Backtracker (13 page)

Dave nodded, felt a cold stream of sweat crawl down his side. Considering the circumstances, he still looked remarkably calm, as if he were listening to Mr. Wyland describe a new procedure, or a new entree the steakhouse would be serving. Internally, he was an absolute wreck, worrying about what would happen, beating himself up for getting into this mess, wondering if a fib or the truth would be more likely to get him off the hook.

"
If I find out who
'
s been drinking the chocolate milk, I promise I won
'
t punish them,
"
offered Wyland.
"
There won
'
t be any, um, suspensions, and I won
'
t dock anyone
'
s pay. I won
'
t schedule them any less, and I won
'
t treat them any differently.
"
The look in the manager
'
s eyes was sober and sincere, open and guileless. Wyland seemed to be laying all his cards on the table, revealing his intentions without making false vows.
"
I won
'
t even make any notations in the person
'
s file. As long as it stops immediately, I see no reason to write up a report.
"

Dave said nothing, just stood and listened. He felt as if he could trust Wyland; the manager had always treated him fairly in the past, and his current sincerity truly seemed genuine. Then again, Dave supposed that there could be a first time for everything...and this could be the first time that Wyland would lie to him and go back on his word.

"
Dave, as far as I
'
m concerned, you
'
re a valuable employee,
"
said Mr. Wyland, nodding approvingly.
"
I, um, know you
'
ll be leaving eventually, but I
'
m not ready to lose you yet. If you
'
ve been taking chocolate milks, I
'
d like to know, and I
'
d like you to stop it, but I won
'
t pursue it any further.
"

Heart hammering, stomach wringing, Dave looked at Mr. Wyland, then down at the floor. For a moment, the little office was silent, and Dave had a feeling that the boss had said his piece; he sensed that Fred Wyland had finished stating his position, and now was waiting for an
all
-
i
mportant answer. There was no more time for delays or evasion, no time to consider consequences and debate the merits of different responses. One way or another, truth or lie,
he had
to commit himself and hope for the best.

"
Well,
"
Dave said finally, lifting his eyes to meet the boss
'
gaze.
"
I
'
m not the only one who
'
s done it, but it
'
s true I
'
ve taken chocolate milks.
"

"
You
'
re not the only one
?
"
said Wyland, frowning slightly.

Dave hesitated. Naturally, the boss had latched onto that clue, that revelation Dave had made in a last
-
ditch effort to lessen his own guilt. He quickly realized that he
shouldn
'
t
have said it, because it might just make things more difficult for him now.
"
Uh, no,
"
he fumbled.
"
There
'
re other people besides me. I really couldn
'
t tell you who, though.
"

"
Why is that
?
"
asked the boss, his brow still furrowed.

"
It
'
s...well, I just don
'
t want to say.
"
Shifting his feet, Dave darted his eyes from Mr. Wyland to the wall, then back again. He thought furiously, trying to come up with the right words to convince the manager not to press him for details. No matter what, Dave
wouldn
'
t
turn in his friends; though someone in the Wild West family had betrayed him, he
wouldn
'
t
respond by becoming a turncoat himself.

"
Other people, huh
?
"
said Wyland, folding his hands in his lap.

"
Well, yeah,
"
said Dave.
"
I guess it
'
s just been like a habit, y
'
know? I guess everyone thought it was sort of okay. Like, there was the company policy, but no one thought the managers were too worried about it.
"

"
Um, I see,
"
the boss said thoughtfully.
"
Maybe we
'
ve been a little lax about making sure everyone remembers the rules.
"

Dave shrugged. He
couldn
'
t
tell how the meeting would conclude, but at least Wyland
didn
'
t
seem angry, and that was a good sign.

"
Maybe it would help if we handed out memos every now and then,
"
mulled the boss, staring at his hands.
"
Maybe once a month or so, we could give everyone a copy of the rules. We have such a high turnover rate here, it would probably be smart to make sure all new employees keep track of company policy.
"

Doing his best to remain calm, Dave simply nodded. Cool streams of sweat continued to trickle down his sides.

"
What do you think
?
"
asked Wyland, gazing intently at Dave.
"
Do you think memos would help?
"

"
Yeah,
"
said Dave.
"
I think it would clear things up. It would give everyone a better idea of what they can and cannot do.
"

"
Mm
-
hm,
"
nodded Wyland.
"
That
'
s what we
'
ll do then.
"
Reaching up in a familiar gesture, he brushed his silver bangs over his forehead, swept them to one side so the part in his hair was more defined.
"
So,
"
he said, summoning an odd little smile.
"
Are you sure you don
'
t want to tell me who else has been taking chocolate milk?
"

"
Uh
-
huh,
"
Da
ve answered without hesitation.
Smiling, the manager sighed and shook his head.
"
Okay then. Would you at least pass the word along and tell those people that I want them to stop?
"

"
Okay,
"
agreed Dave.

"
Tell them I
'
m serious about this, because I am,
"
said Wyland.
"
From now on, if we catch anyone taking anything they
'
re not supposed to, they
'
re out the door.
"

"
I
'
ll tell them,
"
said Dave, pulling his hands from his pockets.

"
Um, I guess I better let you get back to work,
"
said the boss.

"
Okay,
"
nodded Dave, turning to reach for the doorknob.

"
Anyway, I appreciate your honesty,
"
Wyland said sincerely.
"
I don
'
t think many people would
'
ve told me the truth in this situation.
"

One hand on the doorknob, Dave shrugged sheepishly.

"
Um, like I told you, there won
'
t be any report made in your file. Just don
'
t do it again, okay?
"

"
Okay,
"
said Dave, his expression severe, conveying determination to stick to the rules.

"
Thanks,
"
said Mr. Wyland.

With that, Dave opened the office door and emerged from the crucible, the place of testing. Pulling the door shut behind him, he released a deep breath, paused for an instant as a powerful shudder rippled through him.

Dazed and disturbed, he slowly walked from the office to the line, heading for the fry cook station. Billy Bristol saw him coming and stepped from the broiler to intercept him.

"
Hey,
"
Billy said quietly, looking concerned.
"
What
'
s the matter, man? What happened in there?
"

"
I got busted,
"
Dave said sullenly, keeping his voice low.

"
Huh
?
"
frowned Billy.
"
What for?
"

"
Black gold,
"
muttered Dave, shaking his head.
"
Somebody told Fred I was taking it.
"

"
What
?
"
exclaimed Billy.
"
You
'
re kiddin
'
!
"

"
Nope,
"
sighed Dave.
"
Someone told him I
'
ve been drinking the chocolate milk.
"

"
Holy shit,
"
jolted Billy, grimacing with disbelief.
"
Who?
Who
told
him?
"

"
Beats the hell outta
'
me,
"
shrugged Dave.
"
Fred wouldn
'
t say.
"

"
Man! What
'
d you tell him?
"

"
I admitted it,
"
said Dave.

"
Why
'
d you do that
?
"
snapped Billy.

"
I don
'
t know. I thought it might be better if I told him the truth.
"

"
If he didn
'
t catch you in the act,
he had
no way of pinning it on you
!
"
Billy whispered fervently.
"
All he knew was what somebody
told
him, and he can
'
t do anything to you based on that! You should
'
ve denied it!
"

"
Yeah, well, I didn
'
t,
"
mumbled Dave.
"
It doesn
'
t matter, because he didn
'
t do anything to me, anyway. He said he wasn
'
t going to punish me. He just wants me to stop taking milks, and he wants me to pass it along to everybody that he
'
s gonna
'
be on the lookout for anyone else taking them.
"

"
Geez,
"
said Billy, wagging his head.
"
You got lucky.
"

"
Tell me about it,
"
said Dave.
"
He said if he catches anybody, they
'
ll be out the door.
"