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I took a deep breath, getting up from my desk and heading toward the window. “Everyone can have a bad day. It’s the nature of our business. Go home and grab a glass of wine.” When the two women reached the front entrance, they continued talking. As they separated, I held my breath, quickly moving away from the window as Christine stopped short, glancing upat the building. No, directly at the location of my window. Fuck. She was onto me. I could feel it in my gut. I had to act quickly before anything further happened to Jonny.
Swallowing hard, I planted a practiced grin on my face before I turned around.
Thankfully, Cally finally smiled. Meanwhile, I was cringing inside. “I think I’ll do that.”
I laughed, the sound hollow. “Have a great night. We will have a lot of work on our hands given the upcoming case.”
“I’m ready,” she said confidently before walking out.
Jesus Christ. Everything was becoming uncontrollable. I needed to talk to Jonny. I needed to breathe. I still needed a CAT scan. It was time to pretend I knew what I was doing.
As I tried to busy myself for whatever time it took for the majority of employees to leave, I glanced around my office. I’d worked so hard to get where I was, so proud of my accomplishments. My parents were proud of me, my dad gushing to his friends about his successful daughter. I wasn’t certain what I’d say to them if I lost my job.
Not if. When.
Christine had made that very clear. I’d continue on my path to success or be tossed into the garbage. There was no in between. Fine. I had to boost my game. The question was could I look myself in the mirror any longer if I allowed an atrocity to happen? I knew the answer. So should everyone who knew me. Not a chance in hell.
I studied the reports provided to me by Victoria and still had questions. Maybe if I was able to definitively find an entirelydifferent connection between the two other similar murders and those of the O’Connors then I could effectively take the heat off my shoulders. It was a longshot but of all the people right now I believed I could trust, Victoria was one of the few.
Grabbing my phone, I dialed Victoria’s office. After several rings, the main voicemail came on. “Hey, Victoria. I still have a couple questions. You know my cellphone. Call me.” I had no intentions of leaving any details on either emails or phone calls. I had a feeling everything I was doing was being monitored. That left me with little time.
I glanced at my watch, becoming antsy. At least I had the jump drive safely tucked away in my purse. I had to meet Jonny soon, although I needed to tell him it was best we kept some distance between us.
I’d also warn him that he should find another location to stay without telling anyone. Great. I might as well advise him to leave town, which he couldn’t do. Not if he wanted to get out of this mess. Not if he wanted my help in getting out of this atrocious game. We’d need to play this very carefully.
After another few minutes, I noticed the last administrative assistant was leaving the office. The sweet girl didn’t bother looking in my direction. I’d worked into the night many times before. A custodial staff would drop by later, turning off all the lights, which gave me at least an hour to discover everything I might need.
I waited, taking a deep breath. Then I pulled a nailfile I had in my office drawer into my hand. That should work on the file cabinet in Christine’s office.
As I stood, I sucked in and held my breath.
I headed for her office, taking the time to ensure I’d been right and everyone had left. Given it was almost seven, I found the place empty. Still, I felt I needed to hurry and not just because I’d told Zephyr I’d meet him in the lobby at exactly seven but because I couldn’t be more uncomfortable with what I was about to do.
Before I had a chance to do anything, my phone rang. Bristling, I turned and stared at it for a few seconds before snatching it from my desk. Seeing the office number of the ME’s office, I headed toward the window as far out of earshot as possible before answering. “Victoria. I’m so glad you called. I think something is going on that we aren’t privy to.”
“Ms. Beckett? It’s Bailey.”
Her voice was shaking and instantly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. “What’s wrong?”
“I just…”
“Bailey. Try and calm down. Where is Victoria?”
“She’s… Oh, God. She’s dead.”
Stunned, I couldn’t speak for a few seconds. Then a horrible icy chill drifted into every cell and muscle. “What did you say?”
“She walked across the street to get a coffee. When she didn’t come right back, I went outside. That’s when I saw the police cars.”
I planted my free hand on the window, hating the way shadows had already settled, twilight rolling in. My heart was racing, the rush of adrenaline suffocating. “What happened?”
“The police said…” Bailey sobbed for a few seconds, and I sucked in my breath. “A hit and run driver. I can’t believe it. She was just here.”
After turning around, the entire world seemed to be spinning and I slowly slid down the window to the floor, folding one arm over my knees and rocking. “It’s going to be okay, honey.”
“Why wouldn’t they stop? Why were they leave her there bleeding?”
“I don’t know, girl. You should call somebody to drive you home. Okay?”
