Chapter Twenty-Five

SEPTEMBER 2007

As it turns out, I'd been given until the end of the month for results on the Rebecca DeMirosso case.

I'd been sitting at my desk with my head in my hands, when there was a knock on the door. Nicola peeked around the corner.

"Mr Sarpetti and Mr Martin wish to see you."

She was smiling, which meant only one thing: I was dead meat.

I walked towards their office with the same dread as if I was walking to a firing squad. What was I going to say?

Nicola held the door open, ushered me inside, and closed the door behind me. Derek and Tony were both sitting behind the desk, both faces unemotional.

"Please sit, Miss Simon."

I sat in the chair he directed, wanting to fidget under his sharp gaze. "You wished to see me?" I said, proud that my voice sounded even and confident.

"Yes," Derek said. "We were curious to the progress of your case. We noticed you haven't submitted a report in nearly three weeks."

I nodded. "I've been trying really hard to get answers, but this case…it's like it's been wiped clean. I haven't submitted a report because I've had nothing new to report."

"You should have come to us earlier," Tony said, disapproval lacing his voice.

"I know," I agreed. "I didn't want to disappoint you."

Derek had been rifling through a folder, which he then laid on the table. I saw that it was filled with my submitted reports. "I did notice something—in one of your preliminary reports, you stated you had a main suspect: a Mr Michael Hindler. And yet you haven't mentioned him since. What happened?"

I swallowed. "Unfortunately, nothing. I managed to track him down and question him, but he had no new information to give."

Derek turned to Tony, who had been watching me closely. Tony rubbed his jaw, and nodded to Derek. "We asked you in here today to ask you about your case, and we expected honesty. So we would appreciate the truth now," Derek said.

My eyes darted over to Tony, who nodded.

I rubbed my neck, unsure of how to continue. Lying had been my only strategy. What could I tell them? That Michael was stalking me? I had nothing to back up my claims. But it was the only excuse I had.

"Michael…" I responded slowly, pronouncing each word carefully, "he's not the most agreeable human being. He didn't take kindly to my questioning."

"Very few criminals do, Miss Simon."

"He threatened me."

"How?" Tony asked, looking interested.

"Phone calls, following me…"

"Has he actually given you any reason to fear for your life, Miss Simon?" Derek asked.

I thought about that. He hadn't actually said he was going to kill me…but he hadn't ever said he wouldn't, either. He'd definitely hinted to the fact he would go to any lengths to keep me quiet, but that wasn't really the same thing. Only Rebecca had told me to be careful, but she was dead. "I guess…no, no he hasn't."

"Well then," Derek said. "The case is still open, in my eyes. We'll assign another to help you speed up the process—Paul Slater? I trust you two still work well together."

Dread filled me. "Please…I'd prefer if it wasn't Paul."

"Any reason?"

"I'd prefer somebody else."

Derek and Tony shared a look. "We'll assign Vicki Hutchins to your case. We'll expect another report by the end of the week."

I must have looked sick, because Tony asked, "Will that be a problem, Miss Simon?"

I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Partner!" Vicki chirped as she came into my office an hour later. "I was just summoned by the big-wigs. I presumed I was in trouble, but what do you know? I end up getting promoted to your notorious case! Tuesday's really are my lucky day."

I sent the document I had been writing to the printer and stood up, giving her a weak smile.

"Yeah, actually I have to talk to you about that."

"Damn straight. I want all the details."

I shook my head, looking regretful. "No, I mean…" I my licked my lips and began stacking folders on my desk, cleaning everything up. "I can't do this. Not to you."

Vicki's expression had gone from excitement to confusion in a matter of seconds. "What are you talking about?"

"Hold on," I said. I darted next door to grab my printed document, and returned, slipping it into an empty folder. Then I gave it to her to read.

Her frown grew deeper as she read the page. When she finished she looked at me like I had just told her Christmas was cancelled. "But…you can't just do that. They have protocols around here."

"Well, then they can just demote me until then. I'm really sorry you'll miss out, but I can't do it anymore."

Vicki shook her head. "They'll just give your case to somebody else. It won't just go away because you can't do anything about it."

I'd been worried about that, but I was more worried about myself.

"I hope they don't, but I can't stop them if they do." I took the document back, and gave her a pat on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Vicki."

"I am too."

I moved back down the hallway, striding with purpose, and knocked on Derek's door loudly. He opened the door and raised his eyebrow. "I thought everything was dealt with, Miss Simon."

I shook my head and gave him the folder. "Not for me." I sat and waited quietly.

He gave it a quick read, and looked at me seriously. "You're sure?"

I nodded.

"Well. You have to give two weeks notice around here, so consider it business as usual until that date."

"I won't work on this case."

Derek's mouth thinned. "I'll report to Mr Martin. Expect a message in an hour."

Word gets around in the task force. I'd no sooner returned to my desk and started packing my things away when Paul visited. He took one look at the box on my desk and crossed his arms.

"What's going on, Simon?"

"I'm guessing you heard," I said, not looking up from what I was doing.

He shut the door and leant against it. "Yeah, it was the funniest thing. Vicki told me. So I thought I'd come here and hear it from my girlfriend before someone else tells me. Is it true you quit?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. No, really" sarcasm was dripping off his words. "I mean, I saw this coming, I don't know why I'm so surprised."

I stopped and looked at him pitifully. "I know, I should have said something."

"No, it's fine."

"No, it's not. I was meaning to tell you."

"Not enough hours in the day, right?"

Paul was mad. He was more than mad. And I didn't blame him. I wanted to go over to him, but I knew he didn't want me to, if the crossed arms and the glare was any indication. So I didn't.

"I don't know what to say, Paul."

"How about the truth? That's always a good place to start."

I nodded. "I haven't been happy here in a long time."

Disbelief flitted across his face. "You wanted this."

"I know," I bit my lip and clasped my hands. "I thought I did. But…it's just too much. I hate stressing all the time, freaking out over my assignments."

Paul's face softened some. I was telling the truth; perhaps not the complete truth, but my words were true. I didn't want to lose sleep over my responsibilities anymore. I wanted freedom.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I just didn't want you to think I couldn't handle it."

He uncrossed his arms and walked over, grabbing one of my hands. "This isn't a competition, Simon. We're past that," his eyes searched my face. "Aren't we?"

"We are," I whispered. "I'm sorry you had to hear it from someone else."

"It can't happen again. You're my first, Suze. If this is going to work, I'll need to be yours too."

I moved closer and put my arms around his waist, putting my head against his chest. He didn't move for a few moments, but once he put his arms around me I let out the breath I'd been holding. "You are my first, Paul."

His arms tightened around me, and I stood there, breathing him in, until we were interrupted by Nicola knocking on the door. She raised her eyebrows as Paul left, and waited until he was out of earshot before speaking.

"Poor taste, having sex in an office no longer yours."

"We weren't," I said, my voice terse and impatience written across my face. At least one perk of quitting meant I wouldn't have Nicola talking down to me anymore. "You have something for me?"

Nicola pushed a form into my hands. "Your new placement." I looked at it. Filing, two levels down. The reprieve had been nice while it lasted. "I trust this isn't a problem?"

I shook my head. "It's fine."

"You're better suited to it, at least," she replied, her voice dripping with scorn.

I had a retort about assistants and the likeness to female dogs, but I kept my mouth shut and watched her strut down the hallway, all priss and arrogance inside a power suit.

The first person I saw when I relocated to my new floor was Dominic. We exchanged the usual awkward pleasantries, the kind you make while you're secretly wishing you were somewhere else. He seemed happier, if it counted. A few minutes of casual conversation proved he had moved on. If anything, he was back to the charming person I first met at the Japanese restaurant.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked.

I shrugged, and shook my box. "I didn't want to do it anymore. I'm down here until my resignation is effective."

"Harsh."

"My decision. What are you doing down here?"

He held up a stack of folders. "When you're the king of paper, you are placed amongst the paper pushers. I've always been down here."

"Sounds like fun," I managed a smile.

He shrugged. "Not really, but it pays the bills. Why did you quit? I heard you were pretty good at what you were doing."

It was my turn to shrug. "Yes and no. The really good ones are the ones who don't quit."

"I suppose. Where are you assigned? Here," he reached for the paper in my hand, and gave it a read over. "I know where that is. I'll show you."

He didn't wait for me to answer, so I followed him.

"I'm actually thinking of asking for a change of scenery myself," he said, leading the way down the corridor. "At least now I know there is a position vacant," he smiled over his shoulder to lessen the sting of his words.

"It's all yours," I replied. "Do you have any handy tricks? They like those."

Dominic paused in front of a doorway that led into an open room filled with cubicles. I gave a silent goodbye to my office with a door.

"Yeah, I heard rumours about yours. True?"

I blinked, and turned to him. "Sorry?"

"I heard you were the Allison DuBois of the task force."

"Oh," I was taken aback. "Um, if you say so."

"That's what everyone says."

"Yeah, well…" I shifted the box in my hands, wanting the conversation to be over. "Not anymore. Thank you for showing me here."

Dominic got the hint and handed the page back over. "Have fun. I'll see you around."

I sighed and drifted to an empty cubicle over in the far right corner, putting my stuff down on the desk. The woman next to me smiled in a way that made me wonder if I'd made a mistake.

"Welcome to hell," she said, biting her nails.