Rock Wolf Investigations: Boxset

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Younger pressed his lips together. Pissing contest indeed. “I was with the 11th Marines at Camp Pendleton.”

  “Pride of the Pacific, eh?” Josh Bentley did not look convinced. “Did you see action?”

  “I saw nothing but action for ten years,” Younger said drily. “The 11th was rotating nonstop throughout the Middle East during the conflict.”

  Younger could tell the older man was burning to tell his own war stories. Younger didn’t want to indulge. He was not like a lot of the men who came out of the military. He did not long for another military mind to rehash every battle and conflict and maneuver that he could recall. In fact, he would much rather forget entirely and move on with his life.

  Younger abruptly turned and looked straight at Laurie Talcott. “I didn’t see any of your security guys on my way in. Do they have a standard uniform they wear?” He noted absently that Laurie Talcott was still wearing the same painfully starched clothing from earlier. She was so neat that she could have just put those clothes on ten minutes ago. It was an odd contrast with the office itself.

  “Oh, we don’t use uniforms,” Laurie explained quickly. “Corporate wants our guys to blend in so the guests and shoppers don’t feel as though they’re under some kind of military operation.”

  Younger felt his mouth pop open. “No uniforms. You want them to blend in? You’re aware that their presence is what your vandals need to see so they decide to go elsewhere to pester the tourists. And when your customers see visible security, they tend to feel safer. That is human nature.”

  “Well, perhaps.” Laurie looked uncomfortable. “It’s just, I don’t have the budget to buy uniforms. So we just ask them to look neat and tidy and seasonally appropriate in their wardrobe choices.”

  She didn’t have the budget to buy uniforms for her employees? What was this? The stores out there were seeing so much foot traffic that they were probably running out of shopping bags! There had to be hundreds of thousands of dollars passing through those cash registers every single week! Younger could not begin to imagine what the rent on one of these storefronts must be. The idea that this woman could not afford to provide uniforms for the security guards that were tasked with keeping all of that money, merchandise, and customer base safe from harassment was absolutely preposterous.

  But this was his job. He could make a recommendation, he just couldn’t order her to do anything. “I would highly suggest you find a way to get uniforms. All right?” From the corner of his eyes, Younger saw Colonel Josh fold his arms and make a face. Evidently, he did not agree. “It would behoove you to at least have your guys wear a certain color of pants and a certain color neon shirt. Pick green or yellow or even orange. That way if a customer is having a problem, they can seek out these people. And seeing that neon flash of color will make someone else think twice before knocking a customer to the ground and trying to snatch her purse.”

  Laurie Talcott nodded. It was a stiff nod, but it was an agreement of sorts. “I’ll look into it. Anything else you noticed on the way in?”

  “I realize that you’re not going to like hearing this,” Younger huffed out a little sigh and gestured to the signs, “but I was so distracted by all of the stores and people and activity that I didn’t actually see one of your signs hanging out there.”

  “What?” The word burst from Laurie’s lips as though she had just spat it at him. “You must be joking! Are you blind?”

  “No.” Younger managed to stay calm. “But this was my first time here. So, it was a lot to take in. Maybe if I had been here before, I would have noticed. I don’t know. But I did notice that you have steps leading from the parking lot on at least the one side. There’s a railing on the promenade above the steps. Perhaps if you hung those signs on the railing, they would be at eye level for those customers coming up to the promenade from the parking lot. The other entrance areas could do with a sign mounted on a pole or something. That way there is no way anyone could claim to not see your signs.”

  Colonel Bentley cleared his throat. “We’re not trying to notify the customers, young man. They’re not the ones causing the trouble.”

  “And yet the reality is that your vandals are customers as well.” Younger didn’t have to hear them say it to realize that neither Laurie Talcott or Josh Bentley had thought of it in quite that way. “You asked me to help you get the police involved. You want justice. You want these young people to be held accountable for what they’ve done. That means you have to be able to say without doubt that those signs were visible for everyone to see when they entered this mall from every point. Visible and in plain sight. If there is a single way for those kids to get into this area without passing a plain view sign, then they have deniability in a court of law.”

  “Deniability,” Laurie murmured. It was plain that she hadn’t thought of it in quite that way. “We—that is to say corporate, doesn’t want the customers inundated with that sort of thing. They make it seem like we’re having issues.”

  “You are having issues and there is nothing wrong with letting the public know that you’re handling it,” Younger reminded her. “What’s better? Having a bunch of loitering skateboarders hanging about and having your customers think management doesn’t care about the ruckus they’re causing? Or having signs on every single entrance because you want anyone who comes here to shop or enjoy the sights to know you’re trying your best to keep this place peaceful and friendly?”

  Laurie pressed her lips into a line. “You make a good point I guess.”

  “A good point,” Bentley muttered. Then he shook his head. “I told you this was a bad idea. You should have let me have a few shifts of extra guys. We could make a sweep every fifteen minutes and push out every single one of those little bastards before they come in.”

  “Sure,” Younger drawled, agreeing with the older man only because he was trying not to make waves. “That’s one option. I wonder though, if you can’t arrest them, how are you going to make sure they don’t just slip in behind your sweep?”

  “Two teams of guards,” Bentley argued. “They start at each end and then sweep towards each other. Meet in the middle, cross, go back out. It’s that simple. If we did them in shorter intervals, then it would be much simpler to keep a view of everyone and everything going on here at this property!”

  There was something almost hopeful in Laurie Talcott’s expression that made Younger feel bad for her. She was nodding at Josh’s suggestions and looked as though she was really hoping her guy would be the one to solve her problems. It made sense. No doubt she had hired him because he was former military and that typically made people think of things like security, efficiency, and patrol. The problem was that men in former Colonel Bentley’s position were used to having large numbers at their disposal.

  “You could certainly try that,” Younger agreed. Then he looked straight at the colonel. “Ms. Talcott told me that last night your vandals struck in three places at once in order to split your forces.”

  “Because we don’t have enough men,” Bentley was quick to point out. “With enough guys, that won’t happen.”

  “I see. And if your sweeping operation is interrupted by a ruckus in the parking lot, what then? Do you send half your force out there and spread the times of your sweeping efforts?” Younger waited to see what the man would come up with. But it was plain from Josh’s expression that he wasn’t entirely sure what to do.

  “The problem is that you don’t have enough men,” Younger reminded Laurie Talcott. “That’s a huge issue. No doubt about it. But if we try to manage a few different parts of this problem at a time, we will work toward your goal.”

  “My goal?” Laurie Talcott said weakly.

  “Yes. Your goal was to have these youngsters picked up by the cops and to have them escorted from your property and to have them punished for what they’ve done,” Younger reminded her. “I hate to say it, because I know you’re not going to like it, but in order to do that you have to let these young people i
n first.”

  Chapter Six

  Let them in. That was the solution of a so-called security expert? Let them in? Laurie exchanged a look of doubt with Josh. Maybe this whole idea about hiring a stranger to handle the security at the Landing was just a bad idea. Maybe she had just lost faith in her own crew when she should have been trying to offer Josh more resources to do what he needed to do, which, of course, was his job.

  “Josh,” Laurie began slowly, “is that really what you think you need?”

  “Yes.” Josh’s firm voice was filled with confidence.

  Laurie cast a sideways look at Younger. Younger. She didn’t even know what his last name was. How could she have been so foolish? She cleared her throat and then motioned to Josh. “All right then. You call them. Call the whole lot of them and put them on shift for one night. I want to see what happens. I want to see if you can really keep the hooligans out of the Landing and away from the customers.”

  Josh passed a significant look to Younger. “Looks like it’s time for you to stand down, Marine.”

  Laurie felt a jolt when she heard the dig. How odd. Why did it suddenly seem as though this had become very personal for Josh? It wasn’t personal. It was business. Laurie watched as Josh puffed up his chest and strutted toward his cluttered desk, presumably to use the phone.

  “I suppose…” Laurie began to speak but then stopped. She didn’t actually know what to say. There was that old adage about not burning bridges when you weren’t sure if you were going to need them. And yet, she wanted to tell Younger that she had made a mistake and she was sorry she had wasted his time.

  Younger had not said another word. Laurie was almost afraid to hear why. Maybe it was because she was afraid he would just start talking against Josh and try to convince Laurie to let him go.

  “I suppose,” Laurie tried again. She stared up at Younger. He was staring back. For some reason, she kept getting distracted by his cool dark eyes. The man was so good-looking. Maybe that was the entire problem. He was just too good-looking to take seriously, or something to that effect.

  “Yes?” Younger prompted.

  Laurie cleared her throat. How embarrassing. She had actually spaced out right in the middle of trying to say something! “I was saying that I probably owe you an apology for wasting your time.”

  “You’ve hired me for the day regardless,” Younger told her after a moment or two. “So, I think I’ll hang around and see if I can be of any assistance during Colonel Bentley’s maneuvers.”

  “Maneuvers?” Laurie wasn’t quite sure she understood what he was getting at. “Is that a polite way for saying this won’t work?”

  “No. If that’s what I’d been trying to say,” Younger drawled with obvious amusement. “I would have said, this won’t work.”

  “But you think that it will?”

  “You deliberately told me earlier this morning that you did not have the resources to mount this sort of operation,” Younger reminded her.

  “Right.” Laurie’s heart was fluttering against her breastbone. She felt confused and maybe a bit frazzled about everything going on. This was not an easy job on the best of days. But recently it had become increasingly stressful. “I understand what you’re saying and you’re right. I don’t normally have the resources to do what Josh suggested. But on the other hand, if it works, then I’ll have something to take to the corporate executives when I ask for more budget to keep that operation going.”

  “That makes sense,” Younger reasoned.

  For some reason, Laurie was absolutely floored that he’d said that. “It does?”

  “Sure. You want to use your assets and what you have and that’s totally understandable. In the meantime, I’m going to watch your employees. I’m going to be looking at how they operate, how they interact with each other, and how they respond to orders and working together. And then I will happily present you with a personnel suitability report that will hopefully help you in the future.”

  Laurie felt as though she wanted to say something, to defend her personnel, something. Yet Younger was actually offering her something very valuable. No doubt he had some experience in this sort of thing and he was volunteering to use the time she had requested from him wisely even though she was currently going against his recommendations. So, he was being professional and cool and she was acting like a total dimwitted moron. Great.

  “Well, thank you,” Laurie said quickly. “I, uh, I appreciate your professionalism.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Me?” She quickly lifted her hand to her chest and then sort of wondered why she was doing that. Was she actually trying to look like some southern damsel in distress? Who little ole me?

  Thankfully, he seemed to ignore her silliness. “I was just observing that the office here is very cluttered. It surprised me as you seem to be such a neat person. At least personally.”

  The question took her completely by surprise. Laurie frowned. “I’m sorry. Does that have anything to do with the case?”

  “Not particularly.” He casually lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I just enjoy studying human nature. Don’t you? And this seemed rather incongruent with how you present yourself.”

  Laurie didn’t know what to say. Of course, that might be because she was making a mental note to never, ever let him come anywhere near her apartment. She actually lived upstairs in one of the lofts overlooking Lake Taneycomo. It was not a cheap residence, but she got a discount on the rent since she worked there and the managers liked the idea of having the chief of security living on the property at all times. Other than her little deck overlooking the lake, the place was a sloppy mess.

  “The office space is actually too small for the number of people we have employed here,” Laurie said quickly. “I try to be understanding about it since there are a lot of different personalities and styles who use the space. We go for comfortable and functional.”

  “I see.” He turned to look out the window. “Do you ever utilize any of the spaces upstairs for watch tower methods?”

  “Watch tower methods?” Laurie could not begin to imagine what that meant.

  He grinned at her and suddenly his face went from good-looking to toe curling, panty dropping gorgeous. Laurie felt a flush of heat throughout her entire body. Try as she might, she could not remind herself that she didn’t actually like Younger. He was arrogant and too sure of himself for her taste. If she had taste, which she didn’t because she wasn’t in need of a man to begin with.

  “There is a reason why humans have utilized watch towers, crow’s nests, and the like. You can get a bird’s eye view of whatever is going on and then radio down to others on the ground where the points of interest are at any given moment.”

  “I see.” Laurie frowned as she considered this. “So, you’re suggesting one guy in a tower with a pair of binoculars is more valuable than a whole shift’s worth of security guards patrolling on the ground.”

  “If you’re looking for a specific threat, yes.” Younger looked as though he was really enjoying the conversation. This was apparently his thing. “You have to think about the practicality of sitting up off the ground and trying to spot everything. You would be distracted by each and every time someone spoke out of turn or did something weird with a bag. You’d be suspicious of everyone. But, if you were going to put someone up there to look for skateboarders, that would be different.”

  “That’s an interesting idea,” Laurie mused. She wondered if it would be possible to use one of the units right near the center of the mall or even near the parking lots. “Actually, that’s very interesting. If we posted someone near the parking lots, he could see those little bastards before they even came onto the property. There would be time for the other guards to get to that point in time to head off trouble.”

  “That was my thought too,” Younger told her with a smile. “But you’re right to try Josh’s methods first. He would always wonder if you didn’t.”

  It was a star
tlingly insightful comment and for a moment Laurie was reminded of the way Younger had mentioned he was interested in human behavior. He was an odd man. Laurie could tell that right away, but she wasn’t entirely sure if his unusual conduct was going to get along with hers and the rest of her crew.

  Laurie got a phone call and a moment or two later she realized Younger had left the coolness of her office for the heat of the outdoors. She could see him pacing around out there like an explorer. She stood at the windows and watched him and could not help but wonder what sort of man had never been to the Landing before. She could not grasp it.

  “What’s up with you?” Josh growled from behind her. “I’ve gotten ahold of the boys. I’ve got everyone coming in tonight.”

  Josh sounded strangely triumphant. Laurie wondered why. “That’s good I guess. Although, I’m quite surprised they were all free.”

  “When I told them what the plan was they all agreed to make other arrangements at their second or third jobs.” The excitement in Josh’s face was palpable. He was nearly vibrating with it.

  Laurie felt a twinge of doubt in her belly. She was having so much trouble trying to decide what to do. She had never experienced a situation where she was unable to do her job effectively because she had actually found a faction dead set against her. It was bizarre!

  “You should go take a break before tonight,” Laurie suggested to Josh. “You’ve been on since first thing this morning. You need food and rest.”

  “What?” Josh actually looked offended. “You think I can’t do my job? Is that it? That young wet behind the ears Marine shows up and suddenly I need to go take a nap?”

  Laurie was absolutely dumbfounded. She stood there and stared at Josh for a moment or two while she tried to figure out what had just happened. “I’m sorry. Did you just try to insinuate that my suggestion you need a rest was only because of Younger? Why?”

  “Because he is younger,” Josh snarled. “Don’t think I don’t see the way you’ve looked at him since he walked in! You were gushing about him earlier, too. All girlie and feminine and weird!”