Page 63 of Backwater Justice
“I believe you’re supposed to report to Benjamin.”
“That’s right.” She tried to interpret his tone. Nothing abrasive or arrogant. “I’ll keep you in the loop so you can keep Oliver in the loop.”
“Lots of looping.” Dickie chuckled.
“I just don’t want anyone to think I’m not doing my job or keeping anyone out of the loop.” Isabelle smiled.
Dickie gave her words a second’s thought. Better for him to know what was going on at the same time as everyone else. “I’d appreciate it. Thanks. This way, I can be ready to handle things if need be. Not that I expect anything to happen, but with Mr. Spangler still recovering, I know Benjamin and Oliver have their hands full.”Oliver, Bart, and I do, that’s for sure,he thought to himself.
“Thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Isabelle walked toward the ladies’ room before going back to her desk. She checked her phone when she got into one of the stalls.
Ok. Go.
That meant Sasha was in the parking lot. Charles had sent Sasha a photo of Bart and his dossier. He always drove the same green pickup truck with the Oregon plates: 203 SEI.
All the company vehicles had the SEI suffix. The plates on the lumbermill trucks started with the number one; the trucking company started with the number two; and the Cascade Inns started with the number three. Dickie’s plates were 201 SEI; and Oliver’s were 200 SEI. Easy to keep track of, and easy for the local authorities to spot (and ignore) if they were so inclined.
Bart and Kat were on their way in from the lot. “Impressive fleet,” Kat said.
Bart was all puffed up. It was his responsibility to be certain the vehicles were in pristine condition, inside and out.
“I’m ready when you are,” he addressed Isabelle. “We’re giving you the van, if that’s okay. Unless you want to drive a pickup. Just need a copy of your driver’s license.”
Isabelle froze. That was one thing they hadn’t had time to take care of. “I’ll drive my own car, if that’s alright. Mr. Spangler is paying for the rental, so I might as well use it.”
“Okay. But if you want to turn it in for a company vehicle, that’s fine with me.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Isabelle made a mental note to let Myra know she had almost gotten into a bind. Charles or Fergus could get them fake credentials quickly, and she was only an hour away if she needed to get back to Salem in a hurry.
Isabelle followed Bart outside and got into her rental. She waited for Bart to pull around so she could follow him. Several yards down the road, an innocuous-looking vehicle waited for them to pass. A few beats later, Sasha pulled onto the road and began to tail them. Myra sent a text to Isabelle, giving her a description of Sasha’s vehicle. It looked like any other car on the road, except for the driver with the Olympia baseball cap.
* * *
Dickie sat across from Oliver’s desk. Oliver had no words for him. He had no words for anybody. He had nothing. Oliver rested his elbows on his desk and shoved the palms of his hands against his brow-bone. “So you’re telling me that neither one of you could get any information out of that woman in Blaine?”
“No, sir. She claims she isn’t working for anyone but us. Percy went to her first. He was wearing a ski mask. Scared the you-know-what out of her, but she didn’t change her story one bit. Then I went in to see if she might come around. I was wearing a rubber screaming skeleton mask. Thought that might terrify her enough to spill her guts. But same thing. Either she’s telling the truth, or she is one heck of a good liar.”
“I just find it a bit of a coincidence that a new hire should happen to stumble upon our facility. What do you think, Dickie? Some kind of happenstance? Or maybe there’s someone on the inside selling our secret to someone.” He peered at Dickie.
“What? Me? You can’t be serious, Oliver. We all have too much to lose by blabbing, and a lot to gain by remaining silent. Why would I do something like that?” Dickie was truly stunned that his cohort, boss, and sometime friend, would think he’d betray him. “Sorry, Oliver, but you are barking up the wrong tree.”
“Maybe Bart?” Oliver stared at him.
“Bart? He’s not smart enough to betray anyone.”
“Well, he was stupid enough to pick up a hitchhiker when he was supposed to be making a delivery. And I want to know who left the bleeping door open in Eugene!” Oliver shot out of his chair. “You said it wasn’t the assistant manager? How can you be sure?”
“Because we caught him with his girlfriend in one of the rooms while all this went down. That’s why we let him go. Dereliction of duty. He was supposed to lock the main laundry room door, and only open it if someone needed to get in.”
“Did he know why he was supposed to keep the door locked?”
“To keep people from stealing towels, and to keep people away from cleaning chemicals.” Dickie recited the company line.
“And you’re sure he knows nothing about what was going on?”
“Like I said, he was having a horizontal party, and according to the janitor, it was a regular thing.”
“And the janitor didn’t think to say anything?”