“Yeah, I guess it might be,” said Gran carefully, not wanting to let on that she dealt with murder on a regular basis.
“They ask every new person to join,” said Bob. “My advice? Don’t do it. Focus on the living, not the dead.” He gave a knowing nod. “You’ll be much happier that way.”
“Thanks for the advice,” said Gran with a tight smile.
“I think she’s going to join the club,” said Dooley. “She has that determined look on her face. The look that says: I’m going to do what I want, whatever anyone says.”
Dooley was right. Gran did have that mulish look on her face. She’s one of those people who always does the opposite of what people tell her to do. And since Bob had practically told her not to join the club, chances were that was exactly what she would do. And besides, a murder club was right up her alley. Much more fun than bingo!
“Do you think we can also join the club, Max?” asked Dooley.
“I doubt it,” I said. “Liz and her husband and sister probably aren’t as accommodating to sleuthing felines as Gran and Marge and Odelia.”
“I’m going in,” said Brutus now.
“You’re going in where?” asked Dooley.
“I’m going to find out what Brian and Kirsten are talking about,” he said, and took off in that direction, with Harriet right on his tail.
“What about our mission, Max?” asked Dooley.
“Well, Henry is over there,” I said, “playing bingo, and Kirsten is over there, talking to her boss, so as far as I’m concerned, we get to take a break from our mission.”
“Just like James Bond!” Dooley said happily.
“Yeah, though I don’t think James Bond plays bingo on his breaks.”
16
Desmond had been harassing her again, and so this time Kirsten decided to say something to Brian about the guy. Only when she finally managed to snag her boss’s attention, he had seemed curiously distracted, darting occasional glances at the exit.
“And then he came up behind me as I was loading the trays, and placed his hand on my buttocks,” she said. “So of course I immediately turned around and slapped him across the face. But when I told him I’d report him, do you know what he said?”
“Mh?” said Brian, hardly paying attention.
“He said it was my word against his, and since there were no witnesses, no one would believe me!”
“Could you, um, put that in writing, please, Miss Williams?” said Brian. “Ask Dee for the correct form. Then hand it in and I’ll take it through the proper channels.”
“But…”
“That’s great,” he muttered, and took off again. And as she stood there, confused and annoyed, she saw that two cats sat staring at her intently. They were the cats that belonged to the two new residents—the Corr sisters. One was big and black and the other fluffy and white. She gave them afeeble smile and would have petted them but she wasn’t exactly in the mood.
She should have known that Brian would simply brush off her complaint. He would side with Desmond, just like that creep had predicted, and now her own job might be hanging in the balance!
But she couldn’t very well allow that man to keep harassing her on a daily basis now could she? She had to stop him somehow. Make him see that his behavior was not okay. Worse, it was probably grounds for dismissal—if Brian was a normal boss, and not the kind who simply didn’t care!
Shaking her head, she helped old Mrs. Teasle with her bingo card, and adjusted the pillow in Mrs. Doyle’s chair.
On the stage, the bingo picking was still going strong, with Isaac leading proceedings. She had to smile as she watched the young man. She didn’t know him very well, but he seemed nice enough. He was very shy, though, which made it hard to get to know him as a colleague. But at least he wasn’t a creep like Desmond. Isaac must have noticed that she was watching him, for a smile suddenly materialized on his face. It was just about the weirdest smile she had ever seen. More a rictus grin than an actual smile. It made him look like Pennywise, that killer clown from the movie IT.
She shivered and had to look away.
What was happening? Why was she surrounded by creeps and jerks everywhere she looked? For she had spotted Desmond now, who stood leaning casually in the doorframe, watching her intently, a lascivious grin on his face.
She quickly made her way to the front of the room, and joined Henry, who was playing bingo in a sort of desultory fashion.
“Can I join you for the next game?” she asked.
Henry perked up at this.
At least one man in this place was still normal and courteous. Probably the only one who had her back!
[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]
Later that evening, Odelia dropped by with some much-needed tools: namely a series of small cameras that could be used for surveillance, and which Gran and Scarlett would have to plant in Brian’s office. She explained to them in simple terms how the equipment worked, and once she was satisfied that her team had been sufficiently briefed, she listened as Gran and Scarlett reported to her about the events as they had transpired that day.