The Buck Stops Here by Mindy Starns Clark

Author:Mindy Starns Clark [Clark, Mindy Starns]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780786275038
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Published: 2004-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Eight

The next morning I wore another of my new suits—a gray Anne Klein with a red silk top. Veronica had said that parking at Family HEARTS was a problem, so I left my car in the hotel garage and took a taxi. Once we pulled to a stop in front of the office, however, I was a little embarrassed, as it couldn’t have been more than six or seven blocks from the hotel. Next time, I would know to walk.

I paid the driver and then tried the door of the building, which was locked. I was just trying to see inside when Veronica came rushing up behind me.

“Hi, Callie,” she said breathlessly. “I’m sorry I’m late. Tucker spilled apple juice all over my pants, so I had to change.”

I smiled at her, observing that despite a last-minute clothing change she was still stunning. She used a big, jangling set of keys to unlock the door, motioning for me to step inside. She turned lights on as we came in.

The place was definitely utilitarian, which surprised me. I would have expected someone who dressed and looked like Veronica to have invested a bit more money and effort into her surroundings. Instead, the walls were a scuffed and marred yellow, the furniture was obviously well used, and the whole office gave off a rather tired and worn air.

Still, this was a good sign. Obviously, they weren’t wasting money for fancy digs. The last few rooms were a bit better, with what looked like a well-stocked computer lab, and then the phone room, which contained a table with three phones, a television, and a big couch. Veronica’s office was at the very back, and it opened through French doors onto a courtyard. She opened those doors now, letting in the morning breeze, and I remarked that there was a similar courtyard at my hotel.

“Oh, honey, in this part of the city everybody’s got a courtyard. Didn’t you wonder why the buildings are all so close to the street? That’s because we tuck our yards out behind us, hidden away, where we can relax in private. I’m just glad it’s a cool morning. In an hour or so, I’ll have to turn on the air-conditioning.”

Workers began wandering into the building, and as the office came to life on a Monday morning, I was able to see, firsthand, the kinds of situations they were dealing with. I could almost feel a checklist in my brain, going down the row and marking items off as they happened. By the time Veronica was ready to sit and talk, there was one volunteer working the phones, another on the computer researching a disease for a family who had just contacted them, and a pharmaceutical representative meeting with someone in the front room about a new drug trial. Through it all, Veronica stayed cool, assigning people to tasks and seeing that things ran smoothly. I was very impressed.

Alone in her office, we were able to get more specific about the full range of services her organization provided.

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