Scratchgravel Road (36 page)

Diego looked at Josie in astonishment. “They didn’t even wash the solution off their arms! There’s a sink in the lab. Why wouldn’t they have cleaned up first?”

Josie shook her head. “I assume they were afraid if someone came in and saw the spill, and their suits off, that they would be fired.”

Diego sat back in his chair, a look of defeat spreading across his face. He said, “It makes me question everyone I know. I would never have guessed him capable of this kind of evil.” He considered Josie for a moment. “It would be hard to not become jaded in your position. Do you reach a point where everyone in your life is suspect?”

“Aren’t we all capable of evil at some point?”

He looked surprised.

Josie leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, chilled from her damp clothing. “Given the right set of circumstances I think we’re all capable of doing bad.”

He gave her a cynical smile. “You’re twisting my words. I asked if you suspect everyone, even those you love, of doing evil. I agree we’re all capable, but most of us have internal triggers that stop us.”

Josie nodded, acknowledging the distinction. “You’re probably right. I suppose I suspect most everyone. I assume guilt until the facts prove otherwise. Hazard of the profession.” She paused for a moment. “Or a severe personality flaw.”

Diego smiled and shut down the viewing equipment. “I’ll ask Skip to make you a copy of the last two weeks of tape. I don’t think you want me to try it. I’m afraid I may erase something in error.”

“That’s fine. I’d love to be able to pick it up tomorrow.”

Diego nodded and they stood to leave. With his hand on the doorknob, he turned to Josie.

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

Her eyebrows arched in surprise. “Dinner?”

He smiled. “I think we deserve a nice dinner, a glass of wine, calm conversation. No stress, just dinner.”

She felt the flush to her face and chest and knew that Diego saw it. She felt guilty at the hesitation. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I would agree that we certainly deserve a stress-free dinner, but I’m already committed.”

He tilted his head back but his smile remained. “Committed. That can mean any number of things. I will assume that means you have a previous engagement, although after the events of the day, it would be difficult to maintain comparable conversation with someone who had not experienced this.”

He opened the door and stepped back for Josie to exit first. He walked beside her as they left the plant. “When you aren’t so committed, I would like to take you out to express my gratitude. You are one of the most unique women I’ve had the good fortune to meet, and I would like to get to know you.”

Josie smiled. “I appreciate the invitation. I’m sure we’ll talk again soon.”

She left Diego and walked through the plant toward the parking lot when she heard a female voice calling her name. She turned and saw Sylvia Moore walking quickly down the sidewalk in her high heels and dress, carrying a brown paper bag.

“You left these!” she called.

Josie turned and walked toward her, and accepted the bag.

“It’s your uniform boots. You left them when you changed into the waders.”

Josie looked down at the pair of waders someone had given her after she lost the first pair in the mudslide with the trencher.

“Thank you. I forgot all about these. If you’d like I’ll come back inside and change,” Josie said, expecting her to be a stickler for the rules.

“No, no. You can return them later.” She hesitated, her face conflicted. “We appreciate everything the police did for us today.” She paused, obviously struggling. “People view Beacon as the bad guys. We’re the scoundrels, when all we want to do is help. The company is here to clean up our community, not destroy it. It just gets frustrating.”

Josie put her hand out and the two women shook. “I understand the feeling well.”

*   *   *

Josie sat in her jeep for a few minutes, her body sore and tired. She called Otto and he stepped out of the meeting with Cowan and the lab tech from the CDC.

“She’s got her equipment checking out all the stuff in the morgue. She checked Santiago, his clothing, the evidence we collected. Santiago has elevated radiation.”

Josie sighed, feeling the last bit of energy drain from her body. “Did she check you and Cowan?”

“Yep, and there was nothing. Looks like chemicals were the culprit. We’ll know more shortly, but I think we’re out of the woods. Radiation, or negligence from the plant, weren’t what killed Santiago. It was human intervention.”

Josie explained what she and Diego had discovered on the security tapes.

“If Brent had gotten to those security tapes before you did, we’d have trouble.”

“I want to interview him, get his statement. Marta finished with the evacuations about an hour ago. She brought Cassidy Harper and Leo Monaco in for questioning. I’ll see you back at the jail when you’re finished.”

Josie called her family doctor, one of two in Artemis, and met him at his office before she went home to clean up and change. She gave him the name of the chemical that burnt her skin and explained the neutralization. He checked her thoroughly, gave her an ointment to apply twice a day, and sent her home with a clean bill of health. Before she left the parking lot at the doctor’s office she called Dillon and said she wouldn’t be coming over. She was too exhausted for company. When the day finally ended she wanted a hot bath, a warm tumbler of bourbon, and clean sheets all to herself.

TWENTY-FIVE

Josie made a quick trip home to shower and change into a clean uniform, and then drove to the Arroyo County Jail. She was led down the hall by the intake officer. Maria was one of Josie’s favorite employees at the jail; she took pride in her work and was a cheerful woman who rarely let the stress of the job bring her down. That evening, however, she was clearly agitated by the arrest of Brent Thyme.

They reached the interrogation room and Maria stood in front of the door with her arms crossed over her chest, the keys firmly grasped in her hand.

“I’d like to get him in the back parking lot and beat the tar out of him myself. That precious little boy at home? A wife who depends on him?”

“Hard to figure people out,” Josie said. She’d already suffered through the thoughts now plaguing Maria and was anxious to get to the questioning.

“Sarah will lose that house. She can’t afford it on a waitress salary.”

“We’ll see what he has to say for himself.”

Maria shook her head and seemed to realize she was detaining Josie. “His attorney is with him. It’s Oliver Greene. Public defender from Presidio. Brent’s been read his rights.” She turned to unlock the door. “Have at him.”

Brent looked wired. He wore the same jeans and navy blue long-sleeved T-shirt that he was arrested in earlier that afternoon. His pupils were dilated and he appeared to have difficulty focusing and paying attention to the directions his attorney was attempting to provide. Josie wondered again if he was on something.

Oliver Greene was an expatriate in his sixties with a soft, dignified British accent and bearing. He was a private man who had never explained to anyone in the law enforcement community how he’d ended up in West Texas. Greene was not a showman; he was an excellent public defender with no patience for theatrics. Josie liked him a great deal.

Once the preliminaries were out of the way, and the tape-recording equipment set up, Greene provided an additional verbal warning to Brent.

“I expect you to consult with me about anything that could possibly be construed as incriminating. I realize that isn’t always clear. If in doubt, stop and ask me. Understood?”

The warning seemed to have no effect on Brent. He remained hunched over the table, staring at his folded hands. Greene finally sighed heavily and told Josie to proceed with questioning.

“I watched the surveillance video. Have you explained to your attorney what’s on it?” she asked.

Brent stared at his fingers as he shredded the trash from a sugar wrapper used to sweeten his coffee. He said nothing and Greene finally shook his head once. Josie could tell he was in the dark and frustrated.

“The tape clearly shows you and Juan Santiago entering the pilot unit at the Feed Plant, Saturday night, July twenty-first at 10:43
P.M.
Both you and Santiago are wearing full protective hazardous materials suits, as well as company work boots. After several minutes of discussion, you open a cabinet and remove a first-aid kit. You place it on the laboratory counter. You try and convince Mr. Santiago to use some of the ointment for the sores on his arms.”

Greene cut Josie off. “Is there audio on this tape?”

“No, but it’s obvious that—”

“No, ma’am, watching a security tape with no audio does not give you the ability to determine my client’s intent. Doesn’t work that way.”

Josie nodded and rephrased. “There was a discussion between the two men after the kit was placed on the counter. Mr. Santiago finally turned from the conversation and walked toward the door, as if leaving. At that time, Brent picked up a stool and slammed it into Santiago’s head, causing him to fall unconscious to the floor.”

Brent stared at his hands as Greene took notes on his laptop. Brent’s identity on the tape had not been confirmed, but his lack of protest just sealed it for Josie. She had no doubts now.

There was a knock on the door. Josie looked up and saw Officer Marta Cruz’s face in the window, beckoning Josie outside with a crooked finger.

Josie didn’t mind the interruption. She hoped his attorney would counsel Brent to make things easier on everyone and confess.

Josie excused herself, closed the door behind her, and found Marta in the hallway, her face animated.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I think you’ll want to hear this.”

“What’s up?”

“You might want to have a word with Leo Monaco. He just admitted driving the body and dumping it in the desert late Saturday night. He claims he’ll provide details only if you can assure him leniency,” Marta said.

“Nasty little bastard. Where is he?”

“Jail’s full up,” Marta said. “We’ve got him secured in the conference room.” She pointed to the room directly across the hallway. “A jailer’s sitting with him.”

Josie looked into the small square window and saw Leo sitting at a table by himself, the jailer sitting in a chair in the corner of the room reading a magazine.

“Where’s his attorney?” she asked.

Marta stood behind her and said, “Refused one. Said he could speak for himself. I got the refusal in writing. Score one for us.”

Josie walked into the conference room fuming. She could feel the pressure in her chest. “Are you serious?” she asked, skipping introductions.

Leo looked surprised to see her.

“You admit to dumping a dead body in the desert? And you want leniency?” Josie laughed, leaned a hip against the wall, and crossed her arms. “You are a piece of scum. Your life here in Artemis just ended. You have no girlfriend. Your job with Beacon? Gone. Your dream of a university position? Gone.”

She walked toward him, leaned in within six inches of his face. “You have no bargaining chips, Leo. You got this all backwards. You tell us everything you know. Beg for mercy. Then you hope like hell the judge decides not to give you the maximum.”

The jailer smirked, and Leo turned his head away from her. He tried to lean farther back in his chair, away from Josie, who was intentionally invading his space. He raised both hands in the air in a show of innocence.

“I had nothing to do with that guy’s death. I got a call from Brent Thyme. He just asked if I’d meet him at the plant. He said I could make some quick money if I came immediately. That’s what he said. Get here now.”

“To do what?”

“He wanted to know where he could hide something in the desert. Where no one would find it. I said I knew a place on Scratchgravel Road. I didn’t know I was picking up a body until it was too late.”

“You couldn’t walk away?” she asked. “Call the police and report a crime like any other person with a conscience would do?”

He looked confused for a moment. “No! He told me he’d kill me if I didn’t follow through. He’d already killed once. I figured he’d do it again.”

Josie didn’t believe that but let it go. “Did he tell you he killed the man?”

Leo averted his eyes. “No. He didn’t say anything, other than he wanted it dumped that night. I didn’t ask questions. He paid me to do a job. That’s it.”

“How much?” she asked.

He looked confused. “How much what?”

“How much did he pay you?”

He stared at her, thinking.

“He didn’t pay you,” she said. “He gave you a key to Santiago’s apartment. Told you to go inside, collect the money box with the dead man’s cash in it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Josie smiled. “Yes, you do. So does your girlfriend. She found the house keys in your desk drawer.” His expression changed from shock to anger in a matter of seconds. Josie preferred the anger. An angry suspect mouthed off information instead of trying to hide it.

“Brent just told me the money was in this apartment, in the bottom of a closet. He gave me the keys and said I needed to dump the body and get the money the same night. That’s the honest to god’s truth. That’s all there was to it.”

“What about the dead man’s wallet in Cassidy’s car?” she asked.

Leo tipped his head back and groaned as if the questions would never end. Josie wanted to reach over the table and grab him by the throat but she remained still.

“I ran errands in town before I left for the library. I had breakfast, got gas, that kind of stuff. As I was leaving town that afternoon I saw Cassidy’s car headed out of town on Scratchgravel. She wasn’t supposed to go anywhere that day, so I followed her. She parked on the side of the road where I had parked.” He put his hands in the air. “I have no idea how she knew the body was there. She never would tell me. She played dumb.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“I just wanted to scare her. Get her to keep her mouth shut. I had the guy’s wallet in my car, so I stopped, unlocked her car, threw the wallet in the backseat.”