“I take it you’re a fan of football.”
“The Cougars were an institution in my household. They still are.” My comment hung in the air between us. “My brother and I go half on a season pass every year. No wonder you said I might be able to get everything I needed online.”
Kelvin Maynard was the Williamsport Cougars’ star wide-receiver. He’d helped the team win the Super Bowl two seasons earlier.
We grew silent once more as we finished our late lunch. In my head, I calculated all the resources I could use online without needing to dive directly into the databases I used to research more private persons of interest.
“Lunch is on me,” I said, handing my business credit card to the waitress.
“Shouldn’t I pay you for your time?” Marjorie asked.
“You will once we have an official contract signed. I want to give you some more time to think this through.”
She was still hesitant, and I’d had past clients try to lay blame on my shoulders, citing that they’d felt rushed or persuaded. It was nonsense. I always gave a client ample time to figure out what they wanted. The reality was, they were looking for someone to blame after discovering their spouse or significant other was cheating on them.
They used the excuse of me rushing them to talk themselves into staying and working things out, as they’d put it.
Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at that claim.
“Give me a call when you’re ready, and we’ll talk again to see how you feel. How does that sound?”
Marjorie’s shoulders lowered, appearing relieved. Despite her hesitance, I had a feeling that I’d hear from Marjorie sooner rather than later. Marjorie might be in love, but she wasn’t stupid. She’d called me with her suspicions for a reason.
“Good, you’re still here,”I said as soon as I pushed through my office door and saw Hallease sitting at her glass desk.
I stripped out of my jacket and hung it up on the stand next to the door. I strode over to Hallease’s desk. She looked up at me and smiled before pulling out the wireless headphones she often wore.
“Listening to the Jackson file you sent earlier,” she said, wrinkling her pert little nose and shaking her head.
I always got a kick out of it when she made that face. Hallease was a little thing, standing no taller than five-foot-three to my five-foot-seven height. She wore her hair in a sharp pixie haircut, and she always matched a necktie with whatever outfit she had on.
That day’s white and black striped blouse matched with a black silk necktie. The white of the blouse highlighted the hickory coloring of her skin.
She had a sophisticated way of dressing which belied her age at only twenty-four.
“He’s a piece of work.,” she said, sounding more like someone my mother would be friends with than someone from Generation Z.
“Terrible, right? I brought you back an order of the rice and those fried plantains you love from the restaurant.”
She raised her eyebrows, smiling. “I hoped you would bring some of those back for me.”
“Couldn’t forget about you.”
I handed her the bag of food.
She placed the bag to the right of her computer’s monitor. “Taking these home for dinner.”
“Anyway, I’ve got another one.”
She stood. “Marjorie hired us?”
“Not quite.” I held up my hand to stop whatever she was about to say. “But she will. I got a name, and it’s a big one. Kelvin Maynard.”
Hallease’s facial expression didn’t change. At all.
I chuckled. “I should’ve known. He’s the wide receiver for the Cougars.”
“The baseball team, right?”
