Lieutenant Zimmerman of the Albuquerque Parks was there, and he and I had a nice talk, and it included the Eagles. And, it’s now Zimm and Kai.

Back at the apartment, Dr. Joe and Mary were there, and they were surprised that I had a gun with me. I told them what had happened and what I’d found out, and Dr. Joe was not happy.

The four of us had frybread tacos that Amy had made and that helped me forget the happenings of this evening and the homemade sangria was even a bigger help.

And when Dr. Joe and I told Dean Rutherford about everything he was very unhappy. And, I have a feeling that the information went higher up in the university’s administration.

There isn’t much to tell you about the rest of the week other than everything went along as it usually does. Teaching, taking classes, not working on the project, meeting with friends, and things like that. The biggest thing was waiting to see what Agent Adams was going to tell me on Monday. But, I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to like what I was going to hear.

Amy did let me read the final copy of the outline for her seminar, and it sounded great to me. But, knowing Amy, she’ll make some changes to it.

I almost suggested going to the resort for a night, but I knew that Amy wanted to work on her seminar. Plus, I started putting things together for the new class on computer design that the university will be offering in the spring and I’ll be teaching, and that included stopping in the bookstore to be sure that the books had been ordered. And, the manager of the bookstore assured me that the books would be in well before the start of Spring quarter.

Monday morning dragged by. It was like the clock had almost stopped. I wanted to talk to Agent Adams, then again I didn’t.

I taught my two classes and attended my grad-level class, and then I walked to the apartment. Amy had taught her two classes, then came back to the apartment, changed, and was working at the ER until six.

When I walked into the apartment, I looked at the answering machine, and the light was blinking. I rewound the tape, pressed play, and heard, “Miss Nez, this is Agent Adams with the FBI. Please call me.”

I dug Agent Adams’s card out of my purse, sat on the couch, and dialed the number. A few rings later an operator answered, and I asked for Agent Adams. She asked me to hold. A minute later Agent Adams answered, and the conversation went like this, Agent Adams said, “Hello, this is Agent Adams. How can I help you?”

“Agent Adams.”, I said. “This is Kai Nez. You left a message for me to call.”

“Oh yes, Miss Nez. I have some news for you about Mr. Richman, who you probably know better as Mr. Smith.”

“I figured that’s why you called. And, I think I know what you’re going to tell me.”

“You might. The Federal Prosecutor wouldn’t file charges against Mr. Richman. The lawyers for the Los Alamos National Laboratory stepped in and claimed National security.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“But, what we did Wednesday night put the fear of God into at least Mr. Richman. He told me that he would never do anything like that ever again.”

“We, my Dean, Dr. Oshie, and I, plan to meet with the people that we work with at Los Alamos and explain how we feel about this whole mess and how they have treated me. Hopefully, we can get them to change the way they do things. But, knowing that it’s a government facility, I doubt that we’ll have much luck.”

“One last thing, Miss Nez, we checked both the laboratory where you and Dr. Oshie work at the university, as well as Dr. Oshie’s office for listening devices, and we found nothing. Also, when our crew was at your apartment Wednesday, they checked the outside and found nothing.”

“So, nothing wireless?”, I asked.

“No. They checked that too.”

“Good. Thank you again, Agent Adams.”

“Miss Nez, I’m glad that I met you. You’re a very interesting person. And, I feel that the way they treated you was completely wrong. Please, do me a favor and let me know what happens with the meeting.”

“I’ll do that, Agent Adams, so long.”

“So long, Miss Nez.”

And, I hung up the phone.

I sat there for a minute. Then I got up, put my coat back on, grabbed my purse, and headed back to the university. I walked to Dr. Joe’s office, and the light was on, so he was there. I knocked, and then heard, “Come.”

I opened the door, walked in, and said, “Hi, Dr. Joe.”

“Hi, Kai.”, Dr. Joe said.

I walked over and sat in a chair that was in front of his desk. He looked at me, and asked, “Is something wrong, Kai?”

“Kind of.”, I replied. “I just finished talking to Agent Adams.”

“I take it that you didn’t like what you heard.”

“Not at all. The prosecutor wouldn’t file charges against Mr. Smith or Richman or whatever his name is.”

“So, now what?”

“I want to talk to those people.”

Dr. Joe picked up the phone, dialed, and when it was answered, he said, “Sara, it’s Dr. Oshie. Would the Dean have time to meet with me and Miss Nez right now?” … “Okay, I’ll hold.”

Shortly Dr. Joe said, “Yes, Sara, I’m still here.” … “Ten minutes. Thank you, Sara. We’ll be right down.”

As he hung up the phone, Dr. Joe got up, put on his suit coat, and said, “Come on Kai. The Dean will see us.”

Dr. Joe and I walked to the Dean’s office, and as we walked into the outer office, Sara saw us, and she said, “Go on back, Dr. Oshie. He’s expecting you.”

Sara and I smiled at each other.

We walked back to the Dean’s office, knocked, and we heard a, “Come.”

We walked into the Dean’s office and took seats in front of his desk. The Dean looked at us, and said, “I assume that you heard from the FBI, Miss Nez?”

“Yes, sir.”, I replied. “And, it was what I figured I’d hear. The Federal Prosecutor wouldn't press any charges.”

“That so.”

“Yes, sir.”, Dr. Joe said. “Miss Nez want's to talk to the people at the Laboratory, and I agree with her.”

As he picked up the phone, the Dean said, “So do I.”

Before we left the Dean’s office, we had an appointment to meet with the people at Los Alamos on Wednesday at one o’clock. Why does everything happen on Wednesday?

At six I picked up Amy at the ER and as we walked to the apartment I filled her in on what had happened today. Her reaction was like mine, disappointment. Then I said, “The Dean, Dr. Joe, and I are going to Los Alamos on Wednesday to talk with their people.”

“Kai.”, Ajie said. “Promise me that you’ll control your temper?”

“I don’t have a temper.”

That got me the look from Amy. A frown and a raised eyebrow. And she said, “I know better.”

“I’ll try.”

“Do more than try.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

So, on Wednesday, just like the last time that I’d attended a meeting with the people from Los Alamos, I taught my classes and attended my grad-level class dressed up. I had my hair in a ponytail with a fancy ponytail holder at the top of it. I wore my velvet skirt and a fancy blouse, with a Concho belt. And, a pair of wrap moccasins. The only jewelry that I put on right now was just a pair of the silver feather earrings, but I did put a few things in my purse. And, I used just a little light makeup.

I know I was being looked at as I walked across campus.

After my classes, I walked to Dr. Joe’s office, he picked up his briefcase, and then we went to the Dean’s office. As we walked in the Dean was talking to Sara, whose attention was drawn to us. The Dean turned to look at what Sara was looking at, and he said, “Miss Nez, I always marvel at how pretty you are.”

I just smiled at him, and said, “Sara, would you help me with my choker again.”

“Of course, Kai.”, Sara said as she got up. She walked over and fastened my choker for me. Then I added two bracelets, three rings, and the braided leather headband that has a feather hanging from it.

Dr. Joe looked at me, and said, “Are you ready to go?”

“No.”, I replied. “I wish we didn’t have to do this. But, I feel that it’s necessary.”

“Miss Nez.”, Dean Rutherford said. “I think everything will be fine.”

“Dean, there’s a native American saying. Be strong enough to stand alone, be yourself enough to stand apart, but be wise enough to stand together when the time comes. And, Dean, the three of us are standing together.”

He smiled, and said, “Miss Nez, yes we are.”

As we walked down the hall towards the door to the building and we were walking past the restrooms, I said, “Excuse me for a minute gentlemen.”

I walked into the ladies room, and spent a minute freshening up my makeup.

When I’d finished and walked out of the ladies room, we finished walking to the faculty parking lot, got into the Dean’s car, and headed for Los Alamos.

Just like the last time that Dr. Joe and I were here at Los Alamos, we pulled up to the guard building at the visitor’s parking lot. They directed us where to park and told us that after we parked to come back to the guard building. We parked and walked to the guard building. In the guard building, they checked us in, searched my purse and Dr. Joe’s briefcase, then they gave us each a visitors badge. Then we waited to be driven to the administrative building.

Once we were at the administrative building, they rechecked our identification, as well as searching Dr. Joe’s briefcase and my purse again. Maybe they thought that I had a .45 with me?

We were offered seats and told that the people that we were there to see would be out shortly. We sat together quietly for about five minutes. Finally, Dr. Fontheim, the liaison between the Laboratory and the university, walked out to greet us. The three of us stood, and he walked over to us, and said, “Dean Rutherford, Dr. Oshie, and Miss Nez, it a pleasure to see you again.”

Before anyone else could say anything, I said, “Is it?”

“Miss Nez, I know a little bit of what happened. And I hope that we can straighten it out.”

“I doubt it.”

“Please give us a chance?”

“We’ll see.”

Dr. Fontheim looked at Dean Rutherford, and said, “She’s mad. Isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is.”, Dean Rutherford said. “And, I don’t blame her. Also, realize that I’m also unhappy with this whole thing.”

“I can’t blame you.”, Dr. Fontheim said. “I guess we’d better go to the conference room.”

We followed Dr. Fontheim to a door that was labeled ‘Conference Room,’ and we walked in. Two people were sitting at a table, Dr. Höllmann, the head of research for the Laboratory, and Dr. Millman, the assistant director of the Laboratory.

I looked at them, and said, “Where’s this Richman person!?”

Dr. Millman looked at me, and said, “Miss Nez, I wanted to meet with the three of you first. I want the full story from your side without them being here. Then I’ll have them join us.”

Without a word, I pulled out a chair and sat, as did Dean Rutherford and Dr. Oshie.

Dr. Millman then said, “Good. I want to get to the bottom of this as quickly as we can. I know that you do too. So, Miss Nez, will you please tell us what happened?”

I started by saying, “First, you just asked me to give you a chance, and now I want to ask you the same. To give me a chance to explain something about myself.”

“I think we can do that, Miss Nez,”

“Please hear me out. Earlier I told Dr. Höllmann and Dr. Fontheim a story about me, Tammy Young, and Ohio State. And, it was just that a story. And, I’ve learned that it’s better, to tell the truth.

“I’m going to ask you to please keep what I’m going to tell you to yourself.”

They agreed.

Then I said, “The native Americans believe that some people have two spirits. … ”, and I went on to explain in detail what a two spirit person was and what it means to the native people.

When I finished, I asked, “Any questions so far?”

Dr. Höllmann looked at me, and asked, “Miss Nez, you are one of these two spirit people. Aren’t you?”

I looked at Dr. Höllmann, and said, “Yes, sir. I am. My people, the Navajo people, call us Nádleeh which means the one is changing.”

Dr. Höllmann just nodded. Dr. Fontheim had a small smile. Dr. Millman, I couldn’t read. But, I wasn’t feeling anything bad.

Then I said, “Earlier what I’d told Dr. Höllmann and Dr. Fontheim about Tammy Young at Ohio State was partially true. I did attend Ohio State and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Electrical Engineering. But, I did it as Thomas Young. A boy.”

That got me a puzzled look from Dr. Höllmann.

I looked at Dr. Höllmann, smiled, and said, “Yes, Dr. Höllmann, I’m a boy. And since I’ve graduated and moved here to New Mexico, the home of my ancestors, my female spirit has become strong, and my male spirit has moved to the background. And, I feel better presenting the way you see me right now, as a native American girl.

“All of my friends are aware of this, as are most of the administration of the university. And, they accept me this way. My university records list me as Kai Nez.”

“This is why you don’t want a background check done. Isn’t it?”, Dr. Höllmann asked.

“Yes. I’m worried that if they would do a background check, that the word would get out about me, and I’d have to move to one of the hippy communes in the mountains outside of Taos.”

“So, you’re a man?”, Dr. Fontheim asked.

“Yes. I was born Thomas Young. And, to answer the other question that’s in your mind. No, I’m not gay. I’m even married.”

Dr. Höllmann started to say something, but I said, “It’s always the next question when I look like I do and tell people that I’m a guy.”

“I wasn’t going to ask that.”, Dr. Höllmann said. “But, it was in the back of my mind. What I’d like to know is, why are you tell us this?”

“First, I felt that it would be good to be upfront with the three of you. And, so that you know why I don’t want a background check done.

“And, I also wanted you to know that I loved doing the research that I’ve done since I’ve been here, even though it was just that one project. I know that security here at Los Alamos is tight, and it needs to be with some of the things that you do.

“If I can no longer do the research for you because I don’t want a background check done. So, be it. I’ll miss it, but I’ll understand.

“But, please stop doing things behind my back. Especially like what happened last week.”

“So, even after what you’ve been put through you still want to do research for us through the university?”, Dr. Höllmann asked.

“Dr. Höllmann.”, I said. What’s happened was because of some people who were overzealous in doing their jobs and not thinking of the consequences. Can I forgive and forget? I’m not sure. And, I feel that the three of you had nothing to do with this.

“But, you know what they say about the third strike.”

Dr. Millman then said, “Miss Nez, that was an interesting story. I’ve never heard anything like it before, but I’ve not had much contact with the Indian people. The whole time that you’ve been telling us this I’ve been watching Dean Rutherford and Dr. Oshie, and I could see that they weren’t shocked or upset by what you told us.

“And, Miss Nez, I can’t say for sure right now. But, I can see no reason why you, through the university, can’t continue to do research for us. I know, from what Dr. Fontheim has told me, that the one piece of research that you and Dr. Oshie did for us went beyond expectations.”

“Thank you, Dr. Millman.”, I said. “Coming from you, and Dr. Fontheim, that means a lot to me.”

“So, Miss Nez, tell us what happened to you.”

“I was in the university library a couple of weeks ago doing some research, and a man calling himself Mr. Smith approached me. … ” And, I went on to tell them my story. I finished up with, “The last time I saw Mr. Smith, who I now know is Mr. William Richman, and an employee of yours, was when they were loading him into an ambulance and going to the hospital accompanied by an FBI agent.”

Dr. Millman just looked at me for a minute, then he said, “Miss Nez, I’ve also seen the FBI report on this, and I am so sorry that this happened.”

“No more than I am. This is the second time that this place has done something to me. And, I’m so close to involving my lawyer.”

“Please let me see if I can handle this first.”

“You apologized to me the last time, and that went nowhere. I don’t know if I can keep my lawyer out of this.”

“Dr. Millman.”, Dean Rutherford said. “I’m speaking for the university and myself when I say that we are extremely unhappy with how you have treated Miss Nez. And, hope that the Laboratory can put an end to this kind of treatment.”

Dr. Millman picked up a phone, and before he could dial, I said, “Dr. Millman, before you make that call there’s one more thing.”

“What’s that Miss Nez.”, Dr. Millman asked.

“I need to know how they got the information about the relationship between Kai Nez and Tom Young?”

“I’ll see what I can do. But, I may need to do it on the quiet.”

“I understand, and I would appreciate it.”

Dr. Millman then dialed the phone, and when it was answered, he said, “Tell Mr. Yountz and Mr. Richman that we’re ready for them to join us.”

Shortly there was a knock on the door, and Dr. Millman said, “Come in.”

The door opened, and two men walked in. One I knew was Mr. Richman aka Mr. Smith. He saw me, pointed, and said, “What is she doing here!?”

Dr. Millman, said, “She is here at my request and because I’m trying to get to the bottom of something that I consider very serious. Have a seat.”

The two men sat, and I just glared at Mr. Richman. He got nervous and wouldn’t look at me.

Then, Dr. Millman introduced everyone. The one man that I didn’t know was Mr. Yountz, who is Mr. Richman’s boss and the head of the Los Alamos security department.

Looking at Mr. Yountz and Mr. Richman, Dr. Millman said, “Gentlemen, I’ve just been told a story by Miss Nez that is hard to believe, but I’ve also read an FBI report that substantiates her story. I know what you’ve done, and I’m not at all pleased.”

“Sir.”, Mr. Yountz said. “We were doing our job, protecting the security of this facility. We were unable to complete a background check on Miss Nez, so we tested her.”

As I slammed my fist on the table, I said, “Tested! You call that a test! At the very least I’d call it harassment, and I know my lawyer can come up with other things.
Do you have any idea the stress that you put me, and others, under? There was no call for this stupid act of yours.

“And, I don’t know if you know how close you came to costing Mr. Richman his life the other night. I know that I put him on the ground and in the hospital overnight. But, I was also carrying a gun, and if I’d felt that he was putting me in a threatening position, I would have probably used it.”

Almost laughing at me, Mr. Yountz said, “What, were you carrying a little girl’s gun.”

“Sir, you are an ass. I do not appreciate being talked down to. And, I was carrying a .45, and I know how to use it.”

As Mr. Yountz said, “A .45.” His eyes got big.

I looked at Mr. Richman, and said, “And, I won’t tell you that the FBI had a sniper across the river. But, they did.”

Mr. Richman just looked at me with his mouth open, then he asked, “What did you hit me with?”

I smiled, as I replied, “Nothing. I just reacted to you trying to push me out of your way.”

“No, you had to have hit me with something.”

“No, I just used some martial arts on you.”

Mr. Richman just looked at me and shook his head.

Then I said, “Dr. Millman, this whole thing could have been averted by one thing?”

“What’s that, Miss Nez.”, Dr. Millman asked.

“All you had to do was ask me one question.”

“One question?”

“All you had to do was ask me if you could do a background check on me.

“And, I could have answered with a simple yes or no. If I’d said no, I would have just walked away from doing any research for you. Like I’m ready to do now.

“By asking that one little question you could have saved a lot of time, and not caused any hard feelings. But, no, you had to go behind my back.”

“But, there’s no background on you.”, Mr. Yountz said.

“There isn’t?”, I replied. “Here again, if you’d asked I might have told you what I’ve told the three Doctors.”

“And just what is that!?”

“Don’t talk to me like that, or I’m going to walk out of here and straight to my lawyer’s office. I’m the injured party here.”

“I’m sorry. What did you tell them?”

I looked at Mr. Yountz for a couple of seconds, then said, “Sir, what I told them, I told them in complete confidence, and it’s none of your business.”

Mr. Yountz just looked at me. Then shook his head.

Then I added, “Maybe it’s past time for you to change your policies.”

“Miss Nez.”, Mr. Yountz said. “We’ll look into doing that.”

I thought, ‘Yeah. I bet you will.’

“Miss Nez.”, Dr. Millman said. “I promise you that we will work on this.”

Then Dr. Joe opened his briefcase, took out the project binder, tossed it on the table, and said, “Now, let’s talk about this.”

“What’s this?”, Dr. Millman asked.

“It’s the project that you sent to us.”

Dr. Millman looked at Dr. Höllmann who looked at Dr. Fontheim, who looked at Dr. Joe. Then Dr. Fontheim said, “Dr. Oshie, we never sent you a project. We’re going to. But, haven’t.”

Dr. Oshie then said, “A courier delivered this from here, and it has your cover letter with it.”

“Let me see that.”

Dr. Joe slid the project binder over to Dr. Fontheim. Then Dr. Joe said, “Once Miss Nez read this document we knew that this project was a farce. There was almost a duplicate of this document in a technical publication, and she had read the article when it was published. She searched and searched, and finally found the article. Then she showed it to me.”

“Dr. Oshie.”, Dr. Fontheim said. “This isn’t even close to what we have for you.”

Dr. Oshie said, “This binder has the specifications for one of the first Navstar receivers that were never built.

“Miss Nez wasted a lot of time finding the proof that this project proposal was not valid. And that was unfair to not only her but to the university. Her time is more valuable than having to research a fake proposal.”

“Dr. Oshie, you know I always hand deliver the projects.”, Dr. Fontheim said.

“Not to me, but to Dean Rutherford. I took it for granted that there was a change in the procedure since a courier that delivered it was from here.”

“Who did this!”, Dr. Millman asked.

I’d been watching Mr. Yountz through this conversation, and he was getting nervous. He glanced at me, and I asked, “You did this. Didn’t you?”

“No. … No, I didn’t.”, Mr. Yountz said.

“Sir, you are a liar.”

“Yountz, did you do this!?”, Dr. Millman asked.

“Yes. … Yes, sir.”, Mr. Yonbtz said. “I did it as part of the set up on Miss Nez. We needed … ”

“Stop! Would the rest of you please excuse us. I need to speak with Mr. Yountz in private.”

The six of us left Dr. Millman and Mr. Yountz to their private meeting. As we were closing the door, we heard Dr. Millman say, “Yountz, do you realize who she is?”

As we walked down the hall, I thought, ‘What did Dr. Millman mean when he told Yountz, ‘do you realize who she is?’’

In the reception area, Mr. Richman sat by himself. Maybe he was trying to figure out if he was going to be fired or not. The three of us from the university along with Dr. Fontheim and Dr. Höllmann stood around and talked.

I was unusually quiet, and Dr. Höllmann asked, “Miss Nez, is something wrong?”

“No, sir.”, I said. “I’m just thinking about something Dr. Millman said as we were walking out of the conference room.”

“What was that?”

“I heard him say to Yountz, ‘do you realize who she is?’ And, I wondered what he meant.”

Dr. Höllmann smiled, and said, “Miss Nez, realize because of what we do, that we work closely with the local Indian tribes. And, in particular, the Navajo Nation.

“We know that you are a member of the Navajo Nation, and when this thing with you came to Dr. Millman’s attention, he contacted someone towards the top of the Navajo leadership and asked about you. And, I guess he got a real ear full.”

“Oh. Who did he talk to?”

“Does the name Bidzii Kinlicheeny mean anything to you?”

“Yes! He’s Chief of the Nation. Wait until I see him.”

“So, you know him?”

“Yes, very well. The Chief should have told me.”

“Kai.”, Dr. Joe said. “Don’t be mad at him. Dr. Millman may have asked him not to say anything to you.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Miss Nez.”, Dr. Höllmann said. “From what I’ve heard the Chief thinks very highly of you.”

To change the subject, I looked at Dr. Fontheim, and asked, “Dr. Fontheim, what project are you sending us?”

“I can’t tell you here.”, Dr. Fontheim replied. But, I can tell you that it’s different and more important than even the one that we talked about that one day over lunch.”

“Do you think that they’ll let me work on it?”

“That’s hard to tell right now. You tossed Dr. Millman a curve. But, if I have anything to say about it you will.

“And, I tell you this. From what I saw from the first project that you did for us, I for one don’t want to lose you.”

Dr. Höllmann said, “Miss Nez, I agree with Dr. Fontheim. You are an exceptional researcher for someone so young, and I hope that they do allow you to work on this new project.”

Later, as we were getting back into Dean Rutherford’s car, the Dean said, “Miss Nez, remind me never to cross you.”

“Don’t worry, sir.”, I said. “I like you.

“But, there’s one thing that I didn’t get answered today.”

“Who told them about Tom Young.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Exactly.”

“Miss Nez.”, Dean Rutherford said. “Remember that Dr. Millman said he’d have to do it on the quiet.”

“Yes, sir.”, I said. “I remember.”

When we were back in Albuquerque, Dean Rutherford said, “We missed lunch. Do you want to stop someplace?”

“I could handle a cheeseburger, some fries, and a milkshake.”, I said.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had anything like that. Do you know of a good place?”

“I sure do. And, I recommend their ginger ale milkshakes.”

As we were eating, Dean Rutherford said, “Miss Nez, you amaze me.”

“Sir?”, I said.

“The way you talked to the people from Los Alamos. Most people would in no way talk to them the way you did.”

“They may be government employees at a high-end research facility, but they are only people like you and me.”

“Dean Rutherford.”, Dr. Joe said. “You should hear her talk to the Chief of the Navajo Nation. She talks to him like he’s her next door neighbor. It’s polite and courteous, but to the point.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least.”, Dean Rutherford said. “So, Miss Nez, are you happy that you’ve won.”

“Dean.”, I said. “There’s a saying, be strong when you are weak. Be brave when you are scared. Be humble when you are victorious.

“And, I won’t throw it up in their face that we’ve won. If we have. But, either way, I’ll know in my heart that we were right. That’s all I need.”

Later as I walked into the apartment, Amy looked up from her reading and said, “I can tell by the look on your face that things went well.”

“They did.”, I replied. “The powers to be at Los Alamos were very unhappy with a couple of people for pulling what they did. And, I’ll bet that if those two people didn’t get fired that they were demoted.

“Plus I had a nice talk with them about me. And they know some of Kai’s story and why I don’t want a background check.”

“So, are you still going to be doing research for Los Alamos?”

“I think so. By what Dr. Höllmann, who is Dr. Fontheim’s boss, has said, I think that there is a good chance that we will.”

“That’s good. It’ll keep you out of trouble.”

“Oh, nice. What’s for supper?”

“Where are you taking me?”, Amy asked.

“We stopped for a late lunch at the drive-in.”, I replied. “And, Dean Rutherford even bought,”

“That was nice of him. And, that leaves us with Nunzio's Pizza, or La Placita Dining Rooms, or the High Noon Restaurant and Saloon.”

“What about McDonald's?”

“No.”