twenty-third?’
‘What do you want to know that for?’
‘A minute ago I asked you if anybody ever slips by you without signing in, and you said, “Not on my watch.” I wondered if your watch happened to include the night of the twenty-third.’
‘The twenty-third?’
‘Yes. The twenty-third.’
The guard stared at McCabe. After a long minute he said, ‘That would’ve been the Friday before Christmas?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Yeah, I was here. I worked a double that day. Traded with another guard so I could take Christmas off. Started at 4:00 p.m. Stayed on till eight the next morning.’
‘Long hours.’
‘Yeah, I wanted to be home with my kids on Christmas.’
Okay, he was a dad. Did that make him any more trustworthy? Maybe not. ‘Did you notice anything unusual that day, anything that sticks out in your mind? Think about it.’
Randall thought about it. He didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he nodded as if reconstructing the day in his mind. ‘The only thing unusual was all the people who left early ’cause of the holiday. A lot of ’em didn’t come back from lunch. Place was pretty much empty by five o’clock except for the big bosses, who all left together around six, six thirty. Most of ’em seemed pretty happy, gave me something for the holiday. Best as I can remember there were only a couple of late sign-outs. Usually a lot of folks work late.’
‘Who were the late ones that night?’
‘First one was one of the younger lawyers, Miss Goff. Real pretty woman. Fact is, I saw her a couple of times.’
‘When?’
‘First time was around eight o’clock or so. I remember ’cause she wasn’t wearing a coat and it was colder’n –’ Jackson stopped himself.
‘Colder’n shit?’ asked McCabe.
‘Yeah. Colder’n shit. Anyway, she didn’t sign out. She had a Federal Express envelope in her hand and said she’d be right back.’
‘Was she?’
‘Yeah. Two minutes later. Carrying a hot dog from the cart in the square. Must’ve been hungry.’
‘And the second time?’
‘She left for the night about an hour later. Around nine. Stormed out of here like hell wouldn’t have it. Must have been real pissed off about something. Didn’t sign out that time either. I called after her to come back. She just flipped me a bird.’ Randall smiled at the memory. ‘That was one angry lady.’
‘What’d you do?’
‘Nothing. I knew her. It was no big deal. She went out through the door that goes down to the lawyers’ private garage.’
‘That door there?’ He pointed to an unmarked gray steel door next to the main entrance.
‘Yeah. That one.’
‘Have you seen her since?’
Randall shook his head. ‘No. I don’t think so.’
‘You said there was another late sign-out?’
‘Yeah. Ten minutes or so after she left, Mr Ogden came down. Henry Ogden. He’s one of the senior partners at Palmer Milliken.’
‘Was he angry, too?’
Randall shook his head and shrugged. ‘No. He seemed okay. He looked like he always looks. Like a rich white guy. Handed me an envelope. Christmas card with a hundred bucks inside. Last year it was just fifty. Told me to get something nice for my kids.’
‘Anybody else leave the building after Henry Ogden?’
‘No.’
‘Working a double like that, Randall, any chance you might have dozed off and missed somebody else coming in and out?’
Jackson stiffened. ‘No. No chance at all.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘I’m sure. Only people to leave after Ogden were the regular cleaning crew. They get here around six and are usually outta here about one in the morning.’
‘How many people?’
‘Half a dozen, give or take.’
‘They have to sign in or out?’
Randall shook his head. No.
‘Same folks all the time?’
‘Not really. Company mixes ’em up. Specially around the holidays.’
‘They work for METCO?’
‘No, METCO just handles security. Some other company does the cleaning. You wanna know who, you’ll have to
‘What do you want to know that for?’
‘A minute ago I asked you if anybody ever slips by you without signing in, and you said, “Not on my watch.” I wondered if your watch happened to include the night of the twenty-third.’
‘The twenty-third?’
‘Yes. The twenty-third.’
The guard stared at McCabe. After a long minute he said, ‘That would’ve been the Friday before Christmas?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Yeah, I was here. I worked a double that day. Traded with another guard so I could take Christmas off. Started at 4:00 p.m. Stayed on till eight the next morning.’
‘Long hours.’
‘Yeah, I wanted to be home with my kids on Christmas.’
Okay, he was a dad. Did that make him any more trustworthy? Maybe not. ‘Did you notice anything unusual that day, anything that sticks out in your mind? Think about it.’
Randall thought about it. He didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he nodded as if reconstructing the day in his mind. ‘The only thing unusual was all the people who left early ’cause of the holiday. A lot of ’em didn’t come back from lunch. Place was pretty much empty by five o’clock except for the big bosses, who all left together around six, six thirty. Most of ’em seemed pretty happy, gave me something for the holiday. Best as I can remember there were only a couple of late sign-outs. Usually a lot of folks work late.’
‘Who were the late ones that night?’
‘First one was one of the younger lawyers, Miss Goff. Real pretty woman. Fact is, I saw her a couple of times.’
‘When?’
‘First time was around eight o’clock or so. I remember ’cause she wasn’t wearing a coat and it was colder’n –’ Jackson stopped himself.
‘Colder’n shit?’ asked McCabe.
‘Yeah. Colder’n shit. Anyway, she didn’t sign out. She had a Federal Express envelope in her hand and said she’d be right back.’
‘Was she?’
‘Yeah. Two minutes later. Carrying a hot dog from the cart in the square. Must’ve been hungry.’
‘And the second time?’
‘She left for the night about an hour later. Around nine. Stormed out of here like hell wouldn’t have it. Must have been real pissed off about something. Didn’t sign out that time either. I called after her to come back. She just flipped me a bird.’ Randall smiled at the memory. ‘That was one angry lady.’
‘What’d you do?’
‘Nothing. I knew her. It was no big deal. She went out through the door that goes down to the lawyers’ private garage.’
‘That door there?’ He pointed to an unmarked gray steel door next to the main entrance.
‘Yeah. That one.’
‘Have you seen her since?’
Randall shook his head. ‘No. I don’t think so.’
‘You said there was another late sign-out?’
‘Yeah. Ten minutes or so after she left, Mr Ogden came down. Henry Ogden. He’s one of the senior partners at Palmer Milliken.’
‘Was he angry, too?’
Randall shook his head and shrugged. ‘No. He seemed okay. He looked like he always looks. Like a rich white guy. Handed me an envelope. Christmas card with a hundred bucks inside. Last year it was just fifty. Told me to get something nice for my kids.’
‘Anybody else leave the building after Henry Ogden?’
‘No.’
‘Working a double like that, Randall, any chance you might have dozed off and missed somebody else coming in and out?’
Jackson stiffened. ‘No. No chance at all.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘I’m sure. Only people to leave after Ogden were the regular cleaning crew. They get here around six and are usually outta here about one in the morning.’
‘How many people?’
‘Half a dozen, give or take.’
‘They have to sign in or out?’
Randall shook his head. No.
‘Same folks all the time?’
‘Not really. Company mixes ’em up. Specially around the holidays.’
‘They work for METCO?’
‘No, METCO just handles security. Some other company does the cleaning. You wanna know who, you’ll have to
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