Joseph spins around and pulls out a chair to sit on. He drops the pill in his shirt pocket and rests his arms on the table, giving me his undivided attention. Dale picks up the paper and unfolds it. His furrowed brow grows even deeper as he stares at the writing on the page.
“I found that today, by accident, hidden under Hazel’s bed.”
Inquisitive glances meet mine, but I push their silent questions to the side. By their expressions, they already know I slept with her. That’s all they will ever know. They don’t need to know what happened between Hazel and me. That shit was sacred compared to what I usually do. It was our moment, and it will remain that way.
Dale hands the paper to Joseph, and we watch his reaction. We know it’s his handwriting. It’s on his letterhead. Joseph is dumbfounded. He remains still, not even blinking, as he stares at it.
“I don’t understand,” Joseph mumbles.
“What’s there not to understand?” Dale booms, causing us to flinch.
“Because this isn’t the formula we use,” Joseph snaps, slamming the paper down on the table.
I put my hand up to Dale, to make him shut up, andspeak to Joseph. “Explain.”
“This—” Joseph stabs the document with his finger. “Is not the formula. I altered it several times before I settled on the current version. This formula was only made once, and it didn’t work. I found it in with some paperwork a couple of months ago and threw it in the trash to be shredded.”
“Well, it appears very intact to me,” Dale spits.
“No shit,” I growl at Dale. “So, the question is: How did the formula get to be under Hazel’s bed?”
“There’s only one answer, but I have a couple of theories,” Dale says.
“Hazel was working with Phil and kept it from him when things didn’t work out, which is why he’s so hostile toward her.” Joseph’s theory sounds more like a question than a statement.
It’s the same thing I’ve been asking myself all damn day, and it’s driving me mad. My jaw ticks as Joseph and Dale wait for me to comment, but I keep my mouth shut. The thought angers me for two reasons. One: that it’s wrong, and they are once again pointing their fingers at her. And two: that Joseph is correct, and my judgment is clouded by my feelings for her.
“Or, Phil somehow lost it at Hazel’s house, and he’s been trying to get it back,” Dale counters, but doesn’t look my way. I think seeing what Phil did to that woman unnerved him, erasing his doubts about Hazel’s involvement.
“Okay, fine. But that doesn’t explain how it left the lab,” Joseph says to Dale.
The two of them could go at it all day with their opinions and theories. They’ve done it for years.
“Like you said, Dale, there’s only one answer, and we already know what it is.” I lean my forearms on the table and glance between the two men waiting for the answer. “Someone working down the hall is Phil’s partner.”
***
After our discussion, I sent Dale and Joseph home to get some rest. They both fought me, saying there was too much to get done, but it could wait until tonight. I shoved them out the door and then walked the hall, getting caught up on everything going on around here. When the workers got the next shipment of Snap ready to go, I sent them packing early too. Not like they work long shifts anyhow. Those people have it made. They put in four hours a night and get paid like they work eighty hours a week.
I took a nap and started up the plant at six sharp, like clockwork. While the managers ran the floor, I spent hours getting weeks of work done. Once most of it was completed, I pulled up all the files on our Snap employees, scouring them to determine who the mole is. It didn’t take long to narrow it down to a few people who could have had contact with Phil.
Personally, I wouldn’t think any of these men wouldwork with him, but one of them did. All the pieces are finally coming together. Now we know why Phil was on the security camera that night making little effort to get in the building. I wish we had sound on that damn thing. I’d give anything to hear what he was saying as he slammed his fists against the door. It had to be the name of the person—
I snatch the phone off the desk and call Dale and Joseph on three-way. When both men answer, I ask what I think the million-dollar question is.
“Think back to the night that someone who resembled Phil tried to get inside the factory. Who was it that walked through the door before he came into the frame?”
I listen to the collective breath taken before both men say, “fuck,” in unison.
“Yep. See you tonight, boys.”
PHIL
When I left Hazel’s, I circled back around and watched from the shadows near my car. I parked on a side street a few buildings down from her apartment. The sound of the sirens getting closer and closer had adrenaline coursing through my body. I had to get out of there before they spotted me.
I called Dustin and told him I’d be at the lab lying low. Under no circumstances was he to tell anyone where I was. As far as he was concerned, he hadn’theard from me. He tried to ask what was going on, but I hung up on him. Rushing to my parents’ guest house that doubled as my apartment, I packed a bag as quickly as possible before getting as far from Trinity as I could.
My body shook from a mix of withdrawal, adrenaline, and anger. She fucked up my life, just like my father said she would. I punched the dashboard as I flew down the back roads, my roars filling the car. Everything is so fucked now. Everything.
