“Nope, I can’t say I saw it coming either,” she said and eased the sedan into a parking place on the left side of the building.
The detectives got out of the car and paused a moment. It was hard not to when the area was more like a resort than an office for a construction company.
Katie spied the entrance, where the walk was lined with pots of all types of plants—some she hadn’t seen before. She resisted the urge to touch one of the leaves to make sure it was real. Her mind wandered back for a moment to those fake leaves used tocamouflage the trap.
The interior was just as stunning as the landscaping. Up-to-date furnishings were placed purposefully, along with matted and framed photographs of, presumably, their projects. However, the modern simple furniture seemed out of place—at least that was what Katie thought.
“Hello. Welcome,” said a voice.
Katie and McGaven turned to see a man enter the foyer. He was dressed well and seemed to be in his early forties.
“Can I help you?” he said.
“I’m Detective Scott and this is my partner, Detective McGaven,” she said.
“Yes? What can I do for you?”
“We’re here following up on your construction site at Old Mill and Pine Road.”
“Ah yes, the unfortunate situation.” He dramatically turned his expression solemn. His hair was dark and his eyes were vibrant blue.
“And you are?” said Katie, taking the lead while McGaven had a closer look around.
“I’m sorry, I’m the manager. Tom Grand.”
“Well, Mr. Grand, we have a few questions. Would you have a moment?” she said.
“Of course. Please follow me.”
The detectives followed him to an ornate spiral staircase going upstairs. Katie thought perhaps this office was more for show than actual work. Maybe that happened elsewhere. She also didn’t remember seeing Mr. Grand’s name on the list of their background research—she made a mental note to check him as well. With a case like this, due diligence was extremely important.
They reached the top of the intricate black wrought-iron staircase and then walked down a long hallway to a large office. It was more like a conference area, but rather than having a conference table there were three areas with four chairs and asmall table dividing them. It was interesting and obviously very comfortable for clients—especially high-end clients. There were glass windows all along the hallway as well as windows overlooking a backyard garden.
“Please, detectives, have a seat,” Grand said.
Katie sat down at one of the areas. She didn’t see anyone else in the building, but there were closed office doors and she wondered if there were employees working inside. There was no sound of phones or voices, which seemed a bit odd. McGaven sat next to her as Grand took his place across from the detectives.
“Where is everybody?” she said.
“We have flex schedules here. There are two people coming in at noon while others are off today. Wednesdays are days people can take off because they work the other days during the week.”
“I see,” she said. Deciding to jump right in without pleasantries, she began, “We’ve gone through your employee list of construction workers. Jimmy Cranston and Vince Hugo were the ones who discovered the bodies.”
“Yes.”
“What can you tell me about them?” she said.
McGaven remained quiet, but she knew he watched Grand’s every move.
“You aren’t suggesting they are suspects?”
“We have a duty to look at every angle so that we can dismiss things as well as confirm them.”
“Oh, I see.” He seemed confused and had a difficult time keeping eye contact with the detectives.
“You see, we begin at the beginning and go through all the events,” she said. After pausing for effect as she retrieved her small notebook and flipped it open, Katie continued, “Jimmy Cranston was the excavator operator. What can you tell meabout him?” She knew some of the answers, but she wanted to hear it from Grand.
“Let’s see…” Grand looked out the back windows. “Cranston has been with us for more than eight years and has been a good employee. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been any complaints against him. He’s a good guy and an experienced machine operator.”
