Steeled for Murder (35 page)

“Just like that?”

“Yes.”

“For no reason.”

“Ask him.” I nodded toward Gustavus.

Belkins threw the cigar down. “I’m asking you.” He grabbed my hair and yanked my head up. “And you look at me when I’m talking to you.”

I tried to keep from grimacing. I gazed straight ahead.

“What were you talking about?”

“He had a few things going, and he wanted to know if I was interested.”

“Like what kinds of things?”

This line of questioning could lead to no good. “We didn’t really get into it. I just told him I was on parole. I can’t afford to get mixed up in anything.”

“Damn straight. I want to know what was going on here.”

“I told you what I know.”

“I’m going to find out. And then I’m going to see you get charged with whatever I can figure out.” He jerked my head down again and let go of my hair.

I felt my stomach knot tighter. I clamped my teeth together to keep from saying anything.

Montgomery signaled one of the uniformed cops to come over and stand by Gustavus. He still wasn’t in handcuffs; pretty obvious who would be picking up charges, if any were filed.

Montgomery pulled his cell phone from his pocket and talked into it. He glanced at Gustavus and then came over to where Belkins still stood menacingly over me.

“No charges,” he said quietly, but loud enough for me to hear.

“What the hell do you mean, no charges?” Belkins spun to face him.

“Gustavus was the one who stopped Damon. They talked for a few minutes, and then Damon started to walk away. Gustavus followed him and threw a sucker punch.”

“Like I really believe that.” Belkins snorted.

“Yeah, well, it was a surveillance officer who just told me that. He moved up a block, but he was still watching Damon. He saw the whole thing.”

Never thought I’d be glad I was under such close surveillance.

“Drug deal gone bad?” Belkins looked hopeful.

“I don’t think either one of them has been searched yet. We’ll see if they have anything.” Montgomery addressed me. “Got anything I should know about, Damon?”

“No, sir.” I spit out the “sir.”

Belkins threw me disgusted look and moved away.

“You know this guy?” Montgomery asked.

“Not really. Name’s Gustavus. He works for Radman. All I know.”

“Radman, huh? At the steel plant?”

He knew more than he was letting on. He always knew more than he was letting on. Just trying to see if I’d lie. “At the house.”

“And you would know this because…?” Montgomery rocked back on his heels.

“I was at the house.”

“Really.” It wasn’t a question. Of course he knew.

Glad I hadn’t tried to deny it. “Once.”

“Ah, yes. With the wife, right?”

Montgomery had seen me at the restaurant with Mandy. What did he think I was going to say? “Yeah.”

“Interesting how much time you seem to spend with other people’s wives.”

I didn’t answer that.

“And what were you doing at Radman’s with his wife?”

I was tempted to say, “Screwing her.” But that wouldn’t help me or Mandy. “She just wanted to show me some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“She thought Radman might be into drugs. Or something.”

“Was he?”

“I don’t know. But she did show me a crack pipe and some rocks. And some powder.”

“What did you do with them?”

“Didn’t touch ‘em. Told her to get rid of them.”

“Did you know,” Montgomery said, leaning down so I could smell the mint and aftershave, “that no one has seen Mrs. Radman since she was seen with you?”

I looked up in surprise. “She hasn’t been to work?”

“No. Someone—a man—called in and said she would be out for a while. Few weeks at least.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I’m wondering if you were the man who called.”

“Nope.”

“Then do you have any idea where she is?”

I shrugged. “I walked her to her lawyer’s office. Last I saw her.”

“Why would she be going to see a lawyer?”

“She had an appointment with a family lawyer about getting a divorce. She was scared of Radman. I saw her go in and talk to a lady at a desk inside. Maybe they know where she is.”

Montgomery’s thoughtful eyes bored into me. “What was the name of this lawyer?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I know the building where his office is. That red brick one down by the courthouse where a couple of lawyers have their offices.”

Montgomery straightened up. “Stay here,” he said.

Like I was really going to get up and stroll away with all those cops around and my hands cuffed behind my back.

He sat in the car with the door open and pulled out his cell phone again. He made a few calls. Then he got out of the car and went up to Belkins. They talked. Finally, he came back over to me.

“Okay. The lawyer knows where Mrs. Radman is. He told her to stay out of sight for her own safety.”

They wouldn’t be charging me in her disappearance. One less worry.

“What I’d like to know,” Montgomery said, “is how did you come to know so much about Radman’s marriage?”

I shook my head.

“And how much do you know about Radman’s trade?”

Once again, I shook my head. I should control what I said, but I was getting fed up.

“I think you’re in this up to your ass. What do you think?”

“You can think whatever the hell you want to think. Don’t make it true.”

“Might send you back to prison.”

“Still don’t make it true.”

Montgomery’s handsome dark face broke into a grin. “I’m trying to figure out how you and Radman are connected.”

“He’s my boss. Several times removed.”

“And he was Mitch Robinson’s boss. But he wasn’t around when Mitch was killed. Neither was Gustavus.”

Of course he had talked to the people at the plant. He knew Radman had been there. He was trying to get me confused. “Radman was there. Don’t know about Gustavus. Maybe he came with Radman.”

“Did you see either one of them?” Montgomery asked.

“No. But Radman was definitely in the plant that night. Foreman ought to be able to tell you that.” I wasn’t going to mention Kelly seeing his car parked by the fence.

“Are you sure?”

I glanced up at him. Instead of sporting his usual poker face, he looked puzzled.

“We looked at the security tapes pretty thoroughly. They cover all the entrances. Last we see is him leaving about seven in the evening.”

“I bet they don’t have a security camera on the side entrance to the warehouse,” I said.

He looked thoughtful. “No. But you have to go through the shipping yard to get there. And the cameras cover the whole shipping yard.”

“Not if you go in the gate on the road behind the plant.”

“What gate?”

“Side, by the gravel road.”

“Locked. Big old padlock. And the gate’s rusted shut.”

“Maybe.” I took a deep breath. I’d already said a lot. No point keeping my mouth shut now. “But the whole section of fence swings out on hinges. Gate and all. So it don’t look like an entrance.”

Montgomery peered at me. “And how would you know that?” he asked.

I still didn’t think I was telling him anything he didn’t know. “Common knowledge?” I suggested.

Montgomery snorted. “I don’t think so. But that’s the second piece of useful information you’ve given me today. Looks like we may be getting somewhere.” He walked away and pulled out his cell phone again.

Maybe he hadn’t known about the gate? How the hell could I ever explain knowing about it? Had to get a grip on my anger; I was starting to say dumb things.

In a few minutes, Montgomery returned. He grabbed me by the arm and helped me to my feet.

“We’re going to cut you loose,” he said. “Again. I’m getting a little tired of this.”

He was getting tired of it?

He waved over one of the uniformed officers, who unlocked the handcuffs.

I wiped my hands on the damp seat of my pants.

Belkins looked over and snorted. “Wet yourself?” he asked.

I ignored him.

I glanced over to where Gustavus was sitting out of the wind in the back seat of one of the patrol cars, the door open and his hands uncuffed.

Montgomery followed my line of vision. “You got a problem with us cutting him loose, too?”

“Why would I?”

“According to the surveillance officer, he attacked you. You could file charges.”

My laugh was bitter. “Against a police informant? You think I’m totally crazy?”

Montgomery raised his well-shaped eyebrows. “And what else do you know?”

Chapter 20

When I got to work that night, I punched in and went to report to John.

He was standing talking to a man in a suit. I stopped short and stepped over against the wall, out of the way.

The man in the suit was Sterling Radman.

So far, Radman hadn’t approached me about doing anything “extra” for him, but I couldn’t believe he didn’t have something in mind when he’d insisted I become lift driver on this shift. What I’d learned from Mandy and Gustavus did nothing to dispel that notion.

Radman walked away without looking in my direction.

Maybe things were getting too hot for him and he would just clear out without bothering me. I could hope.

John came up, shaking his head. “Jesse,” he said. “There’s been some kind of a mix-up. Radman just gave me a bill of lading that the dispatcher didn’t get out. The truck’s due at seven tomorrow morning. Do you think you could try to help Kelly get the pallets out of the warehouse?”

“Sure.”

“You’re both gonna need to keep up with your regular tasks, too.”

“Do the best I can.”

He thought for a few seconds. “I’ll keep an eye on what needs to be moved out on the floor and tell you, so you can skip your usual rounds.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. Just tell me what I need to do.”

“Kelly knows. Just do what she tells you to.”

If I’d thought working with Kelly would be a pleasant experience, I found out differently. She was even more rushed than I was and barked orders, growing impatient if I didn’t understand right away. Her lift was bigger and faster than mine, so sometimes she had to wait for me to catch up.

By the six a.m. break, we pretty much had the shipment assembled out by the dock.

Kelly parked her lift by the passageway to the warehouse, climbed off, and came over to me.

I leaned down to hear what she had to say to me.

“Look,” she said. “I got a truck due in at six I got to unload. You think you can get the last few pallets?”

“Yeah. What do I need to get?”

“Three loads of root baskets.” She gave me the bill of lading. “Then put this in the basket on the wall by the dispatcher’s office door.”

She glanced around quickly behind her. Then she grabbed my shoulder, pulling me toward her. “Look,” she said. “I know I’ve been a bitch about this. Sorry about that. It’s my ass if the shipments aren’t ready.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “When we get a chance, I’ll make it up to you.”

She climbed back onto her lift and swung it back out toward the shipping docks.

My cheek burned where her lips had touched. I was afraid to speculate on what she meant. Or when we’d “get a chance.”

I figured I could just skip my last break. If I stopped work, I might have trouble getting started again. The last two days in a row, I’d spent a good hunk of my time in handcuffs or in a holding cell. Not exactly conducive to peace of mind. I hadn’t slept well, even after I got home.

I still had to make sure all the machines were well stocked with parts for the day shift.

I decided that after I got off work, I was going to go straight home and get some decent sleep. Let a surveillance car follow me home. Just don’t stop me.

I drove into the warehouse, found the row of the right-sized root baskets, and pulled three out, one at a time, setting them in the aisle. I took one out to the loading dock and set it with the rest of the shipment.

When I returned to the warehouse, I climbed off to check the tag on the next pallet.

Radman appeared out of nowhere. Actually, I guess it was from back in the gloom of the warehouse.

He hefted a small wooden box. “This goes in that shipment.” He pointed to the stack of root baskets. “Nestled way down inside the bottom stack of baskets. You have to undo the load, put it in, and then fasten the load down again.”

“And then?”

“And then you mark the tag with a green check.” He pulled a green magic marker out of his pocket. “And take the pallet up to the shipping room. It’ll be loaded on a truck this morning and shipped out.”