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,
"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,
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