Chapter 4:

"Where have you been?" Rusty asked when Sharon arrived home. He was sitting in the living room with his legs on the coffee table and the laptop on his thighs.

"Hello to you too," Sharon said and smiled. She hung her purse and opened the buttons of her jacket as she walked to the living room.

"Yeah, hi. Where have you been?" he repeated the question. Sharon sat down slowly on the armchair. She was still feeling like she was floating a little from what happened in her car not long ago.

"At work," she answered calmly.

"It's 9pm. You texted me the words 'I'm leaving work now' two hours ago."

"I got held up by an unexpected… thing at work. I'm sorry if you were worried," she said and smiled.

Rusty stared at her for a few seconds. "You're different," he determined eventually.

Sharon shrugged, still smiling, and the image of Flynn kissing her goodbye popped in her mind. "I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered.

"Whatever…" he mumbled. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"We can do whatever you want, but only in the evening," she yawned, "I have to work again," the thought of seeing Flynn again tomorrow made her smile again.

"Since when are you so happy about working on the weekend?" Rusty asked. He was sure she was going through something, but had no idea what it might be.

"Oh, I'm not," Sharon replied, trying to keep her face serious.

(***)

Sunday went by quickly. Sharon saw Flynn at work, but they didn't have a chance to talk privately, and right after they finished, she had plans with Rusty. On Monday, she could barely concentrate on her job. She had to remind herself again and again to pay attention to what she was reading or hearing. Her eyes met with Flynn's eyes several times but they looked away quickly, so no one would notice.

At one point, by late afternoon, they were both, alone, in the break room. The glass walls didn't allow them to do anything more than talk, but Sharon liked being alone with him for a little while.

"How did you sleep?" she asked without looking at him. They both kept themselves busy with preparing their drinks. Sharon was tearing open the wrapping of the teabag she was holding.

"Great, you?" Flynn asked as he dropped a teaspoon of sugar in his coffee mug.

"Good," she said slowly in a low voice and smiled. Flynn liked it when she talked like that. He glanced at her for a second and then stirred the sugar.

"If we get out of here on time you can come and see my place," he said quietly. There was something naughty in his tone.

"I've already seen it," Sharon said as she poured hot water on the teabag.

"Yeah, but I didn't give you the grand tour…" Flynn said, lowering his voice. Sharon couldn't suppress her smile.

"We'll see," she said and tried to walk away with the cup in her hand, but Flynn grabbed her free arm. She turned to look at him and they stood there for a moment in silence. Flynn then released her arm and she left, feeling his gaze on her.

An hour later, Taylor was sending everyone home. They've reached a point where they had to wait until morning to continue the investigation, and he saw it as the perfect opportunity to save the city some money on extra hours.

Sharon stayed behind to call Rusty after Flynn signaled her with his eyes, reminding her their conversation in the break room.

"When will you be picking me up?" Rusty asked from his friend's house.

"That's why I'm calling. Do you mind staying there a little longer? I'm swamped here," she was a little angry with herself for lying to him, but she definitely couldn't tell him the truth.

"No, actually… his mother just invited me to join the family at a restaurant," he said hesitantly, not sure if he should accept the invitation.

"Great!" Sharon said and realized she sounded too enthusiastic. She cleared her throat and added, "Let me know when to pick you up."

"Okay… Sharon, are you sure everything's alright with you?" Rusty asked and she could hear he was concerned.

"Positive. Everything's great," she said in her usual monotonic voice.

They finished the conversation and Sharon grabbed her purse quickly. She looked around as she crossed the deserted murder room and a few minutes later the parking floor. No one was around to see her as she drove away the "wrong" way.