The In Death Collection Books 21-25 - J. D. Robb [459]
“Sure do. We process a variety of agricultural products for nonconsumptive use. Your castor oil’s used in some industries as a lubricant. Not so much in the U.S. of A., but we export. It’s also used in the preparation of leather goods. We export that, too, and ship directly to certified clients nationally. You want to see the processing operation?”
“Probably not. Do you have accounts for the oil in New York?”
“I sure can check on that for you, Lieutenant. That’d likely be for artisans, craftsman, and like that there, ones who like to use natural products only. You want I should get you a list?”
“Yeah, I want you should. As soon as you tell me why you’re handing all that over with a smile.”
“’Scuze?”
“You don’t ask questions, Stella. You don’t do any dance about privacy of accounts. Just sure, here are the names.”
Stella flashed her teeth again. “Yeah, sure. I got the memo.”
“What memo would that be?”
“From the top dog. It got sent out first of the year. Full cooperation from all managers, department heads, supervisors, and yadda-yadda is expected to be given to Lieutenant Eve Dallas if and when she has occasion to request information or services. Right?”
“Right. I’ll need an employee roster, too. Current, and back the last six months.”
“You got it.” Stella pointed her index finger, thumb cocked. “Give me five, okay?”
“Sure.”
As they waited, Peabody cast her eyes to the ceiling and whistled a tune.
“Shut up, Peabody.”
“I’m just wondering what it’s like to be married to a guy who owns so many things you don’t know the half of them.” Then she gave Eve an elbow nudge. “He sent out a memo.”
“It takes the fun out of it. He cut out my intimidation perk.”
“Saves time, though. And it’s really considerate. He’s always thinking about you.”
“Weird.”
But it was nice to hear it, even though it made her feel only more stupid about how she’d behaved that morning.
She would run cross-references and searches on the lists provided. That she could do back at Central, or at home. For the moment, they’d knock on a few doors. Starting with Hallie Wentz.
Hallie lived in a two-story townhouse, running her business on the street level. Eve would have tagged her as the exact opposite of Stella Burgess. Hallie was tall, slim, wearing fashionable ankle-breakers. Her eyes were cool and suspicious as she studied Eve’s badge.
Obviously, she hadn’t gotten the memo.
“What’s this about? I’ve got a client coming by in ten minutes. Cops aren’t good for business.”
“Craig Foster.”
“Oh.” Hallie blew out a breath, glanced toward a doorway. “Listen, my kid’s in the next room. She’s pretty upset about what happened. I really don’t want her to have to talk to the cops about this. Not until she feels better.”
“Actually, we’re here to talk to you.”
“Me? About Mr. Foster? Why?”
“We’re talking to everyone who was on school grounds yesterday.”
“Right. Right. Wait a minute.” She walked to the doorway, peeked in, then eased the door nearly closed. “Studying,” she said to Eve and Peabody. “Kid’s a gem. What do you need to know?”
“We’ll start with why you were there.”
“Show and Share Day. Em wanted to take Butch in for it. Our African Gray. Parrot?” she explained. “He’s a big guy. She couldn’t handle his cage herself, so I carried it to class for her.”
“You signed in at eight-twenty, didn’t sign out until ten-forty-two. How far did you have to carry Butch?”
“It’s a big school,” Hallie said, coolly again. “Are you interrogating all the parents?”
“It’s not so big it took you better than two hours to deliver a parrot. Did you see or speak with Mr. Foster yesterday?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“But you’ve had occasion to see and speak with him in the past.”
“Sure. Em had him last term. He seemed like a good one. She did really well in his class, and he showed a lot of interest in her.”
“Did you have any interest in him?”
Hallie drew a breath. “I don’t hit on Em’s teachers, and if I did, I’d go more for the little blonde who runs the Drama department. I’m gay, for God’s sake.”
“You have an assault on your record,