Knock, knock... by Dale Mayer Page B

"But that's the problem. I won't ever truly know . I'll look, assume what I see is what's there, and wonder ever after if he is camouflaging what he's doing, like Darren did. Darren could make his energy look so normal on the outside, yet he was something so different on the inside. He could change his energy so I'd never suspect." She shrugged. "So why bother trying with Roman? Why torment myself wondering if what I'm seeing is real or not?"
     
    "That doesn't make sense, you know that? You’ll torment yourself if you never take the chance to find out." Tabitha shook her head. "You're going to wonder anyway."
     
    "I know." Shay sighed. That's what Stefan said."
     
    ***
     
    Shay strode into her office Monday morning and sat down in her leather executive chair. She'd come in early enough to be alone – or so she'd hoped. There was something about having the space to herself before the day officially began...
     
    But today that wasn't to be.
     
    Jordan, her assistant, raced in behind her, discarding her coat and purse on the way. When she had Shay’s attention, she said, "Oh my God! Did you hear the news?"
     
    Oh no.
     
    Dread coiled inside. Was this about Bernice’s death? Or something else? Hadn't she had enough bad news already? "I don't know. There's been a lot happening. What news are you talking about?" she countered, flipping through the stack of folders on her desk
     
    "It's about David Cummings. He's dead." Jordan brought today's mail to Shay's desk and sorted it in front of her.
     
    Shay looked at Jordan and blinked. Her gaze latched onto the silver, cascading rings lining Jordan's ear. Surely that much weight, if not the incessant clanging as the rings banged against each other, had to give Jordan a headache? With difficulty Shay focused on what Jordan had been trying to tell her. "Who?"
     
    "You know. The guy with the application you just approved. We were about to send him a check. For the dental center on 46th Street, Westside Dental… The one that does dental surgery for the kids?"
     
    Shay struggled to put that proposal to the name. She remembered the dental shelter. They'd been funding it for a couple of years. "Sorry, I don't remember that name. That's tough on his family and colleagues."
     
    "We were dealing with Max Charter, and then he moved to the Eastside, and Dr. David Cummings took over the management of this one." Jordan raised an eyebrow. " He's the guy that died."
     
    Ah. Now that wasn't good for the dentist or for the Center. Still things like this happened, and they had to deal with it. "That's sad. I presume there is someone stepping in to take over from David?"
     
    "Oh sure. We'll make sure that the new manager is briefed before the money is sent over," said Jordan as she started making notes on a pad of paper she produced out of nowhere – an ability that continually amazed Shay.
     
    Jordan was always organized. She could put her fingers on the files Shay wanted within minutes and usually knew what Shay needed on a day-to-day basis as well. Shay had an older woman, Rose, working in the general office handling the phones and clerical duties but she couldn't begin to compete with Jordan's super organization. On the other hand, Rose handled people with a finesse that smoothed much of Jordan's abruptness.
     
    "Briefing the new manager is a good idea." Shay thought about the amount of funding, winced and forced herself to ask, "Do we know how David Cummings died?"
     
    "Collapsed while mowing his lawn," Jordan said with relish. "They are probably doing an autopsy right now."
     
    Shay rolled her eyes. "They don't do autopsies for every case."
     
    "No?" Jordan looked crestfallen. "That's too bad."
     
    "How do you figure?" Shay stared at her assistant curiously.
     
    "Well, they might make a mistake without it." Jordan shrugged. "Everyone deserves an autopsy to find out the truth."
     
    What? Shay stared at her young assistant in surprise. Rose walked in just then, her subdued