Red went on to explain that the toxicology report indicated several active drugs in Sean Pruitt’s system. An over-the-counter allergy medication, clonidine for hypertension, a prescription antidepressant, and a synthetic hallucinogen derived from a strain of peyote. The body was clothed in a sweater, linen shirt, linen pants, and sandals. Pathology indicated Pruitt had undertaken a thorough cleaning, possibly by steam, prior to death. His pores and hair contained copious remnants of a mineral oil treatment.

I took the thumb drive.

“Squeaky clean. Dressed, but not for official duty. Under the influence of a hallucinogen and a combo of drugs that could’ve impaired his ability to function. The ME concludes it’s a suicide case from the decedent’s use of antidepressants and the fact he drove to a remote site and unlocked the shaft. If his intention wasn’t suicide, what else? No mention of a note, though.”

“Suicides don’t always drop the keys off at the desk when they check out,” he said.

“Well, that’s kind of dark.”

“Our stories gotta end somewhere. Old age, heart attack, a twelve-floor swan dive into the abyss. You don’t retain me for my bedside manner.”

When a man is right, he’s right.

“It’ll take several days to lay the groundwork,” I said. “I’ll organize an itinerary and get myself over to Horseheads first thing next week.”

Red queued a video on his phone and set it on the table between us.

“Wanna peek at the prime mover behind the Jeffers Project? The government ponied up a staggering amount of cash, it is a fact. However, it blew my mind when I saw that over sixty percent of the capital was raised by private investors. The Redlick family agitated to build the project, financed the land grab, then hired subsidiaries of their own corporation to provide security and infrastructure. Sweet deal. Ain’t America grand if you’re a fat cat?”

He pressed the pad and we watched a six-minute infomercial filmed on behalf of the Redlick Group. The narrator who escorted us on our journey of discovery was a relatively young, angular man with shiny helmet-hair and a plastic smile; his motions and expressions were those of a cold, stiff action figure warmed into a facsimile of a human being. Bold script identified him as Thomas Mandibole, Redlick Group spokesperson. I made note.

Mandibole stepped from a helicopter onto the roof of a skyscraper and walked toward the camera. He wore an ivory jumpsuit blazoned with the Redlick logo—a fiery oval reminiscent of a Catherine wheel, except the inner spokes extended beyond the wheel and became spearheads.

Redlick Group: the bedrock beneath your feet. Real Estate. Development. Management Solutions. Infrastructure. Construction. Human Resources. Redlick Group can meet your needs through acquisition, design, attraction, training, supply, building, and staffing, here in the USA and globally. As Mandibole gave his spiel, he strode along heavily populated corridors, glancing at clipboards and signing papers thrust at him by grinning functionaries. After a quick cut, he reappeared in an ivory tuxedo, seated at a banquet table. He raised a toast to an assembly of elegantly attired clients.