Scratchgravel Road (Josie Gray Mysteries #2)(84)

“I thought they wore the white hazmat suits?” she asked.

“That’s the company rule. In fact, it’s grounds for dismissal if a worker’s caught performing certain tasks without the suits. I’m just saying, maybe he didn’t follow protocol.”

Josie knew the answer but asked to see if Skip would be honest. “Was anyone working with Santiago those days?”

He nodded. “Brent Thyme.”

At least the stories match, she thought. “Have you talked to Brent about his own safety yet?”

“No, he called in sick yesterday and today. I was planning on visiting him tonight after work.” His expression was vacant, as if his brain had reached its capacity to process. “And now this. One week it’s business as usual. The next, the whole world crumbles.”

Josie glanced at her watch and wondered if Brent had arrived at Cowan’s office yet to talk with the CDC. She made a mental note to call Cowan when she was done talking with Skip.

Josie took a leap of faith. “There’s something that’s bothering me about this case that I want to share with you,” she said.

Skip met her eyes, his expression earnest. “Sure.”

“When Juan’s body was found, he was wearing his work boots. From the Feed Plant.”

Skip took a second to respond. “That’s against company procedures. It doesn’t sound like Juan. He was one to follow rules.”

“It’s more than that though. Have you ever had any desire to wear your boots outside of the plant?”

“No.”

“Even if it weren’t against regulations. Would you wear your boots because they’re comfortable? Sturdy? Maybe they’re good for walking outside?”

He curled a lip up. “The boots are made for industrial work. I would not wear them if given the choice.”

“Then why would Santiago wear them two days after he left work? He had a pair of boots in his closet at his apartment that looked much more comfortable. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a Western shirt. His cowboy boots would have been the natural choice.”

Skip looked at her and shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to me either.”

They both turned and watched a DPS car pull into the parking area, splashing water onto one of Mitch’s crew. To the man’s credit, he looked at his pants, already soaked from the rain, but didn’t react.

Josie looked back at Skip, her mind still focused on the details. “What if Santiago came back? What if he realized he’d gotten into something, and he came back that night for help?”

Skip raised his eyebrows.

“Are there antidotes? Or first-aid procedures you follow for chemical burns?” she asked.

“Sure, to an extent. If he truly got into the chemicals I’m afraid he touched, he’d need much more than a first-aid kit.”

“But he might not know that.”

Skip looked skeptical. “He certainly knows basic first aid and safety procedures. He would have washed the chemicals off immediately and treated the skin. He’s been through a number of mandatory safety trainings. If his skin came into contact with those chemicals, he knew to approach a supervisor immediately for treatment.”

“What if he came back the night before he died and stopped at his locker to put on his boots? Would he have access to them?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’d been working here for several years. Had a clean personnel record. Some of the guys have keys so they can have access to the buildings they work in. We keep the buildings locked at all times, so we give them keys so they can get in and out during the day. He’s worked here long enough to have his own set. It’s kind of a badge of honor to have a set of keys. A trust issue.”

Josie nodded, putting together the pieces in her mind.

Skip’s cell phone rang and Josie listened as he spoke to someone about a request that the NRC had for paperwork. He glanced at Josie. “Diego needs help for a minute. Do you mind?”

Josie motioned toward the building. “Of course not. I’ll catch up with you later.”

She watched Skip jog across the parking lot and considered Santiago and the timeline of events. She felt certain his death was connected with the plant, and her hunch was it took place at night. When she and Dillon had come to the plant the security was lax. She assumed the plant had operated for so many years in the isolation of the desert with no security issues that the gaurds had become complacent. And it wouldn’t take long for the wrong person to pick up on the complacency.

Josie walked over to where Otto stood listening to Mitch brief his crew.

“I got a hunch,” she said.

“Do you now?” His surprise turned to a grin as he turned away from the group. “Fill me in.”

“Skip just confirmed that both Santiago and Brent Thyme were working with hazardous chemicals in the pilot unit the week before they both developed lesions on their arms or hands.”

Otto rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Well, that could change things.”

“We could be looking at chemical burns—not radiation.”

“Maybe the CDC can sort that one out.”

“I’m still stuck on Santiago’s boots. I’d lay money on the fact that he and Thyme got into something they weren’t supposed to, and he came back to make it right. He came back into the plant and put his boots on as a security measure. My hunch is, he left a dead man.”