you.”
“I know, and as your boss, I promise to exploit this at every turn.” I grab my things, pick the cupcake box up, then walk out of the room.
Laughter from everyone follows me, and I smile to myself as I head for the staircase.
“Noelle!” Grecia calls.
I turn, and she’s poking her head out of her office, her dark hair falling around her eyes.
“Yep?”
“Gianna Moretti is coming to see you soon.” Her expression is grim, her lips pursed. “She doesn’t have an appointment, but I figured it was okay.”
“Always okay,” I tell her, resuming my journey up the stairs.
Something nags in my lower stomach like my gut is trying to tell me something about this. Honestly, the idea of Gianna coming to see me is terrifying. Not because I’m scared of her, but because I know she’ll get here before my mom calls and, by the time I leave the office, I’ll be involved in Wally’s case.
I just know it; and involved is the very last thing I want to be.
I sigh heavily as I kick my door shut and cross my office to my desk. A small stack of letters is sitting next to my laptop, but since at least half of them will be bills, I push them aside and put the cupcake box down where they just were. They’re not going to last as I planned if this conversation goes the way I’m expecting it to.
Damn.
I think I need a new job. Like, seriously. For once, it’d be nice for someone to die in town and me not have to be involved. Not that it’s nice for people to die… Especially not when they never seem to go easily. If there’s an easy way to be killed. Is there an easy way to be killed? I’ll have to Google it.
Hmm. I pace back and forth across my office, finally ending up in front of the window. I open the curtains and the late fall sunlight comes streaming in. It bathes the room in a hazy, yellow glow, and gray shadows fall across the walls and floor courtesy of my furniture. I take a deep breath as I cast my gaze across the park.
It’s the only thing that never changes in Holly Woods. I know that, every time I look out of this window, I’ll see people walking their dogs, kids chasing each other, and a runner or two far more dedicated to their fitness than I ever will be.
Two knocks on my door pull me out of my tranquil state of mind. I glance over my shoulder to see Gianna’s head peeking through the gap between the door and the frame. Then I wave her in. She’s wearing the same plain, black leggings and long shirt she was when we left her yesterday, right before she went to the police station. The only difference is that her makeup is gone and her hair is tied up in a bun on the top of her head. Wispy tendrils fall down, framing her tired face.
“I’m not messing with your schedule, am I?” she asks softly, pushing a bit of the loose hair out of her face.
“No, of course not. Take a seat. Can I get you anything? Coffee, water? Tea?”
“Coffee sounds like heaven.” She sighs, sitting in one of my red tub chairs.
I brush my hands on the skirt of my dress and grab my phone from the desk. Then I dial Grecia’s extension. “Can I have two coffees, please? Cream and sugar on the side.”
“Of course.” She hangs up.
I turn to Gianna. She’s slumped forward onto my desk, her head in her hands and her shoulders drooped.
I sit down. “Long night?”
“Worst walk of shame I’ve ever done, cara,” she answers, straightening up. “I’m wearing what I did when I went out last night and I’m a big, fat zero on the orgasm scale.”
“I guess murder investigations are a libido killer in the Holly Woods Police Department.”
She forces a twitch of her lips. “Must be the blood. After all, periods bother them more than us.”
“True.” I run my hand through my hair then focus on her. “This isn’t a social call, is it?”
“Someone killed Wally, Noelle, but it wasn’t me.” She swallows hard, looking right at me. “There’s no way I could have overpowered him enough to do that.”
“I believe you. But I don’t see what this has to do with me.”
“I need you,” she whispers, looking down. “I’m all they have. I’m their only suspect, and everything is pointing