Experiment in Terror (Koehler Brothers Book 1) by Alene Anderson Read Free Book Online

air.
    Amanda went back to Creations For You and headed directly to her office. She had been working only a short time on her financial records when Jenessa stuck her head in the door.
    “Dennis called while you were at lunch and wanted to know if we had decided anything. I told him I would talk to you and one of us would get back to him as soon as we made a decision.”
    “Jenessa, I’ve been thinking,” Amanda said. “If you will take the responsibility of having him sign the contract, collect the set-up fee, and have him make appointments with you when he needs to restock, you can tell him to come in and meet with you.”
    Jenessa’s face lit up. “Should I give him a reason for meeting with me rather than you?”
    “I don’t believe that’s necessary. He’s not going to know I usually do it. After all, you are the store manager, so it’s natural you might be involved in working with the artists.”
    “Okay, I’ll call him right now. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.”
    Jenessa left the office to make her telephone call, and Amanda turned back to the papers she had spread out on her desk. She immediately thought of the homeless man and wondered if she would see him on the way home. Glancing at her watch, she wondered how much longer before she could leave.
    It was obvious her talk with Charlie hadn’t made her change her mind about wanting to see him . The afternoon seemed to crawl by. Her reports were finally finished and she decided to go home. She called Jenessa on the intercom and asked her to come into her office.
    “How did it go with Dennis?” she asked her manager when she came to the door of her office.
    “Great. He wants to come by about ten in the morning, sign the contract, and pay his set-up fee.”
    “Could you ask him to come at nine, before the store opens at ten? That will give you time to take care of the paperwork and hopefully he can get his space set up with his art work. I don’t like artists setting up after the store opens. In the past, I’ve found they and the customers often get in each other’s way.”
    “I’ll call him back,” Jenessa said. “If that’s not a good time for him tomorrow, he’ll have to make it another day.”
    “Good. Let me know if he’s going to come in tomorrow. The timing will work for me. I’ll just come in a little later. Probably around ten-thirty. In the future, I want you to let me know when you schedule Dennis an appointment to restock.”
    “I’ll do it. I’m sorry you’ve taken such a dislike to him. But of course, it’s to my advantage since I get to work with him.”
    “Don’t worry about it. It’s my problem.”
    As Jenessa left her office, Amanda’s thoughts went immediately to the homeless man. She decided there was only one way she could find out more about him. She would have to find someone else who could obtain the information she wanted.
    Sloan, her attorney and Charlie’s husband, had a detective he used now and again. Amanda picked up her phone and dialed Sloan’s number. His assistant told her he was taking a deposition, but when he was finished, she would have him call.
    Amanda waited impatiently. How long did a deposition take? she wondered. It was past her usual quitting time and dusk was beginning to fall when he finally got back to her.
    “Sherri said you called,” he said after they exchanged greetings.
    Amanda was glad he didn’t question her as to why she would need a detective. She admired him for his ability to allow people their privacy unless it had something to do with one of his cases. He immediately gave her the name of the man he used, Gary Kaufmann, along with his telephone number.
    Glancing at her watch, she decided she would wait until the next day to make the call. It was getting late and she didn’t want to be on the bike path after dark. She wondered if she should take the bus home and leave her bike at the store.
    She didn’t want to miss a chance of seeing the homeless man in the