digging later.
***
At four thirty p.m., Janet pushed her
chair away from her desk with satisfaction. She had accomplished all her tasks
for the day, which was the perfect pretext for her to swing by Ham’s office.
While walking across the hallway, Janet
noticed that Dennis’s office was empty—he must have left recently since she had
heard him speaking with the receptionist only a few minutes ago. She knocked on
Ham’s office door and waited.
“Come in,” Ham’s voice carried through
the door.
Janet walked inside and shut the door
behind her. As usual, Ham looked busy. He’d loosened his argyle-patterned tie
and rolled up his shirt sleeves. There were countless folders on his desk and
his eyes looked tired behind the reading glasses.
Ham lifted up his glasses and rubbed the
bridge of his nose. “Hi Janet. How’s your day going?”
“I just wanted to give you an update on
my cases.” Janet placed a neatly typed status sheet on Ham’s desk.
Ham put his glasses back on and examined
the list. “Excellent work, Janet, excellent work. Our clients will be very
pleased.”
“Just doing my job.”
“You’re doing it very well and I can’t
tell you how much I appreciate it. You’re a damn good investigator—it takes
more than a good hunch, you know. It’s important to have your priorities
straight, and you certainly know how to do that.”
“Thank you, Ham. I’m just part of a
great team. If you need my help on anything else, just let me know.”
“Will do. I’m sure we’ll have something
new come in soon.”
“So nothing new came in today?” Janet
asked innocently, hoping she wasn’t going to set off any alarms.
“Today—no, but we’re sitting on a very
comfortable padding of account receivables,” Ham said, clearly pleased. “So if
you’re worried about our workload, there’s no need to worry. We’re doing very
nicely. In fact, I wouldn’t want to burn you and Dennis out.”
“Of course not. I’m very grateful for
your understanding.”
Ham smiled. “I like to think of myself
as the perfect boss.”
“You are, and Dennis and I both love
working for you,” Janet flattered the old man.
“You’re too kind.” Ham checked his
watch. “I don’t mean to kick you out of my office, Janet, but I have a
conference call with the FBI director—probably about a new case.
“Of course, I understand.” Janet turned
to leave.
“Thank you for a job well done, Janet.
Why don’t you call it a day?”
“Thanks Ham. I think I’ll do just that.
I’ve got some wedding planning to catch up on.”
“You two lovebirds.” Ham grinned. “I
sure hope Dennis is pulling his weight. Let me know if you need me to
straighten him out. I know how men can get when it comes to wedding plans.”
Janet smiled. “I’ll be sure to let you
know.”
Once out in the hallway, Janet saw that
Dennis’s office was still empty. He was probably gone for the day. She checked
her watch—it was a quarter to five. If she hurried, she might still catch the
receptionist.
Janet was relieved to see the gray cloud
of Anne’s hair as she approached the receptionist’s desk. “Anne, I was
wondering if I could have a word?”
“What’s that dear?” Anne clasped her
purse, which had already been planted on her desk in preparation to storm out
of the office the moment the clock hit five p.m.
“A word?” Janet repeated. “It will only
take a minute.”
“Yes, of course. How can I be of
assistance?” Anne’s bleary eyes stared at Janet through a set of thick lenses.
It was hard to say exactly how old Anne was, which could be anywhere between
sixty and eighty, and Janet never mustered up the guts to ask. According to
Ham, Anne came with excellent references, had a wealth of experience, and was
the pinnacle of discretion. Janet certainly agreed with the latter—Anne could
barely remember to take a message, let alone divulge any of the agency’s
private matters. And she was probably happy to
***
At four thirty p.m., Janet pushed her
chair away from her desk with satisfaction. She had accomplished all her tasks
for the day, which was the perfect pretext for her to swing by Ham’s office.
While walking across the hallway, Janet
noticed that Dennis’s office was empty—he must have left recently since she had
heard him speaking with the receptionist only a few minutes ago. She knocked on
Ham’s office door and waited.
“Come in,” Ham’s voice carried through
the door.
Janet walked inside and shut the door
behind her. As usual, Ham looked busy. He’d loosened his argyle-patterned tie
and rolled up his shirt sleeves. There were countless folders on his desk and
his eyes looked tired behind the reading glasses.
Ham lifted up his glasses and rubbed the
bridge of his nose. “Hi Janet. How’s your day going?”
“I just wanted to give you an update on
my cases.” Janet placed a neatly typed status sheet on Ham’s desk.
Ham put his glasses back on and examined
the list. “Excellent work, Janet, excellent work. Our clients will be very
pleased.”
“Just doing my job.”
“You’re doing it very well and I can’t
tell you how much I appreciate it. You’re a damn good investigator—it takes
more than a good hunch, you know. It’s important to have your priorities
straight, and you certainly know how to do that.”
“Thank you, Ham. I’m just part of a
great team. If you need my help on anything else, just let me know.”
“Will do. I’m sure we’ll have something
new come in soon.”
“So nothing new came in today?” Janet
asked innocently, hoping she wasn’t going to set off any alarms.
“Today—no, but we’re sitting on a very
comfortable padding of account receivables,” Ham said, clearly pleased. “So if
you’re worried about our workload, there’s no need to worry. We’re doing very
nicely. In fact, I wouldn’t want to burn you and Dennis out.”
“Of course not. I’m very grateful for
your understanding.”
Ham smiled. “I like to think of myself
as the perfect boss.”
“You are, and Dennis and I both love
working for you,” Janet flattered the old man.
“You’re too kind.” Ham checked his
watch. “I don’t mean to kick you out of my office, Janet, but I have a
conference call with the FBI director—probably about a new case.
“Of course, I understand.” Janet turned
to leave.
“Thank you for a job well done, Janet.
Why don’t you call it a day?”
“Thanks Ham. I think I’ll do just that.
I’ve got some wedding planning to catch up on.”
“You two lovebirds.” Ham grinned. “I
sure hope Dennis is pulling his weight. Let me know if you need me to
straighten him out. I know how men can get when it comes to wedding plans.”
Janet smiled. “I’ll be sure to let you
know.”
Once out in the hallway, Janet saw that
Dennis’s office was still empty. He was probably gone for the day. She checked
her watch—it was a quarter to five. If she hurried, she might still catch the
receptionist.
Janet was relieved to see the gray cloud
of Anne’s hair as she approached the receptionist’s desk. “Anne, I was
wondering if I could have a word?”
“What’s that dear?” Anne clasped her
purse, which had already been planted on her desk in preparation to storm out
of the office the moment the clock hit five p.m.
“A word?” Janet repeated. “It will only
take a minute.”
“Yes, of course. How can I be of
assistance?” Anne’s bleary eyes stared at Janet through a set of thick lenses.
It was hard to say exactly how old Anne was, which could be anywhere between
sixty and eighty, and Janet never mustered up the guts to ask. According to
Ham, Anne came with excellent references, had a wealth of experience, and was
the pinnacle of discretion. Janet certainly agreed with the latter—Anne could
barely remember to take a message, let alone divulge any of the agency’s
private matters. And she was probably happy to
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