Everyone was back in the conference room for a late lunch of sandwiches and desert. Hemi really knew how to make a sandwich everyone agreed as they ate everything he had brought in.
Luke got to meet Detective Laura Hart. He was unsettled at the new direction this investigation might be going. He shared with Laura and the others about Buddy and everything that had happened there. He also described the security building and about meeting Camilla; and shared what Max had said about the private investor and the building being constructed.
Sophia spoke excitedly about her interviews with the rest of the staff on her list. “I found two girls who met each of the men on the video. When I showed Julia both pictures she said she met the brown haired man on the beach a couple weeks ago. He approached her and told her she was very pretty and asked if he could sit with her. They exchanged numbers and texted some after that. He told her his name was Michael, which would match the contact in Lea’s phone being “M”.
“That’s amazing!” exclaimed Ava. “Did you warn her about anything?”
“I didn’t have to,” responded Sophia. ‘When I asked her if she was meeting him again she said he called her the other day and said he was leaving the island.”
“Did she say why?” asked Luke.
“She said that he told her he got another job offer and was flying out in a day or two, which would have been yesterday” Sophia answered.
“What about the other man?” Luke added.
“Well, I was talking to a lady named Alison,” Sophia continued. “She recognized the tall blonde man’s picture. She said she talked to him in the lobby once and he introduced himself as Clark and told her he worked in security.”
“Well, that would agree with what Buddy had told me about them,” Luke inserted. “So, we need to find out who Michael and Clark are that work in security. I think we need to talk to Luther. I think I will call him over if that’s ok with everyone.” Everyone agreed.
Luke picked up the phone on the desk and rang Luther’s extension. “Hi Luther, this is Luke. Would it be possible for you to come to the conference room? The team has a few questions we’d like to ask you.” He paused as he was listening and said “OK, thanks.” Luke muttered a couple more things and hung up.
As they waited for Luther to arrive they told Laura about Luther investigating the missing footage and spare keys. When they were done Luther appeared in the door way.
“Hi Luther,” called out Luke. “Come on in. This is Laura Hart from the Mainland Police Department. She helping us sort out some evidence”
“OK, great,” said Luther. “What can I help you with?”
“First thing Luther, did you find out anything about the missing video?” asked Luke.
“Yes, it was most likely what I told you before about the feed going offline for some reason or another. There didn’t seem to be any tampering or corrupt video.
“OK, what about the spare room keys? Was there anyone who might have needed them for some reason?”
“No,” Luther replied. “I asked some people and they didn’t have any reason to use the keys for anything. I think they must have just been misplaced or something.”
“I’ll talk to Irene about that possibility,” said Luke. “Can I ask you to take a look at these photos and tell me who these employees are? I understand they work in security. One is named Michael and the other is Clark.”
Luther took the pictures and looked them over. “Yes, they did work for me, but have recently been relocated to one of our sister facilities in Jamaica. That one is Michael Clayton he pointed to the brown haired man and the other one is Clark Allen. They were good employees, so we rewarded them each with a promotion to oversee operations.”
“Ok, Luther. Would you be able to talk to me about the construction of your new facility? Luke asked. “Is it normal to have a private investor to cover the costs of the building?”
‘Yes it is, may I ask who told you about that,” Luther questioned. “That was supposed to be confidential.”
“It was Uncle Max,” responded Luke. “I was just asking him if the resort paid for the new building since it is so grand.”
“The donor asked to keep it private. He uses one of the offices for meeting potential customers and he requested that it be luxurious to impress his clients,” Max answered defensively.
“I think that’s all I have for you,” Luke concluded. “Anyone else have anything to add?”
They all deferred to Luke’s questioning, so they wrapped up the interview.
“Thanks Luther,” Luke stated as he reached out to shake Luther’s hand. “I really appreciate you coming over. I’ll let you know if we need anything else.” With that Luther got up and left the conference room.
After Luther left Luke sat down with a sigh. “Laura? You are more experienced with interrogation. Can you tell me what you noticed about that interview?”
“Well, if you really want to know what I think I will tell you, but you might not like my answer,” she answered waiting for a response.
“Yes, please,” Luke replied. “I know what I think, but I would like a professional opinion.
“Well, he’s definitely hiding something, and by his body language I think he’s lying,” Laura stated dryly.
“I felt that too,” said Luke.
Ava spoke up and said “That guy has always given me the creeps and now he just seems shady. I mean, what was he doing coming in here this morning? Do you think he’s involved somehow?”
David answered her with his own doubts presenting themselves. “What if he saw Michael’s and Clark’s photos hanging up and figured we were getting too close, so he made them leave?”
“That’s a good working theory,” said Laura. “I’ve got some things to work on back at the office, so I will let you guys keep at it. I have a hunch on something, but I want wait and talk to you about it later…”