Page 77
Story: My One and Only
“That’s what I’d do if I was targeting you. Which is why we’re going to keep our mouths shut until after I sweep it.”
Five minutes later, they walked into his office. Five minutes after that, Jo had swept the walls, furniture and ceiling and found no evidence of any bugs.
“Okay,” she said. “Good for another day.”
Cam studied her. “You gonna have to do that again if we leave for lunch?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “You’ll lock your door, but God knows how many keys are floating around the building.” She shrugged. “But it only takes a few minutes, and if we find anything? That’s more information.”
“Okay,” he said, dropping into his chair. “What are you thinking?”
Jo sat in her own chair, then motioned him over after glancing out the window. “Have you dug into the guy who broke into your house the other night? You didn’t recognize him but you saw his driver’s license. Said his name sounded familiar.”
Cam closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Everything that had been happening was shocking. Intimidating. He had no idea who could be targeting him. Or why.
Finally, he looked over at Jo. When he met her gaze, she reached over and took his hand. “I know this feels really overwhelming,” she said quietly. “Someone’s targeted you, and you have no idea why. Or who.” She studied him for a moment. “Do you know all of your employees? At least to recognize them?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Don always introduces me to new hires, and I talk to them for a few minutes. To get a sense of who they are.” He swallowed the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him. “That guy wasn’t one of my employees. I’d never seen him before.”
“Okay,” Jo said slowly. “Any ideas where we should start looking?”
Cam shook his head slowly. “Suppliers, maybe? But, again, I know most of them, because we negotiate prices. It’s not anyone from the Ogden building inspection team, because all of their pictures are on the Ogden city website. I looked at it a couple days ago, and the guy wasn’t there.”
“What was his name again?”Jo asked.
“Phil Gwynn. It rings a bell, but I have no idea why.”
“Do you have copies of all the job applications you get?”
“I have a lot of them,” he said slowly. “Hiring the staff is Don’s job, but he usually gives me copies of their applications. In case I know them, and so I can look for any reasons not to hire them.”
“Okay. Let’s start with those job applications. Pull them out and give me half of them,” she said. “It’ll go more quickly.”
Nodding, Cam opened one of his file drawers and pulled out a thick manila folder. “They’re all in here,” he said.
“Organized in any particular way?”Jo asked.
“Chronologically. I put the new ones on the bottom of the file.”
“Okay. Let’s start with the newest ones and work our way backward.” Jo leaned over his desk, wiggling her fingers for some of the files, and he pulled an inch-thick stack of papers from the bottom of the folder. Handed Jo the top half and took the bottom half himself.
For a while, there was no sound in the office besides the regular flipping of pages. They reviewed each application briefly. He looked for a name, then kept going. Looked like Jo was doing the same thing.
Suddenly, there was a hard knock on the door. Cam looked up. “C’mon in,” he called.
The door opened and Don strolled in. His gaze swept over Jo, who’d turned around to see who it was, then settled on Cam. “Whatcha doing?”he asked.
“Looking through the applications,” Cam said easily. “To make sure we haven’t missed any possibilities.”
Don nodded. “Yeah, I’ve done that too. Which is why I’m here. You hear from any of Jo’s friends?”he asked.
Cam nodded at Jo, who’d turned around to study Don. Her mouth tightened for a moment, then she said, “We’ve had nine definite yeses. I’m waiting on four other people who haven’t responded yet.”
“Seven people?”Don said. “That’s great. We need ‘em badly.”
“They’ll be here next week some time,” Jo said. “They had to pack, cancel their leases -- all the stuff involved in a move. Then drive here.”
“Can’t wait,” Don said. He rested his ass on the corner of Don’s desk. “Haven’t seen much of you, partner,” he said, glancing at Jo. “What’s up?”
Five minutes later, they walked into his office. Five minutes after that, Jo had swept the walls, furniture and ceiling and found no evidence of any bugs.
“Okay,” she said. “Good for another day.”
Cam studied her. “You gonna have to do that again if we leave for lunch?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “You’ll lock your door, but God knows how many keys are floating around the building.” She shrugged. “But it only takes a few minutes, and if we find anything? That’s more information.”
“Okay,” he said, dropping into his chair. “What are you thinking?”
Jo sat in her own chair, then motioned him over after glancing out the window. “Have you dug into the guy who broke into your house the other night? You didn’t recognize him but you saw his driver’s license. Said his name sounded familiar.”
Cam closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Everything that had been happening was shocking. Intimidating. He had no idea who could be targeting him. Or why.
Finally, he looked over at Jo. When he met her gaze, she reached over and took his hand. “I know this feels really overwhelming,” she said quietly. “Someone’s targeted you, and you have no idea why. Or who.” She studied him for a moment. “Do you know all of your employees? At least to recognize them?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Don always introduces me to new hires, and I talk to them for a few minutes. To get a sense of who they are.” He swallowed the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him. “That guy wasn’t one of my employees. I’d never seen him before.”
“Okay,” Jo said slowly. “Any ideas where we should start looking?”
Cam shook his head slowly. “Suppliers, maybe? But, again, I know most of them, because we negotiate prices. It’s not anyone from the Ogden building inspection team, because all of their pictures are on the Ogden city website. I looked at it a couple days ago, and the guy wasn’t there.”
“What was his name again?”Jo asked.
“Phil Gwynn. It rings a bell, but I have no idea why.”
“Do you have copies of all the job applications you get?”
“I have a lot of them,” he said slowly. “Hiring the staff is Don’s job, but he usually gives me copies of their applications. In case I know them, and so I can look for any reasons not to hire them.”
“Okay. Let’s start with those job applications. Pull them out and give me half of them,” she said. “It’ll go more quickly.”
Nodding, Cam opened one of his file drawers and pulled out a thick manila folder. “They’re all in here,” he said.
“Organized in any particular way?”Jo asked.
“Chronologically. I put the new ones on the bottom of the file.”
“Okay. Let’s start with the newest ones and work our way backward.” Jo leaned over his desk, wiggling her fingers for some of the files, and he pulled an inch-thick stack of papers from the bottom of the folder. Handed Jo the top half and took the bottom half himself.
For a while, there was no sound in the office besides the regular flipping of pages. They reviewed each application briefly. He looked for a name, then kept going. Looked like Jo was doing the same thing.
Suddenly, there was a hard knock on the door. Cam looked up. “C’mon in,” he called.
The door opened and Don strolled in. His gaze swept over Jo, who’d turned around to see who it was, then settled on Cam. “Whatcha doing?”he asked.
“Looking through the applications,” Cam said easily. “To make sure we haven’t missed any possibilities.”
Don nodded. “Yeah, I’ve done that too. Which is why I’m here. You hear from any of Jo’s friends?”he asked.
Cam nodded at Jo, who’d turned around to study Don. Her mouth tightened for a moment, then she said, “We’ve had nine definite yeses. I’m waiting on four other people who haven’t responded yet.”
“Seven people?”Don said. “That’s great. We need ‘em badly.”
“They’ll be here next week some time,” Jo said. “They had to pack, cancel their leases -- all the stuff involved in a move. Then drive here.”
“Can’t wait,” Don said. He rested his ass on the corner of Don’s desk. “Haven’t seen much of you, partner,” he said, glancing at Jo. “What’s up?”
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