it.
“Ha! When have you ever known me to pass up a beer? Thanks, that’d be great.” I took the beer and leaned back to open it with the hem of my shirt. He followed my lead and sat down in the matching leather chair beside me. After the first swig I put my feet on the coffee table and asked, “Any ideas about this case I should know about?”
He swallowed some beer first. “No, but I’m wondering about something else. Why are you being chauffeured around in your grandmother’s car, and why is it parked out front now?”
Damn. I’d told William to go home after he dropped Riley at his house. “I had a meeting with B today. She insisted that I take her car and William, which was fine because I needed a ride at the time. But now it’s just annoying. I’ll get rid of him in a minute.”
I took another drink and looked up to see Ottie waiting for the rest of the story. This is the reason I never play poker with Ottie.
“I think B is getting a little senile, or …I’m not sure what’s wrong with her, but she seems to think that I need protection from something or some person. It’s a long story.”
I could see his eyes widen, so I added, “I know, I know, crazy, right? I don’t know what I’m going to do about her.” I just remembered he was the only other person who knew about my attack. “Did you tell anyone about my being mugged?”
“No. I figured you’d want to keep that out of the office, if possible. Why? Did you want me to?”
“No, and thanks for keeping it to yourself. I’m embarrassed enough. I don’t need any more attention, and it doesn’t look good for the company that I got mugged. Not the kind of publicity we need, if you know what I mean.”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. It sounds like you took care of yourself. Why did you ask? Does someone else know about it?”
“That’s what my meeting with B was about today. Somehow she found out and called me this morning and requested, no, demanded to see me. She sent William to fetch me and shadow me today ‘until other protection can be provided.’ What a piece of work! Barely a word from her in all these years, and now…. She’s obviously crazy, Ottie.”
“What makes you think she’s crazy?”
“Ottie. She was sitting as pretty as a picture, eating her biscotti and drinking her tea out of a beautiful china cup, talking about immortal beings who are after me. Trust me, she’s nuts.”
I decided to shift topics. “But enough about my family. Did you have any messages about the Janeck case?”
He drank some more beer and then leaned back and closed his eyes. “Nope, but I’ll check with my sources in the police department tomorrow. Maybe someone will have some information by then.”
“You look tired, Ottie. Did you sleep at all last night?”
“Yeah,” he said rubbing his eyes. “I got a few hours, but bed is definitely calling my name. You ready to leave? I’ll walk you out.” He took the last swig of beer and stood to leave.
“Nah, go ahead. I have to leave a note for Devon and a couple of things for Kim.”
“Okay. See ya in the morning, boss.”
He turned to leave and I just had time to yell, “Hey, thanks again for getting my Jeep cleaned!” before he disappeared out the door.
It was after seven when I finally got on the road for home. William had been a pain in the ass, but he finally gave in and headed back to B. Jeez, like I couldn’t even drive home by myself? What was I, thirteen?
Bonnie Raitt was singing “Louise,” the top was down, a cool breeze lifted my hair, and this day from hell was finally ending. All I had to do was keep the vision of the Janecks out of my head. Oops, too late. Shit, there it was—the vision of their torn, bloodless bodies.
I reminded myself to concentrate on the road. Bonnie switched to “About to Make Me Leave Home,” one of my favorites, so I turned up the radio and sang along.
A few songs later, I was headed down our gravel driveway. Alan’s car
“Ha! When have you ever known me to pass up a beer? Thanks, that’d be great.” I took the beer and leaned back to open it with the hem of my shirt. He followed my lead and sat down in the matching leather chair beside me. After the first swig I put my feet on the coffee table and asked, “Any ideas about this case I should know about?”
He swallowed some beer first. “No, but I’m wondering about something else. Why are you being chauffeured around in your grandmother’s car, and why is it parked out front now?”
Damn. I’d told William to go home after he dropped Riley at his house. “I had a meeting with B today. She insisted that I take her car and William, which was fine because I needed a ride at the time. But now it’s just annoying. I’ll get rid of him in a minute.”
I took another drink and looked up to see Ottie waiting for the rest of the story. This is the reason I never play poker with Ottie.
“I think B is getting a little senile, or …I’m not sure what’s wrong with her, but she seems to think that I need protection from something or some person. It’s a long story.”
I could see his eyes widen, so I added, “I know, I know, crazy, right? I don’t know what I’m going to do about her.” I just remembered he was the only other person who knew about my attack. “Did you tell anyone about my being mugged?”
“No. I figured you’d want to keep that out of the office, if possible. Why? Did you want me to?”
“No, and thanks for keeping it to yourself. I’m embarrassed enough. I don’t need any more attention, and it doesn’t look good for the company that I got mugged. Not the kind of publicity we need, if you know what I mean.”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. It sounds like you took care of yourself. Why did you ask? Does someone else know about it?”
“That’s what my meeting with B was about today. Somehow she found out and called me this morning and requested, no, demanded to see me. She sent William to fetch me and shadow me today ‘until other protection can be provided.’ What a piece of work! Barely a word from her in all these years, and now…. She’s obviously crazy, Ottie.”
“What makes you think she’s crazy?”
“Ottie. She was sitting as pretty as a picture, eating her biscotti and drinking her tea out of a beautiful china cup, talking about immortal beings who are after me. Trust me, she’s nuts.”
I decided to shift topics. “But enough about my family. Did you have any messages about the Janeck case?”
He drank some more beer and then leaned back and closed his eyes. “Nope, but I’ll check with my sources in the police department tomorrow. Maybe someone will have some information by then.”
“You look tired, Ottie. Did you sleep at all last night?”
“Yeah,” he said rubbing his eyes. “I got a few hours, but bed is definitely calling my name. You ready to leave? I’ll walk you out.” He took the last swig of beer and stood to leave.
“Nah, go ahead. I have to leave a note for Devon and a couple of things for Kim.”
“Okay. See ya in the morning, boss.”
He turned to leave and I just had time to yell, “Hey, thanks again for getting my Jeep cleaned!” before he disappeared out the door.
It was after seven when I finally got on the road for home. William had been a pain in the ass, but he finally gave in and headed back to B. Jeez, like I couldn’t even drive home by myself? What was I, thirteen?
Bonnie Raitt was singing “Louise,” the top was down, a cool breeze lifted my hair, and this day from hell was finally ending. All I had to do was keep the vision of the Janecks out of my head. Oops, too late. Shit, there it was—the vision of their torn, bloodless bodies.
I reminded myself to concentrate on the road. Bonnie switched to “About to Make Me Leave Home,” one of my favorites, so I turned up the radio and sang along.
A few songs later, I was headed down our gravel driveway. Alan’s car
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