the newspaper. The rumors are rampant. They smell a story, and they’ll do anything to get information. I saw a television van on
the street, and I suspect they’re somewhere close by. I think it’s best if you stay here with Mark.”
“Okay,” Dianne said.
“Where’s a telephone?” Reggie asked.
Greenway pointed in the direction of the nurses’ station. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
“I’ll see you guys at four, okay?” she said to Dianne and Mark. “Remember, not a word to anyone. And stay close to this room.”
She and Greenway disappeared around the bend. The security guards were half-asleep. Mark and his mother entered the dark room and sat on the bed. A stale doughnut caught his attention, and he devoured it in four bites.
Reggie called her office, and Glint answered. “You remember that lawsuit we filed last year on behalf of Penny Patoula?” she asked softly, looking around for the bloodhounds. “It was sex discrimination, wrongful discharge, harassment, the works. I think we threw in everything. Circuit Court. Yeah, that’s it. Pull the file. Change the name from Penny Patoula to Dianne Sway. The defendant will be Ark-Lon Fixtures. I want you to name the president individually. His name is Chester Tanfill. Yeah, make him a defendant too, and sue for wrongful discharge, labor violations, sexual harassment, throw in an equal rights charge, and ask for a million or two in damages. Do it now, and quickly. Prepare a summons, and a check for the filing fee. Run over to the courthouse and file it. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes to pick it up, so hurry. I’ll personally deliver it to Mr. Tanfill.”
She hung up and thanked the nearest nurse. The reporters were loitering near the soft drink machine,
but she was through the door to the stairwell before they saw her.
ARK-LON FIXTURES WAS A SERIES OF METAL-CONNECTED
buildings on a street of such structures in a minimum wage industrial park near the airport. The front building was a faded orange in color, and expansion had taken place in every direction except toward the street. The newer additions were of the same general architecture but with different shades of orange. Trucks waited near a loading dock in the rear. An enclosed chain-link fence protected rolls of steel and aluminum.
Reggie parked near the front in a space reserved for visitors. She held her briefcase, and opened the door. A chesty woman with black hair and a long cigarette ignored her and listened to the phone stuck in her ear. Reggie stood before her, waiting impatiently. The room was dusty, dirty, and clouded -with blue cigarette smoke. Matted pictures of beagles adorned the walls. Half the fluorescent lights were out.
“May I help you?” the receptionist asked as she lowered the phone.
“I need to see Chester Tanfill.”
“He’s in a meeting.”
“I know. He’s a very busy man, but I have something for him.”
The receptionist placed the phone on the desk. “I see. And what might that be?”
“It’s really none of your business. I need to see Chester Tanfill. It’s urgent.”
This really pissed her off. The nameplate declared her to be Louise Chenault. “I don’t care how urgent it
is, ma’am. You can’t just barge in here and demand to see the president of this company.”
“This company is a sweatshop, and I’ve just sued it for two million bucks. And I’ve also sued Chester boy for a couple of million, and I’m telling you to find his sorry ass and get him out here immediately.”
Louise jumped to her feet and backed away from the desk. “Are you some kind of lawyer?”
Reggie pulled the lawsuit and the summons from the briefcase. She looked at it, ignored Louise, and said, “I am indeed a lawyer. And I need to serve these papers on Chester. Now, find him. If he’s not here in five minutes, I’ll amend it and ask for five million in dam-ages.”
Louise bolted from the room and ran through a set of double doors. Reggie waited a second, then followed. She walked through a room filled with tacky, cramped cubicles. Cigarette smoke seemed to ooze from every opening. The carpet was ancient shag and badly worn. She caught a glimpse of Louise’s round rump darting into a door on the right, and she followed.
Chester Tanfill was in the process of standing behind his desk when Reggie barged in. Louise was speechless. “You can leave now,” Reggie said rudely. “I’m Reggie Love, attorney-at-law,” she said, glaring at Chester.
“Chester Tanfill,” he said without offering a hand. She wouldn’t have taken it.