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Before pulling away, Clarence pressed a small button on his earpiece and said, “Alpha, this is Baker. Do you copy? Over…”
After a moment he spoke again.
“Affirmative, departing for CSU now, I’ll advise when we reach our destination. Over…”
After another moment, Clarence nodded and pulled the Escalade out from in front of the Westcott and they were on their way.
“Who are you talking to, Clarence?” Cara asked.
“The boss…”
“The boss? I thought you were the owner of the company?” Cara asked, puzzled.
“Oh I am, but Evelynn, my dispatcher back at the office, also happens to be my wife…” Clarence laughed.
“Ah, that makes total sense. That’s so cool that you work together! How long have you been married?”
“Almost 30 years. We have two daughters who are both a little older than you. Sasha is a first-grade teacher in Shaker Heights and Sadie works for my company as the evening dispatcher.”
“Wow, a true family business.”
“Not gonna lie, it’s hard at times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“What about the other lady who is going to be working for you in the evenings? I think her name was Grace?”
“That would be Grace Brooks. She’s not related to me, but she might as well be family. She was a young officer in my department towards the end of my career.”
“Why’d she leave the force?”
“Well, there’s a couple reasons. One is not my story to tell, but the other is that she’s also trying to make it as an MMA fighter and she needed a set work schedule so she could stay on a strict training regime.”
“Oh, wow. She sounds like a tough cookie.”
“The toughest. I only hire the best,” Clarence said as he glanced up at his rearview mirror and gave Cara a reassuring smile.
The two remained silent as they traveled the rest of the way towards Cleveland State’s urban campus. Once they arrived near Cara’s classroom building, Clarence instructed her to wait in the Escalade until he opened the door for her.
Cara watched as he put on a pair of black Oakley sunglasses and again pressed his earpiece to tell his wife back at dispatch that they had arrived at CSU before he exited the vehicle. Cara watched as he paused in front of his vehicle and unwrapped a piece of gum and placed it in his mouth. He then took a casual walk towards the front of the building and threw away the gum wrapper in the garbage can that was near the entrance.
Cara surmised that the sole reason he opened the piece of gum was to have a reason to walk the route she would soon be taking towards the front of the building. This way he’d be able to take a quick look around and see if anyone like Gary Boardman might be hanging around. Cara was quickly learning that every move has a purpose for someone like Clarence Walters.
I’m glad he’s on my side…
Cara knew that while a commuter college like CSU doesn’t get too many Cadillac Escalades dropping students off in front of their classroom buildings, she also knew that it was a busy enough campus that most people probably wouldn’t even notice her get out of the car.
She was right.
Cara exited the vehicle when Clarence opened the door and per his instructions casually walked into her classroom building. He also instructed her that he would meet her in the same spot and to walk directly to his vehicle once he rolled down the rear passenger window. That was going to be his signal that the coast was clear.
As Cara walked to the first of her two classes for the day, she wondered if she’d ever get used to this new reality.
