Broken Ferns (Lei Crime ) by Toby Neal Read Free Book Online Page A

say he is?”
    “He’s good to those who don’t complain, who show up to work every day, and who are willing to suck it up to keep a job. I’ve been one of them.”
    “So it seems like it’s been a tough place to work in some ways.” Ken let his statement trail off encouragingly.
    “Well.” Reynalda batted her eyes at him. “I’ve done well here. I started as a baggage handler and receptionist. Now I’m one of two managers.”
    “So you must be an exemplary employee.”
    “Max seems to think so.”
    “So does he give you a lot of responsibility for the day-to-day operations?” Lei asked.
    “Yes. I do the scheduling of employees, a lot of the hiring and firing.”
    “So what can you tell us about who might have had an ax to grind with Max Smiley?” Lei noticed Reynalda had turned away from her, angling her body toward Ken. She raised an eyebrow at her partner, and as smoothly as passing a baton in a race, he picked up the thread.
    “Yes, Reynalda. You seem to have been in a unique position to monitor and implement Max’s policies.”
    “I had a part to play, sure. But I didn’t make the rules. Max told me to schedule people nineteen hours a week every month so they didn’t qualify for health insurance—so I did. Didn’t mean I liked doing it. When they came in to complain, I told them what I’m telling you. I just followed orders, or my head was next.” Reynalda took a packet of Virginia Slims out of her pocket, tapped them on the table. “Mind if I smoke? It’s against regulations, but I’m the boss in this office, and I’m not gonna tell.”
    “Of course not,” Ken said smoothly, but Lei saw by the flare of his nostrils that he did mind. She got up and turned on an overhead fan and cracked the door as Reynalda produced an empty Diet Coke can from her pocket and lit her cigarette. Ken looked through the stack of employee files in front of him, pulling out the four possibles Lei had flagged as they waited for Reynalda to complete her first deep drag on the cigarette.
    “We’ve had to let a lot of people go over the years,” Reynalda said. “One of the worst ones recently was a young guy named Tom Blackman.” Reynalda’s arched brows drew together, her painted-on mouth puckering hard as she took a pull on her cigarette. “Sassy little punk.”
    “Sounds like he had an attitude problem.” Ken had Blackman’s folder open, leafing through the slim paperwork.
    “He had a few friends, but no one goes against Max when he makes a decision to fire someone.” Lei noticed the transition from “Mr. Smiley” to “Max” as the woman got more comfortable. “Yeah. He’s a guy with an ax to grind with Max. Kid had some piercings; Max told him to take them out—he was old-fashioned that way. Tom was on the baggage handling line; he didn’t think it mattered and told Max so. They had words. Max fired Tom.”
    “Anything else about this young man stand out?” Ken asked.
    “He was late pretty often. We also thought he was stealing from the baggage, but we never caught him at it. Insubordination was a good excuse to fire him.”
    Lei made a couple of hash marks next to Tom Blackman’s name.
    “So, what can you tell us about a kid named Tyson Rezents?” Ken transitioned smoothly to the suspect whose age and history made him Lei’s next-favorite suspect.
    “Good kid. Been loading bags here part-time since he was fifteen, and he’s seventeen now. He’s had a tough life—mom’s a crack whore. The company is kind of a family to him.”
    “Tell us more.”
    Reynalda tapped ash off her cigarette into the can. “I’m wondering how long this is going to take.”
    Ken reengaged her with a smile and a nod. “Just a couple more questions—you’ve been so helpful. Has Rezents ever expressed any unhappiness with the company, or with Max Smiley specifically?”
    “Not that I know of. Max put the suggestion box in the lounge mainly so he can keep track of what people are saying and let them