“Okay, I’ll be there shortly.”He walked over and kissed her lightly, then watched as she walked away.He sat at the table with his thoughts, and it was almost an hour before he went upstairs.As quietly as he could, he entered their bedroom, showered, and climbed into the bed behind Petra.He gathered her in his arms and quickly fell asleep.
*****
The next morning, whenPaul reached for Petra, he found the other side of the bed empty.He flopped the covers back, rose, used the facilities, dressed, and went downstairs.He smiled as Petra placed a cup of coffee on the table.
“What’s this?”Petra asked as she pointed to the note he had left in the middle of the table the night before.
“Oh, yesterday before I called Kessler the first time, I got a call from a guy by the name of Victor Thorn.His club name is Gator.He called to let me know that within the next forty-five days, he and his girlfriend, Laci Heller will be here.According to Kessler, he had been compromised in his last assignment, and he was sent home.”
“Where’s home?”
“The Florida Everglades.”
“Ah, so what does vet mean?I take it has nothing to do with you going to the VA clinic?”
“No, Laci is a vet, and she was wondering if there were any offices in the area hiring.I thought maybe you could look into it, or you could ask Sally about any.”
“I can do that, but I do have a suggestion.”
“What’s that?”
“We haven’t really discussed this amongst ourselves, nor with either Flynn or Kessler.”
“What?”
“Who do we have that will be showing houses to the agents coming in?I’d do it, but I have my job at Sally’s and to be brutally honest, I’m enjoying it.I’m learning the people in the area, and they’re beginning to open up around me.I don’t want to jeopardize my position I’ve already established in the community.”
“What are you saying?”
“First, is this Laci an agent?”
“No, but she knows that Gator is, and she knows why he’s coming here.”
“Okay, so he trusts her enough to tell her about his job.What if we run a background check on her and see if she wants to take the position as the real estate agent for the houses?I don’t know if she would have to be an actual agent, but it’s something we can look into.Did you tell them they can stay here until they find the house they want?”
“Yes, I’ll sent an e-mail to Kessler and Flynn later to give them your suggestion.I had totally forgot about the houses, and I know Laci is a vet, but I don’t know of any offices in the area.Oh, and Gator stated that Laci was more into what people call exotic animals.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning she worked at his family’s Wildlife Sanctuary where animals of the wild were injured, caught, and brought there to be taken care of.One such animal was a Florida cougar that Gator himself rescued when he was still in high school.That cat lived to be thirty.”
“How old is Gator, not that it matters, but I’m just wondering.”
“Our age, so is Laci.”Paul shrugged.“Maybe we can convince her to get her real estate license?Just a thought.”
“Okay, I’ll talk with Sally to see what information she has about any local vet clinics in the area.”
“Thank you,” he said as he rose and started making their breakfast.
