Thirteen Million Dollar Pop

53

“Ms. Miroslav,” Frank Behr said, as a woman carrying a purse and a briefcase arrived at her office.

Olga Miroslav was pretty and dark haired and quite surprised to see Behr sitting in her cubicle at the main branch of Payroll Place. John Lutz had been surprised too that morning when he got the crack-of-dawn call from Behr asking for the interview. He was as happy to arrange for Behr’s admittance to the offices as Ms. Miroslav seemed miserable when she learned why Behr was there.

“How would you describe your duties?” Behr asked once she’d put down her things and settled.

“I chart the pickups at our clients’ businesses and design the routes for the armored cars,” she said with a bit of a Slavic accent. “And schedule drop-offs and bank deposits also.”

“You do all this by hand, using maps?” Behr asked, though he already knew the answer.

“No, the computer does it. There’s a mapping program. I just input it,” she told him.

“And then if you need to make any changes …?” Behr wondered.

“I tweak it after the computer makes the route,” she said.

“Why’s that?”

“Road construction. Businesses closed for holidays. Things the computer don’t know about.”

“I understand you have visitors to the office sometimes,” Behr said, changing course with some information he’d picked up yakking around with her coworkers before her arrival, seeing if it threw her. “That you have lunch down in the cafeteria with a Salvatore Rueben.”

“Sally is my boyfriend,” she said, nodding, looking uncomfortable with the topic. She wore fairly heavy base makeup, but her color was mottling beneath it.

“I see,” Behr said, making a note. He was writing for effect, to let her see him documenting the conversation. “And what does Sally do?”

“For a living?” she asked.

“Yes. Does he have an employer?” Behr inquired.

“He’s … self-employed.”

“I see. What’s his business?”

“He’s in … distribution.”

Behr didn’t have to ask what he distributed. He’d run Sally Rueben after discovering the restraining orders and the guy had drug arrests. To complete the investigation properly, Behr would have to finish the backgrounds, interview a dozen other potentials, to rule many things out. And maybe he would when he had time, but for now he noticed Ms. Miroslav’s hands were shaking.