The Bones She Buried

Thirty-Eight

With a sudden surge of energy from having found a clue to the belt buckle, she decided to drive right to Sutton Stone Enterprises headquarters to talk to Zachary Sutton. Mettner had done some initial research into the company before he interviewed Colette’s old co-workers, which he had shared with Josie. So that’s how Josie knew that the company headquarters were located forty-five minutes southeast of Denton in a remote, mountainous rural area. The headquarters building was a tall, modern glass edifice perched on the edge of the original Sutton family quarry which had been founded by Zachary Sutton’s great-grandfather in the late 1800s. The quarry was miles from any town, although a tiny hamlet called Mount Haven twelve miles away had claimed it as part of their postal area.

Zachary Sutton had taken over the business as a young man under his father’s tutelage in the 1960s and expanded the company to other areas of the state, buying up more land and opening more cracks in the earth. Zachary Sutton had also expanded their product line to include more than just bluestone and marble, offering aggregate, which was a coarse particulate material used in construction projects the world over, as well as soil and turf products. Josie knew that he had initially paid Laura Fraley-Hall big bucks to manage the entire company’s public relations department. Colette had often bragged to Josie about how one of the first things Laura had done as the director of PR was community outreach in the towns in which Sutton’s quarries were located, building goodwill among local citizens and buffing Sutton Stone Enterprise’s reputation to a perfect shine. She had done so well that she easily moved up the ranks until she reached her current position of vice president of the entire company.

Josie’s ears popped as she drove a winding mountain road to the quarry entrance. Tall foliage rose up on either side of the road, making her feel closed in and yet, as she crested the hill and the Sutton Stone Enterprises building gleamed and flashed in the spectacular sunlight, she felt like she was on top of the world. She parked in the visitor lot and walked toward the entrance. A glimpse of the quarry below gave her a bit of vertigo. Trucks, heavy equipment, and piles of stone were toy-sized in the bottom of the huge crater in the earth, devoid of anything but ribbons of various types of stone. She clasped a nearby railing to steady herself. Around the edges of the quarry was forest, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Inside the double doors was a reception desk, manned by a gray-haired lady in a pink blouse. Josie presented her credentials and asked to speak to Mr. Sutton. The woman tutted but picked up the phone and dialed Sutton’s extension. She seemed surprised when he told her to send Josie right up to his office, speaking loudly and clearly enough for Josie to hear through the receiver. The receptionist gave her directions and she followed a winding set of stairs up two stories to a glass balcony that overlooked the lobby. Josie saw Zachary Sutton’s large office immediately. Double glass doors enclosed it, but beyond the large desk and guest reception area in the center of the room, was a wall of windows; the daylight streaming through nearly blinding. Josie wondered if it would be steaming hot inside, the way a greenhouse was, but when Sutton met her at the doors and ushered her in, it was surprisingly cool.

In front of his desk was a low, white, modern coffee table surrounded by four coral-colored chairs. “Have a seat,” Sutton said, smiling. “I remember you from Colette’s funeral. We didn’t have a chance to officially meet, but Noah did point you out to me. You’re his lady friend, correct?”

“Uh, yes,” Josie said, perching on the edge of one of the chairs. “Noah and I work together at the Denton Police Department.”

Sutton sat across from her and rested his left ankle on top of his right knee. He wore khaki pants with loafers and a blue collared shirt, open at the neck, no tie. His hands, large and veiny, rested on the shin of his left leg. “I suppose you’re here as an officer of the law then. I heard from Laura this morning about the fire at Colette’s house. Horribly tragic, especially after her death. I’m sorry to hear about Noah’s leg, but I am quite glad no one was killed.”

“Me too,” Josie said.

“What I can help you with, dear?” Sutton asked. “Your colleague was here last week and interviewed nearly everyone here.”

“Mettner is very thorough,” Josie said. “We just had some follow-up questions. You knew Colette for decades.”

Sutton nodded, a look both sad and wistful passing over his lined face. “She was in her early twenties when she began working here, I believe. She was in the secretary pool. She was very good at what she did. Eventually, my father promoted her to his assistant, and when I took over three years later—in 1980, I believe—she came with the office.”

“So you worked closely with her for many years,” Josie said.

“Oh, yes. Many years. We saw each other through many things. Ups and downs at the company, the births of her children, the deaths of her mother and my father, and the dissolution of her marriage.”

“It sounds like you were very close.”

“Well, as close as a boss and employee could be, I suppose. As close as two people like us could be.” A little laugh accompanied this statement.

“What do you mean?” Josie said.

“The reason Colette and I got on so well for so long is because we were very similar. Private, reserved, stoic; not given to dramatic displays of emotion. You know, when her husband left her, she came into my office and said, ‘My marriage is over. I’m struggling a bit and may need to use some of my personal days,’ in the same tone she used to read off my schedule for the week.”

“Matter-of-fact.”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever see her cry?”

One bushy white brow kinked. “Yeah, I guess. Maybe once when one of her kids broke their nose?”

“I heard that story, too,” Josie said. “It was Noah. He had to have pictures taken right after that, and he looked like someone had beaten him.”

Sutton laughed. “Boys will be unruly. I told her not to worry. The swelling would go down, and the bruises would fade, and her son would be as handsome as always.”

“How about you? Do you have children?” Josie asked.

He waved a hand. “No, not me. Never married. No children. This company is my baby. My labor of love.”

Josie glanced at the bank of windows which showed a sheer drop into the depths of the quarry. “It’s quite an empire you’ve got here. What will happen when you retire? If you don’t mind me asking.”

He winked at her. “Everyone wants to know that. Because I have no heirs. Well, if I tell you, don’t you have to keep it a secret? Being an officer of the law?”

Josie smiled. “I think you’re thinking of a priest or a lawyer. No, I have no confidentiality requirements, but I promise not to tell anyone of consequence.”

Sutton raised a hand and waggled an index finger, a small smile on his face. “Not even Noah?”

Josie smiled tightly, thinking that Noah wasn’t in any shape to talk with her so it wouldn’t make any difference. “Not even Noah,” she said.

“I’m grooming Laura to take over. She’s the best fit. I’ve already made arrangements, although I haven’t told her yet.”

“Laura Fraley?” Josie asked, momentarily shocked though she shouldn’t have been. She knew how dedicated Laura was to Sutton Stone Enterprises and how much she loved her job, and she was already the Vice President.

He nodded.

Josie said, “Mr. Sutton, I have to ask you some questions that might make you uncomfortable. About Colette. I don’t like doing it, but it has to be done.”

“We never had an affair,” he said easily. “That’s what you think, isn’t it? Besides her mother, husband and children, I was in Colette’s life the longest. I was very good to her, and now her daughter will become the president of this company. It’s only natural to make that assumption. I think many people have over the years—people in the company, at any rate—the big business owner always… romances his secretary, right?”

Josie stared at him. “I don’t know that that is an assumption every person would make. But it’s an avenue of investigation I can’t ignore.”

“I understand.”

“Do you know if Colette ever had affairs with anyone else?”

“I don’t think so. If she had, I don’t think she would have told me. We didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

“Did she ever mention anyone named Ivan?”

He raised a brow. “That actually sounds familiar.”

Josie said, “We believe they were school mates.”

He snapped his fingers. “I think that was the young man she asked me to hire!”

“She asked you to hire someone?”

“Decades ago. I think that was his name. It was an unusual name, and I do remember her telling me she had gone to school with him,” Sutton explained.

“How long ago was this?” Josie asked, feeling excitement spiral up from her stomach.

Sutton rubbed his chin as he thought about it. “I had just taken over from my dad. I know that because she asked me to hire him, not my father, which means I had to have taken over by then.”

“What did she want you to hire him to do?”

He shrugged. “As I recall, anything. She said he was in a bad way, but he was a good person and needed work.”

“Did you hire him?”

“I did, as a laborer, if memory serves.” He looked her in the eye. “Detective Quinn, you must understand this was quite a long time ago. My memory isn’t that good. I wouldn’t take this as gospel. This young man could have been named anything.”

But Josie was sure he was named Ivan.

“How long did he work here?” Josie asked.

“Oh it wasn’t that long, I don’t think. A few years, perhaps? I’ve had many employees, detective. I can’t remember them all.”

“Do your personnel records go back that far?” Josie asked hopefully.

He smiled. “They just might, but those records—if we still have them—would be at an off-site storage facility. I do maintain my own storage though so I can call over there and have my staff take a look. You know, the wonder of technology—I can even have them scan whatever they find and email it to you. Isn’t that miraculous?” he laughed.

Josie couldn’t help but smile. “It is, I suppose.”

“Oh, it is. You’re too young to remember a time before all this technology was at our fingertips. It is truly amazing.”

“Do you think I could have any personnel records you have going back to the time Ivan would have been hired? We’re trying to track down anyone Colette might have been close to so if there were employees who worked with her for a long time, we would want to track them down and speak to them.”

He stood and walked over to his desk. “Let me write this down, dear.” He picked up a pen and scribbled on a notepad. Then he opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a business card. Josie stood and walked over to take it from him. “My direct line is on there,” he said. “If you give me your card, I’ll pass your contact information to my staff and have them get you whatever you need. But you keep my card in case you have any issues.”

Josie fished her own card out of her jacket pocket and gave it to him. “I really appreciate this, Mr. Sutton.”

The skin around his eyes crinkled. “Of course, dear. Colette was a lovely person. I hope you’ll find her some justice.”