Page 62 of Red Snow
“In the ten years that Jeffrey has worked here, the two of you have never hung out outside of work?” Marcus asks, frowning.
“No. Look, as far as I know, Jeffrey is kind of a loner and a homebody. Once he leaves here, he goes home, I guess. We’ve invited him out on a number of occasions, but he’s always turned us down. Said he had to take care of his mother. It wasn’t my business, so I never asked about it.”
“As long as he came to work and hung up sheetrock like a machine,” I finally speak up, because Mr. Weaver is becoming a thorn in my side.
“It’s not like that,” Terry defends himself. “Jeffrey and I have spoken at work, and I know he’s a nice guy who’s serious about taking care of his mother, at least before she died. He’s one of our best workers.”
Marcus raises his hand and motions for me to fall back. He doesn’t want to make Terry hostile by insulting his robot worker, and I understand that, so I pinch my lips together so I don’t say anything.
“Okay, we understand, Terry,” Marcus steps in again. “Jeffrey is a great worker, and he’s quiet, but I’m curious about how he seemed after his mother passed away. Did you notice any change in him?”
“Not really. I don’t think so. What do you mean?”
Marcus exhales, releasing a loud rush of air. “Did you notice him acting different in any way? Sadder? Madder? Even more secluded than before? More talkative than before?”
“Umm, no, not that I can think of. He was the same old Jeffrey. Quiet and working hard.”
“If he would’ve come in acting any different, would you have noticed?” I interject again.
“Of course I would’ve,” Terry answers quickly, but I know the answer is bullshit. He has never given a shit about Jeffrey, he just wants him to work his ass off for him for almost no money.
“Alright, alright,” Marcus says, trying to keep things cool as Big Terry glares at me. “So there hasn’t been anything at all that has caught your attention about Jeffrey since his mother passed away? Nothing at all?”
“No, he’s been the way he always has been,” Terry snips, showing some frustration. “He comes to work, keeps to himself, and works circles around the rest of these guys. I really need to call him and ask why he’s not in today.”
“Don’t do that,” Marcus says with a raised hand. “I don’t mean to ask the same questions on repeat, but it’s a little odd that his mother, who he lived with his entire life, dies and he seems completely unaffected.”
“I guess it’s a little strange, if you really think about it. I guess I just never really did.”
“Of course not,” I snip, insisting on giving my two cents.
“So, you’re sure, Mr. Weaver?” Marcus asks one more time. “Everything with Jeffrey has been good to go since his mother passed? Please, think hard. It’s important.”
“Umm, yeah,” Terry insists, before speaking up again. “Well, we have noticed one thing. I don’t know if it has anything to do with Jeffrey or not though.”
Marcus’s eyes dart over to Terry. “What is it?”
“Well, I have noticed that over the past few days, our Visqueen keeps coming up missing.”
“What is Visqueen?” Marcus asks, jotting the word in his notepad.
“It’s plastic sheeting,” Terry answers, earning my full attention. “We use it for a variety of reasons, so who knows what’s going on. I just noticed that I’ve had to send more from our supply warehouse to the house where Jeffrey was working. It was mostly used up one day, after having a full roll that same morning. Then, the next day, the new roll I’d sent over was completely missing. I know they couldn’t have used it all that fast, even with the driveway getting prepped for concrete.”
“Let me make sure I have this right,” Marcus says, looking up from the notepad. “You’ve had plastic sheeting coming up missing the past few days, and it’s from the same jobsite where Jeffrey is working?”
“Yeah, but I doubt very much that Jeffrey has anything to do with that.”
“Of fucking course you doubt it. Your head is in his ass all the way to your shoulders,” I snip again.
“Excuse me?” Terry replies with a scowl like I’m supposed to be afraid.
“I don’t have time to get into it with you, guy,” I reply with a wave of my hand. “But what we do need is for you to let us search the house where Jeffrey is assigned.”
Marcus nods in agreement. “Yeah. The plastic may not be a red flag to you, but it’s a big one for us, Terry. We need to search the house.”
“Absolutely not,” Terry fires back. “I have an entire crew out there putting in work, and we have a deadline we need to meet. Letting you bozos go through there would tear the place apart.”
“Bozos?” I snap, but Marcus cuts me off.
