Chapter 46 Chapter Forty-Six

This is a branch office of the Trent Mining Company.It is located on a winding gravel road. It is a one-story house built with prefabricated cement components, and the exterior walls are painted light yellow.There are more than ten cars and trucks in the parking lot in front of the house.One of them, a Mercedes S550, was parked right next to the entrance to the office area. "Is this Bill Strauss' car?" Puller asked as they passed the car. "How did you figure it out?" "This car once parked in front of the Bullpen restaurant. The only other person in this small county who could afford a car like this is Roger Trent, and he's not in Drake. Strauss I somehow got here before us, maybe he passed behind when I asked you to stop, or he took another road." He looked at the dilapidated building and said, "I thought The COO of the company would have a more decent place than that."

"Trent Mining's philosophy is to bring money home and not waste it in offices on remote mining sites. Even Roger's office, which is at the company's headquarters, is rather spartan." "So there's a mining site nearby?" "Next to it is a transfer station like the one I showed you last night. Less than a kilometer away is the open-pit mining operation area." "That is to say, the place where the cannon was fired is very close to here?" "Anywhere here is very close to the blasting mining site. Therefore, a large number of residents have evacuated here. Who would like to live on the battlefield?" She glanced at him quickly, and hurriedly added, "Except for the soldiers, of course."

"Believe me, soldiers want to live far away from the battlefield." "Who do you want to talk to?" Cole asked. "Let's start with the guy with the highest job here." They went in, asked the front desk, and found Strauss' office.The walls are lined with simply varnished plywood.In one corner stands an old-fashioned tin rolling cabinet.The dilapidated sofa and the scratched coffee table occupy another corner.Puller estimated that another door in the interior led to a private bathroom.Strauss may still have drawn a line with the other employees when it came to peeing.

On his desk is a brand new computer with a twenty-three-inch monitor.This was the only sign Puller saw of modern technology making its way into the Empire of Trent.He thought of the magnificent mansion he had visited last night, and really understood the meaning of Cole's words. They really just take the money home, at least that's what the head of the business does. Strauss rose from behind the desk to meet them.He had taken off his suit jacket, and the ironed white shirt with French cuffs didn't quite cover his swollen stomach.His suit jacket was hanging on a hanger hook behind the door.

Strauss' fingers were yellow with nicotine, and he must have just snuffed out a cigarette in an ashtray already full of cigarette butts, because the room was filled with a strong smell of smoke.Puller waved his hand in front of his face to disperse the smoke, but Cole took several deep breaths.Maybe she was trying to inhale as much of the smoke here as possible, Pooler thought.Inhale secondhand smoke, and be grateful for it. "Thanks for meeting us, Bill," Cole said. "No problem, Sam. If I've known in the morning that you want to see me, we can talk in the restaurant." He gestured for the two of them to sit down.

"We're trying to take as little time as possible with you," Cole said. "Okay. I hear you had dinner with Jane yesterday." "Yes, she invited some of us while Roger was away." "By the way, where did Roger go?" Pooler asked. "He's in New York on business," Strauss replied. "Business in New York? I remember Trent Mining as a private company." Strauss' eyes rested on Puller's face. "You're right that Trent Mining is a private company. But it's very profitable in the energy sector and it's attracting investors of all kinds."

"So Trent is considering a public offering?" Puller asked. Strauss smiles stiffly. "I really have nothing to say about this, and I don't see how this has anything to do with your investigation." He leaned back and turned his eyes to Cole, "So what can I offer you? help?" "As I mentioned to you, we need to speak to Molly Pittner's colleagues. But before that, I would like you to give us a description of the nature of her work here, and How long has she worked for Trent Mining etc." Strauss continued to lean back in the chair, crossing his fingers behind his head.He glanced at the pack of Marlboros on the table and the overcrowded ashtray beside it, but seemed to have made up his mind not to light another.

Puller studied his expression and body language, waiting for his answer. "She's been here for about four years. Before that, she worked in another of our offices, the one on the north side of the city." "Why the transfer here?" Puller asked. Strauss glanced at him. “We often change the jobs of our employees. This is due to the needs of the company, but also to consider the wishes of the employees themselves. The workload in the northern office area is higher. The office there acts as a kind of centralized management platform, a bit like It's the central control room for multiple job sites. I can't say exactly why Molly got transferred from there, because I really don't know anything about it. Some of her co-workers can probably shed some light on that."

"We definitely have to ask them," Puller said. "So what is she doing here?" Cole repeated the question. "Filling out papers, answering phone calls, responding to requests on the spot, the usual stuff. Her position doesn't give any orders unless there's approval from above. She's what the business world calls an office secretary or an administrative assistant or whatever. The roles are pretty much the same, I think so." "Is it a good employee? Did you find anything wrong?" "As far as I know, we've never had a hard time with her."

"Have you noticed anything unusual about her in recent weeks?" "No. But I can't say that with certainty. As I said, I know her, of course, but we have very little to do with each other in our day-to-day business." "You don't get the feeling that she has any money problems?" "Anyway, no one has touched her wages, if that's what you're asking." They asked some more questions.Then Strauss led them to the central office cubicle to find the director of the office.Before Strauss turned to walk away, Puller asked, "How is your son?"

Strauss turned to face him. "It's fine. What's the matter?" "Just asking." "You have to realize that you have no right to inquire about his service. With all due respect, I take your question as an offense to him." "Sorry for making you feel that way. Did you serve in the military?" "No." "If you had been in the army, maybe you wouldn't think it was an offense." Strauss turned to look at Cole, and left them with a sullen face.