Sequestered with the Murderers by Dr. Tanner (books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

for the help. I’m of the mentality that two heads are better than one. Thanks for the heads up. Now, would you sit down a minute and put a checkmark beside the first-time passengers?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I know them by heart. Tour guide training 101, know your guests. I always want to make sure my guests feel special, especially first-timers. So I spend a little more time getting to know them and finding ways to be of assistance. Let’s see here.” Lemmonee took the list, sat down, and checked off eight names effortlessly. She then looked up at me, standing beside her.

“That was fast,” I said while admiring her swift recall ability.

“That was easy. Bill and Cora Forrester, Hettienne Jacobs, and Marianne Murphy are all from Christiansburg. Carolyn Broadbent and Gwen Sonnack are from Envyton County, the Martinsville area. And Delve and Justine Jones are from Blairs, your area—the Danville area.

“Thanks, Lemmonee. That’s a big help.” She stared at me. I sensed her waiting for me to explain why I needed this information. I took the passenger list from her and walked to my seat. Seeing that I was not going to elaborate further, Lemmonee relaxed in her chair.

“What else can I do to help?”

“Give me information on Duffy. Who were his best friends? Who did he associate with on the job? Anything.”

“Let’s see, uh, he loved animals. He has a dachshund that he treated like a child. He loved that dog. He once mentioned that he donates to PETA, you know that animal rights organization that works for the ethical treatment of animals. He had a wonderful sense of humor, as you saw during the Tennessee trip. He could make a joke out of anything. He had an adventurous attitude, and he loved and took an interest in meeting our passengers. He loved driving to Brightness different trip locations even if he had already been to that location before.”

“How often did Nancy travel with him, and during your off time, did you socialize with them?”

“Nancy may have taken three or four trips with him since they met. She’s only been on one of my trips where Duffy was the driver. None of us socialize much off-duty. After being on tour for five days, sometimes a lot more, sometimes less, I’m so glad to be home that I chill. I think all the drivers and tour guides pretty much do the same—just chill. I do things around the house, go to my doctor appointments, and prepare for the next tour. Don’t get me wrong; I love what I do. I think I have the best job in the world because I have been all over the United States and to Canada.”

“Are you married? I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

“Not anymore. I’m single with two grown daughters. They are doing well, and I am so proud of them. This coming Friday morning, I’m taking a group on Brightness’s Great Southwest & California Tour. I’ll be gone for nineteen days. I don’t know who my driver is yet because my scheduled driver, Armie Bledsoe, has asked that someone replace him so that he can attend Duffy’s funeral on Friday. I want to be off too, but there is no one at this time to replace me. I’ll attend the viewing Thursday night, though. Uh, Vett, Armie and Duffy are close friends. I mean were close friends. You want to talk with him?”

“Yeah, I do. Can you get his phone number for me?”

“I’ll call him for you. He’s home this week.” Lemmonee stood, then quickly walked out of the room. After leaving the room, a thought came to me. Does she know the schedule of all the drivers?

Duffy’s personnel file lying on the desk garnished my attention as I lay the passenger list folder beside it.

“Let’s see if there is anything to learn in this,” I said out loud as I picked up the personnel file.

The job description, job application, and W-4 form were paper-clipped together. Items following were a signed acknowledgment of receiving the company employee handbook, employee evaluations, commendations, raise in pay notices, a copy of his CDL license, and stapled to the front inside of the folder was emergency contact and next of kin information. The file was neat and organized. I wondered if the file had been cleaned up for my benefit.

In one of my cases two years ago, a man’s personnel record came into question. During that case, I learned how important it is for a company to ensure that certain documents are maintained and updated in an employee’s personnel file. A company definitely shouldn’t keep anything in it that the company would not want a jury to see. A personnel file can hurt a company in a lawsuit, as it did in my case two years ago. If Duffy’s file was truly indicative of how Jackson manages personnel files, then it appears he had learned the rules of what should and should not go into personnel files.

There was nothing useful in Duffy’s personnel file. I put it aside and opened the passenger list folder. I telephoned Marjorie Brown and left a detailed message that I wanted to meet with her tomorrow around noon. I asked her to call me back today to confirm. After meeting with Duffy’s wife Nancy tomorrow for an hour, I would then drive to Marjorie’s home in Envyton, which was on my way home, and be there by noon. Since Rebbie Shields lived in Envyton, too, I placed a call to her next. She didn’t pick up either. I left her a detailed message similar to the one I left Marjorie.

I was deep in reviewing the list for the next person to call to setup a meeting when Lemmonee walked in.

“Vett, you know it is way past lunchtime, don’t you. You look like you are deep in thought. Were you planning on stopping for lunch?”

“My, how the time has flown. Is it really almost 2:00 pm?” I asked, looking at my