I sat up in the chair, a little. "How do you know her, Lloyd?" I asked, trying to sound calm. If true, It would be a wild coincidence.
     "Years ago, I worked at Lincoln-El. I'd need to take a look at that picture of her, to be sure, but what you've described so far, sounds like a girl that I saw there, a few times. I could be wrong. There were lots of people there."
     "What did you do, there?" I asked, a bit surprised that Lloyd had worked there. When I really thought about it though, there was a lot about Lloyd that I didn't know.
     "Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that. Mainly I designed circuit boards...and did some assembling...and you know, independent quality inspection." He sounded like he was answering the question but avoiding an answer.
     "It's okey, Lloyd," I said evenly. "I don't really care about what you might have done 20 years ago. I'm just interested in anything you might know about this girl. Come on over and look at the picture and tell me if you think it's her."
    "Come over?" Lloyd scoffed. "What for? Take a picture of the photo with you phone and send it to me."
     I shook me head at myself for not thinking of that, Did as Lloyd asked and hit the send button.
     After a couple of minutes, Lloyd's voice chimed back. "Good job, Sam Spade, now if we can just drag you kicking into the 21st Century --"
     "Knock it off, Lloyd," I sighed. "Do you know her, or not?"
     After a few more moments, Lloyd came back. "Actually, yes." I used to see her around, but I can only think of a couple of times that I talked to her. Well, one time that I talked to her, and one time where she listened in, while I got talked to."
     I grabbed  pen and pad, ready to take notes. "Okey, details, Lloyd, details"
     "The one time, I was outside at lunch. Weird, I know. You know how I feel about the sun. Anyway, I saw her hanging around the smoker's area, and she looked like she was crying, or had been anyway. Against my usual instinct, I asked her if she was all right. She nodded and dismissed me and said everything was ok. Trying to be funny, I said, "Oh, that's right. Crying is usually the socially demonstrable indicator of everything being all right."
     I knew he couldn't see me, but I was shaking my head.
     "Anyway, I don't know if it was my tone of voice, or what, but she looked at me like I had just dropped her kitten in a wood chipper, flicked her cigarette at me and stormed off."
     I was trying not to smile as I imagined the scene. Lloyd had the social skills of gorilla at a garden party, and I was  not surprised that it wasn't a recent development.
     "Tell me about the other time."
     "Oh, that," he said, a bit distantly. "Yeah, she was the witness at my exit interview."
     "Go on," I prodded.
     "Well, imagine you have a brilliant idea. Imagine this idea would turn the company you work for, from a small, but growing, local business into a heavy hitter that could go toe-to-toe with Raytheon."
     "Sounds brilliant," I said, getting more and more intrigued.
     "Imagine that this brilliant idea can be made, from parts you have just lying around the shop."
     "Getting better."
     "Imagine presenting your brilliant idea to everyone up the chain of command and getting stuffed at every turn."
     "That would be frustrating."
     "Imagine taking your own initiative, and creating a working prototype of your brilliant revolutionary idea."
     "That should convince anyone."
     "Now, imagine being called into the HR office, with your supervisor, the HR director and a member of her staff, security outside the door, and hearing the words, 'misappropriation of company property', 'termination' and 'federal charges'."
     "What the Hell, man?" I asked really trying not to laugh. I knew Lloyd to be brilliant, but not to engage in anything criminal. "What did you make?"
     "Let's just put it this way, you know the radar systems they put on cars so you don't back over Billy's bike, or don't created a second door in your garage?"
     "Yes", I said, dying of anticipation.
     "They are manufactured at L-EL. My design was the genesis of it. Not what I wanted to do with it, but pretty odd how they appreciated my work."
     "What were you going to do with it?"
     "Seeker head for hand-held, anti-personnel missile," he said, matter-of-factly.
     To be honest, I wasn't surprised.
     "Very important question, Lloyd. At this meeting where she was present, did you say or do anything that could be, you know, interpreted as a threat or anything?"
     "I don't think so. Not to her, anyway. She just sat there, looking uncomfortable, but I think was her discomfort, not mine."
     "Okey, come on over and look through these files, with me. See if that sparks any other memories that could lend some background."
     I tried to get started on the husband, Rick's file, but didn't get any further than finding out that he was the rainmaker for Land-Grant Real Estate developers. He had been at it for over five years and had landed some big-time deals. He wasn't a member of the million-dollar club, but he was close.
     Lloyd half-crashed, half-slammed through the door. His usual entrance. He carefully closed the door, looking slightly embarrassed, as if that had never happened before.
     "Glad you made it," I said. "Now, lets get into --"
     "I've got to tell you about the Cowboys," he blurted.
     "What cowboys?" I asked, a little perplexed by his sudden change of tack. I shouldn't have been, but I was.
     "McNeese State. Duh," he said, looking at me as if I were the slow kid who had pasted his hands together...again.
     "Oh. Right." I sat back down and chambered a round from the desk bottle. Once Lloyd gets fixated on football, he rolls. Ask him a simple, one line question, and he'll give a 20-minute dissertation if you don't reign him in. "Break it down."
     Lloyd went into his zone. He got that far-away look like he was communing with the Oracle of South Bend. If his voice had changed, I would have hit him. "I can't decide if this game is going to be a bigger blow-out than last week, or slightly smaller."
     "Firm commitment, there, Lloyd."
     "They are the 7th-ranked team in the FCS. I just can't figure out if that makes them better than FAU or not. Either way, this is one of those games where there really is no benefit to Nebraska."
     "A win is a win, right?"
     "Yes. And no. Everyone expects Nebraska to win by a large margin, so if it is close or if they pull off a Appalachian State-Michigan scenario, it's like losing two games."
     "So, what's going to happen?" I asked, hoping he would finish up so we could get back to business.
     "It will be a blow-out. There. I decided. McNeese state has a terrible defense, they have trouble stopping FCS opponents. This is also their first game and the Huskers have a ton of confidence. I'm thinking that Ameer will have another 200-yard day. I think the coaches will want to work on Tommy getting better at checking down his pass options. He'll only throw deep if Kenny or Jordan are so wide open that I could throw the ball to them using three tries to get the ball there."
     "That would be a sight," I laughed.
     "Their offense will actually be pretty good. I'm betting they get to the end-zone a couple of times, possibly both in the first half. Will cause some concern when the ticker scrolls by with Nebraska 21-McNeese State 14."
     "That would cause some concern."
     "Randy Gregory being out will not be that big of a deal. Jack Gangwish will start in his place, but I don't think hell be going up against a high draft pick left tackle."
     "Can we go two games in a row without a turnover?"
     "I'd like to say yes, but the odds tell me, no. It might be something silly like a muffed punt, or it will be late in the game when the back-ups are in, but there will be one."
     "Hit me with a final score. I need to add to my stash. I added 90 bucks last week and I need to make it grow."
     "There is no Vegas line, so you'll have to connect with one of the O-Street bookies," Lloyd said, with a slight hint of disdain in his voice.
     "Duly, noted," I said. "What is your prediction, for entertainment purposes only."
     "The two drives that were field goals, last week, are touchdowns, this week. 63 for Nebraska. McNeese State has a decent offense, and will make things interesting for a while. Final score, 63-20."
     "Thanks for the knowledge, Lloyd. Now, lets get down to business and see if we cant figure out what happened to the lovely miss Jamie, and why Tompkins cares so much."