Page 26 of No Pucks Given
“Come on in.”
I ushered the way back to the living room, sat next to the tripod, and opened my hand toward the open seat where I was before our conversation got interrupted.
“I hope you don’t mind that my boyfriend sits in on the interview. So, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?"
The stocky guy smiled and looked at the two of us. “My name is Lou. I lead a team of about four guys, and I will basically be with you at all times. The rest of the team will be on hand doing things like surveillance and cybersecurity.”
That seemed to be good, and everything was about what we expected, though I hadn’t thought about the cyber side of things. When it came to social media, I basically left that in Natalie’s capable hands. I haven’t done any online shopping since the first vandalism attempt.
Carter spoke up by saying, “If you saw from the brief, we’ve had an issue with a stalker and increasingly violent vandalism. What would be some of your recommendations to avoid further escalation?”
Lou folded his fingers together and leaned closer to me and the tripod.
“Well, first, we have to make the tracking of your habits much harder to follow. That means swapping living accommodations, which I’ve seen that you’ve started to do already. Same thing with driving. This means using rental cars when you can, switching up your routes home, and keeping them on their toes. You don’t want to be idling in the car when you can avoid it. Plus, take note of any vehicles around you, especially if you take a series of turns. With Miss Leary, I would probably drive that way. We always have evasive tactics taking place. Unfortunately, it’s time to make things rather boring, which means lots of nights in. When you’re shopping, trying to use prepaid cards or going through LLCs would be best, so no one can track those habits, and you’re not carrying copious amounts of cash.”
That all seemed to make sense. Moving from Carter’s place to the hotel while he was on road trips? Well, it sounded like there would be more of that. Which might not be a bad thing, but I didn’t want to live in hotels forever.
“That sounds fair. How much experience do you have in situations like this?”
“About two decades. Before that, I was in the army. So I’ve always worked in the field in some way. Thanks to that, I’ve developed a great team with some like-minded people. Most are retired veterans, except for Steve. He’s a white hacker and the son of my best friend in the service."
Carter asked one more question, “Can you start tomorrow if we were to hire you?”
“Yup. We’ve been doing some short-term gigs for a couple of musical tours, but it would be nice to go back to long-term work. Plus, for guys like Steve, I can use their full capabilities rather than just having them stand there and stay alert.”
Then, I asked, “Who was your last long-term gig?”
“Delilah Horn.”
That was a big-name pop star that I enjoyed listening to. The only problem with her was that she died young after a battle with cancer. Sadly, it meant I couldn’t check with her if she would recommend Lou and his team. But it made sense why that gig ended.
“Any questions for me?” I asked.
Lou shook his head and reached into his pocket. He handed me a folded resume with a business card attached and then said, “I look forward to hearing back from you. I’ll see myself out.”
He gave me one last firm handshake and nodded toward Carter, then walked out the door. Once the door was closed, I slipped back into the seat across from the phone setup.
“I like him. What do you think?” I asked Carter.
“Yeah. He seems good. I like how they can start right away. I personally would rather have someone hired sooner rather than later. But I think you should check a few of his references before making a move.”
I nodded, looking at the resume. I was glad there was a page with the recommendations and phone numbers. I hoped that even one of them would pick up the phone. “Duke highly recommended him. But I’ll make a few calls and let you know what I hear.”
“Sounds good. Stay safe, beautiful," Carter said.
Carter and his compliments. It seemed like he got off on the idea of giving me compliments. He was always the most complimentary when we were in the bedroom.
There was a knock on Carter’s bedroom door, so I said, “Go have fun this evening.”
With that, I cut the mobile call and pulled it out of the tripod. From there, I was able to talk to one of Lou’s previous clients, and they raved about him, so I knew who my new bodyguard was. I canceled the other two interviews too since Lou and his team were perfect.
Chapter 25
Siobhan
It probably wasn’t the best idea, but I was moving back to my house. The police said they’d had an unmarked car watching it for the last three days with nothing unusual. The security company replaced everything. The hotel was claustrophobic, and I never felt safe there after the mysterious upgrade.
I had hired Lou and his team to be my new bodyguards, so I decided it was safe to go back home. I both liked and was frustrated working with Lou. He was pretty easy to work with, but he was quiet and was a hulking man who took up so much space in the room. It didn’t help that he set up a bunch of computer equipment around.
