Zero Day (John Puller 1)

“There’s one key for the closet door and one key for the safe. And Mr. Strauss keeps those with him at all times.”

“What’s so important that you need those sorts of precautions?” asked Puller.

“Well, this office keeps geological reports on the location of coal seams and other related data. Pretty valuable for people if they knew where the coal was located.”

“So Trent doesn’t own all the land where the coal is?”

“No. They’re always looking for new sources and send out teams regularly to hunt for them. If someone could learn where the coal was and buy up the land before Mr. Trent, they could use his own work to their benefit.”

“Do you do any soil testing here?” asked Cole.

Johnson looked puzzled. “Soil testing? In what regard?”

“For pollution, things like that.”

“We comply with all pertinent environmental regulations,” Johnson said automatically. Obviously she’d been well coached on that, thought Puller.

“I’m sure. But you didn’t answer the question,” persisted Cole.

“We do soil testing all the time,” Johnson said.

“Okay, but you just seemed puzzled when I asked the question.”

“That was because I thought you were here to talk about Molly. And she had nothing to do with any of that.”

“Are records of soil testing kept here?” asked Puller.

“If so, Mr. Strauss would keep them in the safe. But I think most of that work is done by outside contractors and the results are then sent directly to the office in Charleston.”

“So I understand Molly and Eric Treadwell were just living together for expenses?”

“That’s right.”

“Common practice around here, so Sergeant Cole told me.”

“Yes.”

“How’d they meet?” asked Puller.

Johnson said, “I believe at a Trent company picnic. Eric had come with some friends. He and Molly hit it off. They had both been married before and I don’t think either was inclined to do it again. They liked each other’s company, and like Sergeant Cole said, it’s not that unusual around here.”

She paused and played with one of her pigtails. “Now, is there anything else?”

“So were you close with Molly?” asked Puller.

“We were friends, sure.”

“Any idea why someone would have wanted to harm her and Eric Treadwell?”

“I can’t think of a one.”

“Did you ever visit them at their home?” Puller asked.

Johnson looked away before she answered. “Once or twice maybe. We usually met in town for a meal or to go the movies.”

“You ever think that Molly or Eric might have a drug problem?”

“Molly? Drugs? No, never.”

“So you’re familiar with the signs of a drug user?” said Puller.

Johnson hesitated. “I… my son. He’s had some… issues with that. I… think I know what to look for.”

“So nothing like that for Molly. How about Eric?”

“I never noticed anything like that about Eric. But I didn’t see much of him anyway.”

“So nothing unusual you can think of?”

Johnson hesitated. “Well, there was one thing. I’m sure it’s not important, but it was a little unusual.”

“Tell us,” said Cole. “We’ll figure out if it’s important or not.”

“Well, Eric came here once drunk as all get out and made a ruckus.”

“Did you report it?” asked Cole.

“No. We didn’t even tell Mr. Strauss. It was after WVU won the Big East, so we just let it pass. Guess a lot of folks got drunk and partied after that one. And as I recall Molly got him to calm down. He was going on and on about the Mountaineers. Had a WVU sweatshirt on and was waving one of those big hand things. Then he passed out on Mr. Strauss’s couch. We just closed the door and let him sleep it off. Molly would check on him from time to time.”

“Was Strauss here?” asked Puller.

“Oh, no, of course not. He was out of town.”

“So when exactly was that?”

“Last December,” said Johnson. “That’s when they play for the Big East championship.”

“So that was the only time something out of the ordinary happened with Molly here?”

“So far as I know.”

They asked a few more questions and then left Judy Johnson to her pigtails and cubicle world.

They spoke to other people who worked in the office. None of them had anything helpful to add. Molly was a good worker. They could think of no reason why anyone would want to kill her.

As Puller and Cole walked back to her car she said, “Not much to go on there.”

“We were both in Treadwell’s house.”

“I know that. So?”

“You see the ring on his finger?”

“I noted it, yeah.”

“It was a Virginia Tech ring because we know he went there. And there was a Virginia Tech football poster in his bedroom. Virginia Tech Hokie alums are pretty intense about their football team. So even if he lives in the state, why would he get so excited about West Virginia winning the Big East? Virginia Tech used to play in the Big East. Now they pretty much dominate the ACC in football. So this loyal Hokie alum gets so excited he’d come to this office and basically pass out drunk because the mountaineers kicked ass?”

Cole looked back at the building.

“You mean he really came to get into Strauss’s office? To maybe get into that safe?”

“Looks that way to me. Now the question is, did he?”

CHAPTER

48

COLE DROPPED Puller back off at his car.

As he climbed out she said, “Do you think Eric Treadwell got into the safe?”

“Yes. And I think Molly helped him.”

“How?”

“Strauss hangs his jacket on the back of the door. Presumably his keys are in the side pocket. I think while Strauss was using the public bathroom Molly snuck in there and took impressions of those keys. Treadwell was a machinist. Easy for him to make duplicate keys. He pulls his fake drunk act and gets to the couch. Maybe somebody goes out to get him something and leaves him alone in the office. He has the keys in his pocket. Molly closes the door and basically stands guard. He jumps up, opens the closet door and the safe, and takes out what he needs. Molly comes in to check on him. Maybe she has some files she’s carrying with her. He gives her the stuff from the safe and she hides it in the files. I noted there was a big copier in a pretty secluded corner of the office. Molly makes copies of the stuff there and takes the originals back to Treadwell when she ‘checks’ on him again. He puts the originals back in the safe and no one’s the wiser. They probably knew Strauss wouldn’t be in that day. She could easily access his schedule.”

“And so what was in the documents?”

“Like Johnson said, geological maps.”

“Worth killing people over?”

“Apparently so.”

“I just don’t get it.”

“Right now, neither do I.”

Puller watched her drive off and then turned around to head to his motel room and prepare for his flight to D.C. He stopped when he saw Randy Cole come around the corner of the motel.

“Sorry about rushing off this morning,” Randy said with a grin.

“No sweat. I think Jean took it pretty hard.”

Randy sat down on the front porch and Puller joined him there.

“Don’t let that act fool you. She’s hard as steel. Harder than all of us. She’s probably forgotten all about it by now.” He rubbed his cheek where she had struck him. “Yep, hard as steel.”

“Guess she has to be, married to a guy like Trent.”

“Got that right.”