understand.
“I’ve installed his tracking program on my own computer and uploaded his files,” Latoya began. “I think I have things pretty well figured out, or at least well enough to explain to whoever we hire to replace him.” I breathed an internal sigh of relief—that was welcome news. “You saw the job description I drafted? Melanie’s posted that to the online sites, and it has or will appear in several of the print media shortly. Since our acquisitions are currently on hold, we’re not losing any ground. There have been a few responses, and Melanie has given me a couple of résumés, but I’m not going to hurry this, and in any case it’s a slow time of year.”
“Fair enough. I’m happy to let you handle that, since you know what qualifications are needed, better than I do, at any rate. Is there anything you would change about the position?”
She considered briefly. “Not really. It requires someone who is systematic and thorough, and has at least some knowledge of historic items so that he or she can describe them accurately. Those are my top priorities.”
I wondered if I should add something to her description of the position. Latoya was by no means a tyrant, but she did need to find someone who could stand up to her. Alfred had never learned how to do that. But then, Alfred had never stood up to anyone, as far as I could tell. Still, I wasn’t going to interfere. Either I trusted Latoya to do her job or I didn’t. Right now I needed to trust her. “That sounds good. Let me know if you want me to talk to any of your picks, but I trust your judgment.”
“Thank you, Nell. I won’t let you down.” She stood up to leave. At the doorway she said, “Sad thing, that accident at Let’s Play, isn’t it? Maybe we should check our records to see if we’ve ever used the same electricians. I know we had some work done on the fourth floor when we had to replace part of the roof a few years ago. See you later.”
After she’d left, I considered what she’d said. Should I check our own records? Although I was pretty sure that if an electrician looked at what we had in place, he’d run screaming . . . straight to the city’s building inspectors. One more problem I did not need.
CHAPTER 10
I hauled myself away from my office at quarter to seven. I’d sent Eric home before six, although he’d volunteered to stay if I needed him. I didn’t, but I appreciated his offer. He seemed like a sweet kid, but before I made him an offer of long-term employment I wanted to observe his organizational and administrative skills, and those hadn’t really been tested yet. At the same time, I wasn’t going to insist on a fat résumé and years of experience if it turned out that he could do the job. In any case, that was a decision that I did not have to make right this minute, unlike a long list of other items.
When I let myself out the front door, I found James on the front steps. “Were you waiting for me?” I asked. “You could have come inside.”
“I didn’t want to upset anyone. People see an FBI agent, they get concerned.” He smiled. “You have time for a drink? The Doubletree?”
Twice in one week. My, my, things were heating up. “Sure.”
James escorted me the block to the hotel on the corner of Broad Street and found us a quiet table. We ordered drinks, and when we were settled, I decided to jump-start the conversation. “Listen, this kerfuffle at the Let’s Play Museum—that doesn’t fall anywhere in your jurisdiction, does it?”
“Kerfuffle? I don’t know if that’s a legal term. You mean the suspicious death last night? No, that’s within the purview of the local police. They wouldn’t welcome us sticking our noses in, unless it was an incidence of domestic terrorism. Is it?” he joked.
“I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s not a bad idea,” I retorted. “Attack our treasured local institutions, starting with children’s museums, and undermine American society.
“I’ve installed his tracking program on my own computer and uploaded his files,” Latoya began. “I think I have things pretty well figured out, or at least well enough to explain to whoever we hire to replace him.” I breathed an internal sigh of relief—that was welcome news. “You saw the job description I drafted? Melanie’s posted that to the online sites, and it has or will appear in several of the print media shortly. Since our acquisitions are currently on hold, we’re not losing any ground. There have been a few responses, and Melanie has given me a couple of résumés, but I’m not going to hurry this, and in any case it’s a slow time of year.”
“Fair enough. I’m happy to let you handle that, since you know what qualifications are needed, better than I do, at any rate. Is there anything you would change about the position?”
She considered briefly. “Not really. It requires someone who is systematic and thorough, and has at least some knowledge of historic items so that he or she can describe them accurately. Those are my top priorities.”
I wondered if I should add something to her description of the position. Latoya was by no means a tyrant, but she did need to find someone who could stand up to her. Alfred had never learned how to do that. But then, Alfred had never stood up to anyone, as far as I could tell. Still, I wasn’t going to interfere. Either I trusted Latoya to do her job or I didn’t. Right now I needed to trust her. “That sounds good. Let me know if you want me to talk to any of your picks, but I trust your judgment.”
“Thank you, Nell. I won’t let you down.” She stood up to leave. At the doorway she said, “Sad thing, that accident at Let’s Play, isn’t it? Maybe we should check our records to see if we’ve ever used the same electricians. I know we had some work done on the fourth floor when we had to replace part of the roof a few years ago. See you later.”
After she’d left, I considered what she’d said. Should I check our own records? Although I was pretty sure that if an electrician looked at what we had in place, he’d run screaming . . . straight to the city’s building inspectors. One more problem I did not need.
CHAPTER 10
I hauled myself away from my office at quarter to seven. I’d sent Eric home before six, although he’d volunteered to stay if I needed him. I didn’t, but I appreciated his offer. He seemed like a sweet kid, but before I made him an offer of long-term employment I wanted to observe his organizational and administrative skills, and those hadn’t really been tested yet. At the same time, I wasn’t going to insist on a fat résumé and years of experience if it turned out that he could do the job. In any case, that was a decision that I did not have to make right this minute, unlike a long list of other items.
When I let myself out the front door, I found James on the front steps. “Were you waiting for me?” I asked. “You could have come inside.”
“I didn’t want to upset anyone. People see an FBI agent, they get concerned.” He smiled. “You have time for a drink? The Doubletree?”
Twice in one week. My, my, things were heating up. “Sure.”
James escorted me the block to the hotel on the corner of Broad Street and found us a quiet table. We ordered drinks, and when we were settled, I decided to jump-start the conversation. “Listen, this kerfuffle at the Let’s Play Museum—that doesn’t fall anywhere in your jurisdiction, does it?”
“Kerfuffle? I don’t know if that’s a legal term. You mean the suspicious death last night? No, that’s within the purview of the local police. They wouldn’t welcome us sticking our noses in, unless it was an incidence of domestic terrorism. Is it?” he joked.
“I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s not a bad idea,” I retorted. “Attack our treasured local institutions, starting with children’s museums, and undermine American society.
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