Ties That Bind

Chapter 6

SOUTHWEST WELDING PRODUCTS WAS A SINGLE STORY, glass building. Its grounds were surrounded by a wire fence with gated entrances to the front and the side. Two huge bulk propane tanks stood like watchtowers in the parking lot.

They hadn't spoken since she almost hit the man crossing the street. Terry broke the silence. "You wouldn't want a fire to start here, or the east end of the city would implode."

"That's for sure." The words exchanged between them earlier, her prying into his business, the near accident, were all behind them now. Their focus was back on the case. "Let me take the lead on this."

"As always. I'm not as good at playing...how do I put this?"

"The bitch? That's not what your wife tells me." She turned, smiling at him, but he had already moved to get out of the vehicle.

They entered the door labeled Employees Only. A long reception desk was on the other side. That's where Laura Saunders would have sat. The air held a tangible quality of stress and uneasiness. It was hard to say if their presence caused it, what happened to Laura, or if it was always this way. A couple of unies would have notified Laura's workmates while they were breaking the senior Saunders' hearts.

"Hi." The woman who sat behind the desk addressed them but avoided eye contact. No smile lightened her face. She seemed to view the receptionist position as below her.

With one word her voice held an accent, but Madison couldn't place it. She wasn't good with them despite the fact that skill would have proven useful more than once in the field. She recalled her parents' admonition. You can't be good at everything. She'd been out to prove them wrong ever since.

Madison made a brief introduction. "We'd like to speak with Sandra Butler." She was the office manager who called in about Laura not showing up. They needed to talk to the guy named Jeff too, but they didn't have a last name yet and didn't want to scare him off.

"Just a moment." She started to pick up the telephone but stopped when she noticed a woman walking toward the front counter.

"Can I help you?" The woman was tall and slender with short red hair. She didn't appear to be that old—maybe mid-twenties—but something about her made Madison think she was used to getting her way.

The redhead extended her hand. "Nice to meet you both. It was Detective Knight, wasn't it? I'm Sandra." She offered Terry a brief, insincere smile.

"Is there someplace we could talk?" Madison asked.

"Sure, come with me." She started walking away, but halted in mid-step, and addressed the woman at the front desk. "Janice, put all my calls to voice mail."

For a manager who just lost an employee, she seemed unaffected. There was no real sadness in her eyes, only the seeming interest to take care of business.

"We will want to speak to a few of her fellow employees as well, get a rounded view of Laura's life," Madison said to the back of Sandra's head as they continued walking.

"Of course." Sandra stopped at the door to the conference room and gestured for them to walk in ahead of her. Once inside, she closed the door.

Madison sat on one of the ten leather chairs that surrounded a table. As she leaned back, it tilted with her. She quickly extended her arms to the table in an effort to stabilize herself. How far back would the chair have gone?

Terry sat beside her, observing everything while trying to suppress a laugh.

Sandra attempted to appear oblivious to all of it, but there was the spark of a condescending smirk on her lips. She talked to kill its full growth. "It is tragic what happened to Laura. I hired her."