room. “And I would guess that broken trophy over there is the blunt instrument.”
“Thank you, professor,” said Detective Miller sarcastically. “We’ll take it from here.” She stepped around the body toward the trophy. Randy noticed several other trophies scattered around the floor, as well as a few still standing behind the broken glass door of a nearby display case. Most of them were for cheerleading and gymnastic competitions. What a waste , Randy thought, what a waste .
Randy stayed until after the scene was thoroughly photographed and the body removed. Detective Miller and her team carefully collected and sealed any fabrics, hairs, fluid samples, and any other items of interest, into evidence bags. The broken trophy was also collected. The entire process took nearly three hours.
Not wanting to seem rude or unappreciative, Randy offered to buy lunch for the pretty Detective.
“I’m surprised you still want to eat after that experience,” observed the detective. “Most people can’t eat until the smell goes away. How do you think I stay so thin?”
“That sounded like a no to me, but the offer still stands.” Attempting to change the conversation, Randy continued: “Now you have two dead bodies that had the misfortune of speaking to me recently.”
“Plus your traffic accident,” Michelle offered. “You could have been number three.”
“That was no accident, kiddo- I was being waved off; warned away from something, and my guess is I was being warned away from the Call Center. There’s something disturbing going on in there, and I’d sure like to find out what it is.”
Chapter Sixteen
Work. Why am I doing this? Randy asked himself as he pushed hanger after hanger across the rod in his closet. What does a private investigator wear to work nowadays? He settled on a dark-grey suit and black tie. He’ll probably have me wearing some rent-a-cop uniform with a silly baseball cap or something, anyway. At least the hour drive to Middleburg was an easy one. All the rush hour traffic was heading in the opposite direction, into the city.
When Randy pulled into FrazTek’s parking lot, he was surprised to see it was nearly full. Most of the vehicles were new, high-end models. I guess security work pays pretty well, he thought to himself, at least at FrazTek it does . He found a space and went inside.
Carl was on his office phone as Randy arrived, so the secretary ushered him into a nearby vacant office. There was a mountain of forms and paperwork to be completed before being assigned any kind of meaningful work, and it took the better part of the morning to finish it. Besides the normal employment forms, there were background check consent forms, fingerprints and applications to several local, state and federal offices that needed to be filled out and submitted. Does anyone actually read this stuff? He wondered to himself . I thought this paperwork nightmare was behind me. He kept reminding himself why he was going through this again.
Around noon, Carl stuck his head into the office where Randy was working. “Hey slacker, let’s go grab some lunch.”
The nearby Red Fox Inn and Tavern that Carl chose was more like a private hunting lodge than a restaurant. The Oak tables, handcrafted furnishings, stone fireplaces, hand-hewn ceiling beams and thick fieldstone walls created a relaxing dining environment. Of course, all of the wait staff knew Carl and treated him like a celebrity. The lunch conversation centered on work.
“I thought we should discuss your new duties,” Carl began. “Your experience and work history would put you right back behind a desk, but I have a feeling you are thinking of something different than being a desk jockey.”
“You know how much I like being cooped up,” Randy said, sarcastically. “Seriously, I was thinking of something outside that required some investigative skill. I am a trained observer, you know. But I was thinking of something more exciting than
“Thank you, professor,” said Detective Miller sarcastically. “We’ll take it from here.” She stepped around the body toward the trophy. Randy noticed several other trophies scattered around the floor, as well as a few still standing behind the broken glass door of a nearby display case. Most of them were for cheerleading and gymnastic competitions. What a waste , Randy thought, what a waste .
Randy stayed until after the scene was thoroughly photographed and the body removed. Detective Miller and her team carefully collected and sealed any fabrics, hairs, fluid samples, and any other items of interest, into evidence bags. The broken trophy was also collected. The entire process took nearly three hours.
Not wanting to seem rude or unappreciative, Randy offered to buy lunch for the pretty Detective.
“I’m surprised you still want to eat after that experience,” observed the detective. “Most people can’t eat until the smell goes away. How do you think I stay so thin?”
“That sounded like a no to me, but the offer still stands.” Attempting to change the conversation, Randy continued: “Now you have two dead bodies that had the misfortune of speaking to me recently.”
“Plus your traffic accident,” Michelle offered. “You could have been number three.”
“That was no accident, kiddo- I was being waved off; warned away from something, and my guess is I was being warned away from the Call Center. There’s something disturbing going on in there, and I’d sure like to find out what it is.”
Chapter Sixteen
Work. Why am I doing this? Randy asked himself as he pushed hanger after hanger across the rod in his closet. What does a private investigator wear to work nowadays? He settled on a dark-grey suit and black tie. He’ll probably have me wearing some rent-a-cop uniform with a silly baseball cap or something, anyway. At least the hour drive to Middleburg was an easy one. All the rush hour traffic was heading in the opposite direction, into the city.
When Randy pulled into FrazTek’s parking lot, he was surprised to see it was nearly full. Most of the vehicles were new, high-end models. I guess security work pays pretty well, he thought to himself, at least at FrazTek it does . He found a space and went inside.
Carl was on his office phone as Randy arrived, so the secretary ushered him into a nearby vacant office. There was a mountain of forms and paperwork to be completed before being assigned any kind of meaningful work, and it took the better part of the morning to finish it. Besides the normal employment forms, there were background check consent forms, fingerprints and applications to several local, state and federal offices that needed to be filled out and submitted. Does anyone actually read this stuff? He wondered to himself . I thought this paperwork nightmare was behind me. He kept reminding himself why he was going through this again.
Around noon, Carl stuck his head into the office where Randy was working. “Hey slacker, let’s go grab some lunch.”
The nearby Red Fox Inn and Tavern that Carl chose was more like a private hunting lodge than a restaurant. The Oak tables, handcrafted furnishings, stone fireplaces, hand-hewn ceiling beams and thick fieldstone walls created a relaxing dining environment. Of course, all of the wait staff knew Carl and treated him like a celebrity. The lunch conversation centered on work.
“I thought we should discuss your new duties,” Carl began. “Your experience and work history would put you right back behind a desk, but I have a feeling you are thinking of something different than being a desk jockey.”
“You know how much I like being cooped up,” Randy said, sarcastically. “Seriously, I was thinking of something outside that required some investigative skill. I am a trained observer, you know. But I was thinking of something more exciting than
Similar Books
