Chapter 9
A week later, Oliver drove onto the winding driveway that meandered through trees, finally emerging at the LSIWC parking lot near the lighthouse. The initial anxiety he’d felt the first day was gone, but the excitement over new possibilities still lingered.
Today would be the first day that Carson had him out in the field. He would accompany Poole and Tricia as they finalized the installation plans for the security system they had designed for the center. He had visited the city when he’d first read the file on the center. He shook his head at the memory of encountering the woman who’d continued to fill his mind. I still can’t get her out of my thoughts.
Carson explained that this pro bono work was recommended by a friend of Teddy’s, who had contacted him to see if the Keepers could do anything for the facility. Since Oliver had nothing special to do over the weekend, he had looked over the design, gaining an understanding of what he would be seeing.
He eagerly anticipated going out in the field with Poole and Tricia. Riding with them, he attentively listened as they discussed the center”s needs. He asked questions and threw out suggestions when appropriate, for which they appeared to be grateful.
“Did you spend all weekend studying the files on this?” Tricia asked, turning around to smile at him from the front seat.
He shrugged. “I wanted to ensure I fully grasped the plans and how to secure the center.”
“You stayed in all weekend?” Poole chuckled. “You definitely need to get out more!”
“I did have a break,” Oliver defended. “Our parents came to visit on Saturday for dinner, so I wasn’t studying the whole weekend.”
At that, Poole looked into the rearview mirror, lifting a brow as he caught Oliver’s eyes. “Did Natalie do the cooking?”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “My parents were prepared. We had a cookout—Leo handled the barbecue, my mom brought the side dishes, and then Natalie baked homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting.”
“Damn, and she didn’t make extra to bring into work today?” Poole grumbled.
“I’m afraid we didn’t leave any leftovers. As far as the weekend, while I’m in Leo and Natalie’s house, I try to give them as much privacy as possible. I mostly just kept to myself and looked over the files. It’s pretty impressive what this center does.”
Tricia nodded her agreement. “Teddy’s friend and wife are both retired and are house parents on the boys’ side. Another retired couple is the house parents on the girls” side. There is staff plus volunteers during the day and security both day and night.”
He nodded, having already read that information in the files. The building they were going to had once been a small, private school that had gone out of business and was taken over by a nonprofit organization that offered housing, education, and counseling to homeless teenagers. He didn’t admit that he’d never thought of homeless kids, not with parents. A flash of memory hit—the intense gaze from a fearless, petite blonde and the words she aimed toward him. “You need to educate yourself on what goes on right here in your own backyard.” He had no idea who she was or what she was referring to, but her words rang true.
His attention was diverted as they arrived and parked outside the center. As they stepped out of the SUV, he surveyed the nondescript brick building with an intense gaze and renewed scrutiny while thinking about Poole’s security plans. He noted the placement of the outside lights and identified the areas where Poole wanted to install additional lighting.
“You’re looking at things differently, aren’t you?”
Jerking his head around to see Poole and Tricia smiling at him, he nodded.
Poole continued, “Most people barely notice a building unless something catches their attention, and then it’s usually the aesthetics. But considering the safety and security of those inside, we have a different outlook. You’re already seeing things you wouldn’t have considered before.”
Oliver’s time in the Army had trained him for missions and certainly heightened his sense of security. But once home, he’d never fallen into the mental space of seeing enemies everywhere. He’d had fellow Rangers who’d succumbed to the PTSD terrors or even some who scoped out every building as though the enemy was ready to pounce. While security conscious, Oliver had always segregated the real from the overly cautious.
“You’re absolutely right. If I hadn’t studied the plans you designed, this is the kind of building I would’ve driven by and never given a second thought. But now, I’m considering who is on the inside, what their needs are, and what we can do to enhance their security.”
“That’s perfect,” Tricia chimed in. “That’s exactly the mindset you need to have in this field.”
They entered the building through the front door, stepping into a warm reception room. Comfortable seating arrangements with a sofa and several chairs offered casual relaxation. A reception desk was to the right, with a woman smiling as soon as her eyes met theirs. She stood and walked over, her hand extended. “Welcome to Bright Futures Home. I’m Paula, one of the day receptionists.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Poole said, his voice equally as pleasant. “My name is Frederick Poole. This is Tricia Burrows Poole and Oliver Parker. We’re here from Lighthouse Security Investigations.”
“Yes, Ms. Whitlock told me that you would be here today. It’s nice to have you with us. My understanding is that you will be walking around the premises and making final notes and observations as you assist us with our security needs.”
“That’s exactly right,” Poole said.
“I’m afraid Ms. Whitlock was called away and isn’t here today. But I have your visitor badges ready and ask that you return them when you leave. I hope you don’t mind, but our regular daytime security team member, Elliot Salsbury, will walk around with you. Because we work with teenagers, we want to protect everyone.”
Poole nodded as he reached out to take his badge. “Understood.”
Tricia had taken her badge and slipped the lanyard around her neck, and Oliver followed suit.
Just then, a man walked from the back and looked at the three of them.
“Elliot, these are the security visitors Ms. Whitlock told us about,” Paula said.
Oliver quickly sized Elliot up. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties and physically fit, wearing a uniform of navy pants and a navy polo with Bright Futures Home embroidered over his left chest. He stepped forward and shook their hands, a smile on his face.
“If you’ll follow me, we’ll get started,” he said. “Do you have a particular place you want to view first?”
“We’d like to look at the common areas, then take a look at the setup for the dorms,” Poole said.
With Elliot leading the way, the Keepers left the reception area and moved down a hall that led into a large multipurpose room.
“This is both our dining area and gymnasium. Like the school that occupied this building when it was first built and had to make multiple uses of space, we find this accommodates us in the same way.”
As Elliot stood to the side, Oliver walked with Poole and Tricia, absorbing their conversation. They looked around the area to see if they thought where the security cameras would be most efficient on the floor plans would work in actuality.
“Do you usually find that you have to make many adjustments from floor plans to being in the buildings?” Oliver asked.
Poole nodded and pointed up to one of the corners near the ceiling. “There’s a good example. I thought a security camera in that corner would give the best view, but as you can see, a pole is used to hang banners. So I need to consider that when I’m looking at where to place the camera.”
Oliver had to admit he was fascinated after having previously wondered if this kind of assignment would be boring. In the military, all of the planning for the mission had already been completed by the time he set boots on the ground. But here, he would be actively involved in the initial designing, evaluation, and then the reevaluation of the original plans.
“What you should do is make notes on your own based on our drawings, then we’ll pull them together to see what the best plan will be,” Poole advised.
With a nod, he walked around the room and began making notes on his tablet. From the common area, they moved through a door on the right that led them to the boys” dormitories.
“The security needs are especially high in the hallways,” Elliot said. “It’s important for the young people to feel that they have a sense of privacy and safety in their own rooms, but at the same time, we have to be able to discover anyone’s attempt to abuse those privileges.”
Once again, the three Keepers moved up and down the hall, making notes of the best placement for security cameras.
They moved through the common area, then through an identical door on the left, finding the female dorms. After that evaluation, they headed into the commons area again, this time making their way through four classrooms.
Elliot continued, “The dining times and classrooms are coed. For everything else, we keep the boys separate from the girls.”
“I understand a couple lives full-time on each dorm side?” Oliver asked.
“Yes, sort of like dorm parents. They are trained by social services in counseling as well as security. Their job is also to ensure the on-site safety.” Elliot heaved a heavy sigh. “Some of these kids come from rough backgrounds. We want to make sure that none of our kids under our roof are assaulted. Male and female nighttime security guards are also available. A female daytime security guard works part-time with me.”
“That sounds like a lot of dedicated people,” Oliver said.
“If you want to talk about dedication, wait till you meet Ms. Whitlock. She lives in and breathes the Bright Futures Home and all the kids who pass through here.”
Thanking Elliot, the Keepers walked back to the reception area, where they began their work in earnest.
The next several hours were filled with thorough exploration as Tricia, Poole, and Oliver walked around the entire building perimeter. They continued to jot notes into their tablets, exchange ideas, and compile a list of LSIWC’s proposed security enhancements for the center.
As they finally pulled out of the parking lot, Oliver cast a parting glance at the building and reflected on the stark contrast between his childhood teen years as opposed to the teens receiving assistance from those inside the center. His parents had showered him and Leo with loving support and unwavering dedication. He and his brother had their share of squabbles, but they always had each other’s backs. School had been fun, and high school sports had given Oliver a chance to understand real camaraderie before joining the Army.
Snapping back to the conversation between Poole and Tricia, he stopped musing and listened as they discussed the intricacies of the center’s security needs. Diving into the topic, he grinned with enthusiasm, glad to be part of the team.