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“I— Seriously? My father wasn’t one for thinking ahead or doing something smart.”
She shrugged. “I’m just telling you what was in the paperwork, but if I had to guess? Pariso scared your dad a bit. He was a real cowboy, but he spent a lot of money on racing, most of which would’ve gone to your dad.”
“That sounds more like it. So instead of kicking a dangerous driver off the team, he took out insurance. Wonderful. Would’ve been nice to know.”
“Someone in your office knows it because this year’s drivers were listed on the policy.”
He still stared at the paperwork in his hand. Then he looked up at her. “What happened to Pariso?”
“He died in a skydiving accident over the Mohave desert. Your father never bothered to cancel the policy.”
He was silent. “Wait, how much is the policy for?”
She named an amount, but he just stared at her, no reaction. It was a hefty policy, and they’d get a big cheque in the next week or so. “So, I just need to ask you some questions and go over what happened. Once I complete my interviews, I’ll file a report with my company, and you should get your money.”
His brows furrowed. “Can you explain exactly what this is? There’s some sort of insurance policy on the drivers?”
She nodded. If she didn’t know Dalton, at this point she would think he was as dumb as a box of rocks. She was going to chalk it up to shock. “If any injury or loss of life happens to the drivers, you receive compensation because they can no longer race and that causes you to lose money. It’s a standard umbrella policy. So, if any major catastrophe happens, like losing a driver, or if your garage in Mullenbach burned down, or something of that nature, then you’re insured to help offset the loss.”
Dalton relaxed back into his chair. “I see.” He was just staring blankly at the paperwork in his hand. “And how much is the payout again?”
“In this case?” She leaned over the table and pointed to a number on the page in front of him. “Like I said, I just need to ask a few questions and then speak with a few other people. My understanding is that the autopsy revealed Mr. Moore had a heart attack, although they may be waiting on further information.” She added that last bit in hopes the police were doing a little bit more than saying the guy died of a heart attack. Unless there was a ton of heart disease or a defect, there had to be a reason why Moore died of a cardiac arrest. She needed that reason. She wanted to pay out the policy to ease the pressure on Dalton, but she wasn’t just going to give it to him because she knew him. It had to be the correct thing to do. Or so she told herself.
“That’s what I was told as well,” he confirmed.
“Okay.” She stared at him, but he seemed to be completely lost in thought. “Do you mind if I sit?”
“What?” He frowned. Then seeing her gesture at the chair, he grunted, “Fine.”
She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. Grabbing her notebook from her bag, she asked, “Did you know Mr. Moore well? Had he raced with you before?”
Dalton sighed. “Do we have to do this?”
“Do you want the money?” she countered. She was trying to do her job, and he was being an ass. This was work, not personal. He needed to pull on his big boy pants.
He sighed. “I didn’t know Moore well,” he said through clenched teeth. “He’d done some racing in the US and then participated in some track days here in Europe, but he hadn’t raced with our team in the past. Rory knew him best.”
“I’ll speak with Rory after this then.” She continued, “Was there anything unusual about yesterday morning?”
A look passed over his face. She wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but he was holding something back. Her mouth went dry.
“Not really. Rory was called away rather unexpectedly, and there was a miscommunication between us, so Moore was left at his hotel. The other coach, Timo Korhonen, had to pick him up. I think that upset him.”
She made a note of what he said. There was more, though. She could feel it. “Was that it? Nothing else out of the ordinary?”
“It was a normal first session of the season. The drivers were excited to get on the track, and we were just as excited to see them race.”
A bullshit line, one she was sure worked on many people. “Walk me through what happened.”
Dalton paused. She could practically hear his teeth gnashing together. Too bad. He gave her the bullet points of the morning while she took notes. This would all end up in the file, and since they knew it was a heart attack, she didn’t need a ton of detail so she didn’t ask too many questions, but she wasn’t doing her due diligence if she didn’t at least ask a few.
“So, everyone got into their cars and headed out to pit lane, then stayed out for the whole session?”
He hesitated again. “Moore was late getting into his car. He was on the phone. I understand he was arguing with someone, but I have no idea who or what it was about.”
“I see,” she said as she made a note of it. “Nothing else?”
“Nope. Then he was out, and it was a regular session until the last lap.”
