Trouble And Money #13

Another Freaking Software Company - Cambridge, Massachusetts

I watched her arrive at her job. I know that sounds a bit ick, a bit creepy.

Modern Investigations: Despite all the shortcuts that modern technology provides, has plenty of opportunity for old-fashioned sitting in your car and watching.

It's raining, so I am not running the wipers. I've got a coffee, and the radio is playing financial news.

Violet Hakstrom arrives for her job at 08:15. She's either early or late. She's tall and well-dressed. That's an expensive bag that, if I had to bet, was not a New York City knockoff.

Her shoes are equally pricey, and her car, a very new Range Rover, made a salesperson at some dealership very happy not long ago.

I wonder if it is a lease or a buy?

So here is what I know about her. I know where she lives. She lives alone in a very expensive condominium. I don't know if it's hers or from a person in her life or a relative.

I know where she works, her current position, and the average salary that job pulls down.

Does she have a Sugar Daddy,  A trust fund, an Inheritance, or one hell of a side hustle?

Her hair is perfect, and I bet her nails and toes are manicured once a week. I've seen the type before.

Allow me a man calculation here. She is an expensive, lousy lay who is overly concerned with her appearance at all times.

I'll have to ask Taveon why they broke up.

When she got out of her giant ass S.U.V., she had a green and white cup from you know where. It was not an icy drink.

There are two ways to look at this. Does Violet stop close to home, about twelve miles away, or stop close to work?'

FBI Regional Headquarters, Chelsea, Massachusetts

Special Agent FBI Wallace Hughes was comparing the files of two Private Investigators who had done contract work for the bureau last year.

Both men are seemingly perfect for the job he is considering for one of them.

Each man has similar qualifications, but one is the product of college and business.

The other has college, but the one element that would allow him to survive a rough ride is street smarts—a prior cop beaten with the life stick and sound senses.

At that moment, Wally squeezed his rubber band ball and printed out the file of one man.

He punched a button on his bureau phone and said to Stacey, "Take me off speaker, please." "Thank You." "I need a security clearance check on one person. Your eyes only, please. Come get the file."

Stacey entered Wally's office and took the jacketed file off Wally's desk. She opened it and saw the name Conrad Granger, and she smiled.

She looked at Wally and said, "He was fun to work with last year." She spun and headed for her cube.

Spindle, Spindle, and Yankowicz - An injury law firm - Peabody, Massachusetts.

Tammy sat at her job, looking at post after post on a social media site. She was in a dilemma because she was scared of being with a divorced man with a rough background. He's an ex-cop, a Marine, divorced, and maybe drinks too much. The worst would be explaining to her parents that he lives in a trailer, which was the hardest thing Tammy would have to do.

The pluses are many. He's smart, well educated, caring, loves his dog, good looking, and good in...

She paused at that and thought about the last week.

She had never laughed so much or enjoyed another's company. She caught herself opening up like never before. She shared maybe too much, but it seems like he's trying as well.

How jaded is he about marriage? Would my father like him, or would she get the speech about 'We want so much more for you'

What was his ex-wife like? He doesn't speak about her. Do I look like her? Do I act like her?

Learning these things would require them to open up about it all.

Tammy decided on honesty, and at the risk of sounding needy, she would tell him what she was thinking.

Trouble And Money is published Monday through Friday. It is a serial fiction detective story with characters you will love. Read the adventures of Conrad Grange as he solves cases and contends with a harsh world.