Book 5: Another Way

Episode 2

© by William Arthur Holmes

Crissie was at her desk in the anteroom when Charonne caught up with her.

“Give me an hour,” he said, thumbing through several days’ mail. “Then call Norwich into my office. Tell him it’s urgent.”

It was almost never urgent, but standard procedure was to pretend otherwise.

In a guest chair beside his desk, Charonne sat and skimmed the rest of Dobie’s manifesto. A speed reader, he absorbed a good chunk of it quickly. He had to admit it contained a few good ideas, though nothing practical in his world.

His hour was up. He stood and checked himself in the full-length mirror behind his desk.

He thought of himself as a modern‑day Clark Gable. There was a slight resemblance, and he never passed a mirror without falling in love.

Still holding Dobie’s book, he awaited HR Director Kenneth Norwich. At the sound of the door opening, still looking in the mirror but now focused on the trashcan behind him, Charonne tossed the book over his shoulder toward the trash.

It was in the air as Norwich entered. “Three‑pointer behind the back!” Charonne squealed as the book landed squarely in the can.

Norwich froze. To his left stood a glassy‑eyed black bear bearing its fangs. He jumped before realizing the beast was long dead, stuffed, and preserved for Charonne’s amusement.