dragged into the other woman’s office and ushered to a chair.
“This is a red-letter day for me! I just got finished talking to some detectives and this afternoon I get interviewed about my job.”
Having just sat down, Kimberly grabbed her pen and notebook quickly as she looked at Tammy. “Detectives?”
Bobbing her head up and down, bouncing her grey curls, Tammy said, “Yes, you just missed them. We had some excitement last Friday when one of our delivery vans got held up by men with guns and all the drugs were stolen!”
Her eyes jerked open wide. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“Well, that’s always a threat when you’re transporting pharmaceuticals. Nefarious criminals are always wanting the drugs!”
She fought a lip quirk at Tammy’s description. Nefarious criminals. “Yes, I’m sure that’s a problem.” Thinking back to the research she’d started on pharmaceuticals on the black market, she murmured, “I wonder what happened to the stolen drugs. And what they were.”
Tammy’s brow lifted and she leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Well, I’ll tell you what was stolen. It was a van full of all sorts of drugs, but it also included opioids going to a clinic. Oh, yes… that’ll bring someone a pretty-penny when it’s sold!”
Unable to hide her shock, she slumped back in her chair. More bad news for Kilton!
Glancing around the office, her gaze landed on a framed picture of Tammy shaking hands with the president of Kilton Pharmaceuticals and a certificate proclaiming her to be Employee of the Year. Hoping to get something she could print, she prodded, “Tell me about that award.”
Tammy grinned widely and leaned back in her chair, her former air of concern having fled. “I’ve been at Kilton since it began twenty years ago and started out as a secretary. Back then, that’s all they let me do. We weren’t called fancy things like administrative assistants. No, sir! We were just secretaries. But I was tickled to be working in a big factory, so I didn’t care what they called me…”
Parking in the alley behind her townhouse, Kimberly rolled her now-empty trashcan through the gate and settled it near the back door. Her day had been full, but she felt a buoyancy long missing from endless hours sitting at a computer retyping sales information into brochures. An idea had formed since she met with Tammy and she could not wait to talk to the editor of the e-magazine to see if he would be interested. The idea of doing a series of articles on interesting, everyday people in Hope City filled her mind. And the bouncy, excitable, Employee of the Year would be first on her list.
After dumping her purse on the counter, she continued through her narrow kitchen to the stairs, jogging up to her bedroom. Deciding on a quick shower before dinner, she was soon back downstairs, barefoot, and dressed in comfortable clothes. Staring into the refrigerator for a few minutes, she finally decided on the leftover takeout from the day before. Once reheated, she sat at her small table and ate while reviewing the notes she had taken from the day’s interviews. That afternoon, she had gained more insight into the inner workings of the company through the average employees.
Rinsing off her dishes, she grabbed her laptop and notebook and moved into the living room, piling onto the sofa. She typed up her notes, careful to pull tidbits from the recesses of her mind. After that, she developed the idea for her series and sent it to her editor.
By now, the sun was beginning to set, one of her favorite times of the day. Pouring a glass of wine, she walked upstairs and through the second bedroom to the deck.
Hope City was filled with thousands of rowhouses, most built in the late 1800s. Because of the harbor, the city had been filled with shipbuilders, carpenters, sailors, harbor workers, manufacturers, and craftsmen, all needing housing. By the mid-1900s many of the properties became derelict, and Hope City was desperate for revitalization. Many of them had been restored, snapped up at a low price, gutted and refurbished, and were now the envy of many families and young professionals.
And many, like hers, had had a rooftop deck added, something the original builders would have never considered. Thank God, Bob did!
Stepping through the door, she carried her glass of wine and tablet over to her comfortable lounger. She did not see Bob, but a few of her other neighbors were out on their decks, tossing a wave her way.