Page 7 of Kent's Watch
“Christ on a cracker,” Rita said as she slumped in her chair. “I don’t know what the hell came over me. Yes, I’m pissed at Tim, but there’s something about Kent and his interaction with Bluey…”
“Tate,” Julie interrupted her. “His working name is Tate, his downtime name is Tator Tot.” She grinned when Rita snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. “What are you going to do?”
“I want you to fax a copy of all the applications to this number.” Rita reached into the middle drawer of her desk and pulled out a business card. “I’ll call them and tell them what happened and to expect the applications.”
“What good would that do?” Julie reached for the card and frowned at it.
“It’s Jake Cogburn over at BHP. Brotherhood Protection. I don’t know what they do, but I do know they do a lot of background work. I’m going to ask him to do a deep check on all the applicants. Especially Tim and Kent.”
“Tim I can understand, but why Kent?”
“There’s something there that’s not adding up. His application says he’s never trained a dog before, but from what I witnessed today, he has some formal training in his background. I want to know what it is.”
“Okay, but remember, don’t be a bitch about it.” Julie didn’t wait to hear what Rita had to say as she headed toward the door. Just before she reached it, she looked back and grinned. “I’m going to send Scott home for the day.”
“Whatever.” Rita waved her away as she picked up the phone to dial.
In the hall, Julie looked at Scott with a grin when the first words out of his mouth was shock that she was still alive. “We’ve been friends for decades, it was just a friendly conversation. If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything like I did, because you’ve only been here for about three years, but we know each other for decades. It’s all good for now. It might take her a few days to get over being pissed at Tim, but she’ll eventually come around.”
“Why was she so pissed about Tate?”
Julie grinned as they walked down the hall toward her office. “Personally, between you and me, I think she wanted to keep him for herself.”
“Ah, is that why she was watching the pair like a hawk.”
“Probably.” Julie entered her office and headed to the fax machine in the corner. “You can go ahead and go home for the day.”
“I want to make sure the floors in the back are sanitized before I leave for the day.”
“Okay, I just have to fax a few papers then I’ll be done for the day. If I don’t see you before I leave, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night, Julie.” Scott waved and headed toward the back of the building where the pups had been waiting for their new owners. It didn’t take him long to get into the task of cleaning the area.
In her office, Rita waited for the phone to ring and had to leave a voice mail. She left a quick but short response that it was an emergency that someone from BHP contact her as soon as possible. She hung up, and went over what had happened earlier that day. She grabbed a pen and started writing up a statement. Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang, and the man identified himself as Stone from BHP.
“What’s the problem?” he asked gruffly after introductions were made.
“I don’t know what Jake’s told you about me, but my name is Rita Chambers, and I am the owner and operator of Chambers Search and Rescue.”
“The ones that trains the dogs?”
“Yes. I’ll get right to the point.” She took the next five minutes to explain what had happened earlier that day and when she finished, she stated her reason for the call. “My assistant faxed you the applications that we have for everyone and our notes when we called in the reference checks. I was wondering if BHP could do a deep background check on them and tell me if there will be any problems with any of the other applicants like I had today. I’m especially interested in the background of a man by the name of Kent Palmer.”
“Is he a problem?”
“No, but there’s something about him, I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s hard to explain.”
“Your gut’s screaming, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m on duty now, I’ll grab the papers and start on it. When do you need it by?”
“As much as I want it by nine tomorrow morning, I know that’s not possible. How about the end of the week.”
“Got it. I’ll get what I can to you. You know, whenever I get anything back, I’ll fax it over to you.” They confirmed the fax number and Rita felt better when she hung up. She sat there and stared into space for several minutes, then drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. She looked over in the corner and smiled.
“Ready to go home, Zeke.” She laughed when the dog, who had been snoring, was immediately at the door with his tail wagging. Laughing, feeling lighter than when she’d walked into the office, she made sure everything was put away, then she andher dog left not only her office, but the entire facility, locking up behind her. On the way home, she decided to stop and pick up a few groceries, and the dog food she knew Zeke would need once they arrived home. She had given him his last bit that morning.
