Lethal Attachments

Chapter 6-2

“Ready for the first interview?” Doyle asked as they walked briskly to their office a few blocks away on Walnut. The freezing temperatures made the distance seem longer though the building was relatively close. They’d found an inexpensive but rundown office in a building on the slowly gentrifying block. This end of Walnut was revamping itself but some older buildings still offered cheaper rental space.

“Interview?” Kord asked, clouds from his breath punctuating his words. “I thought we hadn’t made a decision on taking the case.”

“I’m talking about interviews for somebody who can play receptionist and secretary at the office.”

“Oh, yeah. Now I remember.” Kord shook his head as if clearing the cobwebs. “Who’s on tap?”

“Two guys this morning. Both come highly recommended.”

“How do we choose?”

“Not sure. I’ve never done this before,” Doyle said and wrapped his scarf more tightly around his neck and face. “Damn, it’s cold.”

“Well, I’ve got some ideas.”

“No. No. No. We’re not going to choose on the basis of looks or a good ass. Or pretty eyes. That’s not—”

“Not at all what I was going to suggest,” Kord said. And Doyle smiled at his attempt at sounding miffed. But he couldn’t hold a straight face. “Before someone made me sound like the office letch, I was going to suggest that we give them simple computer searches to do. They should be able to gather background information. Then, we get some idea about their knowledge of the law and police procedure.”

“Sounds good. Anything else?”

“I guess we see how proficient they are at typing and filing. After that comes the skimpy swimsuit competition.” Kord smirked.

“I knew you’d get around to that at some point.”

“Hey, lots of eye candy is good for you.”

By this time they’d reached their building and had gotten into a rickety elevator. They stepped out into a musty hall on the third floor. The door to Signature Investigations was just down the hall from the elevator. A temporary sign announced the agency.

“Home sweet home,” Doyle said.

“I don’t know about you, but my home doesn’t smell like it’s been in a damp drawer for several years.”

“We get what we pay for.”

“So let’s rev up the business and move the hell outta here.” Kord shoved open the door.

They’d only been in the place a few times and hadn’t gotten around to furnishing it beyond putting in an old desk, a few chairs, a couple of file cabinets, and some incidentals. They’d had a landline installed and had cleaned the window which faced north and gave the place decent light without being overwhelming.

“Too cold in here,” Doyle said and turned up the thermostat. “That’ll warm things up in no time. If we want to attract a decent secretary, the place should at least be warm.”

“What time’s the first guy coming in?”

Doyle flipped through some papers in a folder he’d placed on the desk and pulled out a schedule. “First candidate should be here in half an hour. Porter Hillenbrand.”

While they waited they reviewed the material Brandon had given them.

“It doesn’t matter what we think about Brandon’s motives. I say we take the case.” Kord was obviously chomping at the bit to have a more juicy case to work on.

“I agree. I just want us to have our eyes open going in.”

“No argument there. So let’s call the guy and—”

A knock at the door interrupted their discussion.