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Vera squeezed her tighter as she squealed. “Don’t be such a downer. Alaska would be amazing. We could probably see the northern lights up there like you’ve always wanted.”
Teddi’s eyes burned. She whispered that dream to her late at night weeks ago when she thought Vera was fast asleep next to her in bed.
No one remembered things about her like that but Vera. No one until Vera.
Teddi ran her thumb across her lip, her knee bobbing up and down. She hadn’t seen Vera, at least not to Vera’s knowledge, in years. She knew she came to visit her family sparingly and it seemed to be Teddi’s luck to always catch glimpses of her around town. She was like an intermittent haunting that materialized when she least expected but most hoped for it. She never spoke to her, never approached her. There would be little point. That much was obvious even now, as she watched her run her hands through her hair in frustration.
“Ow.” She jumped when a sharp pain pierced her thumb. Squeezing her bundle of keys too hard, she released the hold she had on the unforgiving metal. Stealing one more glance, she forced herself to start the engine and pull out onto the street.
Winding through the quiet neighborhood, she made her way to the office. The early afternoon sky held no hope against the gray sheet overtaking town. They’d been suffering record-breaking rainfall for two weeks straight with no end in sight. Monsoon season and Autumn. It was only the beginning. Teddi loved it. She wanted the dark, the light, the rain, the snow. It was all part of life in Colorado and she’d never wished it to be different. Catching the rugged peaks of distant mountains between the various businesses and apartment buildings, she felt the reliable presence they provided. Steady and immovable but also a constant reminder that she was just one among millions. It was home and it felt good, it felt right, even if at times it felt as if something was missing.
Pulling behind a two-story brick building in Old Town, she parked next to J’s cherry red sports car. No matter how much they ragged on her about it, she never seemed to grasp how unreasonable it was to drive something so low to the ground in Colorado. Not even in the dead of winter when they were knee-deep in snow would she admit it was a poor idea to bring it from L.A. Teddi would often swing by her apartment before work without warning, knowing her coworker would decline the lift if given the chance ahead of time.
Speaking of the devil, a plume of smoke exited the car door before J did. Buzzed and bleached, she looked different than yesterday. Which was how every day was. Today it was a thick choker that made the angles of her thin frame more pronounced, a leather top held together by safety pins and a pair of cat-eye sunglasses that matched the color of her car.
“Is that pure delight or hell-deep horror I see?” She dropped the cigarette outside Teddi’s car window. Her smirk was a slash of orange lipstick. “It’s so hard to tell with you sometimes.”
Teddi scoffed and got out, watching J pick up the filter before planting herself between her and the office door.
“I’ll go with “pleasantly surprised, somewhat horny, and slightly apprehensive if it pleases the court.” Teddi’s own reflection in her glasses solidified her self-diagnosis. She looked wired, her hair fluffy from how many times she’d run her hand through it on the drive. J dipped her chin, cutting off the reflection and staring over the rims.
“The court is delightfully confused. Explain.”
“I saw Vera.”
“I don’t need to hear about your dirty dreams, you’re almost my boss.”
She wasn't but that was beside the point. “No, in real life. Fifteen minutes ago at Mimi’s house.”
Her mouth fell open. “You’re kidding. Why? What happened? Who kissed who first?” Teddi barked a laugh, sidestepping J. “Oh, no, no. Tell me what happened. All I’ve heard is “Vera this, Vera that” for so long I feel like I dated her myself. What the hell happened?”
Had she talked about her that much? Sure, she and J hung out outside of work a lot but she hadn’t thought she’d been one of those people who went on and on about the ex they never got over, wallowing in their sad past to their friends who wished they’d shut up.
“Nothing happened. She seemed…” Teddi shrugged, turning back to J as she answered. “Sad, or something. I dunno. It was fine, we’re going together tomorrow to Sylen for the ID.” She heard a choked sound of disbelief.
“That’s nowhere near enough information! I expect details over dinner!” Teddi waved her hand over her shoulder in a noncommittal agreement.
Stubborn, but insanely intelligent, their transplant hacker had joined the team less than a year prior when she’d come to assist her mother after a stroke left her with partial paralysis. While sorry for the cause of the addition to their team, neither Teddi nor her boss, Mackey, could deny being grateful she’d become available. J’s skills had come in handy in nearly every case they had since. Divorce investigations, cheating scandals, white-collar crime, embezzlement, or looking for lost loved ones, J proved herself invaluable with every case but also as an irreplaceable friend.
Teddi stepped inside, making quick work of getting through the dingy hallway. It always made her skin crawl, even when well-lit. The hallway ended at the rear door of their office. Clients and visitors used the main entrance on the busy street, while the team filtered in from the back. When the single light bulb in the hallway had burned out, only Mackey had been brave enough to still use the entrance before they replaced it.
“I beg you, please put floodlights in that hallway.” Teddi chucked her keys on her desk as she yelled at her boss.
“Stop being such a chicken shit.” Her gruff voice called out from the other side of their dividing wall.
The main room of the Ophidian Investigative Agency held a reception desk that was chronically empty, seating for clients and a table for meetings. There were four offices, each separated by deep cherry wood walls. It was cozy but divided enough to do their work and maintain the privacy of their clients when needed.
Peeking her head into Mackey’s office, she found a typical sight. No surprise, she wasn’t looking, her head buried in a thick folder of paperwork. All Teddi could see was the ruffled brown hair making up the top of her pixie cut. “Don’t be rude, the hallway is creepy and you know it.”
Looking over her oversized glasses with a sigh, Mackey’s brows flattened. “I’ve got two new cases.” She’d been there long enough to know that was code for “it’s never going to happen”.
Grabbing the leaning stack of papers on the leather chair in front of her desk, she plopped into it. Teddi’s legs dangled over the edge, leather boots dully reflecting the warm overhead lights.
Since the day she’d stepped into Mackey’s office to interview for the PI job it looked like something ripped out of a noir detective film. Dark wood, piles of old paperwork threatening to topple at the slightest movement and coffee mugs in crooked stacks from left to right. Notes covered in chicken scratch splattered across the walls buried between pinned papers of previous cases Mackey worked. It was a hoarder’s dream. It made Teddi’s neck itch sometimes when food was unearthed and she couldn’t identify what it once had been.
“Please tell me J heard something new from the Sylen Sheriff about the body.”
The matching parallel wrinkles permanently etched between her brows deepened. “Nothing. They’re still staying silent on any information and I don’t like the way they’re controlling the identification. It’s not like we’re just poking around for fun. Our Fort Collins police contact has been as helpful as expected too.”
