When he was finished sending his men out, Howard told me, "I have to call the FBI in. They are the ones who really have jurisdiction. We have a relationship with your agency because of people that go through the unemployment process, and it is our responsibility to protect federal employees and property. Some of them could be people we are looking for. Did you see the posters down by the counter? We have a stack of posters near each counter for your people to look at. It's surprising how many people are on the run and figure out how to collect unemployment."
Howard made his call to the FBI and I heard him say to come on up to his offices. When he hung up, he took me out to a lady and said to her, "Deputize this man. Take down his info. I'm making him a deputy Marshal for a while. He's dumb enough to work with us on the Q.T."
Howard said to me, "This is Sarah, don't ask her out for a date, she'll go with you and you'll never get rid of her." He left with Sarah throwing a pencil at his back.
Sarah was about forty, not bad looking, but too old for me anyway. "I'm not that bad. Don't believe what that jerk tells you. The only reason I'm still single is that I haven't caught one of these guys yet. We have a bunch of single Marshals in the department right now, so the odds are in my favor. You're a little young, Honey, so let me deputize you and put some years on you."
"Let's see," as she flipped through a file, "you're the Charles Johnson that Howard wrote up in his report. You're the new rising star over at the Federal Employment Office. I see you have one hell of a service record. You're just the kind of young man our service and this office need. Like I said, you're a little young, but I think we can age you a little."
The lady swore me in then opened a drawer and pulled out a leather wallet. She flipped it open and copied down the number on a badge inside the wallet. She quickly typed up a card, had me hold still while she photographed me. She glued the photo on the card and laminated the whole thing. "There you go, Honey, you're now an official federal Deputy Marshal. We only go after federal criminals, but we can act as peace officers at any time. If you run into a bad guy and don't know what to do with him, call the FBI. Give the agent who answers this badge number and they'll listen to you."
I put the wallet in my coat pocket and was going to go back in where Howard was. "Honey, the kitchen is right through there," she was pointing in another direction. "Get some coffee in there and be sure to take a donut or two. Now that you're sort of a cop, you have to eat donuts." Sarah laughed as I made my way in the direction she was pointing. "Oh and you can get back into Howard's area by going through the other door there. And I forgot, be sure to hold your badge up when you go through the metal detectors down stairs. Make sure they check your badge and log your badge number. That's their job."
The coffee was fresh and the donuts were still warm. No wonder policemen like donuts. I went into the other office and saw Howard sitting in an office with glass walls. He was on the phone and had someone across from him in a chair. He saw me and waved for me to come in.
I went in the door of the office and set my two donuts and the coffee down on an end table next to a couch. Howard got off the phone and said, "Give the coffee and donuts to agent Barnstead. Go get you and me some coffee too and bring back a hand full of donuts, any kind."
I shook hands with agent Barnstead then headed back to the kitchen. I poured two more cups of coffee and picked up a hand full of donuts. They had carriers, so I put everything in one, along with a handful of napkins and went back to Howard's office.
Howard said, "Mike, this is Chuck Johnson, the guy who started this mess. I've deputized him so you can brutalize and use him if you need. He's an ex-marine that needs a cane to get around because of a fake leg, but I think he left his cane where he had breakfast."
I realized that I had done just that. Hopefully someone saw it and they are keeping it at the hotel desk.
Howard said, "One of the guys picked it up for you when we pulled all the glasses off the table for fingerprints. We wanted to run those guys real fast to see who they were before we started questioning them. They are a real trio. All three were up for manslaughter up in New York and one did some time out in Nevada for planting a bomb in some mobster's car. You were lucky last night. I heard about the tin can alarm you had set up. Pretty slick. It saved your ass, that's for sure."
Mike Barnstead asked, "How long since you've been out?"
When I answered that it was a week ago this past Monday he asked, "How in the hell have you stirred up all this mess in just over a week?"
I gave him a brief synopsis of what had transpired and he said to Howard, "So that's who that chick is you have in quiet custody. You want these guys put away the same? We can hold them for crimes against the government for thirty days without charging them, just like terrorists."
Howard said, "Please do, the more people we take out of the loop right now, the better. If Poppa don't know what happened to his contract people, he might get nervous and do something stupid. At least, that's my thinking right now."
One of Howard's men came in the door, "We have another songbird. It's the four eyed guy that likes to make things go boom. Do you know he had six more detonators in his pocket plus the impound guys found thirty pounds of C-4 in the trunk of their car. They could blow up all of downtown Tampa with thirty pounds."
He looked at me and said, "They didn't think it would take a lot for you, they only used a half pound. You know what a half pound will do?"
I nodded and said, "It would have leveled every apartment in the front there. That's enough to blow a bridge, a big bridge."
"You know it. The guy is in there doing a regular talk show thing. We gave him his rights then told him to talk to a camera we brought in so he knows he's being recorded. I think we've found who blew up the office up in Atlanta last year. This guy has been working for a lot of bad guys all over the country. We need to put his M.O. on the wire and see what kind of unsolved "booms" are out there and question him on them."
Howard looked at Barnstead, "What do you think, should we go pick up Poppa or let him stew? I'm a little apprehensive about letting him hang out. You know he could be out of the country in a heartbeat. He's got a couple of airplanes out on Davis Island. If you don't pick him up, you need to put the airport under surveillance."
Mike Barnstead said, "Let's watch him and the airport. Make sure he doesn't have any other planes around the area, and let's just watch him to see what he does."
Howard jumped up and shut the blinds on his office. Jordan Hawkins was being taken to an interrogation room. Howard said, "I don't want him to see you. He may know you were a target and I don't want him to know you're around. We'll try to get some answers from him first."
Mike asked, "You still using that suicide ruse to get guys to talk?"
"Damn right, Mike," Howard said, "It's the best persuader I have. We leave the window open hoping they'll jump. It saves the taxpayers a bunch. Next time you have someone you're trying to break, bring 'em up here and let us talk to them a bit. We won't let them jump, but we know how to scare them."
The four of us in Howard's office went to the observation room for the room where Jordan Hawkins was taken. While one guy read Jordan his rights, the other guy opened a window and looked out. He brought his head back in and said, "Listen, if you decide to save us the money and jump, push out from the building when you jump. There's a lot of foot traffic today."
Jordan had a smug look on his face. The Marshal at the table asked Jordan, "would you be more comfortable without those cuffs?"
Jordan said, "Yes I would, and I wish to call my attorney."
"Before we call your attorney, we want to talk to you for a while. As you know now that you've asked for an attorney anything you say can't be used in court so you're not worth a lot to us. Perhaps you should be recorded as being a jumper."
The other Marshal said, "We have it on tape that you have business, illegal business, theft of government funds using Poppa Nardelli as your contact. We also have it that you were directly involved in hiring some men to get rid of poor Mr. Johnson."
Jordan said, "That honky son of a bitch wanted the special job that I'm saving for a brother, if one can ever graduate from school. As it is, he's the cocksucker that got my Lorna fired. Did you guys take Lorna? Lorna Williams? She's been missing since that Johnson asshole came to find a job."
"So what did you contract Poppa to do to Mr. Johnson?"
Jordan laughed, "You're too much. You know you can't use any of this. I can sing a loud and long song that's worthless to you. I wanted that fucker in a million pieces. Poppa knew just the people to get the job done. I even talked to them. They said it would be taken care of post haste. I should have had them do the White cunt while they were at it. Her rich old man can't even keep her at home. I would be doing him a favor."
The first Marshal said, "You know he's right, we can't use any of this, let's just throw him out the window now. That'll make Nardelli think that he killed himself rather than divulge his deal." The Marshal grabbed Jordan by the collar and began dragging him toward the window.
"Wait, wait, you can't do that. You can't just throw someone out a window, what about your camera you have in here?"
"Christ, are you that dumb? We just get rid of the tape for this camera and we didn't get a chance to turn it on yet. Get real, man. Come on, Jacob, let's do this guy. I'll bet his head splatters all over."
You could see that Jordan was panicking. "Wait, wait, don't please, I'll talk, I'll tell you what you want."
"Okay then, what kind of deal did you have with Nardelli?"
Jordan fidgeted around a minute then said, "He set up a bunch of fake companies that we pay to supposedly find jobs for returning vets. The companies also provide training for returning vets that were supposedly hired by other fake companies. He got money for training, finding them jobs, and then he had companies that received a subsidy that pays up to half the salary of the men they hired. There weren't any men hired though. We found out the military didn't check on social security numbers or names that we sent in. They just automatically paid the fees we requested, then paid the other companies as they submitted invoices."
"How much was your take?"
"I only got about a million and a half. Poppa's companies had to spend a lot of money to set up his companies. He made about thirty-five million last year."
Howard waved me out the door. When Barnhart was clear of the door, Howard said, "Go get Nardelli. We'll be able to track down any corporations that he has quickly. Go get him before he tries to run. Don't use the Tampa police force yet though. They have some ears in there and could warn him. If you want, we can go pick him up. I think we should lock up his restaurant and his offices and keep it shuttered while we investigate."
Mike said, "It'll be done, Howard, you've done a good job on this so far. Maybe you should throw that guy out the window."
Howard laughed, saying, "We actually have a net beneath every window so they can't do away with themselves. It's a great ruse."
Howard stuck his head in the door of the interrogation room and said, "Shut that damn window before the idiot jumps and cuff him to the desk. Come out here a few minutes, we have something else on this guy."
While Howard was talking to his men, I was at another window looking across the street at the hotel that was there. It had one floor with a terrace right at our level. I could see two men carrying what looked like rifles over there.
I turned and yelled, "Howard, get those people away from windows quick. You have snipers on the hotel terrace."
The agents began running. They opened the door where Jordan was and was trying to unlock his cuffs from his chair when we all heard the breaking of glass and a groan. There was more glass breaking and the sound of a round hitting meat. I hopped toward the interrogation room to be pulled back by Howard. "It's too late, don't go in there."
Mike was on his cell phone and Marshals were running for the door. I said to Howard, "Let me go with those guys. I saw them, I might recognize them if they pass me."
Howard waved me out of the office and I joined six men on the way down in the elevator. They flipped their badges open and stuck them in their breast pockets showing that they were U.S. Marshals and one FBI agent. I put mine in my coat pocket as well.
Down in the lobby, several FBI agents were running for the door while more were already running across the street dodging traffic. I said I would take the front lobby while the others ran to the other exits. My cell phone rang as I entered the lobby. It was Howard saying, "For crying out loud, be careful. They got Hawkins and the driver, plus one of my guys is hit pretty badly. These guys are playing for keeps."
He paused for a second, "I've got to call the local cops so we can go floor to floor through the fucking hotel. Those guys can disappear if we don't."
"I'm fine here, you know I'm carrying and I won't do anything stupid or heroic. Just catch the assholes."
He hung up and I watched each person that came down to the lobby. I told the doorman that the building was sealed and no one could go out or come in. He didn't like it, but locked the outside door then went over to the desk. An FBI agent was already there talking to the desk person. He came to me and said, "You probably need to open the door in case of a fire. Only let the law in. Tampa is coming with probably a hundred men so they'll be here in minutes."
He was right, unmarked and marked cars began pulling to the curb in front of the hotel. The doorman had just opened the door when they began running inside. The FBI agent said, "Let's get organized and let's have a six man team hit every floor. I want to have two teams start at the top floor and work their way down. Have four men take the stairs and follow the people down floor by floor, now get."
My phone rang, when I answered it was Howard again, "A helicopter just took off from the roof of the hotel. I didn't know they had a heliport up there. Tell Mike about it as soon as he comes in the door. I have the city and county in the air looking for the bird."
Mike Barnstead walked in the door and I relayed the information to him. He immediately got on the phone and called someone, yelling at who he was talking to paint every target they had in the air and keep track of where they go. He called another number and said, "Come get me, land in the fucking street down by the federal building. I'll clear a spot, but get here now."
He rushed out the door yelling to get the street cleared of cars right then. Uniformed police began clearing the intersection. It was one of the few intersections in the area that didn't have wires crossing all over the street. In minutes, a helicopter landed and I could see Mike and Howard get in and take off.
A Tampa police detective said to me, "You want a break? I can watch the door."
I said, "I'll stay till one of the lead Marshals tell me to leave."
"A real dedicated fed, huh? You guys have soft jobs compared to us guys."
I was a little pissed at what the guy said, but only replied, "Tell that to the Marshal that just got shot how soft a job he has."
The guy shut up and went outside to stand there instead of inside. I noticed that there were three ambulances in front of the federal building. They shouldn't need ambulances for coroner cases. Soon, news media vans were pulling up down the street deploying a bunch of reporters and camera people. I stepped into the lobby a little. The doorman said, "Don't want to be on TV? The cop out there is primping, just waiting to get on the camera."
I just nodded and the doorman asked me, "You're the one who lost his cane this morning, aren't you? I recognize you as you were the one who pointed out the car that was out there. Want some coffee? I think they'll give us some since I can't do any doorman stuff."
I smiled and he went to the restaurant. He shortly returned with two cups of coffee. We drank our coffee then one of the Marshals came down and said, "They have the shooters that were on the helicopter. They forced it down just outside the city limits heading toward Vandenberg airport. The FBI found the rifles that they used, so we can let these people do their business. Christ, this has been a busy day. You started this shit last night or early this morning. How're you holding up?"
I just smiled and nodded, finishing my coffee. I asked, "How come three ambulances? I thought the targets were done."
The targets are done but a couple of rounds went through walls and doors. Sarah was hit in the leg and another Marshal was hit in the hand. Those guys fired at least two dozen rounds each. They must have had some kind of special magazine to do that.
I said, "Probably a modified Remington with an extended magazine. It could be an AK, or even an early AR15. If the rounds were going through doors and walls, it was probably a jacketed 7.62 or .308."
The Deputy Marshal said, "Let's get back to the office. By the way, I have your cane at my desk. When you have to move, you get along pretty good. What do you need that cane for anyway?"
"Stability, my fake leg sometimes isn't as stable as it could be."
We went back to the office and I showed my badge as I went through the metal detectors. Upstairs there were Tampa and Federal CSI guys doing their thing with the two dead guys. They were also photographing where the rounds went through the door to hit Sarah and the other Marshal. I asked about the other prisoners and an agent said, they had them locked up to chairs away from windows.
It was getting toward lunch and the excitement had burned a lot of calories so far today. I asked, "How about let's order some lunch. I'm sure the three guys in there will want some lunch too."
A Marshal who heard me said, "I'll order a couple dozen Subways. We have Poppa Nardelli in one of the interrogation rooms hollering for his attorney. I don't know how long we can keep that creep under wraps though."
Soon a delivery guy came in with a huge sack of sandwiches. They were marked on the outside, so I selected a tuna fish and began eating. I noted that the Marshals did take sandwiches into the men in the interrogation rooms. At least they were not starving them. I wondered about the handcuffs and looked into an observation room. The prisoner had handcuffs on that had a longer chain between them. The chain was run through a ring on the table. The prisoners had a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a soft drink. Not bad.
About two o'clock, Howard came back, immediately bitching that he didn't get a chance to question the shooters. They were being obstinate, not talking, and asking for their attorney, who was for some strange reason, the same attorney that Poppa asked for.
Howard looked at me and said, "How about I give you a car. You go to the office and explain a few things then go to your apartment and get some more clothes. I want you under wraps for a while. I'm moving you up to the penthouse across the street, so bring enough clothes for a week or so. We have people out at your house. Your neighbor is even cooking for them. Some deal, you buy, she cooks. Her old man has a sheet a mile long, but acts like he's going straight right now. We've already warned him about loose lips."
Howard went to a board with multiple keys hanging from pegs and pulled down a set. "Take one of the surveillance cars. It's a cool Mustang. Since we have your truck, we might as well give you a car for a while."
He handed me a packet saying, "This is in case you're stopped for driving too fast. It'll get you out of a problem. Just don't go abusing the power okay? The car is in the garage across the street on the third floor. All the agency's cars are there."
I picked up my cane on the way out and went next door to pick up a black Mustang. It was nice, with a CD player and the fancy interior. I could get used to one of these.
I drove over to the agency office and went in the back door straight to Ms. White's office. Her secretary announced me and she met me at the door. She actually hugged me asking, "Are you alright? It's all over the news about some killings down at the Marshal's office. What happened down there?"
I walked into her office and used my cell phone. When Howard answered, I asked, "How much of what went on is for the public. Ms. White is asking."
He answered, "You can tell her about Jordan, but just say most of the men who were trying to do you in are in custody right now, but you have to remain our guest for a few days. Show her your badge and say you have dual employment for a bit. Oh yeah, she knows Sarah, so tell her about her and tell her Sarah's out at Tampa General."
I told Ms. White everything I could. She said, "I'm leaving. I need to go see Sarah. She's such a nice lady."
"Before you go, call your boss or Jordan's boss and let him know of Jordan's demise. You can tell him that Jordan was being questioned about a very big fraud scam that he started. If there are people higher than Jordan involved, they'll split or retire quickly."
Ms. White went to her phone and looked up a number, then called Washington DC. She had an extended conversation and the one thing I heard her say was, "I'll consider the post, but I think I should let things settle down here before I use that office. Just fax a statement down that I'm directed to act as the Regional Director on a temporary basis so I can make decisions. Thank you for your confidence. If I do take the position, I'll do my best." She paused for a minute and listened, then said, "Yes Sir, no Sir, I won't tell anyone. If you would prefer that no one knows what happened to Jordan, they won't hear it from me."
She hung up the phone and said, "They didn't even bat an eye. The guy just said, "We need you to become the new Director. I'll be right down to get you signed in. That's when I told him to let this settle down first. For some reason, they don't want the knowledge that Jordan was killed to leak out."
She smiled at me, "Are you a shit disturber, Chuck. Ever since you started, the place is in turmoil. Go out to the counters and tell your girlfriends you're all right. They had some of their police friends checking up on you and found out there was a U.S. Marshal at your apartment."
I told her I might be able to come back to work tomorrow, but I had to remain within the Marshal's office observation.
Ms. White said, "Well, tomorrow is Friday so the only thing you need to do is proof your ads and write reports. They should be interesting. Go, leave, I'm going to see Sarah."
"Tell her I'm thinking of her. Maybe they'll let me go see her this evening if she's still there."
I went out to the counters and made contact with all five girls, then headed out to the Mustang and to the apartment. The Marshal on duty greeted me saying, "You dog, you got the Mustang. Every one of us asks for it, but hardly anyone ever gets it. Your cook is doing laundry right now, so if you want to talk to her she's in the laundry room. I'm watching the pot over there to make sure it doesn't boil over. Thank God you have cable or I would be going nuts."
I walked over to see Shirley to show her I was in one piece. She was happy to see me, but disappointed I had to leave again. I said I was taking a bunch of clothes with me as I had to stay away for while. I said that she should feed whoever is there. I started to give her money and she said, "Don't worry about buying food. The U.S. Marshal's office is buying. They gave me a hundred this morning, and said they would give me another hundred each day they're here, to feed them and to keep the place clean. You don't have to pay me the twenty-five while they're here. I'm not telling Bart about the money. I'm going to let him think you're still buying. This way, if he books, I'll have enough for rent. The first is coming up, you better pay the manager or he'll throw your stuff out."
I told her I would give him a check before I left, then went back to the apartment.
I gathered the clothes I would need for work, along with some jeans and T-shirts. The Marshal in the house said, "If you need stuff laundered while you're in the hotel, just have the hotel do it and charge it to the room. That's the way we do it. Be sure to charge your meals to the room too. If you have company, tell the Marshal on duty who's coming, and what they look like, so they can get in. I understand they're putting you in the penthouse, so you'll be living right for a while."
The apartment manager looked at me warily and asked, "Are you some kind of undercover guy or what?"
I assured him I wasn't but would be staying at least through next month and gave him the rent. I also told him that a U.S. Marshal would be watching the apartment for me and him, so he should feel safe.
"Well, what the hell happened to your truck last night that they hauled it off? I thought that maybe you were some kind of criminal. When I went over to your apartment to clean you out, the guy there showed me a badge and said your apartment was part of an investigation. He said you had the rights to the place for as long as you wanted it, and that I should go mind my own business."
"The truck was booby trapped, so they hauled it off for evidence. Some bad guys visited me last night and they are all in custody now. Watch the news, it'll all come out. You won't see me though, as I'm supposed to stay under the radar. Keep that in mind if someone asks about me, be sure to tell the Marshal in my apartment."
He nodded and asked if I needed a receipt for the rent. I told him the canceled check should be good enough and left. Shirley was at the door when I got in the Mustang. I waved at her then backed out and took off. You know I wasn't showing off, but it's hard to keep from kicking up gravel in a Mustang when you start out.
I went to the hotel and told the doorman I didn't have any suitcases but if he could bring a rack, he could take my hanging clothes in. I told him I needed to park the car and would be right back.
I put the car back on the third floor of the garage and signed it back in. There was a notation on the Mustang sheet that it was permanently assigned to C. Johnson until further notice. Howard Smith signed it. I walked back to the hotel and went to the desk, gave them my name, and asked what room they had me in now. The desk manager looked at me and said nicely, "You are in the east penthouse, Mr. Johnson. I'll have a bellman take your clothes up for you. Please call for anything you need, you are an important guest."
The bellhop yakked a mile a minute all the way to the room. "You someone important? I don't recognize you from Hollywood, or are you some big shot financier. What cha in town for etc, etc, etc."
I tipped the guy a ten when he finally left. As soon as I had shut the door, there was a knock. I thought perhaps he had forgotten something, but I was cautious anyway. The door had a spy hole and I recognized one of the Deputy Marshals.
"What's up, are you going to be my roommate?"
"No, I just want to go over the rules with you. You're sort of in protective custody while we and the bureau do an investigation. We want to make sure there aren't more people out there that might want you gone. You did make a dent in Poppa's income you know, and I'm sure he knows your name and where you live, etc. There will be someone, or more than one guy, out here all the time. We have a man in the lobby that observes people going in and out. This hotel doesn't have any back elevators or back doors with access to stairs. Everyone who goes upstairs from the first floor has to enter the stairs or the elevators there. Even the food service bellhops have to use these same elevators. That's why there are ten of them, even though there is only one that goes to this floor and the roof garden. Anyway, you can have visitors, but you have to tell me, or us, who they are and what they look like. They can stay all night if you tell us, and you can feed them up here if you want. If you go to the restaurant, just sign for the meal down there, but we would rather you eat up here. In the morning when you go to work, you are to go over to the Marshal's office first to be briefed, then to your work place. Someone will go there with you and will remain with you all day. If you have something for the man to do, use him as babysitting gets pretty boring. Have a good time, enjoy yourself. If something happens, there is an alarm over the door that will go off. Get your piece and hide behind something. The cavalry will be here quickly, but in all likelihood, whoever had hall duty is probably permanently relieved, so you may be on your own. Good luck and enjoy."
The man left, so I put my clothes in the huge closet, and went to look out the windows. There really wasn't anything as tall as this room on this side of the building. So it was safe to be out on the terrace or balcony or whatever they called it. I was getting hungry, so I looked at the menu then thought of the man out in the hallway.
I opened the door and had to go down the hall a ways before he came out, "Do you want to eat with me? You can watch me just as well inside the room you know."
He thought for a second then said, "I'll call downstairs and tell them I'm in the room. Thanks, I am hungry. Today has been a mess, hasn't it?"
I was going to order a steak, but the day's special was prime rib, so I asked for two large orders of medium rare. I ordered two ice teas and two Miller lights, plus some dessert for both of us. I knew the guy couldn't have a beer, but I wasn't on duty.
The desk manager called and said, "Mr. Johnson, I forgot to tell you. You are not to tip the house staff. Each person serving is granted a nice gratuity. The young man you tipped earlier will be bringing your tip back to you. In the future, just sign for whatever services you get. The gratuity is taken care of automatically." I thanked him, and he said our food would be up quickly.
Sure enough, within ten minutes the bellhop was knocking at the door. The Marshal looked through the peephole, then went outside and checked the food and the cart. He let the bellhop in, who then handed me the bill I gave him earlier, explaining he didn't know it had been taken care of.
I put the beer in the refrigerator at the bar and dug in. The food was great. Both of us were really hungry and devoured everything on the plates. We both had dessert then the guy said, "I better go out and be at my post. I'll be down the hall where I can see the elevator as well as the stairway. The stairway is locked from our side so no one can get in. If there is an emergency, you have to unbolt the door to go down the stairs. It's easy to watch the place as there is only one penthouse elevator and right now no one else is up here. If the place is full, there could be four of these rented out. Your penthouse is always available for us and is under contract all the time."
I decided to watch TV for a while, but then decided that I needed to use the exercise room. I put on my sweats that I had brought, along with my tennis shoes on my good foot and my bad foot, and went out to tell the guard my intention. He radioed downstairs and told me that one of the downstairs guys would watch for me at the gym on the fifth floor.
Down at the gym, I found a bike that I could use and rode it for thirty minutes, then used the weight machines for about forty minutes until my arms were giving out. I finished doing my thirty pull ups then headed up to the room, waving at the Marshal.
My guy waved at me when I got off the elevator and went into the room. The phone in the room had a flashing red light on it so I picked it up to listen to a message. It was Ms. White; she wanted to tell me that Sarah had already gone home from the hospital.
I called Ms. White and told her I was living in luxury. She laughed and said that she would try to get me back to earth tomorrow with reports and such. I told her I would have a shadow and she said that Howard had told her that already. She then said, "You know what, you've disturbed everyone except Reggie. He loves you. Poppa's is closed right now, so all the extra business is coming Reggie's way. He says that his business is the best it's been since he opened. His cook has temporarily expanded the menu while Poppa's is closed, and he has hired some of Poppa's kitchen staff to help out with the extra business."
I told her to tell Reggie hi for me. She then told me that Sarah was glowing over me. She said that Sarah told her she had sworn me in and submitted the paperwork to be a real Deputy Marshal instead of just a temporary deputy. She had done that because she liked me and thought I might stick around if she did that. When Ms. White had told her about my disability she said, "There isn't any rule that says you have to be in any special kind of condition to be a Marshal. You just had to pass an exam and I had done that with her."
We both laughed at the idea of me being a U.S. Deputy Marshal. I said, "Well, I do have a badge and an identification card that Sarah made up. I wonder if she's going to put me on the payroll. That might be a conflict of interest between the two agencies."
Ms. White said, "Don't worry, I'm not giving you up to the Marshal's office that easy. You've started the ball rolling now, so you have to be here next week to take care of your clients."
After hanging up, I showered then went to bed with a TV playing at the end of the bed. This rich living was nice.