Eric gripped the arms of his chair. “So what did she mean, Karl? How was HomeMaker going to give all of the jobs back?”
Willems regarded him for a few moments before leaning forward, placing his elbows and forearms flat on the desk. “You said yourself she didn’t actually say it was HomeMaker she was talking about.”
“No, but—”
“I can assure you, son, that things here have not changed. The books don’t look any better, and the negotiations are over. The union lost.”
“So no jobs are coming back?”
“And those still employed,” Karl held out a hand, as if indicating the workers in his domain, “will soon be looking elsewhere. The girls in the front office, the assembly line, the drivers…all gone. We’ll probably need to retain a few of the security guards to keep an eye on the building until we know what to do with it, but other than that…” He held his hands out again, in a gesture of helplessness.
“Ellen never talked to you?” Eric’s voice was strained.
Willems smiled briefly. “Not about bringing back the jobs. At least, not within the past month.”
“But she wouldn’t—”
“Lie? Make you hopeful for something that’s not going to happen? Take her own life?” He smiled sadly. “I would’ve hoped the answer to all of those things was ‘no.’ But it wasn’t to be.”
Casey’s muscles tensed, and she fought back the words coming up her throat. How long would it take for her to round the desk—or simply jump over it—and punch that smirk off the man’s face? Or simply pummel him with his own paperweight?
Death appeared suddenly behind Willems’ chair, hands clutching the handle of a large scythe, the kind pictured in so many images of the Grim Reaper. The scythe was raised, poised to slash down, to take the life of Eric’s father. Casey froze, her thoughts returning suddenly to the room, and the conversation.
“So is that all? “ Willems said, not knowing how his life hung in the balance. “You came here with the empty words of a woman who knew nothing of the inner workings of this business.” He indicated Casey with a tilt of his head. “And with another woman so new to this town I’ve never seen her before?”
Casey swallowed, trying to ignore the tableau before her. “But you have seen me.”
Willems pulled his head back, as if surprised she could actually speak. “No. I haven’t.”
“Oh, yes,” Casey said. “At the pharmacy the other day. You were picking up a prescription. One you pick up frequently. But you chose not to purchase a Hershey Bar with Almonds, even though it’s your favorite. That’s too bad. You never know when a chance for something sweet will be your last.”
Death looked hopeful, raising the scythe a little higher, as if to strike.
Eric sat as still as his father, both men looking at Casey as if she’d actually attacked the man the way she’d wanted to.
She stood. “Come on, Eric. He’s obviously not going to tell you anything. This is a waste of time.”
Willems stayed seated, his eyes flashing. “Who are you?”
Casey’s eyes flicked to Death, whose disappointment was evident.
“I am no one,” she said. “But the people of this town…they are the ones that must be reckoned with. The ones whose faces you should see each night, the ones whose names should roll off your tongue, with sorrow that their lives have taken such a turn. And those who have died? It would be better if you wouldn’t claim to know what they knew. The dead have a way of speaking the truth.”
Narrowing her eyes, and giving Death a nod, Casey spun on her heel, and left.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“My God,” Eric said, seeming to mean the words as the prayer they were. “What was that?”
They were in his office, where he had pulled her after their exit from his father’s presence. He’d shoved her onto a small couch, where she now sat shaking, her hands clutched together in her lap.
“I’m not sure. But aaah…” She shook her head once, hard. “He was so…so…”
“Infuriating? Pompous? Disgusting?”
Casey let out a short laugh, and Eric relaxed, sitting beside her and running a hand through his hair. “Wow, were you scary. It was like you were somewhere else for a minute. Or you’d been possessed by something. Shakespeare, maybe.” He smiled stiffly.
Casey couldn’t smile back, remembering the image of Death standing over Eric’s father, waiting for Casey to lose control… She had a hard time looking at Eric, his eyes concerned and full of trust. “I sort of was. But I’m back now.” She stood up and walked to the window, looking out. “There’s something.”
Eric came to stand beside her, joining her at the window. “What?”
“No, not out there. In here.” She turned, indicating the room, the building. “He’s hiding something.”
Eric snorted. “He’s always hiding something.”
“Something about what Ellen said. I think she was telling you the truth.”
“Of course she—”
“I don’t mean she wasn’t lying. I never thought that. I mean she was right. There was something that could’ve gotten these people their jobs back.”
Eric tensed. “You really think so?”
Casey remembered that flicker in Willems’ eyes, that split-second sign that there was a secret. “Yes.”
Eric’s face hardened. “Then we have to find out what it is. And we have to find out before…”
“Before it’s too late and this place is closed down for good.”
He nodded.
Casey looked at his desk. “What’s on your computer?”
“The usual. Production details. Payroll. Employee records.”
“Do you have access to everything?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Find out.”
He seated himself at his desk and turned on the computer. “I haven’t used this in weeks.”
Casey paced the office. “Ellen’s desk.”
He glanced up, his computer making the beeping and humming noises of booting up. “What about it?”
“Has it been cleaned out?”
“I’m sure it has. She left here months ago.” He looked toward the door. “But we can check.”
“I wouldn’t know what to look for on there,” Casey said, indicating Eric’s monitor. “I’ll go through Ellen’s desk. If that’s okay.”
Eric’s face had gone a bit gray with the past hour’s events, but he stood and went to the door. “I’ll need to tell Yvonne and Kathy. They won’t like it, probably, but if I ask they won’t make a fuss.”
Casey followed him out to the office, where he explained to the two women that Casey would be searching Ellen’s desk. He glanced nervously toward his father’s door. “What are his plans the rest of the day?”
Yvonne didn’t even have to look. “Nothing. I mean, he has no appointments. He could leave any time. If he sees…” The worry was easy to read on her face. She wanted to keep this job. Even if it was only for three more months.
Eric turned to Casey. “Maybe we’d better wait. Come back later.”
She considered it. “But if there’s anything there…”
“He’s not going to do anything with Yvonne and Kathy sitting out here.”
“And if he waits until they leave?”
Eric exhaled loudly, running a hand over his face. “If he comes out here he’s going to be angry.”
“He’s already angry.”
The two women were looking at them, fear apparent on their faces. Eric spoke to them gently. “She needs to look. It won’t take long.”
Yvonne grabbed a stack of papers. “I have things for him to go over and sign. I can keep him busy for about five minutes. Six or seven, maybe, at the most.”
