discussion in chambers. Even with recent trends in protecting the privacy of celebrities, she thought that the judge had gone too far in turning down her requests and cautioning her to be careful in the investigation to ensure that the rights of all parties were protected.
She had been around long enough to wonder whether a call had been made to the judge by Sledge Aiken’s attorney before Tessa’s request for an order of protection was denied.
Deep breath, nice and slow. It’s not like the restraining order would have done much good. The police actually have to respond to a call for help first, not put you on hold after you dial 911.
She checked the time on her desk clock, then scrubbed her hands over her face. She hadn’t slept well since she’d received the threatening phone call two days ago, but at least now she wouldn’t have to worry about her brother. He and his mother were headed off to Buenos Aires for a week, then were hopping a ship to Antarctica for an ecocruise. Paul Jacobi would join them in a few days.
Kevin had urged Tessa to come with them, but the thought of being trapped on a small vessel with her stepmonster for ten days was enough to bring on a cold sweat.
Frankly, she’d rather be stripped naked and thrown into a Turkish prison. But there was no need to say that to Kevin.
Feeling much better for her wicked thoughts, she decided to have dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant down the street. It was a popular place for after-work action, so she walked down the hall to see if anyone else was interested in going. But it was after seven, and a Monday as well, so her colleagues were gone for the day. As the work week went on, people started piling up the overtime, so most employees went home at a reasonable time on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Tessa gathered some files she wanted to review at home, locked her office door, and went to the restaurant. She nursed a dry Chinese beer while making her way slowly through the steaming buffet dishes. During the meal, she flipped through her files and began consolidating information in her notebook so she would be able to give Ed and Ronnie a more coherent update the next time they met.
Two hours, three plates, and two beers later, Tessa realized she’d forgotten some important files in her office. One held Kelly’s medical records and photos, including the Polaroids taken to document her facial bruises after arriving in the women’s shelter. It was locked in a recessed drawer in Tessa’s credenza, which was why she hadn’t thought to pick it up with her other files.
She scooped up her things, paid the tab, then made her way back to the District Attorney’s office. Her car was in the parking garage beneath the same building, so it wouldn’t be any trouble to pick up the files on her way home. She took the elevator to the correct floor, then paused as she stepped off to search for her keys. After a moment muttering and shaking to resettle the contents of her oversized purse, she finally found the keys at the bottom.
But when she got to her office door, it wasn’t locked. In fact, it wasn’t even closed all the way. Curious, Tessa looked around. She spotted the night janitor cleaning an office across the hall from her own. The man was working in the dim illumination provided by the emergency lighting system.
“Excuse me, did you already clean my office across the way?” Tessa asked.
“Not yet. You want me to do it now?” The janitor barely looked up from the surface he was dusting.
“No, that’s okay. Whenever you get to it.”
She went back to her office and locked the door behind her. On approaching the desk, she immediately noticed that something didn’t seem right.
It was too neat, for one thing. The files were stacked, but not in the haphazard way she normally kept them. And two files from the “old cases” group on the left side of her desk were now sitting on top of the “new cases” file on the right. A note that had been on the
She had been around long enough to wonder whether a call had been made to the judge by Sledge Aiken’s attorney before Tessa’s request for an order of protection was denied.
Deep breath, nice and slow. It’s not like the restraining order would have done much good. The police actually have to respond to a call for help first, not put you on hold after you dial 911.
She checked the time on her desk clock, then scrubbed her hands over her face. She hadn’t slept well since she’d received the threatening phone call two days ago, but at least now she wouldn’t have to worry about her brother. He and his mother were headed off to Buenos Aires for a week, then were hopping a ship to Antarctica for an ecocruise. Paul Jacobi would join them in a few days.
Kevin had urged Tessa to come with them, but the thought of being trapped on a small vessel with her stepmonster for ten days was enough to bring on a cold sweat.
Frankly, she’d rather be stripped naked and thrown into a Turkish prison. But there was no need to say that to Kevin.
Feeling much better for her wicked thoughts, she decided to have dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant down the street. It was a popular place for after-work action, so she walked down the hall to see if anyone else was interested in going. But it was after seven, and a Monday as well, so her colleagues were gone for the day. As the work week went on, people started piling up the overtime, so most employees went home at a reasonable time on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Tessa gathered some files she wanted to review at home, locked her office door, and went to the restaurant. She nursed a dry Chinese beer while making her way slowly through the steaming buffet dishes. During the meal, she flipped through her files and began consolidating information in her notebook so she would be able to give Ed and Ronnie a more coherent update the next time they met.
Two hours, three plates, and two beers later, Tessa realized she’d forgotten some important files in her office. One held Kelly’s medical records and photos, including the Polaroids taken to document her facial bruises after arriving in the women’s shelter. It was locked in a recessed drawer in Tessa’s credenza, which was why she hadn’t thought to pick it up with her other files.
She scooped up her things, paid the tab, then made her way back to the District Attorney’s office. Her car was in the parking garage beneath the same building, so it wouldn’t be any trouble to pick up the files on her way home. She took the elevator to the correct floor, then paused as she stepped off to search for her keys. After a moment muttering and shaking to resettle the contents of her oversized purse, she finally found the keys at the bottom.
But when she got to her office door, it wasn’t locked. In fact, it wasn’t even closed all the way. Curious, Tessa looked around. She spotted the night janitor cleaning an office across the hall from her own. The man was working in the dim illumination provided by the emergency lighting system.
“Excuse me, did you already clean my office across the way?” Tessa asked.
“Not yet. You want me to do it now?” The janitor barely looked up from the surface he was dusting.
“No, that’s okay. Whenever you get to it.”
She went back to her office and locked the door behind her. On approaching the desk, she immediately noticed that something didn’t seem right.
It was too neat, for one thing. The files were stacked, but not in the haphazard way she normally kept them. And two files from the “old cases” group on the left side of her desk were now sitting on top of the “new cases” file on the right. A note that had been on the
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