I smile—never hurts to show off the pearly whites. “I’m Donovan Steel, city attorney for the town of Snow Creek on the western slope. One of our residents had some issues with an error that originated out of this office, and I came down to check it out.”
She regards me, her head cocked. “You look so familiar to me. Wait a minute. Sure. Donny Steel from Bishop Helms.”
“Used to be with Bishop Helms. I’m back in my hometown now.”
“You did some work with John in the past.”
“Lambert. Yes. We’re acquainted. Is he in today?”
“He took some personal time, I think. But I’m sure someone in the office can help you.”
Right. His personal time. To do my dirty work. I feel about an inch tall right about now. What were Dale and I thinking?
“Can you help me? No one else seems to be in at the moment.” I flash the smile again.
“I’m the records administrator, so maybe.” She unlocks the door. “Come in. Staffers tend to come in late on Fridays.”
I nod. No surprise there. No wonder Lambert can do whatever he wants.
I follow the young woman in and realize I don’t yet know her name. I flash the million-dollar smile once more. “I don’t think we’ve properly met. What’s your name again?”
“I’m Tasha Sanchez.” She holds out her hand.
I take her hand and hold on to it for a little longer than necessary. “Lovely to meet you, Tasha. I’m surprised we haven’t met before since you seem to know who I am.”
“I’m stuck in the records room. Always drowning in paperwork. I’m not surprised we haven’t met face-to-face.”
“Well, it’s certainly a pleasure.”
She blushes. Good. I’m not above using my charm to get what I want. God knows I’ve been doing it my whole life.
“Coffee?” she asks.
“I’d love a cup.”
“It will just be a minute. I need to start a pot. Go ahead and have a seat.” She nods to a small waiting area.
I sit on one of the chairs. A reception desk faces me, but of course no receptionist is present. No wonder you can never get a real person when you call a government office. There’s no real person here to take your call.
Tasha fumbles with a coffeemaker in the corner, and within a few minutes, the smell of weak coffee wafts toward me. Is my mother the only person on the planet who can make a decent cup of coffee? She’s got all four of her kids hooked on a dark, strong brew.
“I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Tasha shuffles down the hallway.
A few magazines sit on the coffee table. Green Energy Digest and National Geographic. I pick one up and find out it’s from a year ago. Just like my dentist’s office. This place never updates its magazines.
I pull my phone out of my pocket to check messages and emails. Nothing urgent. Good.
So I wait. Since Tasha is in charge of records here, she’s a good person to talk to.
A few minutes later, she returns, pours two cups of coffee from the now-full pot, and brings one to me. “Mr. Steel, you can come on back now.”
I take the coffee and flash the grin for the fourth or fifth time. “Please, call me Donny.”
She blushes again. Good. Very good. I follow her back to a cluttered office. A lone chair sits in front of her desk. “Have a seat.”
I sit, barely fitting in the chair.
“Now, Mr.— I mean, Donny, what can I help you with this morning?”
“Papers were served on one of our residents that required him to leave his premises due to a potential gas leak underneath his property. We found out yesterday that the papers were issued in error. The problem is that the resident was forced off his property, and while he was gone, vandals broke in and destroyed the place. I realize that the state isn’t responsible for what other people do, but if this hadn’t happened, if this error hadn’t occurred, Mr. Murphy would have been home, and this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I’m not sure what you want me to do about it.”
“All I’m asking you to do is to check your records. Make sure that this is a closed case at this point. Then I’ll speak to Mr. Lambert about any reimbursement that the state might be able to offer Mr. Murphy.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have anything to do with that.”
Again with the flashing smile. “I know, Tasha.”
Tasha taps on her computer keys. “Our system is so slow.” She drums her fingers on the desk.
“That’s okay. I don’t mind waiting.” I smile. Again. I’m going to have facial muscle fatigue.
“For God’s sake, come on.” Tasha taps furiously at her keys again. “Maybe someday we’ll get some funding to actually upgrade this stupid system.”
“Take it easy. I’m not in any hurry.” Yeah, a little lie. Make that a big lie. I want all of this over.