Читать книгу A Detective's Heart: A Novel - Sioux Dallas - Страница 8

Chapter One

Hannah Rutherford ambled across Oak Street, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, looking with pride and a little trepidation at her brand new office:

THE LOST CAUSE DETECTIVE AGENCY

HANNAH RUTHERFORD

INVESTIGATOR

Lost Cause, not because she was lacking, but because she took on cases that offered little or no encouragement to the client. With her reward money for finding the kidnapped child and turning in the offender, her pension from her deceased husband’s work, and her inheritance from her maternal grandparents, she felt that she should give back to the community that had been so faithful to her.

Her heart was a little heavy knowing she had set out on a sea that she was not truly prepared for and was sailing on faith and intestinal fortitude, Hannah’s father, Andrew Rutherford, was a well-known, successful prosecuting attorney and wanted Hannah to follow in his footsteps. Because she was an only child, he had wrapped his heart and life around her. His wife, Hannah’s mother, had been worshipped by him. When she died with cancer soon after Hannah was born, he almost lost his mind. His sister, Marilee, had helped take care of Hannah until she had to retire due to crippling arthritis. Andrew kept Hannah close and made her the heart and center of his life. She tried to follow in his footsteps, but liked law enforcement better, first as a police officer and now as an investigator.

Bouncing gaily into the office she greeted her small staff with sincere love and appreciation. Her golden hair framed a lovely face, not beautiful, but attractive. Eyes as blue as a summer sky sparkled with love of life.

Victoria Stallard, a perky twenty-four year old college graduate was suffering after a drunk driver ran up on the sidewalk and ran over her. She now had braces on one leg and chronic pain in her back and leg. It would have been difficult for her to hold a steady job with anyone who required a nine to five employment or a minimum of forty hour a week. She was grateful for Hannah’s understanding and made a promise to herself to love Hannah and be loyal, faithful and helpful. Her ebony face was always smiling and kind.

Hannah, too, had a back injury that left her in almost constant pain.

She had been following a two hundred pound plus carjacker and pedophile. He turned and tackled her landing on her. She had called for back-up and he was arrested but Hannah suffered a painful back.

Herbert Mueller, better known as Herb, was a thirty - two year old ex policeman with two years of law study. He had been a viable officer with a glowing future. He had started studying law with the intention of becoming an attorney. During his second year of study, his wife of eighteen months, hugged him and told him they were expecting their first child. They were both ecstatic and looking forward to the birth.

One day she had gone to the bank to deposit his paycheck. A bank robbery had resulted in her death and the loss of the eight month fetus. Three men, armed, came into the bank and had a shootout with an off duty policeman. She had been hit in the stomach and chest by stray bullets.

Herb had been so crushed he began to drink and didn’t report for work or classes. He was given a warning and finally fired from the force. Hannah had offered him a chance to shake loose from the grief and alcohol and become a useful worker again and gain self confidence. Hannah encouraged him to take pride in his work and in his daily life. He would lay down his life for her.

“Good morning all,” Hannah burbled with love of life and joy in her choice of future. She stood barely five feet five inches but faced her cases as if she were six feet and two hundred pounds instead of one ten. She had just turned twenty-eight last week.

“Hey boss,” Victoria limped over to give Hannah a quick hug. Her own dark eyes were sparkling and full of joy. Her curly dark hair was styled to suit her five feet four frame. Thankfully she weighed only one hundred five pounds or she would suffer trying to carry more weight with her injuries. Her heart-shaped light milk chocolate face was always smiling and pleasant to see. The drunk driver who plowed on to the sidewalk and ran her down did not take away her sweet personality.

Herb lumbered toward the front from a back office. He picked Hannah up and swung her around. His six-three frame was too heavy carrying two hundred eighty pounds, but he was trying to cut out the desserts and tighten his muscles with daily exercise. His green eyes and wavy chestnut hair were ideal for his tanned complexion and dimples.

“Put me down, you oaf,” Hannah laughingly ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered with mock bow as he carried her to an office down the hall and deposited her at her desk.

“What has gotten into you?” Hannah asked laughing.

“Look around you,” both Herb and Victoria spoke as one.

Taking her first look around didn’t satisfy her curiosity until she looked at her newly painted cream walls. Her certificates from college, her law degree, her license to operate and all necessary certificates were framed in beautiful soft pine and hung with care. A large Peace Lily stood in a tub near the floor to ceiling six feet wide window. Light blue vertical blinds covered the window. Beside it was a private door leading to the outside. Two tall metal filling cabinets were in a corner. A new blue carpet, with darker swirls of blue was on the floor showing her polished oak desk and swivel rocker padded oak chair to the best advantage

“When was this done? When I left here Friday this room was empty and smelling of fresh paint.”

“We came back on Saturday and did the work so you’d be surprised this morning,” Victoria beamed.

“Yeah, my brother-in-law, Merle Boggs, agreed to help. He and my sister are so relieved that I’ve turned my life round that they’re willing to do anything I ask,” Herb stated with a grin. “Come see the rest of our space.”

Hannah kicked off her spike heels and padded across the hall to the office that Herb used. She was pleased to see a beige runner on the long hall. In the room used by Herb, the walls were the same cream color and his certificates were also framed and on the walls. His oak desk was bigger than Hannah’s and the chair was a high-backed, swivel rocker that would accommodate his huge frame. There was a four by six window with blue vertical blinds in his office. Two large filing cabinets were against one wall. A private door was near a corner that would allow him to come and go from the alley without coming through the front.

Next door to Hannah’s office was a large conference room with a long table and six comfortable high-backed padded chairs. A table in one corner held materials for coffee, tea, or snacks. A large water cooler burbled in a corner. Two long six by three windows were up high.

Across the hall was a small, well-equipped kitchen with a stove and a microwave, a side by side refrigerator, a sink with a disposal, a table and four chairs. The floor was a mahogany and tan tile. The window was a three by six and high on the outer wall. There was a closet and a counter with several drawers under it. A four slice toaster sat on the counter.

At the end of the hall was a rest room with a sink, a wall dryer, two stalls, a five by three vertical mirror and a comfortable couch.. The two windows were about two by three and high on the outer wall. A small closet held supplies. Mahogany and tan tiles were on this floor.

At the very end was an emergency door with an alarm. Bright motion lights were outside over the door and safety lights on poles over the small parking space for the office. They walked to the front where Victoria reigned behind a large, polished oak desk. On it was a rolodex and a complicated phone system. A computer and a printer were on a table in the corner sitting on an L to her desk. She only had to swing her swivel chair from one to the other. Behind her were four large filing cabinets and a police scanner sitting on top of one of the cabinets. Across from her desk was a water fountain and paper cups in a dispenser beside it. A cream-colored wastebasket sat proudly between the dispenser and a waiting area.

Four comfortable chairs were spaced along the wall with a glass-topped table holding magazines. The walls here were cream and the carpet was the same blue color that was in the private offices. A public restroom was in the corner.

There were two wide front doors that could both be opened to permit a large object to come through. Six by eight tall windows were on either side of the front door. Inside under each window was a shelf built to hold plants or whatever suited the occupants of this office.

By the end of the day two floral shops had sent small plants and potted trees for the front office. Several business people had stopped by to welcome them to the street and to satisfy their own curiosity.

Outside, flanking the front door, were two lovely, large terra-cotta pots. Inside each pot was a Dwarf Alberta spruce, suitable for decorating such as at Christmas. A built-in window box held petunias and snapdragons.

The office was open for business by nine each morning. Hannah usually jogged for three miles starting at six AM and then ran home for a shower and to dress. She ate breakfast when she came to the office. She waved and called a greeting to all she saw on her way to work. Everyone seemed to respect and like the young woman. Everyone that knew her said, “Hannah has a heart of gold and it is as big as all outdoors.”

Hannah and her staff were so tickled with the first ad for the business that was in the local paper that Herb also framed that and hung it in the front. Hannah had been very careful to notify the public that she would be willing to listen to any problems without charging a fee and any fee would depend on how much time and work had to be done. Privately she had told Victoria and Herb that they would represent anyone free of charge that was in financial trouble that wasn’t their own fault and if they needed help.

The business had only been open for a week, but Hannah was pleased with the response they’d gotten. She felt in her heart that the business would build to fill all of the filling cabinets with documents. A plaque hung on the wall for all to see as soon as they entered the agency. The plaque read:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.