Chapter
Forty-seven
On Wednesday
morning Ben tapped his foot as he stood inside the elevator, waiting for the
doors to open at the fourth floor. It was eleven o’clock and he had so much
work to do. When the doors finally opened, he stepped out and almost ran into
the mailman.
“Hi there, Mr. Thorne.” Clarence adjusted the mailbag
strap over his shoulder. “Enter the office at your own risk.”
Ben stopped. “What happened?”
Clarence stepped into the elevator. “See for yourself.” He
laughed as the doors rolled shut.
Ben opened the door to the outer office. Janelle sat at
her desk, sorting through the mail. Howard stood in front, talking, but she
wasn’t paying much attention to him.
Nothing looked amiss. Ben nodded at them both. “Good
morning.” He walked to his office.
“Oh, Ben!” Howard held out a framed 8x10 picture. “Piccadilly’s
newest photo. Come here and take a look.”
Ben walked to the desk and took the framed picture.
Piccadilly wore a clown outfit with a ruffled collar and pointed hat. A circus
tent was in the background. He glanced at Howard. “Piccadilly isn’t smiling in
this one. He looks mad.”
“I know.” Howard took the photo back. “He threw an
absolute tantrum when I dressed him up. But I thought it apropos to have
Piccadilly in a clown outfit. Now he’s Piccadilly
Circus.” He brayed out a
laugh.
Ben looked at Janelle, and she rolled her eyes.
“Here.” Howard handed him a small picture. “I’ll give you
one for your wallet.”
Ben held up his hand. “That’s okay, Howard. I don’t need—”
“Take it! I ordered a hundred. I’m going to send them in
my Christmas cards this year.”
Helga’s office door opened, and she walked to Janelle’s
desk. “Yanelle, do you—”
“Look at this, Helga.” Howard thrust the 8x10 in her face.
“Just got it taken last week.”
“Oh, what a cute kitty!” Helga looked up at him. “Is this
same cat as pictures in your office?”
“Yep.” Howard rocked back on his heels like a proud papa. “That’s
my Piccadilly. Here, I’ll give you a wallet.”
Helga took the picture. “Thank you. I have a cat, you
know.”
“That’s right.” Howard scratched his head. “A Sphynx, isn’t
it?”
“Ja.” Helga smiled. “Spiffy.”
“A Sphynx?” Janelle’s look bounced between the two of
them. “What kind of cat is that?”
Helga raised her eyebrows. “You do not know what Sphynx
is?”
Janelle shrugged. “I’ve heard of the one in Egypt…”
“I go home at lunch and bring back Spiffy. You can see
her, and she will keep me company this afternoon.”
Ben glanced at his watch. He had just wasted five minutes. “Time to get to work, folks.” He
strode to his office and closed the door behind him.
He settled in front of his computer, opened his briefcase
and took out a stack of papers. The phone buzzed. Now what? He waited for the second buzz, then picked it up and
spoke curtly into the receiver. “Yes? What is it?”
“Hi, Ben. Sorry to bother you.”
His irritation melted. “You’re never a bother, Janelle.
What’s up?”
“I was getting worried about you this morning. It’s past
eleven.”
He sat back in his chair. “My mom insisted I have
breakfast with her and Kurt. They’re traveling back to Dallas today.”
“Oh, that’s where you were. I really like your mom. She’s
sweet.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I’m going to miss her.”
“Kurt’s nice, too. Looks like he’ll be a good husband for
her.”
“I guess.” Ben thought about that a moment. “I’m glad he’s
a Christian.”
“That’s the most important thing in a good marriage. Don’t
you think so?”
Marriage? How did
they get on that subject? “Uh, Janelle, I have a lot of work to do—”
“Sorry. I wanted to ask if I could get into your dad’s
office this morning.”
Not the murder again. “Why?”
“Well, I got an idea last night, and I just want to have
another look.”
Ben pulled open his desk drawer. He was not going to waste another minute. “I’ll give you the key.”
* * *
Have a great weekend!!
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