Chapter Thirty-Two
“Well, there goes my evening.” Jackson hung up the phone on the desk and took an employee roster from the top drawer of the desk.
“What’s wrong?”
“Paige and Joe were in Roanoke and their car broke down, so they’re out. We haven’t seen Keith, so who knows if he’ll be in. I tried to reach Tom, but couldn’t.” He let out an unhappy laugh. “Looks like I’m holding down the fort tonight.”
Ted put Mimi’s phone back in her purse. “Well, you’re stuck with me until Mimi comes back.” He sat in the other chair, looking at his watch. “Where is she, anyway? Maybe I should go find her.”
Jackson shrugged. “She can’t have gone far. It takes a while to get to the bathroom. It’s on the next level down. Besides, women take forever, don’t they? I know Nancy does.”
He looked at his watch. “I hope she gets back soon. Mimi’s pretty worried about Kara, and if she wants to go looking for her, we need to do it before it’s pitch dark out. Isn’t it strange that Kara didn’t call in sick or something? I mean, is this typical for her, to just not show up?”
“It’s not typical for Kara, but Ted, you know how women are.
With all that’s going on with Daryl and Kelly?
In this town? Honestly, I don’t blame her for wanting to hide out until the storm passes.
” Jackson put his hand on Ted’s shoulder.
“If it’s her job you’re worried about, she’s a good employee.
Her job is here for her, and I trust Kara’s judgment.
If she needs a day, she’s entitled to it.
Don’t worry. When she shows up for work tomorrow, I’ll have a talk with her, just so she knows we all support her and don’t think anything less of her for Daryl’s indiscretions.
” His stomach rumbled. It was almost seven p.m.
He took out his cell phone. “Better call the wife,” he said, and hit speed dial.
“Hi, hon. Hon? Can you hear me?” Jackson looked at his cell phone.
“Nancy?” He hung up. “Damn service.” He picked up the phone on the desk and dialed her phone number.
“Nancy? Sorry. Yeah, you know the reception out here, I should know better,” he rolled his eyes at Ted.
“Hey, I have to stick around for the shift tonight…Yeah, I know.”
Ted heard Nancy’s voice. He smiled.
“Yeah, I know. So, I was thinking maybe about some dinner.” He winked at Ted, listening to Nancy.
“Hello, Nancy?” he yelled into the phone.
“Sorry, sweetie. Oh, yeah, I forgot about your Bunko group. Okay, well, don’t worry about it.
I’ll find something.” He listened. “No, no, it’s fine.
Ted and Mimi Stone are here. We’ll get something. ”
Ted waited until Jackson said his goodbyes to Nancy. “Want to run out and get dinner when Mimi comes back?” Ted asked.
“No I can’t leave the plant. Thanks, though.”
“Then why don’t I run down to Tony’s Pizza and pick us all up a few subs? No sense just sitting here waiting for Mimi. We’ll take off as soon as I get back,” Ted offered.
“You really don’t have to do that.”
Ted stood, slipping his arm into his jacket. “Nonsense. You’re here until what, seven a.m.? I might as well.” He opened the office door. “Turkey? Italian?”
“Meatball. Thanks, Ted.”
“No problem. Just tell Mimi I’ll be back in twenty, and to be ready to go looking for Kara. Maybe we’ll go check the outlet mall. Kara isn’t a big shopper, but I’m not sure where else to look, and that’s one place she could get to by bus.” Ted turned to leave. “Let me out of the gate?”
“Sure. I’ll check on Mimi if she’s not back soon.
” They headed for the stairs. “That reminds me. When you get back, call my cell so I can open the gate. I can’t promise it’ll work right away, but with the phone lines down, you can’t dial in on the plant’s main number.
And the damn cameras are on the fritz again. ”
Jackson’s footsteps echoed throughout the first floor. “Mimi?” he called. He walked down the hallway and to the ladies’ room, the ever-present rumble of the plant beneath his feet. He stood outside the bathroom door, wondering what the proper etiquette was. He knocked. “Mimi?”
There was no answer. He opened the door a crack, looking down a row of lockers. “Mimi?”
Silence.
Jackson stepped inside. “Mimi? It’s Jackson. Ted went to get dinner, but I was worried about you.” The room was silent. Jackson drew his eyebrows together. He left the bathroom, calling out for her in the hallway.
He went back to the first floor and looked up to the second and third floors, calling out once again. “Mimi?”
Jackson turned around, the heart of the plant was lit up like a Christmas tree behind him. He headed for the office to see if Mimi had returned.
Just as he reached for the office doorknob, the lights went out, and the hum of the plant slowed to a stop. The silence was deafening.
A total shutdown. Great.
Jackson had worked at the plant for the past thirty years. He’d been hired just after the new building was built, and the old generators and equipment had already been replaced. He’d seen his share of total shutdowns. He knew the drill.
He stepped into the office and grabbed the enormous flashlight he kept under the desk, catching a glance of the blueprints as he turned around.
His gaze fell to the line where the set of plans from the old plant met the new.
Along that seam, or the fault line, as it had become known, were the faulty generators.
Beneath his feet, the floor rumbled. The backup generators came to life, casting an eerie, insufficient light inside the plant.