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I dialed, and as the phone rang, I said a silent prayer that she’d answer. I needed to actually talk to her. I didn’t want to risk leaving a message. For all I knew, the man in question could be Computelex’s employee of the year, or she could even be his girlfriend.
A bright, friendly voice answered the phone with “HR, this is Lynn.”
“Lynn McKague?”
“That’s right. Who’s this?”
I gave her my full, formal title.
“Hello, Detective,” she said cautiously.
“Ms. McKague, I need a few minutes of your time.”
“Before I answer any questions,” she said, “you’re calling about company business, not about me personally, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“I’m sorry, but unless you’ve got a subpoena, company policy forbids me from continuing this conversation. The privacy of our clients is important to our business model.”
“This isn’t about one of your clients. It’s about an employee.”
“I wish I could help, but I’m a
fraid the same rule applies.”
I had to take a moment to consider my next course of action. I said, “Can you confirm an individual’s employment status?”
“If you have a name, I can verify that employee’s work history. That I can do.”
“Is there a white male Computelex employee currently working in the New York area?” I rolled the dice, hoping I wouldn’t spook her—or the man I was looking for. “It’s important that I speak to this person about a lead on a string of homicides.”
“Is he a witness? I can send him a message to contact you.”
“No, I would ask you please not to say anything to him.”
“So he’s not a witness. This sounds more serious.” It was half statement, half question.
I didn’t respond.
There was a long silence on her end.
I finally said, “Ms. McKague? Did I lose you?”
“No, you didn’t lose me. I was reviewing some records.” The HR manager hesitated again. Then she stammered, “What ki-kind of questions do you need answered?”
I almost leapt up from my chair and cheered. Instead, I focused and said, “We understand that a man in your employ travels on contract work. I’m going to give you some dates and locations. A name would help a great deal. Barring that, a yes or no on whether at those times this employee was working in those cities.”
Lynn McKague spoke slowly. “Yes, I am able to merely confirm information you have already.”
I gave her the dates of the Atlanta and San Francisco homicides. I could hear her fingers tapping at her keyboard. I waited while she checked the information.
When she came back on the line, there was a slight tremor in her voice. “Yes, one employee was also in Atlanta and San Francisco during the dates you gave me. He has worked for us for a number of years.” After an awkward pause, she asked, “What’s this about?”
I could’ve given her some snarky reply like I’m not allowed to tell you without a subpoena. But this case was too important to screw around.
“And when did he arrive in New York City?”
“He’s been there for slightly over six weeks.” Well within the range of the homicides here. I could almost hear Lynn McKague mentally debating her next admission. “His name is Daniel Ott.”
