Marine's Mission - Rebecca Deel Page 0,24
“Do you want me to remove them from the premises?” His tone indicated an eagerness to do exactly that.
Owen glanced at the guard’s name tag. “You ever heard of obstruction of justice, Thornsburg?”
Thornsburg narrowed his eyes, his jaw twitching.
“It’s all right, Jim. I’ll handle them.” Cramer turned his attention to Owen and Gigi. “Come with me.”
“Empty your pockets, Montgomery,” Thornsburg snapped. “You, too, ma’am. Place your bag on the conveyor belt to be scanned.”
Owen stepped up to the scanner and emptied his cargo pockets. The guard and Cramer stared at the pile of stuff that he dumped in the plastic bin.
The guard sneered. “What are you, a Boy Scout? Come on, man. A flashlight, string, a freaking garage door opener?” He snorted. “With all that crap in your pockets, you’d be better off carrying a purse like your partner.”
“Enough, Jim,” Cramer murmured. “My time is valuable, and you’re wasting it.”
“Yes, sir.” Jim motioned for Owen to walk through the scanner. He looked disappointed when Owen walked through without setting off the buzzer. He motioned to Gigi. “You’re next, ma’am.”
When Gigi walked through without incident, she and Owen retrieved their belongings and followed Cramer to the bank of elevators. Within two minutes, they exited the car onto the eleventh floor.
“This way,” Cramer said and led them to a large corner office. As the three of them walked between groups of cubicles, workers watched them.
Inside the posh office, Cramer motioned toward two chairs in front of his oversized desk and settled in a plush desk chair. “Ask your questions quickly. I have a meeting in ten minutes with the president of the company.”
And that meeting was more important than Ellis and Toni’s lives? “When was the last time you saw Ellis?”
“Friday. He worked a full day and clocked out on time.”
“Is that normal for him?”
“He usually works late. Ellis is dedicated to his job. He’s one of my finest workers, a real star in the department.”
And a feather in Cramer’s cap based on the gloating expression on the man’s face. “Did you wonder why he didn’t show up for work yesterday?”
“Of course. I called several times and left messages for him to contact me.”
“And when he didn’t?”
“I assumed he was sick and would get in touch when he was able.”
“Has he ghosted and been incommunicado before?”
Cramer shook his head. “He’s never been irresponsible or flighty like some of the others in this department.”
“Why do you continue to employ these workers if their behavior is problematic?”
“You have no idea what it’s like to keep programmers on track. They’re creative and eccentric, and keeping them in line is like herding a bunch of cats. Impossible.”
“I see.” Although he didn’t. Owen’s life was one of discipline. The Marine Corp had drilled that into him. “Are your employees allowed to take work home with them?”
A scowl settled on the supervisor’s face. “Of course not. We’re a government contractor. Much of our work is classified. My workers are never allowed to take work home. If they’re under a deadline, it’s not uncommon for one or more of them to work all night on a project to complete the program.”
“Are they issued laptops?”
A snort. “Of course. We’re the software development division. Laptops are considered essential equipment. In addition, most of my people have several computers of their own at home. They have no need to use a company laptop at home, especially since they aren’t allowed to take work home with them in the first place.”
“Are company laptops allowed out of the building for business meetings?”
“Never. What part of classified work don’t you understand, Deputy? If they’re not allowed to take work out of the building, we certainly wouldn’t allow them to leave with laptops. Laptops can be stolen. So no, they aren’t allowed to take the computers off Huntington Tech’s campus. Also, they live and breathe computers. Most of their meetings are in private, secure chat rooms or on encrypted video. One of the most unused rooms in this division is the conference room.” Cramer pointedly looked at his Rolex. “Is that all, Deputy? I can’t be late for my meeting.”
Owen slid his notepad and pen into his pocket. “We’ll need to speak to Ellis’s coworkers.”
“They don’t know anything. I asked when Ellis didn’t show up for work.”
“You asked them about Ellis. I need to talk to them about his missing girlfriend. Same choices apply to them as I gave you. Either they talk to me here or I question them in Maple Valley.”
Cramer glared. “Ask your