At Rope's End (A Dr. James Verraday Mystery #1)(56)
Just then the whine of approaching jet engines caught their attention. They looked around the corner of the hangar and saw an executive jet taxiing toward them from the tarmac. As the plane drew nearer, Maclean and Verraday could see Jason Griffin at the controls. The howl of the engine began to subside as he powered the plane down. Maclean waved through the chain link fence to catch his attention. He waved back, acknowledging her, and held up his index finger to indicate he’d be just a minute. They watched as the passenger compartment door opened and a small set of stairs flipped down. Jason stepped quickly out of the plane and jogged double-time toward them, opening the gate with his keycard.
“Good morning, Detective Maclean, Doctor. What can I do for you?”
Maclean was in his face the moment he stepped through the gate. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew that Cody North was a felon?”
“Because I’m sure that he had nothing to do with killing that girl. He’s reformed.”
“Really? Are you aware of exactly what this man has done to people in the past? To women?”
“Yes. The people from the program told me everything about him. But they also told me he was a good bet for going straight. And I believe in giving people a second chance. I’ve had a lot of privileges. So I felt like paying it forward was the right thing to do.”
“That’s awfully altruistic of you, Mr. Griffin.”
“I’ve worked hard in life. But I’ve also realized that with my success comes a responsibility to give breaks to guys that didn’t get them.”
“Well, I’m sure that speech will get you a warm round of applause and a stringy chicken dinner at the Rotary Club,” said Maclean, “but right now, my bullshit meter is going right off the scale. You’d better start telling me the truth or I will personally visit every one of your CEO party pals at their head offices and ask them if they are aware that prostitution is illegal in this jurisdiction. Then I will send a press release to every media outlet in the city letting them know that your company hired a hooker to give hand jobs to the movers and shakers of Seattle, and now she’s dead. How does that sound, Mr. Griffin?”
Jason sighed anxiously. “Look, I’m almost broke. That’s the truth. My dad left this company in really bad shape. By the time he died, we were two months away from bankruptcy. The company would have gone straight down the toilet if I hadn’t laid off most of the regular mechanics and changed the business model toward executive charters. You may not approve of that party I threw, but I’ve got three confirmed charters out of it so far, and seven more likely prospects. And it hasn’t even been a week. As for Cody, I get federal and state assistance with his salary to upgrade his skills and a tax credit. He’s basically free labor. I wanted to tell you the truth about him, but I really didn’t think he did it—still don’t—and I can’t afford to lose him. He’s the last employee I’ve got, and until I get the cash flow from those flights to Mexico, I’m screwed. I can’t afford to pay anybody else to take over from him.”
“Well, then I think you’ve got a problem. Because when I ran a check on him last night, along with finding out about his extensive criminal record, I also got his address. And I went by there to question him. But guess what I found? An empty apartment.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. He moved to a new place at the beginning of October. His new address won’t be in the records until my bookkeeper processes the next cycle of paychecks, which is next Friday. His new address is in my office. Everything’s cool.”
“No everything is not cool, Mr. Griffin. Because Cody North is supposed to be here and he isn’t.”
“He’s always been super reliable. This is literally the first time he’s ever been late. Why don’t we go inside; I’ll call him and find out what’s going on and we’ll sort this out.”
“Okay, let’s go,” said Maclean.
Jason unlocked the front door, turned off the alarm, and flicked the lights on.
“Cody? You here, man? Cody, yo!”
There was no answer.
“Does Cody often lurk around in here with the lights off?” asked Maclean, betraying more than a little sarcasm.
“No,” replied Jason patiently, “but once in a while if he’s working late and starting early, he sleeps here in one of the planes or in the back of the van.”
“Does he own a vehicle?”
“No. I’m not able to pay him much ’til I get this place back on its feet. He can’t afford a car of his own, so I let him use the company vehicle after hours.”
“You trust him with your own property. How magnanimous,” said Maclean. “But I didn’t see your van parked outside. And I don’t see it anywhere in the hangar either. This makes me very concerned, Mr. Griffin.”
“Look, I know Cody’s done some pretty bad things. But when they showed me his criminal file, and I found out his background, it seemed a lot of it was because of circumstance and lousy breaks. I mean, you read his life history and you think, ‘There but for the grace of God go I,’ you know?”
“There but for the grace of God go you indeed. Because if Cody North turns out to be the murderer and you helped him get away because you concealed his criminal past from me, I will charge you with being an accessory to homicide. And the fact that Cody North is not here when he’s supposed to be gives me great cause for alarm.”