Jack pulls into the Monarch Bay Shopping Plaza and looks for a drugstore. There's only one, so it's easy, and a minute later he's at the pharmacist's counter.
"I'm here," Jack says, "to pick up a prescription for Pamela Vale?"
Asks this with a question mark at the end because that's the Southern California way of being polite while making a demand. Sort of an unspoken If it's okay with you.
"Are you a family member?" the pharmacist asks.
She's young and pretty and her shiny red hair looks great against her white lab coat. The tag on her chest says her name is Kelly.
"I'm kind of a personal assistant," Jack says.
"Hold on," Kelly says, and she consults the computer monitor behind the counter. Then she asks, "Which prescription is it?"
"Sleeping pills?"
"Valium," Kelly says. "But that prescription has already been picked up."
"Really?"
"Three days ago," she says. "And that was the last refill."
"Whoops," Jack says.
"Sorry," Kelly says. "Is she going to be pissed?"
"She's not going to be happy."
Kelly gives him an empathetic frown, then asks, "Has she tried melatonin?"
"What's that?"
"Over-the-counter. Puts you right out and it's totally natural."
"Cool."
"You should try it," Kelly says.
"Me?"
"Sure."
Jack shakes his head. "I sleep like a baby."
"That must be so cute."
Then Kelly says, "I don't want to bum you out, but I don't think you're her only personal assistant."
"No?"
Kelly leans across the counter. "The last guy was hunkier than you."
"Uh-oh."
"But not as good-looking."
Which doesn't describe Nicky Vale, Jack thinks. Nicky Vale is a lot better-looking than me.
Kelly adds, "Real big shoulders and he wore this dorky Hawaiian shirt? The kind you get at, like, every store in Catalina? He looked like a florist shop with hair. Had a foreign accent."
"What kind of accent?"
Kelly asks, "Do you watch the Cartoon Network?"
"I think it's on when I work."
"No, it's on twenty-four hours."
"Okay."
"Anyway," Kelly says. "On the Cartoon Network they have this show? Rocky and Bullwinkle?"
"It was on when I was a kid," Jack says.
"Really?"
"Yup."
"So you know the two bad guys?" Kelly asks. "Boris and Natasha? They always wear black and he has this stiff little mustache?"
"Uh-huh."
"That's what the guy talked like. Like, Oooh, I'm going to get that moose and squirrel. Like that."
"That's a pretty good imitation."
"Thank you."
Jack says, "Well, I'd better get going."
Kelly shrugs.
Like, whatever.
Like, personal assistants come in here all the time.