One We Love, The by Donna White Glaser Read Free Book Online

I’m the one who feeds the women
cookies and tucks them in at night.”
    She laughed and I could tell that she’d used that line many
times before. I smiled back at her. “That’s nice. They must need someone like
you after all the abuse they’ve been through.”
    “They do. Many of them can’t even remember feeling safe or
cared for. That’s the first thing we tell them. That’s what I told you,
remember? When you first came in?” A shadow crossed her eyes as she remembered
my purpose in coming to the shelter.
    “How does the shelter manage the security issues here?” I
asked hurriedly.
    “That’s my area,” she said, almost preening again.
Apparently I’d stumbled on exactly the right question to keep from being booted
out the door. “It’s our biggest expense, really. But there’s no getting around
it. Come here.”

 
     
     
    CHAPTER NINE
     
     
     
    A strid led me to
a door tucked in between the kitchen and her office. I could hear the furnace humming
to life just beyond. Unlike the cheap doors that were used elsewhere, this door
was of solid wood. Pulling a jangling batch of keys off a belt clip, Astrid
unlocked it. Inside, a furnace did indeed take up most of the space, but a good
share of the wall housed an electrical panel that looked like a NASA-level circuit
board. Astrid waved a hand at it.
    “This is what a lot of our donations go for. It’s a good
system, but it needs updating. With all that’s happened, I’m hoping the board
will see . . .  Well, never mind.” She shut the door again, firmly, and made a
show of locking it back up. Then she continued on to her own office, using the
keys again.
    I followed. The whole purpose of Astrid’s domain, about the
size of a walk-in closet, seemed to be to house the computer that sat on the
desk. Astrid had to squeeze sideways between the wall and desk to take her
chair behind it. A clear swath, butt-high, on the dingy paint tracked her
route.
    “Apparently this is where the rest of the donations go,” I
said, indicating the computer
    “It’s all part of the security system. The video cameras
around the property feed into this computer and record all movement on the
perimeter. I can access the system for remote viewing, if need be, and, of
course, so can the police. When it’s set, an alarm will sound if the perimeter
is breached. What we really need, though, is a silent alarm system so if an
intruder gains access and it develops into a hostage situation, we can alert
the police.”
    “What if they cut the power?” There was no extra chair so,
since we were getting so chatty, I perched on the corner of the desk. Regina
had described some aspects of the shelter’s security precautions when she’d
dragged me here months ago, but not to this degree. She’d also made me participate
in a safety drill, which I’d hated. I didn’t remind Astrid, though; I needed
her to forget I was a different kind of intruder, and letting her show off her
expertise was making good headway.
    “Most of our utilities are buried, but we also have a backup
battery as well. Plus any cut wires instantly set the alarm off and notifies
the police and fire department.”
    “Sounds pretty elaborate. Is that why you don’t worry about
keeping the shelter a secret?”
    “More like the other way around, really. It’s nearly
impossible to keep a shelter’s location confidential for very long, especially
in a small city like Chippewa Falls. Too many women and their children come
through the doors, the police and fire departments are all in the loop, and
eventually any repair work means we have to have construction workers or
plumbers or whatever here. This way, we’re known to the community. In fact, some
of our neighbors help keep watch on our ladies. I’ve had several of them call
the cops on strange cars or men who seem to be lurking. A lot of the problems
get handled before the assholes even get on the premises.
    “Besides,” she went on, “why should the