Dean confirmed there were no developments nor had the body been located. He asked if he might record the interview in addition to taking notes. Mayer readily agreed and Dean produced a hand-held recorder from his briefcase. Dean had used a less intrusive pad and pencil with Cynthia Byrne.
"This whole business is a damn shame," Mayer repeated. "I can't get over it. You just don't know what to say." He paused. "It was kind of a dumb thing for ol' Jeff to do, wasn't it?"
"It seems that way, at least in retrospect. Does swimming alone late at night strike you as in character for Byrne?"
Mayer took no time in responding. "I suppose any of us might act stupid, given the circumstances. You're out of town, you have a few snorts at dinner, it's a hot night, there's a beach. Why not?"
"I suppose you're right. We've all done things we regret later." Dean changed the subject. "What was it exactly Byrne did for World Wide?"
"We called his position Regional Marketing Manager, but in reality he was a glorified errand boy-a paper pusher. He didn't make any decisions; he just went out and visited the local offices and some of our independent agents, you know, pumping up our product line, troubleshooting, that sort of thing."
"Was he good at it?"
"Sure. Well, good enough." Mayer pushed up his sleeve and scratched a bony elbow before continuing. "Let me put it this way, there are fast-track guys and day-to-day guys-the guys who just get the job done. Byrne was a day-to-day guy. He wasn't going anywhere in the organization, but he didn't really want to, either."
"You're saying he was content at his job?"
"Hell, yes. Like a frog in a mill pond. He never liked being on the hot seat and he'd found his niche with this job. Yeah, ol' Jeff was content. We liked his work and he liked what he was doing. You can't beat that, can you? You know, I never once heard him bitch in all the years he worked for me."
"Tell me about this last trip-the one to Norfolk, Virginia."
"What's to tell? It was the usual swing down to Norfolk."
"Nothing out of the ordinary?" Dean asked.
"Naw. Jeff would hit all of the districts a few times a year, spend two, sometimes three days depending on the need."
"Did he make up his schedule, or did you?" Dean asked.
"A little of each, I guess. I gave him a general overview and he picked the times, unless something hot was cooking."
"Was something hot cooking in Norfolk?"
Mayer shook his head. "Just routine." He rocked back in his chair and added, "There was a little shindig for the marketing guy-Fletch Brunell. It was his last day-finally. Good riddance."