Chapter 3 – Cue it Up-3
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Oscar Stiers introduced me to his site foreman who could only confirm that JD had, in fact, been at work with him the day before. He’d been assigned to hang off the back of a truck and set traffic cones in the morning, a solitary job, and then he’d done jobs alone and with one or two others the rest of the day.
He pointed out a few men from the Stiers crew who were sitting on a hillside eating their packed lunches under what little shade was available in the area. I approached them hoping that at least one of them had, had a conversation with JD the day before.
Two of the three men eyed my approach. One was busy, filthy hands and all, digging in his lunch bucket. I took my hat off and mopped my brow as I stepped to the edge of their semi-circle on the hill.
“I’m Sheriff Crane.” I looked at each of them. “JD Roberts, who worked with you all day yesterday, died yesterday evening. I’m trying to get a fix on where he was between leaving work with you all and the time that he died.”
None of the three men said a word.
“I know that JD was in some kind of fight before he ended up where he did. No one is under suspicion here. I’m just trying to piece together when he left here and where he went.”
I felt, rather than heard Stiers come up behind me.
“Men, help the Sheriff out. Robert’s was driving my Escalade, unknown to me, last night. We need to figure out where he went and what he got himself into.”
The man digging in his pail jerked his head up. “That was your ride? That lyin’ mofo!” The other two men laughed uneasily. “JD said the wheels were his, man. He acted all big s**t and all about it!”
One of the other men chimed in, “Man, I’m sorry that he died and all, but I didn’t believe half the stuff that fucker said. He was always runnin’ his damn mouth.”
“What time did you guys knock off yesterday?” I looked at each of them.
The second man to speak shrugged, “About 5:00 or so, like normal.”
“Did JD say anything to any of you about where he was going after work?” Both men who had spoken looked to the third man who hadn’t had any input into the conversation so far. The guy, knees drawn up, looked at the ground between his feet.
I addressed him directly, “Did he tell you anything?”
The man only glanced at me and then looked back down at the ground. “He didn’t tell me nothin’ but I saw him.”
“Where did you see him?”
“He was at a bar I go to. I see him in there sometimes.”
“What bar?”
“Ray’s place up near the steel mill.”
“I know it. About what time did you see him there?”
He shrugged and looked away again. “I dunno. I live near there. I went home and got a little cleaned up first. Musta’ been after 6:00.”
The other two men laughed at that. He shot them both a look. “I wasn’t keepin’ tabs on him like Sheriff. He was there, I was there. We wasn’t there together.”
It’s like pulling teeth with this guy. “Was he with anyone else?”
“He was playing pool with some other guys...three of them. I don’t know them.”
“Were they friendly to each other?”
He was quiet for a beat and obviously agitated. Finally, he spat, “Look lady, I don’t know what to tell you! They may have been arguing about something from the looks of it, but I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout that. I stayed out of it.”
“Let me have your name, address and contact information please.”
“What for?”
“In case I have any follow-up questions.”
“I told you everything I know.”
Oscar Stiers had remained present but quiet throughout my conversation with the three men. Now, tipping his head toward the man, he spoke up again, “This is Sterling Moon.” He stepped toward Moon and glared down at him, “You need to give the Sheriff the information she needs. If you have a problem with that then you have a problem with staying employed with me.”
I gritted my teeth. I didn’t need anyone fighting my battles for me. Battles...wait a minute... I looked at Moon’s hands. They were dirty but otherwise unremarkable. If he’d been in a fight recently, it wasn’t evident.
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Ray’s Bar, 6:00 PM, Thursday, August 7th, 2014
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