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  “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.”

  “So you pretty much hate the man.”

  “He killed my parents.”

  “I heard it was an accident.”

  “That’s what e
verybody says.”

  “You know different?”

  “Damn straight I do.”

  “Can you prove it?”

  “He owns this place, lock, stock, and barrel. It wouldn’t matter if I had all the proof in the world.”

  “Come on, Randy. Your sister’s a cop. And I don’t see her as a big fan of Trent’s. If you had proof, she would work like hell to bring him down. Am I wrong about that?”

  Randy looked away and his confident demeanor faded. He rubbed his temples.

  “Lot going on up there?” said Puller.

  “Lot of nothing but pain.”

  “You really need to see a doctor about that.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Have it your way. If there is something wrong the longer you wait, the worse it’ll be.”

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  “Suit yourself. Your parents’ grave markers are the only well-kept ones in the cemetery. Is that your doing or Sam’s?”

  “Both.”

  “Sam told me a boulder dislodged by a mining blast hit their car?”

  Randy nodded and his eyes suddenly glistened. He turned farther away from Puller and rubbed at them.

  “They were driving over to Jean’s. Trent was blasting nearby. Stuff come down right on the road.” He paused, collecting himself.

  “And they died?” said Puller.

  Randy nodded. “Doctor said it would’ve been pretty much instant, so they didn’t suffer. Good thing. It was a while before we found them.”

  “Who did find them?”

  “I did.”

  “You said they were headed to Jean’s? You mean their old place.”

  Randy nodded.

  “Why were they going there?”

  “It was my birthday,” Randy said in a voice so small Puller barely heard it. “Jean was throwing me a party.”

  “So they died on your birthday?”

  Randy nodded, his head dipping low. “It was a shitty present, I can tell you that. Haven’t celebrated my birthday since.”

  “How’d you find them?”

  “When they didn’t show up, we tried calling. No answer. Then we split up. Three ways they could have come. And lots of times they close roads up here for work and such, so they never took just one way. We had to cover ’em all. Sam went to one. Jean to another. And I took the third. I took the right one.” He teared up again and this time Puller looked away.

  “Where was Roger while all this was happening?”

  “Back at the house getting drunk.” He slowly shook his head. “You know what he told me after he found out what had happened?”

  “What?”

  “ ‘Shit happens.’ The bastard just told me that. ‘Shit happens.’ ”

  “I’m sorry, Randy.”

  “Yeah,” he said curtly.

  Puller looked down. “I can see how that might mess a person up.”

  “I’m good.”

  “You really believe that?”

  “Yeah, I really do. Hell, you can’t pick your family. You just got to deal with the one you have.”

  Tell me about it, thought Puller.

  “And Jean? How did she take it?”

  “She goes her own way. Does her own thing. She keeps busy. She was as broke up as the rest of us. But she’s young and rich and she’s got a lot to live for. Family to take care of. Kids to raise.”

  “And how about you? You got a long life ahead of you.”

  “You think?”

  The way he said it made Puller look at him intently. “You thinking about ending it prematurely? Because if so that would be pretty stupid.”

  “Nah, I’m not worth that much grief.”

  “You been sending the new death threats to Roger?”

  “Didn’t know he was even getting any. How’s your investigating going?”

  “Guess the whole town’s talking about it.”

  “Pretty much, yeah.”

  “It’s going slow.”

  “Hard to figure all those people killed.”

  “Did you know Eric Treadwell or Molly Bitner?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Either you did or you didn’t, Randy, which is it?”

  “I knew them to say hello. That was about it.”

  “Did you know them well enough to tell me if they were doing drugs? Maybe dealing?”

  “No. I didn’t. But I’m not into drugs, so I wouldn’t know. My choice of addiction is beer.” Randy looked over his shoulder at the motel office. “Nice what you did for Louisa.”

  “I only did what anybody else should have done.”

  “One way to look at it. Sam’s a good cop. She’ll be good helping you on this.”

  “She already has.”

  “Jean told me about the bomb. You saved Sam’s life.”

  “I almost didn’t. I cut it too close.”

  “Still a hero in my book. Probably don’t tell her enough, but I’m proud of my sister.”

  “Then tell her yourself. Life’s short.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  “You want back in your family, Randy?”

  The other man rose. “I’m not sure, Puller. Just not sure.”

  “Well, at some point you have to make that choice.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  He turned and walked off the way he’d come.

  Puller watched the man go.

  Drake, West Virginia, had turned out to be a far more complex place than he had expected.