Jimmy scanned Rosa’s summery outfit. “You don’t look like the fuzz.”
Rosa removed her sunhat and tapped her temple. “What’s important is what’s in here, Mr. Thompson.” She’d brought along a bottle of soda and now set it in front of him in hopes it would help him to relax. “I have some good news, Mr. Thompson. Upon further investigation, it turns out that we don’t believe your water bucket prank was responsible for Victor Boyd’s death.”
Jimmy blinked once, then twice, and then he quickly scrambled to stand. “So, I can split?”
Rosa held up a palm. “Hold on a minute, Mr. Thompson. Please remain seated. Give me a moment. I promise this won’t take long. Enjoy your drink.” She motioned to the soda.
Jimmy considered it and then dropped into his chair and took a large swig. “But I can split after this, right?” he asked, ineffectively suppressing a belch. “Or do I need to get that lawyer back in here.”
“No need for a lawyer, I assure you. I just think you may be able to help us figure out what really happened to Mr. Boyd. You’re a conscientious citizen, Mr. Thompson. You’d like to help us solve this, wouldn’t you?”
Jimmy Thompson didn’t seem confident about Rosa’s verbal assessment but had the sense not to contradict it.
“Sure. Don’t know how I can help, though.”
“I’m correct in stating that Mr. Boyd was your friend?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy started tentatively. “Me and Vic worked together at the park for almost six months.” Jimmy’s lips pulled up into a nostalgic smile, and Rosa felt bad that he had been held all night, believing he’d accidentally killed his friend. “And the pranks didn’t mean nothin’,” he added. “It was all in fun.”
“Yes, I understand that, and it’s unfortunate what happened to your friend.” Rosa felt sad about any death—high school bully or not. “Do you know of anyone who may have disliked Victor?” Rosa’s mind immediately went to her school friends Nancy, Joyce, and Pauline, along with Gloria and Marjorie. But they wouldn’t be the only ones who’d disliked the man. The list would be long.
Jimmy confirmed her thoughts.
“Sure, yeah. Lots of folk didn’t have time for Vic. He ticked people off. The guy didn’t know how to be friendly sometimes, but—” Understanding bloomed on Jimmy’s face. “Wait. Did someone do this to Vic on purpose? Did someone kill him?”
Rosa kept her expression blank. She didn’t want Jimmy Thompson blabbing the details all over town, but at the same time, if she wanted to get clear answers out of him, she probably needed to tell him the truth. “That’s what it’s looking like right now. Yes.”
Jimmy slapped his thigh. “Mr. Henderson! I bet he did it. Guy told everyone he was gonna fire Vic.”
“Why?”
A shrug was followed by, “I dunno, but if you ask me, the guy was scared of Vic.”
Rosa tilted her head. “Why was Mr. Henderson afraid of one of his employees?”
“Vic was always sayin’ no to Mr. Henderson, no matter what he asked. He told ’im if he fired him, he’d have a lawsuit on his hands. Don’t think Vic knew much about the law, but he had this way of threatenin’ people. Ya always believed him.”
Mr. Henderson was on the list of suspects, and now they had motive, but Rosa didn’t want to stop there. “Is there anyone else you can think of that might have wanted to see Victor, er, out of the way?”
Jimmy lifted a narrow shoulder. “Coulda been anybody, but I’m telling you, Henderson’s your man.”
Rosa changed tracks. “Who had access to the control panel that operated the roller coaster?”
“Just whoever was on shift. Vic didn’t let nobody up on the platform with him if that’s what you’re askin’.”
“Right, but would there have been a time when Mr. Boyd wasn’t at his control panel? Is there a time when ride operators aren’t at their controls?”
Jimmy slurped his soda. “Well, sure. When we go for a break or let the folks onto the rides. Vic’s got it—had it—rough, operating the coaster. Had to make sure each person was buckled right. The airplanes, which I run,” he went on, “they only got a rope that swings over their heads. Only takes me ’bout a minute to get all ten people loaded on.”
“And the roller coaster held, what, thirty?” Rosa had counted the cars and then calculated the maximum number of passengers before leaving the park the evening before, so she knew this was true before she asked.
Jimmy nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And so buckling each of thirty people in individually, that would have taken, what, four or five minutes?”
“More like ten!”
Would ten minutes have been long enough to reconfigure an electrical panel? The power would have surely had to have been shut off first and then turned back on at the very least.
“There was a long pole, maybe seven feet long, with a hook on the end. Any idea what that was used for?”
“The snatch hook? Sure, we all got one at our rides. Stupid idiots throw cups and popcorn boxes from the rides sometimes. There’s almost always a mess to clean up when we get back from break. We gotta use the snatch hook to get the junk outta the way.”
Rosa slid her notebook toward herself and wrote: Snatch Hook. “And did you use Victor’s snatch hook to rig the bucket of water?”
Jimmy nodded and looked like he was ready to laugh, but then he remembered the situation and stopped himself. “I knew Vic would have to use it sometime during the day, and he’s always annoyed when he does it. Grabs that thing like it’s his worst enemy’s neck. So, yeah. I had the idea to tie the bucket to it. Figured if I used a thin string, he wouldn’t notice nothin’.” After a pause, he added. “Guess he didn’t.” Jimmy’s emotions were as easy to read as a small
