Page 33 of Operation: Sharp Angel

If I were you, I’d commit to being in the office at least 2 days a week from now on.

Becca groaned again. She couldn’t tell Sue, the partners, or anyone that she was basically in hiding, being protected, because someone tried to kill her the night before. She laughed aloud at the absurdity of it.

Thanks

She closed the window and ended the conversation there. She finished the work she had and emailed the client her will for review. Then she drafted an email to the partners.

Carl and Brad,

I have just emailed the revised will to the client, Janet Neal. I anticipate this version will meet with her approval. Once thatis confirmed, I will email her the invoice and copy Sue in for payment.

I appreciate the flexibility you have given me with the extraordinary events surrounding my sister and her family’s deaths and the need for me to settle their estate. Unfortunately, new events that occurred last evening will most likely result in the police re-opening the investigation in search of the real killer(s). I am involved in the investigation in an advisory role and will have to dedicate a percentage of my time to help the authorities. I will need to continue to have a reduction in my workload and work from home for the foreseeable future. If this is not acceptable, please place me on an extended leave of absence, and if that is not possible, please accept my resignation.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Elliot

She read it over several times to see how it felt. Did she really want to resign? She knew she couldn’t go into the office, and actually, even if she wasn’t being protected, she didn’t want to. Her days of commuting downtown and working for the firm were over. There were other jobs out there where she could practice law her way, from home, or with a reduced in-office presence. And even the type of law she wanted to practice had changed. She was sure she no longer wanted to focus solely on Wills and Trusts.

Satisfied she was doing what she truly wanted, she hit send. Then she logged off and closed the lid to her laptop.

Shortly after, there was a knock at the door. “Come in. It’s unlocked,” she called.

The door opened and Angel took a step in. “Hi. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

Becca stood. “Hello. Not at all. Angel, I’m told you keep this room stocked for guests and I wanted to tell you thank you. It has all the comforts of home, and I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. It’s nothing,” she said dismissively. “It’s hard to be away from home, especially when you’re not expecting it, and when it’s under dire circumstances. If you need anything that isn’t here, just let me know and I will make sure you have it.”

“Thank you, but there’s nothing. You’ve literally thought of everything right down to coffee creamers and toiletries in the bathroom. You even have a basket of packaged items, including toothbrushes.”

“Often people end up in this room with nothing but the clothes on their backs. There are even phone chargers for most phones in the top drawer of the nightstand.”

Becca wasn’t sure what to say about that. “Well, again, thank you. The room is quite comfortable.”

“The team will be back shortly with your bins. I’ve come to escort you to the room you’ll set up in. It’s just down the hallway from my desk. And I wanted to be sure you had everything you need in here.”

Becca grabbed her phone and followed Angel out of the room. They rode the elevator down to the fifth floor. Becca recognized the office directly in front of the elevator door, tucked in the corner as Colonel Shepherd’s office. They walked down the hallway, passing the kitchen.

“By the way, I’ve ordered Italian for lunch. It’ll be here around noon. And we still have some left over sandwich spirals, salad, and Chinese I’ll put out,” Angel said. “I’ll make sure to get you when it arrives, but if you’re hungry earlier, please feel free to help yourself to whatever is there. Some people eat in the kitchen, others make plates and bring them back to their offices. It depends on their workload for the day.”

“Yes, Carter said you order in most days. That’s quite a benefit for any job! We had some of the Chinese last night. It was good. Yu’s is one of my favorite Chinese places in the area.”

Angel smiled. “Mine too. Jackson and I ate when he got home last night. When he’s in town, I tend to cook in the crockpot so that it can be kept warm as his schedule is so volatile.”

“That’s right, he’s your husband. I am so sorry he had to come help me last night and interfere with your dinner and night,” Becca said.

They had stepped into the rec room. “Becca, it’s okay. It was important. Jackson told me all that happened to you last night. My God,” she exclaimed, clutching her chest. “You were attacked. I’m so glad the team got to you in time. Trust me when I tell you none of us ever has an issue when our guys are pulled away when someone’s life is in danger. We all know it comes with the territory.”

Becca was impressed by her attitude. “Jackson said you have kids.”

“Yes, our son is three and our daughter is nearly one.” She smiled a big, loving grin. “Well, here is the rec room. We’ll have the guys stack the bins beside the ping-pong table and you can unpack and sort items on it if you want.” She grabbed a high stool and pulled it over beside the table. “This is the right height for you to sit on while you do that if you don’t want to stand. And if you decide to stand, let me know and I’ll grab you an anti-fatigue mat to stand on.”

“That’s great, thanks.”

“And you saw the bathroom near the kitchen, didn’t you? Feel free to move around this floor.” Her phone chimed. She looked at the screen. “Ah, good. They’re back. They’ll be up in a few minutes. I need to go back to my desk. I’ll let you know when lunch gets here.”

Becca waited and five minutes later, Carter and Jackson entered the room. Each of them pushed a flat cart stacked with the bins she’d packed at her sister’s house. “Okay, looks like I have a lot of work to do.” She helped them unstack them besidethe ping-pong table. “I was wondering if Detective Davis had the place locked down with it being a new crime scene.” Even as she said it, she shook her head in disbelief that it was.

---