“What is going on?” Laurie was utterly aghast. But it wasn’t the time to speculate. She needed to figure out how to make sure four old ladies got to the parking lot without incident. “I want you to wait for these women to come out of the candle store. You take them to their car in the golf cart. I don’t care what you have to do. You get them in their car and on their way and let’s be done with this night!”
“Got it,” Josh said grimly. Then he nodded to one of the other guys. “Go inside and make sure the old ladies are all right. Stay with them. And then walk them out here as soon as possible. Move it along if you have to. Hopefully the manager will be doing her best to get them on their way. I think we’d all like for this damned night to be over.”
“Yes, sir,” one of young men muttered.
Laurie waved to Josh and then headed for her office. She had already called the police. Talking to them was pointless. She needed something else. Someone else. But for now, she pulled out her phone and went ahead and dialed the Branson Police Department. She got the front desk sergeant on the third ring.
“I want to talk to Sellers,” Laurie said in a clipped voice. “Tell him this is Laurie Talcott at Branson Landing. We’ve had another incident with the skateboarders and I want to make a report.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Finally, the sergeant responded to her request. “Yep.”
“Yep? Yep is all you have to say when an elderly shopper has been assaulted by a young teenaged boy on a skateboard? Yep?” Laurie was so mad that she could have spit nails. “I want to talk to Sellers. Now!”
It took about five minutes. Laurie knew that because she was pacing back and forth in the well-lit brick wall alcove in front of her office and she could see the central clock from where she was standing. She knew exactly how long she waited on hold. And when she finally heard Detective Sellers take a breath on the other end of the line, Laurie let him have it.
“Thanks to the complete disinterest of your department in the safety of the tourists in this city, I have had yet another incident of a shopper being assaulted by a skateboarder!” Laurie all but shouted the words into the phone. “Do you have any idea how lucky we will be if the lady doesn’t sue us?”
“It wouldn’t stick,” the detective offered. “She can’t blame you for random incidents happening. It’s just part of being in a metropolitan area.”
“Branson is not a metropolitan area!” Laurie shouted. She could not believe Detective Sellers was going to blow her off. “Are you telling me that this is because I don’t have enough signs saying no skateboarding, rollerblading, or loitering? Because we have those signs every fifty feet! I don’t know how many more I could put around without actually replacing the signage from the stores!”
“Maybe you should consider that,” came the insolent reply. “I told you. Your outdoor mall requires a good security force. It is your responsibility to provide that for your customers.”
“And it’s your responsibility to investigate assault cases,” Laurie fired back. “So, why don’t you investigate!”
There was a long silence. A very long one. In fact, Laurie was almost sure the detective on the other end of the line was doing something else and not listening to her call at all. She was about to go mad with the problem of trying to figure out how to keep her customers safe. The corporate entity that owned the Landing wasn’t going to shell out much more money for a security force. She needed to figure out her budget and then find someone who could do the job of more guys for less money.
“Hey!” Laurie snapped into the phone. “What do you suggest since you’re obviously not going to lift a finger to help me?”
Detective Sellers didn’t answer right away and when he did, he sounded distracted. “Try calling Rock Wolf Investigations. They take any case no matter how ridiculous or pointless it might seem to the rest of us.”
“Great. I’ll do that,” Laurie promised the detective and herself. “And then when I finally get enough evidence, I’m going to push this to the district attorney’s office and I’m going to have them give you the shaft for inaction.”
Laurie hung up before the guy could try to defend himself or to feed her another line of bullshit. Fine, she would call this Rock Wolf Investigations and she would find a way to make the Landing safe again. Even if she had to foot part of the bill herself.
Chapter Three
Younger Adair stepped into the office of Rock Wolf Investigations feeling good about himself on that Wednesday morning. It was ten o’clock in the morning, but that was normal for Younger. He kept a schedule that allowed him to fish in the early mornings. That was what he liked. Fishing, solving mysteries, and catching bad guys. He considered himself a modern Scooby-Doo. Well, except for the fact he wasn’t a talking cartoon dog. Okay, and except for the fact that he’d been a Marine for ten years. Younger had joined right out of high school to serve his country. It just hadn’t gone exactly like he’d thought it would.
The receptionist, Caroline, gave Younger a bright smile and a big wave. “Good morning, Younger. How are you this morning? Can I get you some coffee or a Danish or something?”
“No thank you, darlin’.” Younger tried never to be rude to Caroline because she was the receptionist and that meant if he wanted her to help him out with certain things like the fax machine or taking down his messages, he needed her to be on his side. “I appreciate the thought, but I ate hours ago and I can get my own coffee. I’m sure you’re busy.”
Caroline beamed at him. She was a waif thin woman with pale blue eyes and white blonde hair who wore too much makeup and what Younger suspected were designer clothes. Caroline spent more time shopping online during her shifts at the agency than she did doing actual work and she was notoriously rude to the other employees. But in the community in which they lived, Younger considered it a fair trade that she did not have aspirations of being a singer, a dancer, or some other kind of performance artist and seemed content to just drift by without much in the way of promotions or other accolades.
The office of Rock Wolf Investigations was a square building with lots of windows right on the side of Route 76 where it cut between Branson West and Branson proper. The four lane highway out front was always crowded with cars heading to and from the attractions in Branson and their resorts, hotels, or other accommodations out there in the boonies. The office had a good view of the woods and top notch air conditioning and heating. A couple of desks, some filing cabinets, and the phones pretty much finished out the office.
Younger plopped down into his desk chair. He shared space with Ash Forbes. It pretty much meant they used the same wide desktop and sat on opposite sides of it. Duke Dunbar and Ellie Pierce had the same arrangement on the other side of the room. There was another desk belonging to the boss, Titus Holbrook, and then Caroline’s little work station. That was pretty much it. A few additional chairs and a couple of potted plants that Younger was never sure were real rounded out the space.
“Does anyone know when Ash gets back from vacation?” Younger turned and looked at Duke Dunbar. The guy had recently hooked up with a woman he called the girl of his dreams and now seemed just as concerned with her problems as his own. “I don’t know about anyone else, but it sure seems like he’s been gone for a while.”
Duke did not look up from the notes he was scribbling on a blank white sheet of paper. “Yeah. He took four weeks I think. I don’t know. You would have to ask Titus.”
Younger frowned. “Where is Titus? And where’s Ellie? Ellie is never late.”
“Ellie is following up on a request we got from a hotel over in the theater district that has a sticky-fingered employee.” Duke still had not looked up from his desktop. The guy was insanely focused on whatever he was writing. It was weird since Duke could usually be counted on to leave his work and have a little chat. “And I’m not sure about Titus.”
Caroline gave an inelegant snort. “Titus is on neighborhood watch patrol.”
“Excu
se me?” Younger was pretty sure he had misunderstood this. “You mean that some neighborhood watch organization has called for a consultation and Titus is handling it?”
“No.” Caroline’s smile was almost gleeful. “I mean Titus is walking a patrol with his elderly neighbor this morning because she’s convinced there are prowlers in the woods around their street.”
Younger actually didn’t know what to say about that. It seemed rather silly to him. “A neighborhood watch. So, people who live in the immediate area just walking around and what? Reporting suspicious persons?”
“Don’t ask me,” Caroline sniffed. She was still totally focused on her computer screen. Younger had a feeling there was some kind of eBay auction ending in a few moments. That usually had her riveted. “I just work here. I don’t pretend to know what goes on with you people.”
As if Younger could ever forget the way Caroline played hot and cold with him, and always had. When it suited her, she acted as though she was really into him. The rest of the crew thought Younger was oblivious, that he didn’t realize Caroline was attracted to him. What they didn’t know was he had tried to flirt with her once, just once. She’d been such a bitch about the incident that he had been careful ever since.
He was a simple guy. A country boy. He didn’t have what it took to match wits with some fancy girl who grew up in a rich household over in Springfield with parents who still spoiled her rotten and treated her like a precious princess at nearly thirty years of age. Besides, the only time she wanted him was when she couldn’t have him.
Younger looked at his immaculately neat desktop. At least it was immaculate when Ash wasn’t there making a mess. Not that Ash was messy; he just wasn’t nearly as organized as an ex-Marine who had a little bit of a problem with OCD. Flipping open the screen of his laptop, Younger pulled up his email and decided to start there for the day. It was oddly quiet and very studious in the room. Caroline shopped, Duke scratched on his sheet of notes, and Younger carefully typed up responses to emails. Good Lord they were boring for a bunch of investigators.
It was nearly lunchtime when the bell over the front door of the office danced and jingled. Younger looked up and expected to see either Titus or Ellie returning from their errands. But it wasn’t either one. It was a woman in her late twenties or early thirties with a very intense look on her face.
“Hello, my name is Laurie Talcott. I’d like to speak with whomever is in charge here,” she announced in a voice that had come straight off some cop show drama.
Younger nearly groaned out loud and felt Duke Dunbar do the same beside him. This was mostly because they could both plainly see Caroline bristling beneath what she would no doubt consider high-handed behavior.
“The owner has stepped out for a while,” Caroline said in a blasé tone without bothering to greet Laurie Talcott. Caroline was even careful not to look up from her computer. Not that she usually did. “Which means I’m in charge.”
As Laurie Talcott tried to process this information, Younger took a moment to look her over. Late twenties early thirties didn’t really seem to cover what Laurie Talcott had going on. The woman had actually taken the concept of khaki cargo pants and turned them into a uniform worthy of any military unit. The ties at the bottom of each pantleg were anchored so firmly just below her knees that Younger was surprised he could not see a line in her skin. Her legs were shapely and toned, as though she spent a lot of time walking or running. Indeed, she was wearing a very nice pair of running shoes also tied with a neat bow. Her cargo pants had been ironed until they had the sharp creases Younger was used to seeing on his military fatigues. She had on a bright red sleeveless polo shirt with a company logo of some kind and its collar perfectly turned down. Her long chestnut brown hair had been pulled up and coiled into a bun. And she had a smartphone anchored in a holster on her right hip like a weapon.
“Excuse me,” Laurie Talcott marched right up to Caroline’s desk and leaned over like some avenging angel. “I’m a customer. All right? I want to speak to someone in charge.”
Still without looking up, Caroline shoved a pad of paper and a pen across her desk toward Laurie Talcott. “Here. Leave your name and number and I’m sure Titus will get back to you eventually. We’re pretty busy though, if you know what I mean.”
It was quite possible Laurie Talcott was going to explode. Younger huffed out a little sigh. He didn’t like pushy women. He didn’t much like women at all. He wasn’t gay, but he just didn’t like the way women acted. Like this one, as if her agenda was the more important and there was nothing else in the world that mattered other. It was obnoxious in Younger’s opinion. Yet this Laurie Talcott was a customer and they should not be letting her stand there getting ready to have an apoplectic fit.
“Ma’am,” Younger said, waving her toward his desk. “Come and have a seat. I’ll take your information and we can chat about what brings you into our office.”
“So, you’re in charge?” Laurie Talcott marched toward Younger’s desk and took a seat although her back remained ramrod straight and she looked as though she might bite his head off. “And you are?”
What was this obsession about who was in charge? Younger tried to puzzle that one through in his head and didn’t get it. “My name is Younger.”
“Younger?” Laurie’s elegant dark brows drew together as though she took the unusual quality of his name quite personally. “Is that a last name or a first?”
“First,” he managed to say without snapping. He had spent far too long being referred to by last name only to do that now in his regular life. It was a personal decision for him. And not something he cared to discuss with this uptight stranger. “Now, what can I do for you, ma’am?”
“First of all,” Laurie began with a sideways glare at Caroline, “I would like to report that woman. If you’re a manager, then you can do something about her behavior. Why would you tolerate that sort of thing in a customer-oriented establishment?”
Behind him, Younger actually heard both Duke and Caroline snort with amusement. He sighed. This was not going to be a pleasant interview. “Ma’am, while I am willing to apologize for Caroline’s rudeness, she was simply trying to get your information so that she could pass it on to the owner. Titus is out for the morning. We don’t know when he will be back in. That’s how it works. You were adamant about speaking to the person in charge. This is not a police station. It is not a military organization. We do not have a hierarchy of who is who when it comes to bosses. There are only six of us employed here and one of them is the owner. He does not consider himself a manager.” Younger paused. There was something else. Oh, right. “And this is not a customer-oriented establishment. We’re not a store. We are a security solutions team. And to be frank, we’re busy. So, it sounds like what you’re actually looking for is the police department. I suggest you go speak with them.”
She gazed at him for a long moment and Younger realized that her eyes were blue. Not just blue, but a beautiful shade of cerulean blue. It was intense. Not just the color, but the stillness about them. When she finally spoke, her manner was still clipped and cold but her words were less aggravating. “I already spoke to the police. I’ve spoken with them a lot. I’m not sure how you personally feel about Branson PD. Obviously, your organization and theirs are in bed together because they handed out your name—”
Duke could not seem to help himself. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, ma’am. Usually Branson PD hands out our name when they’re pretty sure a case is bound to have a chance of making us look like assholes.”
Laurie Talcott flinched at Duke’s crass language. Interesting. She was a bit of a puzzle, that was for sure, Younger thought to himself.
Then she cleared her throat. “Well, I’ve been trying to get them to take an interest in my case for quite some time. Last night a woman was assaulted on my watch and they still refused to come out to investigate.”
“Assaulted?” Younger frowned. “You said your watch. Where is it that yo
u work?”
“I am the manager of security for the Branson Landing outdoor mall. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Everyone has.”
Laurie Talcott did not seem to be busting with pride about it. Her attitude was more matter of fact. From the corner of his eye, Younger could see Caroline finally looking up from her computer screen. Ah, this talk of shopping malls was right up her alley.
Laurie waited a beat and continued speaking. “Lately, we have had issues with a horde of teenagers on skateboards roaming the Landing and pestering customers. They grab people’s shopping bags and throw them around, overturn the garbage cans, and generally cause havoc. Last night they actually tried to steal a woman’s purse after she managed to smack one of them with a rather heavy bag of jarred candles and knocked him off his skateboard.”
“And you have signs posted?” Younger didn’t go to the mall. He almost looked to Caroline to ask if she’d ever seen any no loitering or no skateboarding signs. But Laurie Talcott quickly answered instead.
“Yes. There are signs everywhere,” she said tightly. “The police told me that was the problem. They couldn’t do anything without more signs and so I put more up. I put so many damned signs all over that mall that you can hardly see the walls and display windows because of the signage!”
“Wow. All right. Let’s just calm down for a moment,” Younger murmured. He put up both hands and could not help but feel as though he was dealing with a wild animal cornered and ready to strike out.
But Laurie Talcott did not want to calm down. She stood up and made a fist of her right hand. Then she slammed that fist into the palm of her left hand. “I want those little bastards caught and punished and I want it now!”
Chapter Four
It was quite possible that Laurie was overreacting. She knew that. At least she did on some deeper level of her consciousness that was not totally pissed off about having to go to the place to begin with just because the police were too lazy to do their job! But the idea that receptionist—what had he called her? Caroline? Yes. The idea this Caroline woman could be allowed to treat a customer with such gross rudeness was almost too much for Laurie to handle. She wanted to take Caroline out into the parking lot and rub her face into the gravel a few dozen times just to remind her of her position in life and what that was supposed to entail.
Rock Wolf Investigations: Boxset Page 50