Hello My Angel - Sue Brown Page 0,15
nothing was missed. Cal sat back and belched contentedly. Even as Josh scowled at him, Rick and Dave joined in.
“You’re all pigs,” Josh said.
“Yep,” Cal agreed. “Okay, back to work.” He looked at his watch. “Gil, we need to get moving if we’re going to visit Lucy Raymond’s family.”
“I thought you were going to leave it until tomorrow?” Josh said.
Cal shook his head. “We can’t wait. Gil?”
“Sure thing.” Gil belched again and got to his feet. “Max, stay close to Josh. For a princess, he’s surprisingly good at taking care of people.”
Josh flipped him off. As he said to anyone who would listen, he owned that fucking tiara and nobody was going to take it away from him.
Rick, Dave and Max spent a few huddled moments working out routes to the various addresses, while Josh beckoned Cal and Gil to the other end of the room.
“Uh-oh, you’ve got that look on your face,” Gil said.
“You’re right, he has,” Cal agreed.
Josh sat on the edge of the desk. “Damn right, I have.” He stabbed a finger at Gil. “I don’t like the fact either of you are working without me. Gil, you take care of him. And Cal, don’t do anything stupid.”
“Yes, my angel.”
Rick and Dave left first, quickly followed by Cal and Gil. Josh and Max stared at each other.
“That leaves you and me,” Josh said.
“What do you want me to do?”
“You’re gonna find out everything you can about Ileana Ramirez, down to her bra size and teenage crush.”
Max gave a curt nod. “And you?”
“I’m gonna set up this office.”
“You’re playing housekeeper?”
Josh gave a vicious grin. “Watch and learn, kid. I do my best thinking while I’m doing something else. I’ve finally got a chance to organize this goddamn investigation, and I need to think.”
“Do you need a computer?”
“Hell no.” Josh held up his notebook. “Computer trails are your forte. I think on paper.”
“Okay. I need to get Coke. I don’t really like hot drinks. I’ll go and buy a pack.”
Josh refrained from making a snide comment about people who didn’t drink coffee. “You do that. I’ll put the coffee on for me. It’s gonna be another long night.”
Max grabbed his coat and left the office. Josh moved to the window and watched him leave the building. He wondered if he’d have time for a cigarette. Then he growled as he remembered he’d dumped his last carton along with his ruined suit. Cal would be pleased. He hated Josh smoking, although Josh was sure it was because he was an ex-smoker. They were always the most judgmental.
On the sidewalk, Max paused, looked left and right, and took the left as Josh expected. There was a late-night convenience store on the corner. Josh watched him enter. “Good boy.” Yes, Josh was taking a chance on him not making a bolt for it, but he wanted Max to relax in his company. After a couple of minutes, Max emerged with cans of Coke. Josh stayed by the window until he heard the door downstairs, then he headed to the coffeepot.
Max came in and dumped the cans on the table. “It’s vile out there.”
“Is it raining again?” Josh asked.
“You know it is. You were watching me.”
“You saw me?”
Max rolled his eyes. “I work for the agency too.”
Josh made a mental note not to underestimate this young man. “So you do. Yeah, I was watching you.”
Picking up a can, Max popped the tab. “Okay, I’m going to start work on Chyna Moles.”
“What do you need?”
Max cocked his head. “How do you feel about music?”
“What music?” Josh asked warily, because there was only so much thrash metal he could take in one evening.
“You like Billie Eilish, don’t you?”
“How do you—” Josh stopped. He didn’t need to be reminded that Max had access to personnel files. “You?”
“I do.”
Max pressed a few keys and Ocean Eyes filled the room. Josh took a deep breath. He could work with this dude. He picked up the cans, took them over to the fridge and stacked them for easy access. Then he pulled his notebook over and started to make lists. There was a lot to do, and he was going to have this office up and running before the night’s end, and hopefully have located Weatherly too.
As he started to make lists—he was going to regret not stealing more of the agency’s office supplies—Josh kept an eye on their newest recruit. Max seemed totally focused on his laptop. Josh replaced the can at his side and Max murmured his