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Authors: Richard Montanari
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handed it all over to Byrne. ‘Thanks.’
A few moments later she unlocked the double glass door, stepped inside. As they entered, Jessica noticed Byrne watching the woman. Karen Jacobs, as harried as she was at that moment, as end of the day disheveled, was not an unattractive woman.
When she disappeared into a small alcove off the reception area, and punched a few numbers into the alarm system’s key pad, Jessica nudged her partner, whispered: ‘You never carry
my
books.’
They sat in the small, fluorescent-lit waiting area. Two sofas facing each other, one chair, a pair of glass-topped end tables, along with a coffee table arrayed with industry trade magazines:
Sports ’N Spokes,
AAH, New Mobility.
‘I talked to the other detective right after… after it happened,’ Jacobs said. ‘I told him everything I knew.’
‘That would be Detective Garcia,’ Byrne said.
‘Yes. I still have his card. Doesn’t he work for the police any more?’
‘No, ma’am,’ Byrne said. ‘Detective Garcia passed away.’
Jessica watched the woman closely when Byrne said this. Karen Jacobs was by no means a suspect in the murder of Robert Freitag, but the way people took news of a person’s death said quite a bit about them.
On hearing the information the woman’s face lost a little color. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.’
‘Of course,’ Byrne said. ‘He was a good man, and a good detective. And now Detective Balzano and I have taken over the investigation.’
Karen Jacobs just nodded. She snuck a glance at the wall clock.
‘How long did Mr Freitag work here?’ Byrne asked.
The woman thought for a few moments. ‘Just over five years, I think. I can get his work records if you like.’
‘That would be very helpful,’ Byrne said. ‘We’ll get them before we leave.’
‘I’m afraid they’re not here.’
Byrne looked up from his notepad. ‘You don’t have them here?’
‘No. They’re kept off site. I can have them faxed to you in an hour or so if you give me your fax number.’
Byrne handed her a card. ‘Do you recall where Mr Freitag worked before coming here?’
‘I’m pretty sure he worked as an accounts manager at Aetna for a while, but I couldn’t confirm that unless I looked it up.’
‘How many people are employed here now?’
‘There are just six of us. We really need at least two more people, but the economy being the way it is…’
‘Has Mr Freitag’s position been filled?’
‘Oh my, yes. Even a company this size needs a logistics manager.’
Byrne made a few notes. ‘How well did you know Robert?’
Jessica was waiting for
Mr Freitag
to become
Robert
. Right on schedule.
‘Not very well at all, really, considering how often I saw him. He was pretty much a loner.’
‘How so?’
The woman gestured to the walls around them. ‘As you can see, we’re not a big company. At least in the brick and mortar sense. Most of our sales are online and catalog sales. We maintain a warehouse in Newark and ship worldwide from there.’
Byrne nodded, waited.
‘What I’m getting at is that we work in pretty close quarters, and there tend not to be a lot of secrets. We know who is dragging because of a late night, who has a lousy diet, who is sick, who’s in love.’
‘And you’re saying that Robert didn’t make friends here?’
‘Let me put it this way, one year – I think this was the second year Robert worked for us – we bought him one of those oversized birthday cards, the kind with the pop-up characters in the middle. The only reason we knew it was his birthday was because it was on his application. He would never tell anyone something that personal.’ Karen Jacobs rearranged herself on the chair, crossed her legs, continued her story. ‘Anyway, we gave the card to him at lunch that day and, in Robert’s inimitable style, he reddened a bit, mumbled a thanks, gathered together his uneaten sandwich and left the break room in a hurry.’
Both Jessica and
A few moments later she unlocked the double glass door, stepped inside. As they entered, Jessica noticed Byrne watching the woman. Karen Jacobs, as harried as she was at that moment, as end of the day disheveled, was not an unattractive woman.
When she disappeared into a small alcove off the reception area, and punched a few numbers into the alarm system’s key pad, Jessica nudged her partner, whispered: ‘You never carry
my
books.’
They sat in the small, fluorescent-lit waiting area. Two sofas facing each other, one chair, a pair of glass-topped end tables, along with a coffee table arrayed with industry trade magazines:
Sports ’N Spokes,
AAH, New Mobility.
‘I talked to the other detective right after… after it happened,’ Jacobs said. ‘I told him everything I knew.’
‘That would be Detective Garcia,’ Byrne said.
‘Yes. I still have his card. Doesn’t he work for the police any more?’
‘No, ma’am,’ Byrne said. ‘Detective Garcia passed away.’
Jessica watched the woman closely when Byrne said this. Karen Jacobs was by no means a suspect in the murder of Robert Freitag, but the way people took news of a person’s death said quite a bit about them.
On hearing the information the woman’s face lost a little color. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.’
‘Of course,’ Byrne said. ‘He was a good man, and a good detective. And now Detective Balzano and I have taken over the investigation.’
Karen Jacobs just nodded. She snuck a glance at the wall clock.
‘How long did Mr Freitag work here?’ Byrne asked.
The woman thought for a few moments. ‘Just over five years, I think. I can get his work records if you like.’
‘That would be very helpful,’ Byrne said. ‘We’ll get them before we leave.’
‘I’m afraid they’re not here.’
Byrne looked up from his notepad. ‘You don’t have them here?’
‘No. They’re kept off site. I can have them faxed to you in an hour or so if you give me your fax number.’
Byrne handed her a card. ‘Do you recall where Mr Freitag worked before coming here?’
‘I’m pretty sure he worked as an accounts manager at Aetna for a while, but I couldn’t confirm that unless I looked it up.’
‘How many people are employed here now?’
‘There are just six of us. We really need at least two more people, but the economy being the way it is…’
‘Has Mr Freitag’s position been filled?’
‘Oh my, yes. Even a company this size needs a logistics manager.’
Byrne made a few notes. ‘How well did you know Robert?’
Jessica was waiting for
Mr Freitag
to become
Robert
. Right on schedule.
‘Not very well at all, really, considering how often I saw him. He was pretty much a loner.’
‘How so?’
The woman gestured to the walls around them. ‘As you can see, we’re not a big company. At least in the brick and mortar sense. Most of our sales are online and catalog sales. We maintain a warehouse in Newark and ship worldwide from there.’
Byrne nodded, waited.
‘What I’m getting at is that we work in pretty close quarters, and there tend not to be a lot of secrets. We know who is dragging because of a late night, who has a lousy diet, who is sick, who’s in love.’
‘And you’re saying that Robert didn’t make friends here?’
‘Let me put it this way, one year – I think this was the second year Robert worked for us – we bought him one of those oversized birthday cards, the kind with the pop-up characters in the middle. The only reason we knew it was his birthday was because it was on his application. He would never tell anyone something that personal.’ Karen Jacobs rearranged herself on the chair, crossed her legs, continued her story. ‘Anyway, we gave the card to him at lunch that day and, in Robert’s inimitable style, he reddened a bit, mumbled a thanks, gathered together his uneaten sandwich and left the break room in a hurry.’
Both Jessica and