James West, a security guard at   
where I worked, really went to town. He
was dressed up like an honest to God,  
rootin’-tootin’ cowboy. His words, not 
mine.                                  
     He was wearing leather chaps and a
vest, a bandanna around his neck, and  
two guns by his side.                  
     He was also wearing the required  
ten-gallon hat, except this one looked 
like it could hold more than twenty. It
was twice the size of his head.        
     “I got this one at a basketball   
game,” he told me, as he pushed the    
brim back for the tenth time.          
     “Maybe you should ditch the hat,” 
I told him.                            
     “You might be right,” he said and 
pushed the brim back again, and then   
took it off.                           
*      “I’ve only been wearing this        
fucking thing for an hour, and it’s not
only managed to annoy the shit out of  
me, but all my friends too.”           
     “You have friends?”               
     He laughed and said, “Get the hell
out here, asshole,” and then buzzed me 
in.                                    
     Normally, he’d ask why I was here 
early, but not this week. That’s be-   
cause last week, before I left on      
Friday, I told Sherrie, Alicia, and    
Security, that I’d be coming in early  
to use the computers to look for animal
abuse cases.                           
     “Our internet, for some reason,   
has been crappy this week,” at least   
that's what I told them, and they fell 
for it.                                



CHAPTER 13: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31st
<<  267 |  268  | 269  >>
[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]

                                            *MIDDLE OF THE PAGE