Scratchgravel Road (Josie Gray Mysteries #2)(91)

After Diego thanked the group, the cafeteria ladies began serving a sit-down meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Josie and Otto stepped away from the group to plan their next steps.

“Can you go meet with Cowan and the CDC technician? I want to make sure that what we suspect matches with what the CDC has found on the body.”

Otto nodded.

“I’m not leaving until I get back into that security room to watch the rest of the tape. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

Diego and Skip approached them. Diego looked exhausted. Josie knew there were many plant managers who would have sat in a dry office all day barking orders. She was impressed with his willingness to work alongside of, instead of in front of, his employees.

“Quite a day,” Diego said.

Otto grunted. “You could say that.”

Diego turned to Josie. “I’m assuming the security tape will be taken as evidence. Is it possible for me to watch the tape before you take it?”

“That’s where I’m headed.”

Diego considered her thoughtfully for a moment. “Can I ask you a question regarding the case?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you suspect Brent Thyme? I thought Leo was your primary suspect. You just discovered he stole Santiago’s money.”

“Leo was used. He was broke. I had no trouble believing he stole the money, but there was never a good connection between Leo and Juan.”

“But Brent and Juan were coworkers. Friends even,” Skip said.

Josie gave him a skeptical look. “Maybe on the surface. This whole case came back to the boots for me. I felt certain the murder took place at the plant. And then I remembered, Juan didn’t have a car. Who took Juan to work every day?”

“Brent did,” Skip said.

“Then we discovered Brent had a sore on his arm, similar to the sores that were on Santiago’s arms.”

Skip and Diego both looked at each other in surprise. “I had no idea,” Skip said.

“Brent didn’t want you to know. He was afraid he would lose his job.”

Diego stared intently at Josie, processing the information. “I’m sorry, I still don’t see the connection,” he said.

“From what I’ve seen in reports, things I’ve read on the Internet, and even what we’ve heard from employees, there’s one thing you stress to your workers. Above all else.”

Diego nodded. “Safety above all else.”

“There are Safety First signs everywhere. Crews are called Safe Shut-Down Crews. Then when I interviewed Brent and he told me about the sores, he practically begged me not to tell you. He was terrified you would suspect protocol hadn’t been followed. That he’d lose his job. He said he had a wife, kid, mortgage. The job meant everything to him.”

“Brent was a great worker,” Skip said. “We were grooming him for a promotion.”

“When I talked to him at his home, I was disappointed in him for not doing the right thing. For not going to you with the truth about what had happened. But the more I thought about it, I realized, he had probably sat on information that could have saved Santiago’s life.” She turned to Diego. “Let’s pull up the tape from the pilot unit. From the last day Juan and Brent worked together. My guess is, safety was compromised and led to their injuries. Juan was going to blow the whistle, and Brent could only find one way to stop him. He lured him to the plant and killed him.”

*

Otto said his good-byes and left for the health department, and Skip joined a group of police officers for dinner in the cafeteria. Josie thought he still looked shell-shocked by the day’s revelations. Diego and Josie walked to the pilot unit under a gray sky that looked as if at any moment the thin membrane holding back the rain might break, allowing yet another drenching. The forecast called for rain through the evening, but promised an end to the deluge by morning. Josie glanced down at her soaked uniform, her pants covered in mud from mid-thigh down. She had pulled her wet hair back into a ponytail again, but it had done little to help her appearance. Diego somehow managed to still look businesslike even with mud splattered across his suit pants and shirt. He’d lost his suit jacket and tie sometime earlier in the day.

Apparently sensing her train of thought, Diego said, “You look quite good in brown. It might be your color.”

She laughed as they walked. She could feel him studying her face.

“I can still see the burn, although it’s faded. There’s a fair chance the top layer of skin will turn brown and peel. You should still have your face checked, but don’t panic.”

“Don’t panic. Phrase of the day.”

*

They reached Unit Seven and Diego unlocked the door, then led them to the security office. The building appeared empty.

They sat next to each other on chairs facing the computer screen. Diego had closed the door behind them and Josie could smell the damp from their clothes in the small space.

“I never dreamt one of my employees could be capable of such an act,” he said.

Josie cued up the tape, then reversed it so that Diego could watch from the moment the two men wearing hazmat suits entered the laboratory. They watched as the box was taken from the cabinet, the tube declined by the man Josie identified as Santiago, then finally as he was hit over the head by the stool.