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When the new crew foreman made his way into the trailer, Nik was beginning to get sick of hearing of how helpless Mikayla was. "Helpless" wasn't a word he would use.
"Vulnerable" definitely, but besides the point. The information he'd learned could have been useful if he'd had it when he first arrived, whether it came from Mikayla or Maddix.
"Mr. Wallace." Nik nodded as the middle-aged foreman took a seat in front of the desk.
"Let's get this over with so I can go back to work," Jack Wallace breathed out heavily. "I can't imagine why Maddix gave you permission to disrupt the job site like this."
"Perhaps to catch a killer? Or do you think Maddix did the killing?" Nik asked. Wallace snorted at the idea. "I don't doubt Maddix would kill, but Eddie Foreman just wasn't worth the price of the bullet used on him. Maddix has better business sense."
"Can you tell me what you know about Eddie's meetings the day he died?" As the assistant foreman, Jack Wallace should have been aware of any meetings Eddie had had.
"None that day." Wallace shook his head. "Eddie liked to have his meetings at a bar or track, if he could. He didn't like taking meetings here because someone was always overhearing things and that just pissed him off."
Which meant he was probably hiding something, Nik thought.
"What about Maddix Nelson? Did he come to the job site often?" Jack Wallace shrugged. "Few times a week maybe. He'd talk to Eddie for a bit, check things out, then head back to town or wherever."
"What about Eddie then?" Nik asked. "What type of foreman was he?"
"He was a fucking bastard." Wallace grimaced. "Son of a bitch liked to talk down to the men and play himself up as someone he wasn't."
Sounded like a hell of a guy, Nik thought mockingly.
"He wasn't well liked then?"
Wallace nodded. "Not at all. Hell, even I didn't like him, and I can get along with everyone."
Nik rather doubted that.
"He argued with a former employee the day he died?" Nik probed. "What do you know about that?"
"Jarvis Dalton." The other man nodded. "Eddie had fired him a few weeks before. 128
Accused him of stealing. Jarvis was pretty pissed off over it. He wanted his job back, but Eddie wasn't giving in. He was fed up with Jarvis for whatever reason."
"But you don't know that reason?" Nik pressed.
Wallace frowned. "Let's say, I'm not sure. I suspect Jarvis was stealing, but Eddie never said either way and he got pissed when I asked, so I just let it go."
"What about the day Eddie died? Were very many of the workers aware she was picking her brother up?"
Wallace snorted. "Probably everyone. Scotty had her pick him up pretty often, and the guys liked to watch her blush when they hooted and hollered at her. She's a pretty girl, and the boys here like a pretty girl."
Nik just bet they did. He clenched his teeth to hold back an anger and possessiveness he shouldn't be feeling. Mikayla was his for the moment, he reminded himself. He couldn't let himself hold any tighter to her than he already was, not if he wanted to retain his sanity when it was time to leave.
"Did Maddix meet Eddie often at the track or bars that you're aware of?" Nik asked.
Jack Wallace frowned. "Maddix Nelson doesn't gamble that I'm aware of. I've heard him say his business is enough of a gamble, he doesn't need to compound his losses."
"Thank you, Mr. Wallace." Nik rose from his chair and gathered his notes together. "And thank your men for talking to me."
"Well, the faster you get this taken care of the faster I get some peace on the job," Wallace growled. "This situation has been a guaranteed spark to every damned argument that flares up on the job. Too many men here are prone to believe Maddix did it, while others are certain he didn't. Knowing one way or the other would be nice."
"And what do you think?" Nik asked curiously. "Do you think he did it?" Wallace paused. "I think he's more than capable of doing it, like I said, let's put it that way," he finally answered. "Maddix has a temper, and if Eddie did something to threaten him or this job, then yeah." He nodded. "Maddix would be capable of it. But Maddix could have gotten rid of him by firing him, and Maddix normally takes the smartest route, no matter what he's doing."
Interesting. Nik hadn't expected the current foreman to make that admission.
"Thank you again, Mr. Wallace." Nik nodded as he headed to the door. "I'll return your office to you now."
