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for help or anything. I mention this because people can call the driver direct to get his or her schedule. They don’t have to call the office.”

“I am not saying you should change the practice. It is a good practice. It makes me feel good to know that my driver and tour guide are available to help me, should I need it, in a new place I’ve never been to before. I just believe the murderer knew Duffy’s route. The murderer had to know.”

“I hear you. You’re probably right about that.” I could tell Jackson was taking his time with his note writing. His words had slowed down. He had concentrated more on his writing than what he said to me.

I stared at my list debating, on what information to share next with him. Lanta and her attraction for black men were high on my mind. Yet, my inner voice said, Not yet. Scanning my list, I decided on Duffy and his drinking habit.

“Several people have mentioned to me that Duffy drank too much. Are you aware of this? Has this ever been a problem for you?”

“No, this is not a problem. My drivers know my rules and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules. My drivers are not allowed to drink at any time while on a trip, not even during their non-driving hours. The non-driving hours are when they are at the hotel for the night or having dinner, something like that. I’ll fire a driver on the spot for drinking on the job. The safety of my passengers is of the utmost importance.”

“Have you heard rumors of his drinking?”

“I have not. If he was drinking too much, I think it would show its ugly head to me in many ways. I run a drug and alcohol free workplace that includes both drug and alcohol testing. So the tests would tell me, his behavior in staff meetings would tell me, his driving record would tell me, and the unannounced tour visits I perform would tell me.”

“What do you mean unannounced tour visits?”

“I show up unannounced at tour sites. I do this for many reasons, such as to make sure passengers are having a wonderful time, to make sure the buses are cleaned according to standard, to ensure driver and tour guide are doing their best to make the tour entertaining and fun for the passengers. And I do this to make sure the hotel meets Brightness’s standard and is providing all the amenities paid for. There’s a list of things I check on while there. I do unannounced visits on all the drivers and tour guides. I was in Pigeon Forge, though I didn’t go on any of the tours. I checked in on Duffy and Lemmonee. The meetings I had with the hotel staff and the other hotels in the area prevented me from being on the actual tours.”

I felt as if Jackson had picked up a large stone and hurled it at me. Stunned, I froze while the information he just shared sped by me, then whirled back around and blasted itself into my brain.

“You were at the hotel with us. Uh, I don’t remember seeing you. Why . . . why are you just now telling me this?”

“There was nothing to tell. I do this all the time.”

“But you’ve never been on one of your unannounced visits where a murder occurred on the way home,” I said more brusquely than I’d intended.

Jackson heard the alarm in me, or perhaps he sensed in retrospect that he should have told me.

“Vett, I didn’t interact much with the passengers. I attended one of your breakfasts. I walked around a bit, but it was too many people there. The prescheduled meetings kept me busy. It, uh, it never crossed my mind that my appearance at the hotel would be important.”

“It is important. You keeping that information from me makes it seem like you have something to hide.”

“I have nothing to hide. I didn’t murder Duffy, but I do want to know who did. How did we get on this subject anyway?”

His words weren’t reassuring. “Jackson, is there anything you know about Duffy’s murder?”

“I assure you there is nothing that I know. If I did, I would tell you. I’ll do anything to help you find out who murdered him.”

I didn’t like it that Jackson hadn’t told me he was at the hotel. All sorts of images of Jackson, Duffy, and alcohol ran through my mind. Was he checking up on Duffy specifically? Did he smell alcohol on Duffy’s breath? I decided to get back on track with the information I wanted to provide him before the questions flooding my mind rendered me incoherent.

“Uh, Nancy has it in her head that you are trying to cheat her out of Duffy’s insurance money.”

“What! Is she saying I let Duffy drive knowing he drank too much? Is this where you got this information on Duffy drinking too much? Is Nancy saying I let him drive under the influence?”

Clearly, I had hit a nerve with Jackson. Perhaps, he did suspect Duffy of drinking too much.

“Nancy said neither of those things. I just thought you should know that she is concerned about Duffy’s insurance money.”

“Well, thanks for letting me know that. People saying Duffy drinks too much concern me. I have never seen him take a drink on duty. I do watch for signs in my drivers, and Duffy isn’t a habitual drinker. I know the signs. There is sadness in habitual drinkers. They drink alone, have alcoholic breath, repeatedly justify their alcohol consumption, have mood swings, have aggressive behavior, and have tremors or shakes. I could name other signs of habitual drinkers. Duffy had none of these signs.”

“Do you know how long alcohol stays in one’s system?”

“Sure I do. In the hair, alcohol is present for up to ninety days. In blood or oral fluid, it is present twelve to twenty-four hours. And in urine, it can stay in the body from six