I made a note to add this to my list of items I somehow had to eke out of the tightlipped lawman.

  "You get one of the letters?"

  "No." One word but the tone was unwavering. "And before you ask, I don't know who the others are so I can't help you."

  "But you are part of the executive management team, right?"

  "I am."

  I checked off question number two and smil
ed at Nathan to clear out the unease speaking of Rubble seemed to hatch in him. "Karen told me you and Gary were friends. Did he have many friends at work?"

  "We weren't what you'd call friends anymore."

  "Right, Karen said you'd stopped coming around. Mind if I ask why?"

  Seeming weary, Nathan wiped his hand over his face. "He got all religious on me. Stopped doing the things I like to do. He just plain wasn't any fun anymore."

  "What kinds of things did you do together?"

  Nathan picked up a bright blue stress ball and squeezed it with a meaty hand. "Look, are you almost finished? I have work to do, and I don't see how any of this is helping Karen."

  I ignored him, scribbled a reminder to find out what activities the pair used to engage in and moved on to the next question. "Did Gary have other friends here?"

  "Nah, he didn't want his worlds to collide. Kept work at work. Home at home. Only reason I was allowed at their house was because we went so far back."

  "You said you both moved here about the same time. Was it for the same reason?"

  He transferred the ball to his other hand. "I received a promotion. Gary was another story. He had a little trouble back in Texas. Not his fault though. A woman at the plant took a liking to him and had kind of a Fatal Attraction thing going on. They resolved it, but the bigwigs thought it'd be better for department morale if Gary took a position here. He had to take a step down for the first year, but then his boss quit and Gary was bumped back up."

  Karen hadn't mentioned anything about trouble in Texas. Was she trying to hide something, or was she embarrassed Gary had a problem at work and had to relocate? Could this be the woman who was in the photo Karen so viciously chopped up?

  No need to write this down. I'd be sure to ask her about it when I saw her. But it would help to have more details so when I did talk to her about it I was in the know. "Do you know the woman's name and what happened to her?"

  Nathan gave up the squeezing and tossed the ball, following the movement with his eyes. "Let's see. Candy or Carol. Something like that. I never did know her last name. I moved to this plant and didn't hear another thing about her."

  "Think she might have come here and done Gary in?"

  "Nah, that was old news. Bet she didn't even know where to find him."

  Though Nathan acted like this was no big deal, playing with a ball and all, I jotted down the name with a big question mark. "Do you know if anyone saw Gary yesterday morning?"

  "Rumors are floating around that Irene talked to him, but I haven't heard anyone tell me they saw him."

  Another lead. I would have to find a way to talk with Irene again. "Karen told me Gary left for work at 5:30. Do you know if Irene usually comes to work that early?"

  "I have no idea what Irene's schedule is." His tone had returned to patronizing, and he was back to squishing the ball.

  "Okay, so what time does the staff usually come in?"

  "First shift at the plant starts at seven and some of the corporate staff start then, too. But it's a small percentage."

  "How about you? What time do you come to work?"

  His fingers worked faster. "I usually get here about eight."

  "And yesterday? What time did you come in, and where were you until noonish?"

  His eyebrows rose in twin arches reminding me of McDonalds, which seemed fitting, as he must eat a lot of food to keep a man of his size from being hungry. "Kind of impertinent, don't you think?" He set down the ball and shucked the arches in favor of a hard flat stare. "I didn't kill Gary, and I resent your implications."

  "I didn't think you did, but I want to be able to tell Karen where people were at the time of Gary's death."

  "And what time did he die?"

  "I don't know yet. That's why I'm asking about such a broad range of time."

  "I was home until 8:30. My wife can confirm I was there. I arrived here before 9:00 and had various appointments all day. My assistant can confirm them."

  "How about Daisy Plante, the woman who found Gary. Do you know her?"

  His eyes took on an interested glint. "Know her? Not really, but I see her on Fridays when she comes in to pick up her paycheck."

  Daisy came in every Friday? This was news to me. "So the accounting department hands out the checks?"

  "No. We process the payroll then pass it on to the department managers who keep a disbursal log. We used to give them out but had a problem with a few employees who cashed their check then claimed it had been stolen. Company overreacted as usual and now every employee has to sign a log stating they've received it. The manager has to sign as a witness."

  "So Daisy would have gotten her check from her manager, Mary Stills?"

  "Yeah, unless Mary was off for the day. Then the assistant manager could fill in."

  I scribbled a note about Daisy coming to the office weekly. "And what floor is marketing on?"

  "Second. Next to personnel."

  "Okay, so if she came to the second floor to get her check and your office is on the fourth floor, how did you happen to see her so frequently?"

  "Just in passing. In the hallway." His jaw clenched, and he looked at his watch. "This is really going nowhere fast Ms. Turner, and I'm out of time." He jumped to his feet and came around the desk.

  I quickly wrote 'why did N see D every week?" on the page and looked helplessly at the list of unasked questions. "I'm not finished. Karen will—"

  "Look," he said as he peered down on me. "I'm sorry Gary was killed, and I'm sorry his wife is all wigged out about it. But I'm a busy man, and I can't sit around jabbering with you about things I'll probably have to spend time talking to the police about." He motioned toward the door, as if his hand could pick me up and toss me to the curb.

  Reluctant to end this conversation, I slowly pushed to my feet. "Do you have an appointment with the police?"

  He groaned. "You the Energizer Bunny or something?"

  I gave him a slight smile. "I just want to be thorough for my friend."

  "Not that it's any of your business, but the chief is coming by this afternoon. Now I have to insist you leave."

  He stepped into the hall, and I rushed after him, locking my eyes on his back like a tractor beam. I glued my mind to thoughts of following up on him and especially following up on why he saw Daisy every week.

  I might be leaving, but I wasn't done with Nathan Jacobs by a long shot. If Mitch wanted to talk with the man nearly running away from me then Nathan Jacobs knew something of value. I just had to figure out what it was and if it led to the killer.

  Chapter Ten

  The gate at security lifted, and I sped under the metal bar as if being freed from jail. As I left the building, the sight of Gary's office trussed up with a seal brought back the sight of his body hidden in the leaves, and I suddenly couldn't get away from here fast enough.

  At the four way stop on Elm, three cars approached the intersection. I slowed and used the time to switch my cell from the silent mode. Four missed calls. Two calls were from Karen, one from Adam, and one The Garden Gate. Karen could have information about Gary's murder. I wanted to punch in her number as fast as my fingers allowed, but after my newfound resolve to patch things up with my sweetie, I would phone him first.

  At my age, I couldn't afford to lose a man from failing to return his call. I scoffed at my obvious dual—or has it now reached triple—mindedness. Seriously, I needed to get my priorities straight. I kept a big secret from the man, but I was afraid not to return his call lest he dump me. And radio show callers had been asking me for relationship advice all month?

  I punched speed dial for Adam, mounted my headset and eased into the intersection.

  "Don't you answer your phone anymore?" he grumbled before I could utter a sound.

  Yikes, his attitude was worse than yesterday. No matter. He wouldn't rock my resolve. "Sounds like you're grumpy."

  "I'm sorry, but things didn't go so well at our appointment with Lawson this morning." He said sorry,
but his tone held no remorse. "Nothing is going right."

  "What happened?" I wanted to console him over his day, but if I were honest, I wanted to know about the meeting with Mitch just as much.

  "I don't have time to get into it right now. I'm slammed in court all day."

  Despite his tone, I put a smile into mine. "Any chance I'll see you soon?"

  "Tonight. I asked Perry and Lisa to have dinner with us at The Old School House. I made reservations for seven. I won’t be able to pick you up so I'll meet you at the restaurant."

  Hold up. Not again with the mister in charge thing. What was he thinking, making a group date without checking with me? I wanted to spend the night working on this case. Now I was committed to a dinner at one of those tacky theme restaurants and it would last at least three hours.

  Had we reached a new level in our relationship where we could take each other for granted, or was his I-forbid-you personality taking over our dating life too? Could I let this go or should I say something?

  I slowed behind a garbage truck grinding and heaving as if it were on its last legs. "I don't—"

  "Hey, listen another call's coming through. I have to go. See you tonight."

  "I don't know if I can make it."

  Silence. He did not just hang up on me.

  "Adam, are you still there? Adam?" Argh, he so totally did.

  I ended the call with a violent stab of my finger on the keypad. The silly phone chimed as if my rough treatment hurt it. I eased around the truck and glanced at caller ID. Gary Buzzy. I gasped and my pulse quickened. Gary? How could it be Gary? Right, Karen must be using their landline. Seriously, how freaky to see Gary's name as if he were coming back from the dead.

  I accepted the call. "Karen, is that you?"

  "Oh, Paige, thank goodness you answered this time." Frantic didn't come close to describing her frenzied tone. "You're the only one who can help me. I need to see you."

  Now why couldn't Adam have said that? Couldn't have said something even remotely close to that? "You sound really upset."

  "I can't talk about it on the phone. Please, can you come over? Now?"