Heiress to the Dead by Berens David F

Author:Berens, David F.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berens Books
Published: 2024-10-20T00:00:00+00:00

18

Ecstatic Tattoo

Officer Ryley was waiting in Cassidy’s office when she turned up at work on Tuesday. She stifled her groan when she saw him—she’d forgotten all about the lunchroom thief and had planned to dive straight into the Daphne case.

“Hi, Ryley! I’m hoping that you’re here to tell me some good news.”

Somehow, she didn’t think this was the case, not if she was to judge his answer by his glum expression.

“No. Stores were all out of the purple dye and my meatloaf went missing yesterday. I’ve just checked and my mac & cheese is still there today, but I don’t know how long it’ll stay safe.”

“Have you considered another solution to stop the thefts, even if the solution isn’t designed to catch the thief? You could bring a cooler bag to store your lunch in and bypass the lunchroom refrigerator altogether. The thief would soon grow bored if faced with an empty refrigerator each day.”

“That’s not the point, Cassidy.”

“I know it’s not the point. I was just trying to be helpful. I know how much you look forward to your lunch each day.” She dropped her bag on her desk and switched on her computer, determined not to let the mysterious but irrelevant case of the lunch thief distract her from her work once again.

“Nick said⁠—”

“I don’t care what Nick said,” Cassidy snapped. “If his lunch is so important to him then let him be the person in charge of solving the crime. Where is he, anyway? Is he in today? I need to have a word with him.”

“I haven’t seen him.” Ryley made no move to leave her office and stood gazing at her now like a little lost puppy. “I don’t know if you understand how serious this is.”

“Oh, I know how serious it is. Just this morning on my way to the office I said to myself Cassidy Carmichael, you make sure you keep your priorities straight. We haven’t found Daphne’s killer yet and there is a sadistic murderer walking free on the island, but you need to put all of that aside until you’ve found Officer Ryley’s missing lunch.”

She sat down at her desk and began to type.

“When Nick turns up, tell him that he needs to pull his men off the fraud case, too. The entire force should be tracking down your lunch. There’s just no excuse for anyone wasting their time on anything else.” She stopped typing and reached for her desk phone. “Actually, it’s probably time we called in the big guns. Do we have a direct line to the FBI?”

Ryley made a small, guttural sound and shuffled quickly out the door, his metaphorical tail tucked between his legs. Cassidy hid her giggle behind her hand as she signed into her email account. Yes, she had some sympathy for Ryley and his pilfered meals but she was here in the office today to make inroads into the Sweetley investigation. So far, they had a dearth of seemingly unrelated clues yet nothing substantial. If she could find just two inter-connected points, she would be happy.

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