Save Me

Chapter Fifty-eight

“You made it, thank God.” Rose unlocked the door, and Warren eased his large frame into the passenger seat and sat down.

“Here’s the deal. I gotta tell you, I think we were wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Rose could hear a change in his tone, and his blue eyes had cooled. She started the engine. “What happened? What’d they do?”

“Nothing. I went in, talked to the HR lady, and filed out an ap. She told me Campanile has no jobs right now. They promote PMs from within.”

“PMs? Project managers?” Rose reversed out of the space, then cruised to the exit behind the other cars.

“Yes. I said I wanted to talk to somebody in the field, and they were all hanging out in the hallway, all nice guys, so she pulled one of ’em in. Chip McGlynn. I sat down with him, one-on-one. Take a left up here.” Warren pointed. “If you’ll drop me off at the train, I can still make my class. They told me the train station is on Lancaster Avenue. They even offered to drop me off.”

“Did he tell you who the electrical sub was, on the school?”

“No, he didn’t know the job, and I didn’t press it.”

“He didn’t know?” Rose left the parking lot after the other cars. “He’s a guy in the field, and he didn’t know about a job in the news?”

“To tell the truth, I think he did know, but he didn’t want to say. I get that. Lots of big-time GCs keep quiet about which subs they use. It’s like a trade secret.”

“You didn’t say that before.” Rose frowned, driving.

“No, but once I sat down with him, and saw the operation, and how sweet the offices are, and met Chip and the guys, it’s ridiculous to think they could murder anybody.”

“You can’t tell that from-”

“They even told me they’d give me the first job that came up, then move me up to PM if I make the grade. And if they call, I’ll take it.”

“You’d work for them?” Rose asked, surprised. “But they could be-”

“They got this thing they call the Wall of Fame, with tons of awards from every building association you can name, and some from the state, too. They get the big jobs.”

“But what about Kurt and Hank? The driving?”

“I can’t explain it, but there’s a lot of things that people do I can’t explain. I can tell you for sure, Chip and those guys didn’t kill them, or blow up an elementary school.” Warren shrugged his heavy shoulders. “They got photos of their kids everywhere. They sponsor a softball team, and for Make a Wish, they gave a little boy from Allentown a ride on a cherry picker.”

“But Kurt said they left the polyurethane.”

“Not exactly. He said, somebody left poly in the lounge, and I tell you, that’s not on purpose. It happens all the time. The average laborer, he’s a pig.”

Rose flashed on Mojo. “One of their guys carries a gun. I saw it.”

“He’s probably in security, or carries payroll or petty cash. People have guns, and it doesn’t mean they’re bad guys. Hell, my dad has two rifles in his truck, and he’s honest as they come.”

“This guy doesn’t look like he carries petty cash. He was an executive, with a tie. His name’s Mojo.”

“Mojo?” Warren’s eyes lit up. “I just met him. He’s a great guy. He’s their security guy. Joe Modjeska.”

Rose made a mental note of the name. “What do you mean, security guy?”

“Mojo’s the Director of Security. That’s why he carries. He shoots a sixty-three.”

Rose recoiled. “He shoots who?”

“No, in golf. He shoots a sixty-three. He won the celebrity golf tournament. Cole Hamel was in it, and Werth, too. Mojo told me he’d get me tickets, next year.” Warren looked as excited as a little boy. “I love the Phils!”

“Me, too, but Mojo isn’t with the Phils.” Rose turned onto Lancaster Avenue. “So they won you over.”

“No, I got a reality check.” Warren’s tone stiffened. “You should just forget the whole thing.”

“Do you think they manipulated you, intentionally?”

“Why would they? They don’t know who I am. I didn’t mention Reesburgh.”

Rose fell silent, cruising up the street, congested in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts, a bank, and a Starbucks. “Why does a construction firm need a Director of Security? Isn’t that strange?”

“Not at all. You know how much theft goes on at job sites? People steal everything they can carry. Materials like copper piping, generators, drills, any tools at all. We’re not big enough at Bethany Run to have a guy like that, but Campanile is.”

Rose tried to imagine it. “So Mojo would travel around and visit the Campanile sites, to check on security?”

“Yes, sure.”

“That means he would have access to all the sites, at any time. He’d even have keys.”

Warren put up his hands. “Stop, wait, don’t get carried away again.”

“He could have rigged the microwave or put the poly in the lounge.”

“That’s crazy.” Warren scoffed. “He’d never do that, and he’s not an electrician; he’s a guy at the top. I loved Kurt and Hank like they were my brothers, but I don’t think anybody murdered them.”

“I do.” Rose felt a shudder run up her spine, saying it out loud.

“Wrong. Kurt made a bad choice, and Hank wasn’t thinking, and they’re both gone now. Nothing can bring them back, and no sense can be made of their deaths.” Warren pointed to the left side of the street. “There’s the station.”

“Well, thanks for the assist.” Rose turned into the parking lot.

“You’re welcome.” Warren got out of the car, took out his duffel bag, and looked at her. “You’re not gonna let it go, are you?”

Rose thought of Leo, saying the same thing. “I can never let it go.”

“Suit yourself. Stay well.”

“You, too.” Rose watched him go, wondering what to do next. She was thinking about Mojo and his gun, and she needed to know more. She slid out her phone, logged onto the Internet, and plugged Joseph Modjeska into Google. There was a page of entries, and she clicked on the first link:

Break-In at Corporate Center

“… Director of Security Joe Modjeska said that he was pleased that the Campanile’s offices weren’t burglarized, and all of their laptops were…”

She clicked and read a few more mentions, but they were all press releases, followed by photos of Mojo at the celebrity golf tournament, with Justin Timberlake and Charles Barkley. She scrolled backwards in time and came upon the press release that announced Mojo’s hiring:

Campanile CEO Ralph Wenziger is pleased to announce the hiring of Joe Modjeska as the company’s new Director of Security. Wenziger stated, “Joe comes to us with enormous expertise, having spent the past four years at the Maryland Occupational Safety & Health Administration in Baltimore, Maryland…”

She looked at the date on the press release. It was less than six months ago, which meant that Mojo was new to Campanile. It seemed odd. She hadn’t gotten the idea from Warren that Mojo was a new hire. She navigated to whitepages.com, typed in his name, and found his address.

837 Hummingbird Lane Malvern, PA

Rose plugged it into her GPS system and hit START.