Chapter 22
“I don’t know if this will come as a surprise to you,” Lyle said, “but just about everyone in NC knows it was sabotage.”
Kate stared at the colorful Denny’s menu in front of her. “I’ve come to that conclusion.”
The day after Lyle’s trip to Phoenix, he and Kate were seated in a corner booth in the back of the restaurant. The coffee shop had emptied after the breakfast rush and was an hour away from filling up with lunch guests.
Unlike other theme parks, NC encouraged employees to eat in park restaurants, especially if they were in period costume.
Lyle and Kate, however, were not in costume, nor were they wearing their name badges. They wanted to attract as little attention as possible.
“This diner is really authentic, isn’t it?” Kate said, looking around.
“I don’t think they needed to change much to have the right retro look. You been to a Denny’s recently?”
“Once or twice. I wonder if they had a Grand Slam back in the ’70s.”
“Or, Moons Over My Hammy.”
After the waitress took their order, Kate looked at Lyle with anticipation.
“I haven’t come up with much, I’m afraid,” he said, “but Maxwell wants a progress report anyway.”
“Thanks for getting together with me, first. We’ll keep this meeting to ourselves, okay?”
That was fine with Lyle. He wondered about the value of discussing the investigation with Kate. But she was drop-dead gorgeous, and having a coffee-shop lunch with her was the closest thing he’d had to sex in months. Also, Max had said he wanted them to work together, so that’s the way it would be. Maybe she could help him sort through possible motives.
“Nobody in the park knows the details,” he said, “but there are lots of rumors.”
“And with something like this, if we tell employees nothing’s happening, we’re only calling attention to the fact that something must be happening.”
“Employees are worried.”
“About their jobs, their safety?”
“All of the above.”
“I don’t blame ’em. Two people killed. Attendance in a nosedive. What are you going to tell Max?”
“I’ve been wondering that myself. What do you know about Sean Maxwell? I talked with him the other day.”
Kate’s eyes widened. “What can I tell you? You know he and Max don’t get along.”
“That’s pretty obvious. Were they partners?”
“Not exactly partners. They worked together--at first. I met Sean once when I was working for Max in Vegas. I think he’s pretty bright. At the time, he was telling Max what a wonderful place northern Arizona is. So what did you think of him?”
“He seems a touch resentful.”
“I wonder if he has reason to be. I don’t know if he and Max were ever really close.”
“Has Sean been in the area a long time? I should have asked him that.”
“Oh yes. He’s run his little store and museum in Polk longer than Max was in Vegas.”
“How long did they work together?”
“Max brought him into the project early on. But it didn’t last. Guess they didn’t agree on the direction for the park. At the time, Max was having financing problems.”
“As in, not enough money?”
“Only by a billion or two, according to what I’ve read. I don’t know how or why he and Sean split up. Max never talks about it in front of me. Obviously he found the financing he needed, and Sean faded to the background.”
“But he still works for NC. Says he’s a consultant.”
“Must be some deal with Max. I never heard about it, and the press didn’t mention it. If you think it’s important, I’ll ask Max.”
“It’s only important if Sean’s been sabotaging rides and rolling empty cars down the hill at gas stations. How likely is that?”
The waitress appeared and set heaping plates in front of Lyle and Kate.
“So where does that leave us?” Kate asked.
“The reservation, I guess. I found out the name of the angry individual who’s against the railroad--Johnny Cooper. He’s stirred up his followers against the train.”
“Think he was involved in damaging the bridge?”
“Could be. I can see why he’s on Bates’s hit list. He’s got a history.”
“History?”
“Couple minor scrapes.”
That morning, Lyle had learned from Marko that Cooper was arrested a year ago for disturbing the peace, and again for simple assault. He’d never been charged. Lyle decided to keep the details to himself, for the time being.
“I talked to the tribal chief,” he said. “Seems like a reasonable guy. Says he’s committed to making the casino successful and wants the rail line completed ASAP.”
“Are you going to tell Max about Cooper?”
“I should, though he’s probably heard plenty of dirt on the tribe from Bates already. Bates has been out to the reservation asking questions. I wouldn’t say he was equipped to do PR for the park.”
“That winning personality.”
Lyle smiled. “George Brown--that’s the chief--told me he worked out a compromise with Cooper. Maybe that will settle things.”
“We can hope.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Lyle said, “That’s all I’ve come up with. You have any suspects?”
“Me?” She started to shake her head then stopped. “Ever heard of Bobby Bostic?”
“Are you kidding? ‘Stompin’ Down My Heart!’ One of the big hits of ’72. What about him?”
“He’s pissed off at Max. Really furious.”
Kate explained her encounter with Bostic and told Lyle about Bif Stevens.
“Let me ask Earl about them. Big Earl knows everyone in the music business. If Bostic has a skeleton in the closet, Earl will know. He’s back on the air and sounds good.”
Kate picked up the lunch bill from the table and held up a hand when Lyle pulled out his wallet. “My treat. You can get the next one.” She reached for her purse. “How did you happen to switch from the police to a theme park? Get tired of it?”
“That’s the short version. Tired, burned out, ready for a change. Long story.”
Lyle reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out his NC badge, and set it on the table. His first name in large letters was just above the NC logo. Below that, in small type, was his department and his full name, Lyle S. Deming. Instead of putting it on, he toyed with it absently.
“Amazing how Max persuaded restaurants and stores to locate here,” he said. “NC doesn’t have to run them, but they’re all a part of the place.”
“Not too amazing. Disney started the idea of sponsored rides and attractions. It was part of Max’s early game plan. It fills the park with attractions and well-known retailers and restaurants, but it keeps the costs down.”
“So where did Max get his money? I read a little NC history, but finance is not my specialty.”
“Are you going toward the offices? Let’s go. We’ll talk on the way.”
As they walked out, Kate glanced at a black-and-white TV in the waiting area. “Shouldn’t that be a color set?”
“Not necessarily,” Lyle said. “Color televisions didn’t start to become popular until the mid-to-late ’60s. We didn’t get a color set until later than that. I was in junior high.”
“Really?”