‘Detectives, mind telling me what the hell that was?’he yelled.
‘An arrest,’ Ella said.
‘I figured, but why?Why are you hauling one of my guys off to a police station?’
‘We don’t know yet, but we’ll know soon enough.’
‘Meaning?You can start by telling me exactly what Darryl is accused of here.I need to know.’
‘We don’t deal in accusations, but your little employee has a long criminal history and a connection to a homicide someone committed last night.Not to mention he ran as soon as we showed up.’
The foreman’s face turned two shades whiter.‘Homicide?Darryl?Are you serious?’
‘Serious as a heart attack.Want to tell us what you know about Darryl?What’s the guy like?’
The foreman looked back at the mass of bodies loitering near the entrance, then back at the detectives.He removed his hard hat, leaned in a little closer.‘Look, Darryl’s not perfect, but who is?’
Ella resisted the urge to sigh.‘Sir,not being perfectisn’t an excuse for homicide.’
‘I never said it was, but Darryl wouldn’t do anything like that.The guy’s rough around the edges, but he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve got.He’s got real heart.’
‘Oh, that’s alright then.Let the bodies pile up as long as he can hammer nails into bits of wood.’
The foreman waved his hands dismissively.‘No, I didn’t mean that.But look, I’m well aware of Darryl’s past.I took a chance on him.I felt sorry for him so I gave the guy an opportunity no one else would.’
Ella waited for more but none came.‘And?’
‘And he promised me that the past was in the past.The guy works two jobs, for crying out loud.What kind of criminal works two jobs?’
‘Not a very good one,’ Ripley said.
Ella wasn’t buying what this guy was selling.‘Sir, you’re very keen to protect a possible murderer.That brings suspicions of its own.’
'Alright, alright.Take Darryl away, just know that you're barking up the wrong tree.Darryl's been working twelve-hour shifts the past two weeks, so I've had eyes on him that whole time.'
Ella took a step closer to the cruiser, then her feet froze to the ground.‘What’s that?Darryl’s been here?’
The foreman nodded.‘Yup.Ten ‘til ten, every day.’
Ripley turned to Ella with an unreadable expression.Ella’s heart became an anchor in the pit of her stomach.‘Was Darryl here last night?About 8PM?’
‘Yes he was, and I can prove it.’
Ella peered at the suspect in the back of the car, then dropped her head back and faced the sky.She wanted to scream loud enough to part the clouds.
***
‘Okay, Croon, I want you to tell me everything,’ Ella said.
Croon spun and dangled his legs out of the car.Ripley was quick to step forward and block off any escape attempt.While the foreman – whose name Ella had learned was Billy Miller – had gone to find Darryl Croon’s clock cards for the past two nights.
Croon laughed, but it sounded more like a rusty hinge in dire need of WD-40.‘What do you wanna know?’
As satisfying as it would be to go full Spanish Inquisition on this guy, they were on the clock here.She had to make every question hit the mark.
‘First, let’s go with the obvious.Do you always run when the cops show up, or just today?’
‘That was just for you.It’s actually been a while since the cops showed up on my doorstep.’
