Page 38 of The List
DAY FIFTEEN
H AMILTON L EE FIDGETED BEHIND HIS DESK IN THE B LUE T OWER and watched De Florio, who sat calmly on the other side. He sensed his subordinate was deriving a certain twinge of pleasure at seeing him squirm.
“What happened after your man was almost caught in Reed’s house Saturday?” he asked.
“I had him reenter this morning.”
“Why not wait till dark?”
“Reed was at work. His cleaning lady doesn’t come until tomorrow. Daylight presents an opportunity without unnecessary risks.”
“What happened Saturday?”
“The daughter was at Reed’s house, but there was no vehicle outside. Luckily, things worked out and my man was in and out without detection.”
“What did he find today?”
“The list was in Reed’s office. But nothing indicated he was aware of its significance. The telephone and office were bugged for later monitoring.”
He couldn’t believe this. In the twenty-plus years since the start of the Priority program this was their first security breach.
They were always so careful. So precise.
Hired only the best and demanded absolute perfection.
Anything less was dealt with severely. Now a damn lightning bolt might crash it all?
“There’s more,” De Florio said. “Last Thursday, Mr. Bozin conducted a private meeting with Brent Walker. It lasted about fifteen minutes in the main conference room, after a staff meeting Bozin specifically included Walker on. Yesterday, Bozin ate lunch with Walker and other company people during a break in the negotiations. I place no special significance on that. However, afterward, the two of them were alone for a few minutes in the restroom. The man I have stationed at the negotiations was unable to find out if they actually spoke or not.”
“But they were alone in the restroom?”
De Florio nodded. “My man went in right after to be sure.”
He instantly recalled how Bozin had made a point last week to ask that Brent Walker be included in the negotiations.
At the time he’d understood the wisdom of the move.
After all, that was the main reason they’d hired Walker in the first place.
But why would they now be having private conversations?
Talks that Bozin had made no mention of.
“Why do you find it necessary to so closely monitor your partner?” De Florio asked.
“Mr. Bozin has exhibited what Mr. Hughes and I consider unusual behavior of late.”
“You doubt his commitment to the company?”
“I’m not sure. As you know, Chris is a man of few words, making it difficult ever to know exactly what he thinks.”
“Mr. Bozin has always shown a strong dedication.”
“But he’s getting old and hasn’t been looking well of late.”
“I’ve noticed some deterioration myself. Is there some concern about Brent Walker and Mr. Bozin?”
“I’m not sure. I just find it significant that Chris wants to talk with Walker.”
“It could simply concern the negotiations or perhaps Walker’s association with Reed.”
“Brent Walker is green to this industry. Outside of helping with Reed, there’s little he could offer Chris. But it’s Walker’s association with Reed that worries me. Reed could discuss the list with him. They were quite close once. Probably still are.”
“That would certainly broaden our already difficult containment problem.”
“Hell, Jon, we can’t go around killing everybody. The idea was to save money, not help with overpopulation.”
“Now it may simply be a matter of survival.”
He glared at De Florio. “And not just ours, huh?”
“I have a definite stake in this.”
“Really, now? I assume you’re mobile as a bird. All the money we’ve paid you is probably in Europe or the Caribbean, safely hidden behind myriad protective laws. You’re not married. No family. We provide everything you need. You could disappear in a blink of an eye.”
“Perhaps. But I do not desire to spend my life in jail, or on the run from the law.”
“Neither do I. But, unlike you, I have no place to run. My roots are all here.”
“I understand,” was all De Florio seemed willing to concede.
He returned to business. “What do you recommend?”
“We need to continue monitoring Reed and learn what he does as soon as it happens. And we certainly don’t want to overreact. He may not be interested in that list at all.”
“I agree. We still need to get it back.”
“That would draw attention. But I have erased all vestiges of it from our system. It doesn’t exist here anymore.”
“Good to hear.”
“Brent Walker’s house phones should be bugged,” De Florio said.
“Do it.”
“I recommend that the phone where Reed stays at the mill be tapped. I believe he calls the place the Boar’s Nest.”
“Do it.”
“Depending on how extensive this gets, I may need some freelance help for a limited time.”
“Hire it.”
“I would also recommend keeping a constant eye on Mr. Bozin and Brent Walker. That should be easy since they’ll both be at the negotiations. I already have a man there.”
“What about evenings?”
“I have a person I can depend on inside Bozin’s house at the Row.”
He was intrigued. “I wasn’t aware you had people inside our private homes.”
“I don’t. I cultivated this source last week when you instructed me to monitor Mr. Bozin.”
But he wasn’t so sure. That concern, though, would have to wait until another time.
“Do we need electronic monitoring at Bozin’s house?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. My source should keep me adequately informed.”
“To keep up appearances, I want you to report to Bozin everything learned so far. He asked for that. Leave off the fact you and I have talked.”
De Florio nodded.
“I still want to be kept instantly informed, though. If necessary, we’ll move to Priority orders on a moment’s notice. You need to be prepared.”
“I already have some information gathered on Reed and Walker.”
“Good. The way things are headed, you’re probably going to need it.”
3:20 P.M.
B RENT HAD BEEN CORRALLED AT THE C OMFORT I NN ALL DAY.
H ANK found him right as the lunch break ended and asked him again about the list of numbers.
I really need you to do this. But nothing more had been offered.
He’d probably kicked that can as far down the street as he could.
So when the day’s session ended early, he headed straight back to the office.
The list and his notes were still tucked inside his desk drawer.
He retrieved them, started his search again with the third set of numbers, and found a new name.
The fourth match rang bells. Brandon Pabon.
The workers’ comp case that died of a drug overdose.
He kept going until he found a name for each set of numbers.
034156901 William Mesnan, May 23, Heart attack
456913276 Patrick Brown, May 21, Kidney failure
343016692 J. J. Jordon
295617833 Brandon Pabon, June 6, Drug overdose
178932515 Tim Featherston
236987521 Melvin Bennett
492016755 Paul Zimmerman, June 13, Hunting accident
516332578 Michael Ottman
So what was this? A list of recently deceased employees?
That couldn’t be.
Hank gave him the list last Saturday, June 10. Maybe the fact that each person was dead didn’t matter? Just a coincidence that Zimmerman was included. Or maybe not.
He had to know more.
So he selected one name from the list, Tim Featherston, and found the man’s employment records, learning he was a former electrician who retired six years ago. His current address was in Reeling, Georgia. The 912 area code meant the town was somewhere in middle or south Georgia.
He grabbed the phone and dialed. Two rings later the familiar tone came through with the irritating announcement, “ The number you have dialed is not in service .” He dialed again, just to make sure he’d dialed right, but got the same response.
He checked the records again and saw that Featherston’s beneficiary, in case of death, was a daughter.
She lived at the north end of Woods County.
Her contact information was there. He dialed.
A woman answered and he introduced himself.
“I work in the general counsel’s office at the mill. I was trying to get in touch with your father, but the number we have on file no longer works.”
“I’m sorry, but my father died the week before last.”
He was surprised. “You have my deepest condolences.” But he had to know, “How did it happen?”
“A silly bee sting. He had a bad allergy to them, and some got into his trailer during the night.”
The question formed immediately. “Could I ask what day he died?”
“Sometime early on the seventh.”
“I’m so sorry for troubling you. Again, my condolences.”
He told her goodbye and hung up. Five out of eight were dead. That was no coincidence. That was a pattern. But he needed to know one other critical piece of information. Unimportant.
Until now.
When exactly had Hank obtained the list?
5:40 P.M.
B RENT WAS IMPRESSED WITH H ICKORY R OW. W HITE-FENCED emerald pastures held grazing sable thoroughbreds. Does and bucks wandered openly, unconcerned about harm. Wild turkeys, colorful ducks, and geese milled about under a thick canopy of enveloping trees.
Originally, he and Ashley had planned to go out for a pizza.
But she’d understood the importance of Bozin’s invitation, and they decided to do something else over the weekend.
He’d noticed Ashley’s edginess over the past couple of days.
Last night he thought she’d wanted to talk to him about something, but the subject got changed and she never steered it back.
She was like that sometimes. Secretive, quiet, withdrawn.
Odd for a person with such an outgoing personality.
He’d tried several times to find Hank, but his calls had gone unanswered, his messages unreturned.