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Chapter 1
Puzzling
The door opened as the women stepped off of the elevator. The lighting was subdued, and even seemed more so with the gray walls of the large room. Megan moved towards the window and looked out across the dark skyline. "It's raining. For once, the weatherman was right."
Picking up a trash can, she dumped it into the larger can behind her cart. Her mate, moved to plug in the vacuum cleaner. She quickly pushed it around the small office, and backed out of the doorway. As usual, Wanda was humming to herself. Repeating some bars, and phrases, frowning to herself. Megan knew better than to interrupt the creative process. She grinned, as she picked up another can and dumped it. Moving from desk to desk, she repeated the motion, wondering how two Southern gals ended up in the 'Big Apple'. She smiled. She knew. Wanda wanted a chance to sing her songs, and didn't want to make the move alone. That's what friends do.
Megan sighed. She missed her quiet life back in the hills of Arkansas. This city is so noisy, so busy, so pushy. She glanced over at her friend who was digging a pad out of her pocket, jotting down some notes. Taking the large dust mop out of the cart, she pushed it across the floor, sweeping the dirt, the bits and pieces of paper into a pile. Well, it isn't hard work. It does cover our rent. She sighed. Things could be worse.
Wanda moved into one of the restrooms. Propping the door open with it's large trashcan, Megan could hear her moving onto a new segment of her song. Her voice echoed out into the room. Another pause, Megan guessed that she had pulled her pad out again, and was writing down what she liked. Sweeping up the last of her piles, she moved to one of the desks and took a seat. She knew Wanda well enough to know that it would take her a little longer to finish the bathrooms.
Glancing down at the desk, she noted the owner of the desk had a piece of the New York Times on his desk. It was opened to the crossword puzzle. Megan leaned back in the chair studying the puzzle. Must have been working on this just before he left. Well, it could be a woman. She glanced around the desk, noticing the arrangement of the items on the desk, as well as the portfolio. Nope, and definitely a 'southpaw'.
Pulling a pen out of her pocket, she glanced at the questions, tapping her pen against her chin. The questions remaining pertained to popular television shows. Grinning, she filled out several answers. Must have a life, or really busy with his job. Lucky guy. Wanda appeared in front of her. "You know, you shouldn't be touching things on the desks. You ready?"
Megan grinned sheepishly. "I know, but it's just a puzzle, and I only answered the ones I was sure about. I'm ready." She clicked her pen shut, and rose out of the chair. She frowned, looking at it, as she pushed it back into place. The owner must be a large fellow, or he leans back a lot. She looked up at the ceiling wondering what he could be thinking during those times. Counting the holes in the tile? She shook her head. Maybe once.
Wanda grinned as she watched her. She knew her friend was bored and any diversion from their job was welcomed. At least I have my music, but Megan... She shook her head. Pushing the cart in front of her, Megan flipped the main overhead lights off as she followed Wanda out of the room. Stepping back onto the elevators, they watched the doors close, to begin their journey on another floor.
Bobby set her coffee on her desk as he moved to his own chair. Tossing his coat on the back of the chair, he glanced down at his desk. He furrowed his brow. Picking up the newspaper, he noted the purple letters in the squares. His eyes moved from desk to desk. Shaking his head, he set the paper down. Alex had quietly entered the squad room and was watching her partner study the desks around the room. "What's up, Bobby?"
He shook his head. "Someone has been working on my crossword puzzle."
Alex smiled. "That's it?"
She dropped her purse in the desk drawer and pulled out her chair. She reached over and picked up the newspaper. Her smile became bigger. "Pretty confident, the perp used a pen."
Bobby's eyes rested on his portfolio. He slowly opened it, relieved that nothing appeared to have been touched. Alex took her seat across from him. Taking a sip of her coffee, she tilted her head. "It was Monday night, so, it was probably someone on the cleaning crew. Took a break, saw the puzzle and jotted a few answers down."
He shook his head. "They're not suppose to mess with the desks."
Pointing towards some half emptied cups on surrounding desks. "How come mine?"
Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. "They probably didn't realize how much you covet your puzzles."
Tossing the newspaper into the trash, he growled under his breath. "It just isn't right."