C.: L-A-N-D-L -I-N-E. A useful but outdated form of telephone communication that was, at one time, the main source of communication between parties who were not in the same vicinity. Formerly, people would simply walk outside and knock on neighbor's doors if they needed to communicate something of importance to someone who was in close proximity. Hmm, sounds like humans have "evolved" into hermits since the pandemic. Maybe before...
Oh, hi! I was just looking up a word in d.c.'s book from the first excerpt I shared with you. Since he is still working on that book, he texted me and said he wanted me to share chapter one with you. Here it is.
CHAPTER ONE: A MOCHA LATTE WITH FOAM Jay did not enjoy the coffee that the precinct’s coffee maker offered, and he had little time to spare. Because of these two factors, he invited Alice Jones to join him at the coffee shop that was within walking distance of both his precinct and the nursing school Alice attended. It was this strategic location that allowed the independent coffee shop to compete with the leading national chains. Since both were pressed for time, this seemed to be the best place for the couple to familiarize themselves with each other. Jay, and many of his coworkers, often visited this coffee shop because of its convenient location. He needed the caffeine the bitter drink offered to stay awake during the long, arduous hours cops must sometimes work. Many of the nursing school students had the same need, so they were regular customers of the coffee shop, along with the cops at the precinct. Alice was almost as familiar with the coffee shop and its menu as Jay, so she only casually perused the menu before ordering. “A Mocha Latte with foam,” Alice said to the barista, as Jay took out his wallet to pay for his black coffee and Alice’s tasteful drink. “That looks like a delicious drink,” Jay said to Alice, trying to distract her from asking about the subject of their last conversation. It was no use, though, because the young nursing student again asked the detective about the corpse in question. Since she had been seated in the front row at the morgue, Magruder worried that she and her companions in the front row had seen too much to forget the mysterious corpse. He was extremely upset by the question, as Alice quickly learned. “Mr. Magruder, can you tell me anything more about the corpse that Mr. Jones was asking about? Please don’t kill me. I just want to know his name, or something about him. Anything that you can tell me, I’m sure, would be of great interest to me. Your insight may help me advance my nursing career quickly.” As Jay looked up from his steaming hot cup of joe, he took in a pleasant sight. The nursing school student was not so much unattractive as unadorned. She wore no makeup. Her hair looked as if it did not know what a brush was. She did not wear any jewelry, in a clinical class (where this was a requirement) or on a date with an eligible young cop. On the surface, Alice Jones would seem to be as plain as the name she bore. Magruder looked past that. This nursing school student had high cheekbones, a pleasant smile, and large, sparkling brown eyes. Her unrestrained hair was her least attractive feature, but it did not detract from the young lady's other pleasant physical features. However, as far as Jay was concerned, her most attractive feature was her persistent personality, even though it may have been a detriment to both in the case of the cadaver in the HPD morgue. Magruder liked the young lady's motivation to become a nurse, though, since it was a profession that fascinated him. His preoccupation with the nursing profession had put the young detective in a precarious position. It was this infatuation that led Magruder to allow his friend to have his clinical class visit the police morgue. This had been a usual practice for nursing school students in days of yore. In the late twentieth century, however, it was highly unusual. Regardless of this fact, Jay felt the need to redirect the conversation. He first attempted to redirect the conversation to a discussion about their choices of refreshment. Alice asked him to try her drink. Jay agreed that it was delicious, but said he was afraid of looking effeminate in a largely male environment at his precinct if he drank such a colorful drink while on duty. He did agree, though, that this would be his “go-to” caffeinated drink when not on duty. Jay’s attempt to redirect the conversion, though, met with much resistance. Alice again asked about the mysterious cadaver. He felt that he must rectify the situation once and for all, so he answered the question briskly. His hope was to put the matter of the mysterious cadaver to rest permanently. “That body is from an open case and, therefore, not open to discussion. I do NOT know why Mr. Jones wanted you to ask me about him. Are you two related?” “No, Mr. Magruder. Jones is a very common name. We may be distantly related, but he is not my dad or my uncle or anything like that. He is just my clinical instructor. What CAN you talk about?” “Well, I would like to begin by talking about YOU. Nurses fascinate me. I would like to know what your motivation is to enter this field as an occupation. Knowing that will help me to know and understand you better.” ***************************************************************************** During their date, Jay encouraged the young lady to tell him all about her desire to help relieve other people’s pain. Not only would this help him understand the young lady better, Jay reasoned, but it would also detract from her desire to learn more about the mysterious cadaver. Since the date went well, Alice gave Jay her phone number at the end of it. Two weeks passed and the young cop had not called her.
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