Yellow Dirt: A Navajo Nation Mystery by Chappell R. Allen

Author:Chappell, R. Allen [Chappell, R. Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
Amazon: B08HPJ3W57
Goodreads: 55365988
Published: 2021-02-28T08:00:00+00:00

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When Charlie arrived at the office the next morning his first thought was to see if Norman Klee, down in records, had come in. He’d asked about the old man the day before, only to be told he worked only four days a week and that day wasn’t one of them.

This morning, however, the head of Legal Services found his receptionist ready for him. Arlene turned as he came in the door and bobbed her head in his direction. Having anticipated his question, she spoke first. “He’s here alright, just came in a few minutes ago...early as usual. I didn’t say a word about any of this to him.” She lowered an eyelid, “He’s a nice old guy, Mr. Yazzie; try to go easy on him. He’s an old man and not in very good health.”

Charlie stared at the woman a moment. “I wasn’t planning on tar and feathering him, Arlene, just a few questions about something, something that happened a long time ago That’s all. Nothing to be concerned about.”

She nodded. “That’s good, Boss, I could ask him those questions for you, if you like?”

“No, Arlene, that’s quite all right.” Charlie winked conspiratorially. “Oh, and thanks for having records pull his file. Could you bring that back to the office for me later, please?”

“It’s already on your desk, Chief, I put it there first thing.”

Back in his office the Investigator immediately began going through Norman Klee’s file. It didn’t take long. Charlie thought the report a little light considering the length of time the man had worked there, a surprising amount of time, in fact. Mr. Klee was someone who’d kept a low profile over the years. A good worker, who showed up when he was supposed to and never caused any trouble, even when passed over for advancement, which had apparently occurred more than once. Charlie could remember seeing the man coming and going, from time to time, but never seemed able to remember what his job was. He knew only that Norman Klee worked in the downstairs offices, a place he seldom had occasion to visit. Now that he was head of Legal, however, that would have to change. He picked up the receiver and keyed Arlene’s line. “Arlene, should Mr. Klee not be tied up at the moment, could you please have him come up here to my office?”

“Right away, Chief.” Arlene had a habit of starting off the morning addressing him as Mr. Yazzie, but as the day wore on, gravitated to Boss, then eventually, Chief, which he often thought was said tongue-in-cheek. Most people thought the woman a little odd, but she was a good receptionist who knew what was going on and kept it to herself. That, and being there longer than most, made her the exception to a long and temporary string of nonperformers.

Through the windowed door to the outer office, Charlie kept an eye on the desks as they began filling up, glancing at the clock only once or twice before spotting Norman Klee, shuffling through the loose scatter of workstations.

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