Brush Creek Charlie by D. B. Reynolds (which ebook reader .txt) 📖

dinner. Someone gets transferred to another department, they’ll have a dinner. Someone gets pregnant, they’ll have a dinner.”
“For those reasons, I can see them having lots and lots of dinners.”
“Most certainly, lieutenant. A whole slew of these women come back pregnant every season. Some of the same ones will come back pregnant season-after-season.”
“Having one baby after another, huh?”
“Screwing like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Well, lots of people do that when they’re horny and bored with their lives.”
Overstreet and the guard finally came to the section where his visitor’s badge allowed him entrance to the massive data conversion branch. Once he walked past the electronic double doors, a massive floor of computers and ergonomic chairs shot his eyes wide open. The guard pointed to the exact section where Cindy Montgomery could be found. Workers sifted through piles of paperwork while others tapped on their computer keyboards. Many worked hard to complete their assignments.
Employees throughout the data conversion branch worked their fingers raw to meet their required quota and to gain incentive bonus checks. The money came in handy when you had lots of children to take care of. Having a lazy man at home who sat on his ass all day and watched television or played video games didn’t help matters. Yes, plenty of the hardworking IRS women allowed their men to lie around and be worthless bums. A tall and well-proportioned woman with fire red hair pushed back into a long ponytail waved for Overstreet to come her direction.
“You must be Lieutenant Jerry Overstreet with the KCPD,” Cindy recognized, extending her hand for a cordial handshake.
“Lieutenant Overstreet I am,” Overstreet grinned, extending his hand out to Lisa.
“Welcome to the IRS, lieutenant.”
“Thank you. And you are?”
“I’m Cindy Montgomery, branch chief for data conversion here at the IRS.”
“And I take it there are several other branches in this department?”
“Yes, there are.”
“And you’re responsible for all the employees in this department?”
“That’s right.”
“Also responsible for their attendance, work performance, employee interaction, and subordination?”
“Right again.”
“Their payroll checks, medical insurance, employee benefits, and retirement?”
“I see you’ve done your homework, lieutenant.”
Cindy closed the door to her office and locked it for ultimate privacy.
Overstreet was seated and flipped open a folder with information about Lisa Wallace. “Before I came to visit with you here at the IRS, I checked into the background of Lisa Wallace. I checked out the nature of her work and responsibilities here at the IRS. Wasn’t Lisa a section chief around this department?”
Cindy felt great compassion for Lisa. “Yes detective, Lisa rose up through the ranks of being a section chief. Everybody here at the IRS already knows what happened to her.”
“I’m sure they do.”
“We passed memos around the entire IRS complex, letting all the employees know what had happened to Lisa. Most people showed up to work talking about it since they either saw it on the news or read about it in the newspaper. We had a prayer vigil for her out there on Main Street.”
“Sources have told me that you guys were pretty close.”
“Yes, we were closer than most of the people around here. We often hung out after work and over at one another’s place.”
“Did she hang around anyone else here at the IRS?”
“No one but me.”
“How about anyone who didn’t work here?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Are you sure, Cindy?”
“Positive, lieutenant.”
“Did she ever mention other people outside of here? People who might’ve been close or distant associates?”
“No one.”
“Her killer might’ve been someone she knew very well.”
“But Lisa never seriously dated any one guy?”
“But she did date guys to your knowledge?”
“If she did, you’d look up to the sky and see the bluest moon ever.”
“Do you remember any of those guy’s names?”
“No, because these were men from many years ago.”
“She wasn’t the dating type?”
“Only when she felt the guy’d be worth her time. Are you saying it could’ve been an old boyfriend who killed her?”
“It’s possible.”
“What left all of us here at the IRS in absolute disarray, was the fact he chopped her up and then dumped her into Brush Creek.”
“Her killer might be someone we’ve been trying to apprehend for a long time.”
Cindy shed light tears for her close friend. “Detective, why would anyone want to hurt the sweetest woman in the world? Lisa never hurt nobody and would do anything to help someone. Only a psychotic animal would’ve done something as horrible to her as that sonofabitch.”
“Trust me, we’re working around-the-clock to bring this psychotic animal to justice.”
“Well, it’s not happening soon enough,” Cindy spoke from raw anger.
A woman from the cleanup crew named Jackie Bartlett walked over to Cindy’s enclosed office to make yet another formal complaint. She jerked open the door and stuck her head inside. “Excuse me, Cindy, but you need to tell your female employees to stop being so dam trifling!”
“What now, Jackie!” Cindy grumbled, but in a respectful way.
“Somebody brought crabs to work with them today,” Jackie fired off.
“Was it someone here in data conversion?”
“Women in data conversion use those bathrooms more than anyone else.”
“You’ll have to take that up with the building administrator.”
“No, these women around here need lessons in hygiene and cleanliness,” Jackie blatantly reminded Cindy. Overstreet sat sideways with his head tilted awkward. “Between smearing feces on the floor and walls, wiping boogers on the wash counter and toilet stall doors, leaving bloody napkins in the sink, and bringing crabs here to start new families, I’ve had enough of their trifling, inconsiderate, obnoxious, and nasty asses! A lot of these women around here are nothing but walking health hazards.”
Cindy, being the patient and good-natured woman she was, stepped to the door and tried calming Jackie down. “Jackie, I’m going to have the branch secretary type up a memo warning every woman employed with the IRS, that if they are caught doing any of those things you mentioned, they’ll be reprimanded and possibly terminated.”
“Cindy, most of them act like they don’t have any home training. I’d like to go to their houses and see how clean it is.”
“Yes, I couldn’t agree more. But if you’ll excuse me, I have some unfinished business with this gentleman.”
Jackie closed the door with gentle aggression. Overstreet already knew how some women weren’t afraid to speak their minds. Call it rude, call it disrespectful, but Jackie felt the need to rush into Cindy’s office and blow off steam about the unsanitary women who were deficient in the area of courtesy towards others.
“Well!” Overstreet seethed, humping his shoulders. “Talk about telling like it is, she sure blew their cover. Don’t wanna get off the subject, but are the women that unsanitary around here?”
“Actually, detective, it’s a lot worse,” Cindy disclosed. “The other day the cleaning crew found a pair of women’s underwear in the stool stuffed with poop.”
“With the women here at the IRS being so unclean, I guess they make the men look as clean as the board of health.”
“Almost, but not quite true. The cleaning crew have told me stories about men who’ve gone in the bathroom and masturbated, leaving their semen all around the stool and floor.”
“Why can’t they watch porno movies at home and masturbate there?”
“You would think that’s exactly what they would do.”
Overstreet cleared his voice. “Now, getting back to Lisa. Do you know of any other employees here at the IRS she might’ve gotten into a discrepancy or an altercation with?”
“Not a soul in this building, lieutenant.”
“Not one person in the twenty-eight years she worked here?”
“If there were, she never said a word to me or anyone else in management.”
“Did you ever see her frightened or worried about anything? Like someone threatening her?”
“Never.”
“That’s unusual.”
“Lisa planned on retiring within the next two years. She wanted to get her thirty year certificate and just end her career here at the IRS. For her, the hours of everyday, and the days of every week, most definitely counted.”
“Retiring after thirty years of service would’ve been nice.”
“Laying back with fun in the sun.”
“When she stopped showing up for work, did other employees, including yourself, become suspicious?”
“Very suspicious,” Cindy rushed to answer. “We called her house everyday, several times a day. We even went by her house several times to check on her. When there were no signs of her, we notified the police.”
“Yes, I remember the missing persons bulletin coming through headquarters.”
“Lieutenant, do you guys suspect foul play?”
“It’s a strong possibility.”
“Nowhere you go nowadays is safe anymore.”
“Correct, Cindy,” Overstreet asserted. “Let me ask you this. Does the IRS have security cameras surrounding this entire complex?”
“I believe they do. You can check with security down in the tunnel to make sure. Those guys should be able to show you the areas that their cameras cover.”
Overstreet arose from his seat in bold fashion. “Cindy, I can’t thank you enough for all the information you’ve given to me. I’ll be in touch to let you and others here at the IRS know about any progress we’ve made.”
Cindy extended her hand to Overstreet.