“And they’re adding more to it,” noted Decker, pointing to the construction on the western side of the building.
Jamison found a parking space a long way away from the entrance and they walked through a sea of vehicles toward the front doors of the building.
Zoe said, “Is this where my dad worked?”
Jamison said, “Yes, it is, honey. We’re going to get some of his things.”
“Mommy told me that. And his car too.”
“That’s right.”
Zoe peered up at her aunt. “Is my daddy really dead?”
Jamison stiffened and seemed incapable of answering.
Before she could get a reply out, Decker bent down, lifted Zoe up in his arms, and pointed to the building. “You see how big this place is?”
Zoe nodded.
“Well, your dad helped run this whole thing. Look at all these cars and all the people who work here. It was very important what he did. Taking care of this building and all these people. They all counted on your dad. And he did a really good job.”
Zoe put her thumb in her mouth and her eyes turned watery.
Decker continued, “So we just need to go in and get his stuff, because his stuff belongs at home with you and your mom, right?”
Zoe nodded vigorously while sucking anxiously on her thumb.
Decker walked on with the little girl in his arms, a stunned-looking Jamison hurrying after the pair.
Inside, they were directed to the office of the person who managed the facility. The nameplate was on the wall next to the office door.
“Ted Ross,” read off Decker. “Interesting.”
Through the gap in the blinds covering the window looking into the office they could see a middle-aged man in a dress shirt and tie with thinning gray hair sitting behind his desk and on the phone. Three of the walls were white-painted drywall, but the rear wall had been gussied up with wood paneling trimmed with moldings and medallions. A boxed Pittsburgh Steelers jersey with a “terrible towel” suspended inside was hanging on one section of the wall.
“Why is it interesting? Do you know him?” asked Jamison.
“I might have met his old man.”
They knocked on the door and they could see Ross glance up, finish his call, and cross the room to open the door.
He looked up at Decker, then Zoe, and his features turned somber.
“I’m Ted Ross. Thanks for coming in. We didn’t know what to do with... ”
He stopped and glanced uncertainly at Zoe.
Jamison said, “We were glad to come by. Amber is my sister. I’m Alex Jamison and this is Amos Decker.”
“You’re both with the FBI, I heard.”
“That’s right,” said Jamison. “And this is Zoe, Frank’s daughter.”
Ross put out his hand for Zoe to shake. “Hello, Zoe, it’s very nice to meet you.”
Zoe nodded and shook his hand, but said nothing, as her thumb was still firmly planted in her mouth.
“Is your father Fred Ross?” asked Decker.
Ross looked surprised. “Yeah, why?”
“I met him the other night.”
“Sorry,” said Ross tightly. “He’s a real piece of work.”
“One way of putting it,” replied Decker.
“Anyway, let me show you where the things are.”
Ross led them down a long hallway.
“How big is this place?” asked Decker.
“A million two hundred thousand square feet,” replied Ross. “And we’re adding another six hundred thousand square feet. This is the future of retail, for better or worse. Malls across the country are shutting down and chains are going bankrupt. Consumers are going to the Internet to buy their stuff and these places are how that stuff gets delivered.”
Decker said, “I guess that’s why these facilities are so big.”
“That’s right. And it’s really a win-win for us and the vendors we serve. It lets them focus on products and services, and we handle how the orders get filled. We do order fulfillment for over fifteen thousand vendors and counting. These fulfillment centers are not cheap to build and run. So companies that want to sell online, but can’t afford to build a distribution site, outsource that function to companies like Maxus. We charge shelf space to the vendors down to one-twentieth of an inch and we take a cut of every sale, but it’s worth it to them for the reasons I just cited. This is our tenth center, and there are plans for ten more to be built pretty much simultaneously in the next five years. Business is booming. We literally can’t keep up.”
“I guess that’s a good problem to have,” said Jamison.
“Yeah, but they’ll work you to death if you let them.”
As soon as Ross said this he paled and glanced at Zoe, but she didn’t appear to have heard him. She was busy looking around from her high perch in Decker’s arms. He had tried to put her down once, but she had so frantically clung to him that he had kept carrying her.
“Here we are,” said Ross.
He unlocked a door and opened it to reveal an office about a third the size of his own. It was neatly organized with a desk and chair, three metal file cabinets against one wall, and on another wall a large whiteboard covered with notations and lists.
A sleek computer rested in the center of the desk.
“Frank was very organized and efficient,” noted Ross. He looked at Zoe. “Your dad was really good at his job.”
She nodded but said nothing.
Ross pointed to a cardboard box on the desk. “We collected his personal items. They’re all in there.” He fished in his pocket. “And here are his keys. We pulled his car up near the front entrance. It’s a blue Kia four-door, but you knew that.”
“Thanks,” said Jamison, taking the keys and handing them to Decker.
Decker said, “Alex, why don’t you take Zoe and head back. I can bring the box in my car.”
“My dad’s car,” said Zoe, her thumb out of her mouth now.
“Exactly, your dad’s car,” said Jamison quickly. “Okay, we’ll see you back home.”
She took Zoe and they walked off. Zoe looked forlornly back at Decker, before they turned a corner and were out of sight.
Decker turned to Ross. “Hey, you mind doing me a favor?”
“If I can, sure.”
“Can I see where it happened?”
Ross looked mildly surprised. “Where Frank was... killed, you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“It was an accident. A tragic and stupid one and it never should have happened, but it was still an accident.”
“I’m not saying otherwise. And I’m not here investigating. I just want to be able to tell Amber... She might have questions, is all. But she couldn’t bring herself to come today. Plus, she has a funeral to arrange.”
“Right, I know. It’s all so awful. We’re paying for the funeral and everything,” Ross added quickly.
“That’s good of you.”
“And look, I know she’s going to sue Maxus. Hell, I would if I were her.”
“That’s a pretty remarkable statement considering you work for Maxus.”
“I’ve only worked for them since they started building this place. And they hired me because I was one of the few people around that had managerial experience running a large facility, and I also advised them during the construction phase. I hope Amber gets all that’s legally coming to her.”
“What facility did you run?”
“I’m in my early sixties, so I’m old enough to have participated in the salad days of Baronville, or at least the tail end of it. I started out as a finish carpenter, then ran my own construction company. After that I managed the last paper mill in town. It wasn’t as big as this place, but we had about two hundred employees, materials coming in, finished product to get out, and trucks coming in and going out at all hours. So running this place was right in my wheelhouse.”