Chapter 26

At breakfast Tuesday morning Bob said, “Sally, I’ve been thinking about the offer you made Ms. Rose regarding the six women in New York. I’m still not sure we are equipped to help them other than provide a safe place to stay. Think she would tell women of our offer then ask for them to choose a place where we can meet?”

“Nancy should call her. Just making the offer should help their confidence.”

“I can do that,” said Nancy.

“All four of us are going to Cynthia’s office this morning,” said Sarah. “We should be back early afternoon. Do we want to stop by Shirley and Fred’s to lead them over? I think it’s on the way back.”

“It is,” added Rusty. “If we stop there I plan on talking to the office manager. If she is interested in sharing her observations, I’ll give her Flanigan’s contact information.”

“What do you have planned for Wednesday and Thursday?” asked Nancy.

“Hanging around here,” said Sarah.

“Good. I think we should review our procedures as we have a few new participants.”

“Those two days would be fine with us,” replied Stan with Julia nodding agreement.

“Well with everyone here on Thursday, we should also practice a few threat response scenarios, provided we have time.”

After breakfast, they went to the garage to check the rf emission data collected for the car they used yesterday. Sally looked over the output then said, “So far so good.”

“So how long will the testing take?” asked Sarah.

“We like to do 25 hours or longer if we can.”

“Let’s take my car,” said Rusty. “Sarah, do you want to drive?”

“Sure.”

As they pulled into the parking lot for the real estate office Sarah said, “Looks like we are a little early.”

“Do you want to wait?”

“Nah, half an hour early should make a good impression. Besides we can scope out the offices while we wait.” Apparently the receptionist had seen them and alerted Cynthia, as she was waiting to greet them when they entered the building.

Cynthia said, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” replied the group.

Sarah added, “We are a little early.”

“Not a problem. Terry, I tried to call you the other day and there wasn’t any answer. Have you moved?”

“Yes. I start a new position next week which should be very interesting.” Sarah, Rusty and Sally had difficulty keeping a straight face.

“That’s great.”

“Cynthia, this is Rusty, a close friend.”

“Nice to meet you,” replied Cynthia. “This is Margret. She is a key element of this office.” After exchanging greetings Cynthia said, “Let me show you around the office and introduce you to the staff that are here.” While on the tour, she introduced Sarah as her new assistant. In the introductions she noted that Sarah was previously an agent in the Crossroads office. The tour ended in Sarah’s new office. Sarah was surprised, as it looked like everything was new but it didn’t have a new smell.

“Wow, this is very nice Cynthia. Have you firmed up your thoughts on how we will work together and my responsibilities?”

“Somewhat, do you want to talk about it now, or wait until Monday?”

Rusty said, “Why don’t Sally and you talk to her, as I want to look around a bit.

“Terry and I can wait in the lobby, while you two rough out what you will be doing next week. We have the rest of the morning free.”

“In that case, if you have the time, we could spend a little time discussing my position now, in general, then, on Monday, we can sort out the details and clear up any gray areas.”

“Okay, let’s use my office. Rusty and Terry, you are welcome to join us, or you can wait here or in the lounge. Just make yourselves at home, and if you want something to drink, it is in the refrigerator in the lounge. Just help yourself.”

“I would like a drink, so we will wait there.”

“Super. Terry is familiar with where things are located in the building.” Cynthia then led Sally and Sarah into her adjoining office.

“Sarah, I am really pleased you decided to try this. I didn’t mention it last week, but all the agents in your old office spoke very highly of you.” Sarah blushed. “As to your contribution here, initially I would like you to review the way we handle our real estate contracts and associated financial accounts. It seems to me that it could be improved. While I don’t think it has cost us any money or customers yet, but I am concerned that it could. We’ve made some changes since you worked in the Crossroads office. There are likely some portions you didn’t see as an agent. There are some new regulations we need to address as well. From that you can determine the changes needed to improve our operation.”

After discussing their experiences with customers, contracts and accounts Sarah said, “This should be an interesting project. Alexia and I sought to avoid most issues as we closely monitored them as they moved through the process. For us, doing that seemed to avoid most land mines. Do all the sales people use PC’s?”

“Most do, though we have a few who use them only if they have too.”

“Have you considered moving toward electronic documents?”

“We had a proposal sometime ago. Besides being fairly pricey, it had other short comings which is why it was dropped.”

“Okay. Let me think about it. I am sure I will have many questions on Monday.” Just then Cynthia’s phone rang, causing her to look at the clock.

“Oh my, we have taken much longer than I thought we would. Rusty and Terry must think we forgot about them.” She spoke on the phone for a brief moment. “If you’ll excuse me for a couple of minutes to take this call?”

“We’ll wait in my office,” replied Sarah smiling at the sound of those words.

“So what do you think?” asked Sarah.

“An interesting opportunity,” replied Sally. “She didn’t put any constraints on how to do it.”

“Yes. From my distant observation, she always seemed to be a very results orientated manager. As a salesperson there are several areas that I think need significant improvement.”

“Before Monday, we should talk about the process from an agent’s perspective.”

“So, you want to help?”

“Of, course.” Just as Sally finished speaking Cynthia opened the adjoining door.

“So, what do you think of the position?” asked Cynthia.

“I like it. Especially since it looks like I’ll get to apply some of what I learned in college. That alone will be a first since graduating.”

“I thought you had a job after college.”

“Oh. I did have one between college and graduate school. The position required a business degree but could have been done by a good high school graduate with common sense.”

“Common sense seems to be rather rare quality these days.”

“Have we covered everything you wanted too?”

“Yes definitely. Thank you for stopping by.”

“Are the extensions direct dial?”

“Yes. Ask Margret for the number as she keeps the internal phone list. Your PC will be here later this week.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“I expect my appointment will be here momentarily. Sarah, Sally, I am very glad you came by today so we could go over the position’s duties. I am looking forward to seeing you on Monday.”

“Cynthia, I am also looking forward to next week,” said Sarah. “Have a great week.”

Sarah and Sally watched Cynthia as she went back to her office. Once the door closed, Sarah said, “Let’s see what Terry and Rusty are up to then go for lunch.” She had just finished speaking when Rusty and Terry opened the door.

“We were just talking about coming to look for you,” said Sally as Sarah looked around her office taking stock of it.

“I know,” replied Rusty with a smile.

Sarah looked at him thoughtfully then smiling said, “I’m ready, except for seeing Margaret, then let’s go get lunch. From what Cynthia described about the tasks she wants me to do, Sally and I will be quite busy next week, and perhaps for quite some time. We’re not in a hurry so let’s take the long way out.”

Sarah led them out of her office and toward the back of the building. They chatted as they moved through the halls but acknowledged anyone they met. Several times they spoke with an agent, before drifting toward the front of the building. They were nearly there when they heard, “Did you see the fox Cynthia hired to be her assistant?”

A man replied, “Yes. Both are,” just as Sarah and Sally stepped into view outside their office. The man behind the desk turned a bright red causing the other turn around.

“Gentlemen,” said Sarah, “I don’t think we’ve met but thanks for the compliment.”

“Thanks for not taking offense,” said the man behind the desk. “My name is Stewart Long and this is James Finch.”

“There was nothing to take offense over. In fact I think I prefer being a fox over being just beautiful,” replied Sarah with a smile. After introducing her group she continued with, “So how is business?”

“Pretty good considering. Neither of us are doing as well as you and Alexia were doing. I heard she left.”

“It happened while I was away. I understand her husband was transferred. She was great to work with. Do you two work together?”

“No. Just good friends and golfing partners. Our partners will be in later.”

“Well we’re headed for lunch so see you next week.”

“Looking forward to it,” replied Stewart offered his hand to which Sarah responded with a firm grip. After exchanging hand shakes, they continued their walk.

On reaching the receptionist Sarah said, “Cynthia said you would know my direct phone number.”

“Yes,” replied Margaret. “It’s on your business card.”

“Already.”

“Yes. They are pretty quick. Why don’t you take a hand full and I’ll put the rest in your office. The rest of the accessories for your office will be here tomorrow. I expect to have them unpacked before the end of the week. So it should look more like an office on Monday. The PC will be here Thursday and our systems person will set it up on Friday. If you find you need anything else let me know. Also I’ll have keys for you on Monday along with a few other odds and ends.”

“Wow. I really appreciate you organizing all of that.”

“Well I thought it was a good way to welcome the best agent in the company to our office.”

“Best agent?”

“You and Alexia weren’t the highest in sales but the two of you had very high sales, along with an unusually high referral rate. To me sales are only one aspect of an agent’s performance.”

“You’re an agent.”

“I have been. This position is much more enjoyable. It is very interesting and usually without difficult customers to deal with except on the phone.”

“Well thanks again for organizing my office. We’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”

Sarah gave a card to her friends before putting the others in her purse as they prepared to leave.

After lunch they stopped by the office where Rusty’s apartment was located. When they entered the office, the manager was with another tenant but nodded to them when she saw them. After the tenant left the manager said, “Rusty, I didn’t think I would see you for a while. What can I do for you?”

“I just came by to chat. I think you know my friends, except for Terry.”

“Yes, I met all but Terry the other day. Why don’t we use my office? Would you like some coffee?”

Rusty looked at the group then said, “I don’t think so. We just had lunch at a nice local Italian restaurant.” As they were sitting down Rusty nudged the door to but not closed.

“This looks serious,” responded the manager.

“I don’t rightly know,” replied Rusty. “Yesterday we were down near Riverbend and had an off the record conversation with two State Police investigators. They’re investigating the fire at a farm that happened last week where the sheriff deputy died. It appears that the owner may have been involved in human trafficking but died a day earlier in another fire. During the chat, I mentioned the conversation we had the other day about abrupt disappearances. They were interested so they may follow up. I gave them some suggestions on where to look but no names.”

“With all the other problems, I’m kind of surprised.”

“Rusty told us of your conversation,” said Terry. “The manager at the complex where I used to live made similar comments to us. This was partially prompted by me suddenly being gone for several weeks and my apartment being emptied out during my absence.”

“Which one was that?”

“Briar Wood.”

“They have a nice operation.”

“Yes. I was quite happy living there.”

“Do you have the officers names?”

“Here are their cards?” replied Rusty. “If you call them you may want to reference the conversation we had with them yesterday.”

“So where are you living now?”

“On a private estate. It’s owned by the people we work for which is N&R Security.”

“The woman you sublet to came in yesterday to inquire if I knew of any job openings in the area. I know you just met them, but what is your opinion of them.”

“Basically, good people. He is in a specialized area of the service. From what they said, they had a planned for her and the children to stay with one of their parents during his deployment. It came off the rails for some reason. Then they found a house in the area to rent but the owner refused when he learned they were a military family. This is why they were looking for an apartment on such short notice.”

“My last assistant was let go. I would hire Shirley but I am concerned about the children being here in the office while she is working.”

“The children were well behaved and it seemed natural,” said Sarah. “My impression is that they wouldn’t be a problem here, especially if they had a place to play that was out-of-the-way.”

“You may want to offer it to her on a trial basis,” said Sally. “She may have some doubts as well. I agree with Rusty and Sarah’s assessments.”

“Well she is the best applicant I’ve had so far, with one more to interview tomorrow. Shirley’s application is stronger than that of tomorrow’s interview. Thanks for the recommendation.” Just as she finished speaking the door chime sounded. “Sounds like the door. Anything else?”

“Not from my perspective,” said Rusty.

When they stepped out of the office Rusty said, “Well I’ll be.” Lieutenants Flanigan and Rose were standing by the counter.

“Small world isn’t it,” responded Rose with Flanigan chuckling.

“How did yesterday go after we left?”

“As well as we expected,” replied Rose. “In other words, not according to plan but we achieved the goal.”

“Lieutenants Rose and Flanigan, this is Diane the complex manager.”

After exchanging greetings Lt. Flanigan asked, “How do you know each other?”

“I have an apartment here that I am now subletting.”

“And he was an excellent tenant,” added Diane. “He assisted me with issues several times. He just gave me your cards so I presume you are here to hear of my observations.”

“Interesting...” said Flanigan with a skeptical look as Rose rolled her eyes.

“I needed to stop by my apartment for another reason, so I came in to tell her that you may contact her and why.”

“Look,” said Sarah firmly, “we are four adults with no family to check on us. For us the issue you are dealing with is very serious. We are fortunate that we now have each other. There are many around who don’t have that security net.”

“Sorry,” said Flanigan with Rose nodding, “it just seemed too convenient.”

Sally said, “We thought the same thing yesterday afternoon when the patrolman talked to us, then the two of you show up not long after.”

“After reading the reports from yesterday, I can understand that.”

“We were just leaving,” said Sarah, “unless you need us to stay.”

“I don’t think so,” replied Lt. Rose. “In spite of our prancing around it was good to see all of you again.” Everyone was chuckling by the time she finished her comment.

“In that case,” said Sarah with a smile, “you all have a great afternoon.”

As they walked to their vehicle Rusty said, “An interesting coincidence.”

“A quick response to what we told them yesterday especially the way they down played it,” added Sally. “So does this mean the case is bigger than they let on?”

“Good question,” replied Terry. “But do we want to know?”

“Not really.”

As they got out of the car in front of the apartment building Sarah said, “I think I just saw two faces at the window.”

The door to the apartment opened almost as soon as Rusty knocked, to reveal the smiling faces of Janice and Thomas. Thomas said, “Good you’re here,” as Janice shouted, “Mom, Dad, they are here.”

“How are you guys?” asked Sally.

“Fine.”

“I didn’t hear anyone knock,” said Shirley entering the room along with Fred.

“I’m not surprised,” replied Rusty. “I hardly touched the door and it opened.”

“Thomas. Janice, you know better than open the door.”

“But Mom, we knew it was them,” said Janice. “We saw them arrive.”

“We would only open the door for them,” added Thomas.

“Okay. But no others.”

“Yes, mother.”

“Sorry,” said Shirley to their visitors. “It’s good to see you, again.”

Sarah said, “It’s good to see you all. Shirley, Fred, this is Terry, another close friend.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“So how are you doing with settling in?”

“Pretty good although there is still a lot to do.”

“If you all are ready to go,” said Sally, “we can lead you over there, which is probably easier than the directions.”

“Thank you,” replied Fred.

“We’re ready,” said Thomas and Janice. “Can we go now?”

“Well, I guess, we are,” added Shirley chuckling. “Go get your backpacks.”

“Yea,” hollered the children as they ran toward the bedroom.

“Walk,” said Fred slowing them to a trot.

“There don’t seem to be many children nearby.”

“To be honest,” said Rusty, “I never paid much attention to that although I’m pretty sure I saw some around. But I have no clue as to when or what age. Perhaps you will meet more when the pool opens, or you could go up to the playground around mid-day or in the late afternoon. I’m afraid I’m not much help with that.”

“We brought your bags too,” said Thomas as they returned with their backpacks and dragging their parents bags. The adults all looked at each other and smiled.