Chapter 17
Athena and Detective Bach sat across from a young man in casual clothes who glanced around the room with wide eyes. Beads of sweat formed along his chestnut hairline, and he didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Walsh,” Athena said, introducing herself and Bach. “We’re conducting follow-up interviews with Gulf Allied Chemicals employees about the fire last Friday.” His pupils appeared dilated beneath pulled-back lids. He swallowed.
“Yeah.” He brought his fidgeting hands together, clenching them on the table in front of him.
“I told the police Friday morning. I was in the meeting with all the other office employees when the alarms went off. I didn’t really see anything but smoke.
It was scary, though. Elizabeth tripped, and I helped her up. We got out together.”
Bach sent Athena a look that told her he also noticed the witness was acting nervous.
“Mr. Walsh, tell us about your job. What exactly does an administrative assistant do at Gulf Allied Chemicals?” Bach asked.
“General office support, day-to-day paperwork, help management keep track of everything,” he listed as he continued to perspire.
“In other words, you take coffee orders and answer the phone,” Bach stated bluntly.
Walsh sat forward, his eyes focusing on the detective, as nerves gave way to insult.
Raising his voice, he jabbed the table with a finger.
“That’s not fair. I have a degree from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and I’m not a gofer for coffee and donuts.
In fact, I prepared the documents for the OSHA/EPA inspector ahead of his visit.
I enter data, update spreadsheets, prepare reports and letters, manage the boss’s calendar, and oversee crucial goings-on around the office. ”
Athena smiled to herself. Got a rise out of him. He wants us to know he’s important, his finger on the pulse.
“You prepared documents for Inspector Nolan?” Athena clarified. “Did you present them to him personally?”
“Yes, on the first day he arrived,” Walsh said. “My job also entails greeting visitors. I met Mr. Nolan at the front door of the office building on Thursday morning, gave him the papers he’d asked for in advance, and showed him around. Then I escorted him to Mr. Booker’s office.”
“Did you engage in further interaction with Mr. Nolan?” Bach asked.
“I saw him moving around the plant.” Walsh’s bravado faded, as if he’d realized he’d said too much.
“But Kim—Kim Reynolds—was his official escort. She walked around with him while he took pictures and checked things off his list. Friday morning, he sent her away. He said he didn’t want anyone hovering and distracting him while he double-checked the accounting books in the office. ”
“And then you went with the others to the administrative meeting with Mr. Booker,” Bach suggested, “to give Mr. Nolan privacy.”
“That’s right.” Walsh’s face brightened.
“Where exactly was the conference room in relation to the office?” Athena’s tone remained congenial as she studied him.
“Let’s see.” Walsh glanced at the ceiling and steepled his fingers before him, elbows on the table. “Same floor, about a hundred feet down a hallway, on the rear side of the building. There was an emergency exit close by, thank the Lord.”
“So, no line of sight?” Athena proposed. He shook his head. “And did anyone leave the meeting while it was in session—even to use the restroom?”
“Wendy slipped out for the bathroom,” he said, twirling his fingers, “but she’s pregnant. She has to go all the time, and there’re restrooms on that side, so she wouldn’t have gone all the way to the office.”
Athena nodded, flicking a glance at Bach. The detective opened a folder in front of him, perusing the first page while neither of them said anything.
“Is that all you needed?” Walsh asked. His muscles tensed as if he were about to bolt.
In a cool, dispassionate voice, Bach said, “Does your manager, Mr. Booker, know that you’re related to Lone Star Industrial’s chief attorney, Ms. Claire Buchanan?” He lifted his gaze to Walsh. Athena watched the young man’s jaw drop and his face pale.
His breath quickened, and he reached to adjust his tie, only he wasn’t wearing one. “I,” he stammered, closing and opening his mouth. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“A great deal, Mr. Walsh,” Athena declared, “and you know it.”
“It, it never came up in my interview with HR,” he finally sputtered out. “I have excellent references, was an honor graduate from a prestigious business school, and—”
“And landed the perfect position from which to conduct corporate espionage for Lone Star,” Bach concluded.
“Espionage?” he squeaked. “I’m not a spy! And I had nothing to do with the bomb, or the fire, or what happened to Mr. Nolan.”
“But you were in a position to ensure he received the most damaging version of safety reports at the top of the paper pile,” Athena said.
“And you were right there, typing correspondence, privy to appointments, viewing shipping and receiving manifests. No one paid attention to you, but you overheard everything that was said, saw everything that happened in that office.”
“I never stole anything!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t copy files or download records. I just do my job.”
“And answer your aunt’s questions,” Bach pushed. “Point the inspector toward violations to ensure Lone Star Industrial was chosen for the big contract rather than Gulf Allied Chemicals.”
Eyes wide and breath racing, his eyes darted from one interrogator to the other.
“Look. Gulf Allied was going to be cited. Mr. Booker even knew it. He was so mad at the board and the CEO because they weren’t doing anything.
Maybe I put the most damaging reports at the top of the stack, so what?
The EPA inspector would have found them eventually.
And families talk about work sometimes.”
Athena pinned him with a flat expression. “Your aunt paid your tuition. Did she suggest you apply for a job at Gulf Allied?”
He swallowed, realization dawning on his face.
“She said she wanted her nephew to get the best education, and she might have mentioned there was an opening at Gulf Allied. I wanted to work at her company, but they weren’t hiring after I graduated.
She said that if I got on at Gulf Allied, I’d gain valuable experience and could move over to Lone Star later when something became available. But I wasn’t spying.”
Athena leaned back and narrowed her eyes on Walsh.
“I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong,” he insisted, his hands trembling on the table.
“Legally, you’re walking a very thin line,” Bach said. “We can investigate you to find out if any company information changed hands, if maybe you did make copies to pass to Ms. Buchanan, or if you took any action to undermine Gulf Allied.”
“I didn’t, I swear!” Walsh threw up his hands as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. “I’ve got a fiancée. I can’t get fired or go to jail.”
“There are other branches of the FBI that deal with corporate espionage, which is a grievous crime,” Athena said. “But Detective Bach and I are focusing our investigation on the bomb, fire, and four deaths. What information did you pass to your aunt about Nolan’s inspection?”
“Only what days he was scheduled to be there,” he spilled hurriedly.
“And she said something like, what a shame it would be if he found serious violations and Gulf Allied was cited again. No mention of a bomb or fire. Aunt Claire would never break the law, much less be a part of any plot where someone got killed. She’s not that kind of person. ”
His gaze kept tracking between Athena and Bach.
“She’s nice. She didn’t say, ‘I’ll pay for your education if you do favors for me.
’ She just did it because my parents couldn’t afford it and she loves me.
You’re acting like she planned this all along, using me to get the dirt on her company’s competition.
That’s not true!” He shouted the last part and blinked away tears.
“Mr. Walsh,” Athena addressed him in a milder tone. “Did you overhear any conversations in the office between employees in which Nolan or the inspection were the topic?”
He composed himself and nodded. “Plenty. It’s all anyone was talking about.”
“What did they say?” asked Bach.
“Everyone was nervous about it. They talked in whispers, things like, ‘What if we get shut down? How will I make my house payment?’ and ‘Do you think Whitmore will pay them off again?’ Stuff like that. Before you ask, no, I didn’t hear any threats against the inspector.
Besides, if he hadn’t been in there trying to dig up financial discrepancies, he would have been safe from the explosion and fire. ”
Athena exchanged a glance with Bach. They knew that wasn’t true but hadn’t told the press Nolan was murdered before the bomb went off. They were holding back the reveal for a few more days.
“I’m sorry he died,” Walsh added softly. “And Pedro and Patricia. David was always nice to me. He was a really good guy. His poor family. Nolan might be who the FBI cares about, but three other people died in that fire. I think someone ought to care about their deaths too."
Athena looked straight into his eyes. “I do. Whoever set the bomb, causing the fire, is responsible for all their deaths, and I will hold that person accountable—even if it turns out to be you.”
The interview ended with Bach warning Walsh not to leave the county as he wasn’t out of the woods yet, and they returned to check on the team in the bullpen.
“It wasn’t him,” Athena said. “And I don’t think he clued into the fact Buchanan was using him as one of Kerrington’s ‘little birdies’ until just now.” She turned toward her agents. “Campbell, I want a tap on Keaton Walsh’s phone. Where’s Agent Shoops?”
Campbell glanced up. “In the visitors’ lounge with Mr. Ellis, waiting for you.”
She nodded. “Hasn’t anyone turned up something we can run with?”
Heads stayed buried in their work as nobody answered. I’ll have Paulson back tomorrow, Athena reminded herself.
“OK, Detective,” she said, pivoting to the thin man with the five o’clock shadow beside her.
“Let’s take a ten-minute break to refresh, and I’ll meet you back in the interview room.
Let’s see what our accountant can recall.
” She needed the washroom and a drink. She wanted to text Flash, except she was on duty.
God, please keep her safe.