1012 A.M. — Thursday, September 13
PETRA
It was after ten in the morning by the time anything interesting happened.
Petra had tried to find the case file on the department’s file management system, but it was not showing.
This didn’t mean it didn’t exist however, because there were certain top-secret files that could only be seen by those with the highest security clearance. Petra was not one of those people.
The Director still hadn’t opened his door, even though he’d hung up the phone nearly an hour ago. In a bold move, Petra took it upon herself to go to the lunchroom to get him a coffee, which was something she’d never done before.
She added some cream and sugar, hoping she was guessing the right amounts, then carefully made her way back to his office and rapped gently on the door.
“Come in.”
“Thought you might like a coffee,” she said, holding up the mug to show him.
“Oh, yeah, thank you. I could use one,” he answered, turning his attention back to his computer. “It’s been a busy morning so far.”
“I figured as much. You’ve been in here with your door closed since I got here,” she said, spilling a little of the liquid onto her hand on her way to his desk. Crap. Now her fingers would be sticky from the sugar.
She grabbed a tissue from the box on his desk and wiped the mug. Needing to peek at his computer screen, she carried the mug all the way around the desk until she was standing next to him.
The Director looked up at her, an annoyed expression on his face.
Petra gave him a sweet smile maintaining eye contact so he wouldn’t know she was being snoopy. “There you go. Do you need anything else?”
“No.”
She glanced at his screen. It was open to an email that she could only assume was from the coroner’s office in Mali Losinj. All she managed to read before he closed the email was Cause of Death: Pending.
Hmph. Not exactly newsworthy.
The Director cleared his throat. “Thank you for the coffee, Petra. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
“I’ll be right outside,” she said with a little laugh. Oh God, she was making this awkward, which was the last thing she should be doing. She needed to play it cool. Act normal. And get the scoop for Luka.