The possibility that this was an inside job from this pharmaceutical company. Possibly involving a truck that was owned by a company that has ties to both Kilton and the congressman. This congressman, by the way, works on legislation to ease up FDA requirements for testing of certain drugs that I know Kilton is producing. The street value of what was stolen is probably close to about $1.2 million. Big stakes, big plans. Right now, Mr. Kilton, we’re simply looking at all the information to see where it leads.”
“Well, I can assure you it doesn’t lead here. My father built this company from the ground up, and it’s been a life’s pursuit and lifeblood of the Kilton family. While I would like to assure you there’s no way the theft had anything to do with a Kilton employee, I obviously can’t make that claim. But I can tell you that the campaign donations to any politician have always abided by campaign laws. I know that the congressman is an old golfing buddy of my dad and we’re certainly not trying to buy favoritism.”
“It just helps to have everything out in the open, Mr. Kilton. Thank you for your time.” Kyle and Alex stood at the same time and walked out of the office, leaving Thomas still sitting at his desk.
Once outside, they drove to the other building indicated by the security guard to talk to Niles Cook. His office was in the building next to the warehouse where they had talked to Porter Miles and Tammy Rutgers. Even though he was also a vice president, his office was much more modest. He had a large window, but it overlooked the warehouse loading area. Instead of floor-to-ceiling bookcases, he had wooden filing cabinets lining part of the wall. His desk was also wooden, but not nearly as opulent as Thomas’. The tile floor did little to disguise the sound of their boots.
While in a dress shirt and tie, Niles had eschewed a suit jacket, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up at the bottom. He welcomed them in, waving them toward the chairs.
“Welcome, detectives. I understand you were in last week and had a chance to meet with Porter and the irrepressible as well as indispensable Tammy. What can I help you with today?”
“Thank you for meeting with us. We’ve just been talking with Thomas Kilton—” a snort interrupted Kyle, and Niles immediately threw up his hands. “I’m so sorry, detectives. That was incredibly rude.”
Kyle hesitated, tilting his head slightly to the side, waiting to see if Niles had anything else to say. He watched as a slight blush crept over the man’s face.
“If you’ve been to see the exalted Thomas right before coming here, I’m sure you’re stunned that while we have equal positions in the company, equal is a relative term, especially when it comes to office space.” Shrugging, he added, “Although an office at the ‘big house’—as we over here like to refer to it—really isn’t my style. Anyway, please forgive my rude interruption.”
Fighting a lip quirk, Kyle continued. “Upon investigating the stolen drugs, we believe that it was either an inside job or assisted by someone inside Kilton. Exactly where inside, and by who, we don’t know.”
Eyes wide, Niles leaned back. “I see. Well, I have to admit, that’s disturbing news.”
“We talked to Tammy but wondered who else is privy to the information about the routing software. We asked her but realized she might not know how far up the chain that goes.”
Nodding, Niles said, “You’re probably right. The drivers may share some of the routing information with the other drivers, but the programming would not be available to them. Besides Tammy, her direct boss is Bob Trogden, and the Department Supervisor, Porter Miles, also has access to that program. I requested him to become familiar with it several years ago.”
Bob Trogden… Kimberly’s neighbor? Keeping his face blank, he nodded. “Why is that?”
“Technology is a wonderful thing, detectives, but programs can also be finicky. For a company our size, to only have a couple of people who know a particular program that’s vital to our daily company needs is not a good plan. A few years ago, Tammy thought she might have surgery and would be out a few weeks. We were scrambling to cover what her responsibilities are. So, we made sure that Bob and Porter had that particular routing program. As it turned out, she didn’t need the surgery, but the result was