Chapter 8
On Friday morning, I picked up Jeannine and drove her to the office where we hooked up my sister’s spare computer. Once again, Jeannine was working her magic on the Internet and by 10:00 AM I was scamming labor temp services. After a mere 23 strikeouts I hit pay dirt just after 1:00 PM. San Diego Tech-Temps acknowledged their relationship with Yuliya after I ranted about quality issues with their new electronics technicians.
I wanted to drive over immediately and sign up as a temp. But I had to stick around and conduct a job interview with a man who could leap tall buildings in a single bound. No, it was not a bird; not a plane; it was DELBERTMAN. Jeannine buzzed me to say Delbert Henson had arrived. A few seconds later Beauty and the Beast came through my doorway. Delbert sure knows how to put on the dog for a job interview. I think he was wearing the same dirty T-shirt and sneakers he had worn the last time I saw him three years ago.
“Hello Delbert,” I said, shaking his beefy hand. “How are you doing these days?”
“Spectacular, Mr. Duffy,” he said. “Did you miss me?”
“Miss you,” I said, “why, according to Jeannine we can’t get along without you.” Delbert displayed a set of nicotine-stained choppers and nodded his approval. “I have a damsel in distress situation that calls for someone with your unique abilities.”
“Ooh,” he said, rubbing his mitts together and raising his caterpillar eyebrows.
“Somebody broke in here yesterday and tied up Jeannine. She’s afraid to be alone and wants someone to protect her when I’m not around. It’s a temporary job until the bad guys are in the pokey. It pays eight bucks an hour, plus all the coffee you can drink.”
“It sounds like there could be some real danger,” he said.
“Jeannine didn’t put up a fight and they didn’t hurt her.”
“I’m not sure. I have a lot of important things I do during the day.”
“I’ll get you a security guard uniform and any time I’m around you can go on patrol around the building.”
“Deal!” he exclaimed, then jumped out of his seat and shook my hand. “When do I start, boss?”
“9:00 AM Monday morning.”
I told Jeannine to find a local uniform store and arrange for Delbert to be outfitted appropriately this afternoon. She could accompany him since I would be leaving for the day and I wanted to make sure Delbert didn’t ask for a red cape to be custom fit onto his uniform shirt. I ended our meeting with a couple of personal hygiene tips and made a mental note to send him on time consuming errands whenever client meetings were scheduled.
Getting signed up at the temp service was a breeze. I completed the paperwork, had three work shirts and laminated credentials in less than an hour. They assigned me to a shipyard, starting first thing Monday morning, but I had other plans.