Read Online Mind Switch by Lorne L. Bentley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lorne L. Bentley
Ads: Link
middle of his desk.”
“Oh, yes, I remember now. I was talking to him, and he looked at the clock. He abruptly stopped writing and headed out the front door. He left all his work papers in the middle of his desk. He had never done that before. Another thing, he bumped into Meg in the doorway as he left. Mr. Slivers is a very courteous man, yet he didn’t even stop to apologize to her. But it was even stranger that he stopped his work in mid sentence. He is so disciplined that he always wants to finish what he started.”
“Did he have an important appointment scheduled?”
“No, there’s nothing on his calendar.”
“Did you notice anything else that seemed unusual to you today?”
The secretary thought for a moment. “Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, he left earlier than he normally does for lunch. He habitually tells me where he’s going even if it is to the same place every day, and it always is. I guess it’s just part of his highly structured nature. But today, he just got up and left without saying a word. I yelled after him and asked if everything was all right, but he never answered me. The whole thing seemed strange.”
“I appreciate your being candid with me. You mentioned Meg, does she also work for Mr. Slivers?”
“Yes, she’s one of the insurance agents. I’ll send her in.”
“One more question. Where does he do his banking?”
“He does all his personal and business banking at the County Friendly, just across the street from us.”
Meg was a beautiful woman in her mid 30’s. Soft smile lines were just beginning to appear around her eyes. Her hair was a bright red, cut extremely short. Fred thought it looked like it had never seen a bottle, but he could not be sure based on the creativity of hair dye manufactures nowadays. His wife also had brilliant red hair, but he knew intimately that hers was natural. Regardless, nature had treated the agent very well over the years. She was slim; he guessed not more than 110 pounds.
It was immediately obvious that she adored her boss. Her first words were, “All of this must be a mistake.” Fred in fact had trouble getting her to concentrate on Slivers’ activities of the day; she constantly interjected her statements with words of support for her boss. The story he got from her was basically the same as he had obtained from Sliver’s secretary. Her boss was a great guy; and no, she had not noticed any significant change in his behavior over the past month.
As for Slivers’ personality, Meg confirmed the secretary’s view that he was a myopic man to the nth degree. He spent a lot of his time thinking, reviewing and re-reviewing details. His end products were professionally done. His regular place to eat was Joe’s Diner, which was a short walk from the office. Normally he was back in less than 45 minutes. He held his subordinates to strict lunch rules, so he didn’t violate them himself. He was a very honest and ethical man. Both his employees would make great character witnesses for the defense, Fred surmised.
Fred learned that Slivers was dedicated to the job and was often at work before his employees arrived and often stayed long after the last one had left. The only thing especially unusual this day was that he did not announce his lunch break and he had not returned to the office in his normal time.
Fred thought, that makes sense, because during that period he was in the bank randomly killing people. Fred thanked both of them for their cooperation and requested that they call him if they remembered anything that might help in the investigation.
Night had started to fall and Fred was happy he had decided to take his light, unlined jacket with him since the temperature had already dropped significantly since he first entered the insurance office.
He dropped over to Joe’s Diner. He had been in the insurance office for over an hour and was now disappointed to find that the doors of the diner were locked for
“Oh, yes, I remember now. I was talking to him, and he looked at the clock. He abruptly stopped writing and headed out the front door. He left all his work papers in the middle of his desk. He had never done that before. Another thing, he bumped into Meg in the doorway as he left. Mr. Slivers is a very courteous man, yet he didn’t even stop to apologize to her. But it was even stranger that he stopped his work in mid sentence. He is so disciplined that he always wants to finish what he started.”
“Did he have an important appointment scheduled?”
“No, there’s nothing on his calendar.”
“Did you notice anything else that seemed unusual to you today?”
The secretary thought for a moment. “Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, he left earlier than he normally does for lunch. He habitually tells me where he’s going even if it is to the same place every day, and it always is. I guess it’s just part of his highly structured nature. But today, he just got up and left without saying a word. I yelled after him and asked if everything was all right, but he never answered me. The whole thing seemed strange.”
“I appreciate your being candid with me. You mentioned Meg, does she also work for Mr. Slivers?”
“Yes, she’s one of the insurance agents. I’ll send her in.”
“One more question. Where does he do his banking?”
“He does all his personal and business banking at the County Friendly, just across the street from us.”
Meg was a beautiful woman in her mid 30’s. Soft smile lines were just beginning to appear around her eyes. Her hair was a bright red, cut extremely short. Fred thought it looked like it had never seen a bottle, but he could not be sure based on the creativity of hair dye manufactures nowadays. His wife also had brilliant red hair, but he knew intimately that hers was natural. Regardless, nature had treated the agent very well over the years. She was slim; he guessed not more than 110 pounds.
It was immediately obvious that she adored her boss. Her first words were, “All of this must be a mistake.” Fred in fact had trouble getting her to concentrate on Slivers’ activities of the day; she constantly interjected her statements with words of support for her boss. The story he got from her was basically the same as he had obtained from Sliver’s secretary. Her boss was a great guy; and no, she had not noticed any significant change in his behavior over the past month.
As for Slivers’ personality, Meg confirmed the secretary’s view that he was a myopic man to the nth degree. He spent a lot of his time thinking, reviewing and re-reviewing details. His end products were professionally done. His regular place to eat was Joe’s Diner, which was a short walk from the office. Normally he was back in less than 45 minutes. He held his subordinates to strict lunch rules, so he didn’t violate them himself. He was a very honest and ethical man. Both his employees would make great character witnesses for the defense, Fred surmised.
Fred learned that Slivers was dedicated to the job and was often at work before his employees arrived and often stayed long after the last one had left. The only thing especially unusual this day was that he did not announce his lunch break and he had not returned to the office in his normal time.
Fred thought, that makes sense, because during that period he was in the bank randomly killing people. Fred thanked both of them for their cooperation and requested that they call him if they remembered anything that might help in the investigation.
Night had started to fall and Fred was happy he had decided to take his light, unlined jacket with him since the temperature had already dropped significantly since he first entered the insurance office.
He dropped over to Joe’s Diner. He had been in the insurance office for over an hour and was now disappointed to find that the doors of the diner were locked for
Similar Books
