I smiled and started walking down the hall.
“Jeremy,” she called.
I turned back and looked at her. There were no tears in her eyes now, just a certain impishness.
“I think you’re cuter than Simon.”
And I got the smile again, and then she was gone.
I did myself proud, walking the length of the hallway just like a normal human being. When I got to the elevators, there was no one else around.
Laura Fleming thinks I’m cuter than Simon.
I double-pumped my fist in the air.
Yes!
Chapter 39
Late Monday morning, I called Chaney and Cox and, for my trouble, got the mellifluous tones of the adorable Melanie.
“Hi, Jeremy,” she said, after I’d identified myself. “Who will it be today? Sandra? Elias? Cameron?”
“Sandra,” I said, on the spur of the moment. I’d suddenly thought of something I wanted to ask Ms. Richardson.
“Okay,” said Melanie, “but to tell you the truth, I thought she’d have scared you off by now.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Melanie,” I said. “You’d think that after our long and intimate relationship, you of all people would be aware of my steely resolve in matters of the heart.”
“Um-hmmm,” she said, with a giggle. “I’ll put you through right away.”
The next voice I heard was Sandra’s.
“Jeremy?” she said. “What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”
“I just need to ask you a question. Does Chaney and Cox ever use private investigators?”
“Soliciting business, are we?” she laughed.
“No, not exactly,” I said. “The question came up a couple of days ago, and I figured you’d be able to answer it for me.”
“Well, since I’ve been here, we’ve hired investigators maybe two or three times. The kind of work we do doesn’t usually lend itself to that arena, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do,” I said. “So there would be no reason for the firm to take on a fulltime investigator.”
“Not unless Elias and William are contemplating taking us in a completely different direction, legally speaking.”
“Listen, thanks, Sandra, I appreciate it. And could you do me one more favor? Don’t mention to anyone that I asked about this, all right? Especially anyone at the firm.”
“Is this going to get me into trouble with my bosses?”
“I don’t think so. In fact, the trouble would probably come from your bringing it up with them.”
“Okay, Jeremy, my lips are sealed.”
“Good.”
“You remember my lips, don’t you, Jeremy?” she said.
“Hard to forget, Sandra.”
“Good. Hold that thought. Bye.”
“Jeremy, it’s Melanie again. Where to now?”
“Elias, if you please,” I said.
Within a minute, Elias picked up his phone and said hello.
“Good morning, Elias. I’m calling to thank you for the job offer. Unfortunately, I have to say no.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. “I hate to see you pass up such a wonderful opportunity. I’ve already mentioned the salary, of course, and the benefits package here at Chaney and Cox is outstanding.”
“I’m sure it is,” I told him. “But I wouldn’t feel right dropping my other cases in midstream, especially the Pendleton matter. Listen, in case I’m able to clear things up sooner than I’d expected, any chance that the position will still be available later?”
“I’m afraid not,” he said. “We need someone immediately. You’re quite sure you couldn’t see your way clear to accepting it?”
“Quite sure,” I told him. “Thanks again, and best of luck in finding the right person for the job.”
After hanging up, I sat and thought for a minute. Now that I’d put the ball in Elias’ court, I’d just have to wait and see what he’d do with it. Meanwhile, hoping to get lucky, I dialed Irv’s number. He answered on the fourth ring.
“Irv, this is Jeremy Barnes,” I told him.
“Hey, Jeremy, I just got home about an hour ago. How’s it going?”
“Everything’s fine, Irv. How’s your dad?” I asked.
“He’s doing a lot better, Jeremy. He’s home, and there’s a nurse who’s gonna stop by every day for a while to check on him. Thanks for asking. What’s this about a disc?”
“I got one I want to get into, but I can’t get past the password. Any chance you could take a look at it for me?”
“Sure,” he said. “Tell you what. I gotta use the rest of today to get organized, but I’ll be at the shop tomorrow morning by eight. Wanna stop by then and give me the thing?”
“That’d be good, Irv. Thanks. I’ll see you then.”
I was anxious to have Irv look at the disc as soon as possible, and I knew that if I’d asked, he would have agreed to get it from me right away. But I also knew that it was the end of the school year at Carnegie Mellon, and as a graduate assistant, he must have a ton of work to do, work that he was probably already a week behind on because of his trip to Tennessee. I didn’t want to put any more stress in the guy’s life. Tomorrow would be soon enough. It’s not like I’d been making lightning moves on this case so far, anyway.
* * *
Following an early run, I was at Starbucks by eight the next morning. Irv was already there, and he came over to my table as soon as he spotted me.
“Hey, Jeremy, good to see you,” he said. “Where’s this magic disc?”
“Right here,” I told him, as I fished it out of the pocket of my lightweight jacket.
“What am I looking for?” he asked.
“Whatever’s on the thing,” I said.
“I assume this is connected to the case you’re working on, that murder.”
“Maybe,” I said, “but I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping you’ll be able to tell me once you’ve broken into the thing. Incidentally, I do have permission for you to try to get in.”
“Whatever,” he said. From the look in his eyes, I could see that Irv was already thinking about ways to attack the disc.
“I know your workload right now must be pretty heavy,” I said, “so if you need to put this aside for a while, it’s okay.”
“Thanks, Jeremy,” he
