Page 52 of Backwater Justice

“Hi.” Kat gave a little wave. “How long have you all been working here?”

Sandy gave her the rundown. Everyone had been at the company at least ten years.

“Must be a good place to work.” Kat was subtly fishing.

“Mr. Milton, he’s the best. Nice man. Kind.”

“You call him Mr. Milton?” Kat asked.

“He said he didn’t want to be called Mr. Spangler. There were three Spanglers. He said we should call him Milton, but I just can’t. So, out of respect, I call them Mr. Milton, Mr. Benjamin, and Mr. Oliver.”

“What about Dickie?” Kat asked.

Sandy leaned in. “I have my own title for him, one that’s part of his name!” She guffawed.

Interesting, Kat thought.

“But please don’t tell him that!” Sandy put her hand over her mouth, thinking she’d said too much too soon.

“No problem. I know a lot of them.” Kat gave her a wink.

“So, you’ll be staying upstairs?” Sandy asked. “I thought someone was already up there. Been a lot of foot traffic. They must have left.”

“Yes. I’ll be upstairs, and Isabelle will be staying there when she’s not traveling to the inns.”

“For how long?”

“Not sure. For a couple of weeks, probably.”

“Isabelle is the woman who will be overseeing the facilities for now, right?”

“Yes.”

“How do you two know each other?” Sandy asked innocently.

“We just met.”

“And you’re going to be roomies?” Sandy wasn’t being nosy. Just curious.

“I spend a lot of time sleeping in the cab of my truck. There’s an awful lot of space upstairs, and I figured she could use a home base.”

“That’s mighty kind of you,” Sandy said.

“Heck, why not? Us gals have to stick together.” Kat leaned in just a bit, garnering Sandy’s confidence.

In turn, Sandy whispered, “We could use a full-time person, to be perfectly honest. Someone is always calling out sick.”

“Maybe. We’ll see how it goes.” Kat thought for a minute. “How often do you think I’ll be out?”

“Depends. Long-haulers are pretty reliable, so maybe once or twice a month. It’s the short runs that can be a problem. We have a really high turnover rate.” She thought for a moment. “I’d say two, three times a week. It’s quiet today, but you’ll be busy.”

“I hope so. One thing I can’t stand is just sitting around.”

“We can always find something for you to do. You know how to use a computer?”

“Sure.”

“Good. Maybe you can help with some of the dispatch logs.”