Sam’s thoughts were on Jo as he pulled into Thorne’s construction site. He didn’t think her odd behavior had anything to do with jelly doughnuts. Did it have something to do with his lunch with Marnie? Maybe Sam was reading too much into the way she’d been acting, but he’d worked closely with Jo for several years now, and he thought he knew all her moods. Then again, he’d never been very good at understanding women, at least according to his ex-wives.
“It’s probably just nothing. I should let it go, right?” Sam asked Lucy as he let her out of the back of the Tahoe.
Lucy wagged her tail in agreement.
“Okay, good call.”
The construction site was busy. Thorne was building a five-story hotel on an old farm site. It had great views of the mountains and the lake, but Sam would’ve rather seen it remain farmland. He couldn’t wait to put Thorne out of business.
Sam headed across the dirt lot toward the construction trailer amidst the clanging of machinery and shouting of workmen. The exterior of the aluminum trailer was thick with dirt and rust, but Sam knew its shabby appearance didn’t extend past the outer walls. Inside, it was about as opulent as a construction trailer could be.
Just before he got to the makeshift wooden steps, Lucy veered to the right, trotting toward the building.
“Lucy!” Sam snapped his fingers.
The dog hesitated, glanced back at him, and then swung her head back toward the construction site and continued on.
Sam shrugged and followed. If Lucy was disobeying a command he was sure she had good reason.
She stopped at the corner of the building. There was no construction going on at this end, so there was minimal risk of Lucy getting hurt. Sam scanned the piles of building materials just to make sure. Was this why Lucy had led him here? He catalogued it in his mind: rebar, lumber, concrete. No duct tape or rubber hoses as he’d seen in the cabin.
Lucy was busily sniffing the corner of the building. Sam didn’t see anything there either.
But something else was odd. The ground next to the building was freshly covered, as if plans to build there had been changed. Wasn’t the lobby supposed to go here? He shaded his eyes and looked toward the other end, where the construction was focused. It looked as if they’d moved the lobby area down there.
He looked behind him to the land that belonged to Jackson Pressler and was the nesting site of the Great Bearded Owls. Had Thorne moved the lobby to the other side so that the building wouldn’t disturb the owls? Had it been at his wife’s insistance?
Sam whistled for Lucy. “Okay, I see what you wanted me to see. Come on. We have to talk to Thorne.”
Lucy tore herself away from her sniffing and trotted back to the trailer at Sam’s side.
Sam opened the flimsy aluminum screen door and knocked on the hollow plywood door behind it.
“Come in.” Thorne bellowed from inside.
Sam opened the door, and a cool wave of spicy aftershave wafted out. Inside, the hum of the air-conditioner in one of the windows masked the sounds of construction. The office was as plush as he remembered. Thick carpeting. Rich dark paneled walnut walls. Shelves lined with trophies. Golf, tennis, softball. Apparently Thorne had lots of leisure time.
“Shut the door. I’m not air-conditioning White Rock.”
Thorne sat in a big black leather chair behind an ornate mahogany desk. The sleeves of his light blue button-down shirt were rolled up to reveal forearms that were tanned and muscular for a man of his age. Though in his late forties he still looked youthful. Probably all that golf and tennis.
“Mason. What a pleasant surprise.” The sarcasm in his voice indicated it was anything but. “I hear you have a big case. Surprised you have time to visit little old me.”
“I’m here following leads on a case.”
Thorne leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers over his stomach. “Really? Is that the one out by Buckner’s? Surely you don’t think I had anything to do with that?”
“Maybe.”
Thorne laughed. “Have you been drinking? What evidence do you have to even insinuate that I would have something to do with that mess?”
“I have evidence that links those shallow graves to a meth lab. And then I have further evidence that links you to the meth lab.”
Thorne snorted. “Seriously? I’m a real estate developer. What would I want with a meth lab?”
“To increase profitability of your drug business,” Sam said. Thorne was acting pretty confident that he couldn’t be linked to the meth lab or the girls. Was it because he was innocent or just too cocky to believe that Sam would find solid evidence against him? Or maybe he’d paid off so many people that he figured the police would never be able to make a case without being blocked at every turn.
Thorne gestured toward the small window in the side of the trailer. “Are you kidding me? I’m pretty busy with all of this. But I’ll humor you. What exactly is this evidence linking me to a meth lab?”
“The land the abandoned meth lab operated on is owned by your wife’s company.”
At the mention of his wife, Thorne’s eyes narrowed slightly. Trouble in paradise? Sam wondered if Beryl Thorne knew more about her husband’s activities than she let on. Or maybe she was just becoming aware of his drug activities. Sam doubted she would approve. If they were having marital problems and she didn’t approve of his extracurricular activities, Sam might be able to get her on his side. She could provide him with valuable information against her husband.
“Then I guess you don’t have much. My company has nothing to do with Mervale, so you really have no connection at all.” He stood up behind his desk, and Lucy let out a low growl. His eyes flicked to the dog. “Get out and take your dog before I slap you with a harassment suit.”
Sam stared at him for a few seconds. Thorne was guilty, at least of dealing drugs. Now Sam just had to prove it. “No problem. But I’ll be looking at you very closely.”
Sam left the wooden door open. Halfway to the Tahoe, he turned to see Thorne staring after him. He got in the vehicle wondering if he’d done the right thing.
Had he just given Thorne enough warning to cover his tracks or had he rattled him enough that he’d make a stupid mistake?