The Man Inside the Iron Fence (The Boy in the Woods Pt. 2)

Chapter 11 - The Band Played On

October 1941

There was a knock on Jonathon's office door frame and he lifted his head. Mrs. Gibson, his secretary, was standing just outside with a stack of documents.

"I have the monthly reports here for you to sign," she said. He waved her in and turned his attention back to the letter he was reading. "They're all here, except engineering," she said, setting them on his desk.

"Why don't I have the engineering report?" he asked sharply.

"Mr. Murphy hasn't been in yet this week. I think – it's because of his father," she said with a pained expression.

"What?" he said with outrage. "The funeral was on Saturday, wasn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Today's Wednesday!"

"I know, Mr. Blackwell."

"Did he call in sick?"

"No."

"Call him and tell him he's fired," Jonathon said through gritted teeth.

Mrs. Gibson's mouth dropped open. "I understand he was quite upset, Mr. Blackwell," she said, clasping her hands as if she was begging him to understand.

"Is that so! Well, my–" He bit back what was about to say, and took a moment to calm himself. "If he's too weak to carry out his duties, I don't want him here," he said levelly. "There's no excuse for it. I was here the day after my father's funeral."

Mrs. Gibson dropped her eyes. "I understand, sir."

"Clear out his belongings. Send them to his house along with his last paycheck."

"Yes, sir."

"And tell engineering I expect that report on my desk by the end of the day!" he said, picking up his letter.

"I will, sir."

He kept his eyes on the paper as she walked out, but he couldn't see the words, anger still boiling through him. How dare Murphy think it was okay to stay home for so many days? Was he supposed to let everyone stay home for as long as they felt like it after a death in the family? It was a ridiculous notion. The business would collapse in short order if he did that, and they should know it.

An hour later, he pulled on his coat and draped a scarf around his neck, preparing to make his rounds outside. When he headed through the large open office, a hush fell over the room, but he pretended not to notice. It was obvious word of Murphy's firing had traveled through the office.

He pushed the door open and stepped out into a biting wind. Everyone probably felt he'd been too harsh, but he didn't care. Trudging across the parking lot, he pulled his fedora down further to keep it from blowing off, and tightened his scarf. It wasn't like he held any of them to a higher standard then he set for himself. If they couldn't keep up, that wasn't his fault.

~~

When James drove up next to the house that evening, Jonathon put the engineering report he'd been reading back in his briefcase and closed the snaps. He climbed out of the car, and held onto his hat with his free hand as a gust of freezing wind swept across the large yard. With the sun low in the autumn sky, lights were already on inside the house, casting yellow pools on the brown grass outside, and he hurried to get inside out of the cold.

Billy was coming down the stairs when Jonathon closed the front door behind him.

"Hi, Johnny," he said when he reached the landing.