Danny cleared a stack of invoices off two chairs and gestured for us to sit. He settled behind his desk, the chair creaking under his weight, and wrapped both hands around his coffee cup like he was bracing for impact.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s have it. What’s going on?”
Jack leaned forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. “Danny, I’m sorry to have to tell you this. One of your employees—Andre Washington—was found dead yesterday morning. We’re investigating it as a homicide.”
Danny was quiet for a moment after Jack told him. He set his coffee cup down on the desk and leaned back in his chair, the old springs creaking under his weight. Then he let out a long, slow breath and rubbed his hand across his jaw.
“That’s a shame,” he said finally. His voice was heavy, but steady. “That boy had a lot of potential. I was hoping he’d stick around, maybe move up. Good workers like him don’t come along every day.”
He shook his head slowly, staring at a spot on the wall somewhere past my shoulder.
“His mama know yet?”
“We notified her yesterday,” Jack said.
“How’s she holding up?” Danny picked up his coffee again, more for something to do with his hands than because he wanted it. “I never met her, but Andre talked about her all the time. Worried about her living alone, wanted to take care of her.”
“About as well as you’d expect. Losing a child is hard, no matter what age they are. I hate being the deliverer of that news. It never gets easier.”
Danny nodded, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “She need anything? I could put together a collection from the crew. Andre was well liked around here.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate that.”
We sat with that for a moment, the rattle of the window air conditioner filling the silence. Then Danny straightened in his chair, shifting into a more businesslike posture. He understood why we were here. Questions needed answers.
“What can I tell you?” he asked. “I want to help however I can.”
“How long had Andre worked for you?” Jack asked.
“Three, almost four years. Came on right after he separated from the Marines.” Danny took a sip of his coffee. “Started him on grunt work like everybody else, hauling materials, cleanup, the jobs nobody wants. But he learned fast. Had him on framing crews by the end of his first year. Could have moved him into a supervisory role within the next couple years if he’d stuck around.”
“Was he planning to leave?”
Danny set his coffee down carefully. “He never said it outright. But the last few months, he seemed restless. Distracted. He’d ask about business. Not his job, but the business. How contracts worked, where the money came from, how I built the company. The kind of questions a man asks when he’s thinking about going out on his own.”
“Did that bother you?”
“Hell no. I respect ambition. I started this company out of the back of a pickup truck. If the kid wanted to build something of his own, I’d have helped him.” He shrugged. “But he never asked for help. Just asked the questions and kept whatever he was thinking to himself.”
“Any problems on the job? Conflicts?”
“Not with my people. Andre got along with everybody.” Danny paused, turning his cup. “But there was one thing. About a month ago, some guy showed up at the site looking for him. Not a worker. He was dressed wrong for it. I was in the trailer, saw him through the window. He and Andre talked in the parking lot for maybe five minutes. Andre’s whole body language changed. He was stiff, tense, nothing like how he usually carried himself. The guy left and Andre went back to work, but he was off the rest of the day.”
“Can you describe the man?”
“Older. Sixties, maybe. Built like he’d been somebody once. Thick through the chest, but going soft. Face looked like it had been through a few wars.” Danny pointed to his own nose. “Crooked. Like it’d been broken more than once.”
Jack and I didn’t look at each other. We didn’t need to.
“Did you ask Andre about it?”
“I did. He said it was nothing. Just an old friend checking in. But he was lying.” Danny met Jack’s eyes directly. “I’ve managed crews for thirty years. I know when a man’s lying, and I know when a man’s scared. Andre was both.”
“Did you see that man again?”
“No. Just the once.” He reached for his phone. “You want to talk to his crew? They’re pouring foundation this morning at the Riverside site, but I can call ahead.”
“We’d appreciate that.”
