Page 49 of Breathless
“Is this a bad time, boss?” Minchin asked.
“Of course, it is. Every day is bad anymore. But obviously you had a reason for coming so spill it,” he ordered. “There is something up with the AC.”
“Maybe you need something to drink to cool off? You want a beer or something?” Minchin asked, going to the little kitchen.
“This isn’t a time to be social,” Leland barked.”
“Of course not, but it’s obvious you need to replenish your fluids.
He frowned. “Alright, then. I’ll have one.”
Minchin returned with two longnecks and handed him one.
“So?” Leland prodded, popping the top off the bottle before taking a swig.
“I wanted to apologize for getting arrested. I thought if I could get the dog, it would allow us to get closer to getting the girl. I didn’t think the process through. I never thought I’d be the one getting carted off to jail.”
Leland nodded. “That was clear by the result of your action.”
“Is that all you have to say?” Minchin asked.
“What more can I? It won’t change that you failed or that you now have this mark on your record.” Leland took a long drink from his longneck then set the almost empty bottle on the table by his chair. “I’ve had to use my resources to bail not only you but Norman and Boggs out of jail. At least you don’t have to stand trial for what you did. You can thank your lucky stars you weren’t charged with more than trying to steal that dog.”
“Again, sorry, boss.” Minchin hung his head.
“Also, you should know that Masters and a few of his men will be here in two days,” Leland said.
Minchin’s head popped up at that. “Why are they coming?”
“To ferret out the rat within my crew.”
CHAPTER 12
Later that afternoon…
Rawlins finished showing the security team how to run the new system and Hannah felt they were up to speed on the operations.
“Like I told the Montana Crew the other day, I really hadn’t expected everything to come together as quickly or efficiently as it did,” Hannah said.
“I’m glad,” Rawlins said, pulling out an envelope and showing it to her. “I picked this up at the mailbox this morning before we left Chaney’s. I haven’t had a chance to show her yet. It’s from the US District Attorney’s office. I have a feeling she’s being called back in for trial preparation and we’re not going to be around here as much for a while.”
Hannah narrowed her eyes and looked concerned. “Why didn’t you get to give it to her?”
“Because we were on our way to her job services appointment,” he said. “I didn’t want to mess with her focus and then afterward, we were rushed for time to get here for our shifts that I totally forgot until after we parted ways.”
“I see. Do let me know as soon as you know if that is the case so I can mark you off the volunteer roster,” Hannah said. “Infact, why don’t you take the letter to her now so we will know for certain that is what it is.”
“Okay.”
“No need for us speculating,” Hannah added. “She’s with Lydia this afternoon. Start at her office.”
“Right.” Rawlins left the security office and headed down the corridor toward Lydia’s office. Lively chatter and laughter filled the hallway as he drew closer to the assembly room, and he looked inside on the off chance that Lydia and Chaney may have joined in on an activity that was in there that afternoon. However, he didn’t see either one.
He did see Amber and Tiffany, two of the residents that had been concerned about Chaney during her recovery. They waved in his direction and giggled when he nodded in response.
Not wanting to linger, he moved on down the hallway and soon came to the staff lounge and then a few of the counselor’s offices. Lydia’s door was open, and he saw Chaney folding letters and stuffing envelopes. He knocked on the door frame.
“Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt your work, but Hannah asked me to bring this to you since it could potentially mean you’ll need to miss days at The Village,” Rawlins explained, hanging her the piece of mail.
