A Colby Christmas. Debra Webb

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СКАЧАТЬ and they’d talk about whether to have hard rolls or soft with the ham. It wasn’t as if Christmas had ever been a big deal with her family. She didn’t get why the whole world had to go into such major pandemonium over this time of year.

      Christmas should be private…without all the fuss.

      She’d just popped a chip into her mouth when her line rang. Hurrying to her desk, she washed the chip down with a sip of water. If she were lucky that would be security letting her know the musicians had arrived. She placed the bag of chips and bottle of water onto her desk and grabbed the phone.

      “The Colby Agency.”

      “Yes, ma’am, this is Joseph in security. I’m at the front door and there are three gentlemen here who say they have to set up their instruments on your floor.”

      “Thank you, Joseph. This is Elaine Younger and I’ve been expecting them. Please send them up.”

      “They’re going to have to use the freight elevator, Miss Younger. Some of these cases are quite large.”

      “That’s fine, Joseph. Whatever works best. I’ll meet them at the freight elevator.”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      Elaine dropped the receiver back onto its cradle and hurried around behind her desk to get the ring of keys, including the one for the freight elevator. She scratched around in the middle desk drawer. Didn’t see anything even remotely resembling keys. Where the heck had she put them? “There you are.” She grabbed the bracelet-style key ring, automatically slid it onto her wrist, and headed to the west end of the building.

      The freight elevator was set up to allow stops on any floor in the building, but only an authorized employee on each floor could enter the necessary approval code for the elevator doors to open. A key was required to access the digital control pad.

      The Colby Agency encompassed the entire fourth floor. The main elevators stopped in the lobby, directly in front of Elaine’s desk. From the lobby, a wide main corridor to the left of her desk led past the conference room, restrooms, the lounge and the offices of several of the highest ranking investigators. At the end of that main corridor was Victoria’s suite of offices, including the one belonging to Mildred, as well as the emergency exit to the stairwell. That was where the main corridor ended, but a slightly narrower hall took a right from there and moved around the perimeter of the building, coming to an end at the freight elevator. Along that long, L-shaped hall were several additional smaller offices, the massive research department, the files room and a larger main supply room.

      The agency’s last remodeling had included extensive decorating changes, including new carpeting and lush furnishings, for every square foot. Even the files and supply rooms were aesthetically appealing.

      Elaine didn’t rush. It would take a few minutes for the musicians to load up their goods and set the elevator in motion. Joseph had said that some of their cases were pretty large. She wondered about that. Wasn’t the entertainment for tomorrow’s party supposed to be a small three-or four-piece band?

      Oh well. She knew nothing about the equipment required to put on a musical performance. For the first time she wondered how long it would take for these guys to set up. She’d be lucky to be out of here by ten.

      Elaine rolled her eyes and picked through the keys on the ring to locate the right one. Well, it wasn’t as if she had any real plans anyway. She pushed the designated key into the lock and turned it to the right. The door opened, revealing the keypad.

      She got as far as the second digit of the code when the lights went out.

      Total darkness swallowed her up for the space of two heartbeats before the emergency lights kicked on.

      Elaine let out the breath she’d unconsciously held.

      “Well, okay, then.” No electricity. No elevators.

      She did an about-face and strode back in the direction of her office.

      Blackouts in the dead of winter weren’t unheard of but they were generally precipitated by a serious snow or ice storm or plummeting temperatures. It was still snowing outside, she noted as she walked briskly down that long semi-dark hall, but it wasn’t that bad. She hesitated a moment or two to stare out that long wall of glass. Just a thick dusting on the ground so far. No big deal.

      But there were lots of other things that could cause this kind of power outage. A major traffic incident involving a relay station would do the trick. The system could be overloaded. It was damned cold outside. She chafed her arms. Getting chillier in here as well. She should have grabbed her sweater.

      When she reached Victoria’s suite of offices and the wider corridor beyond, she had the almost overwhelming urge to break into a run.

      Ridiculous. She’d been here alone at night dozens of times. This wasn’t the first time the power had failed. Falling asleep at her desk had her feeling off balance. Not to mention she was running on overload herself where the holidays were concerned.

      “Sheesh,” she muttered, “that’s it.”

      The holidays. The whole city was decorated to the max, especially with lights. Lots and lots of extra lights. No wonder the power had failed.

      At her desk she snatched up the receiver and entered the number for security. She waited through ring after ring. No one answered. Joseph was probably at the freight elevator with the musicians and their equipment.

      “Damn.”

      Usually there were two guards. Why didn’t the other guy answer?

      “Don’t panic.” Both guards were likely busy doing whatever had to be done during a power outage. She should just calm down.

      She had two choices. She could either wait for the power to resume or she could hustle down to the main lobby and see what was going on. It would be just her luck that halfway down to the first floor the lights would kick back on and she’d have to run back up to authorize the freight elevator doors to open.

      Waiting was the best course of action. If she were wrong, Joseph or the other security guard would call and let her know what she should do.

      Not a problem.

      While she waited she tidied her desk. Separated the few messages she’d taken the last couple hours of the workday. Each investigator had his or her own slot in a carousel on her desk. Victoria’s messages were passed on to her assistant, Mildred. The week’s supply requests lay in a neat stack in Elaine’s inbox. She inventoried and ordered general office supplies each week. Any requests beyond the usual were dropped off in writing for her to have authorized. Mildred did the routine authorizing. Most of the time she helped Elaine check in the supplies when they arrived. It was a relatively big job, definitely made for two.

      All in all Elaine liked her position here at the Colby Agency. She stepped back and considered her work area in the meager light.

      Most of the time she liked it. Things got stressful at Christmas. Investigators were working hard to wrap up their assignments. Holiday work schedules were a pain in the rear. Everyone wanted extra time off between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Elaine was glad she didn’t get that same fever.

      The holidays were, for the most part, just another day to her.

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