Page 44 of Detective Daddy Next Door

I look around the living room to see if something else is amiss, but everything else seems to be in place. Then I look behind the table. The figurine is on the floor. I lower myself and put my head through the table legs to get it. I place it back on the table and wonder how it got to the floor. That has never happened before.

"Nothing," I reply, and Ava and I continue toward the door.

Something isn't right.Something is definitely not right,I think to myself as we drive off.

My phone lights up. A text. It's from Myles.

Hey, I just wanted to know if you've got the files yet.

It’s been a week, and I still don’t have them. I've not had the chance to. Micha has been in her office all week. But I plan to go to the office today, although it’s a Saturday.

I shoot him back a text.

No, but I should have them today.

Ava is making breakfast and whistling to the music playing from her phone on the center table in the living room.

"I'll be going in to work today."

"What for?”

"I need to go get back the files that were deleted from my laptop. Myles needs them."

"I told you to stop these Myles shenanigans."

"I promised to help him."

"You don't have to. He can do it himself."

"Since I’m already in the firm I can do it from inside."

She sighs. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. I'll just pop in and out. I'll go when it’s getting dark when I'm sure no one will be there. There's a window that I can sneak through. I remember it got faulty a while back. I hope it's not been fixed yet."

"I still insist that I come with you."

"No, I think it'll be easier for one person to get in and out easily."

"I don't have to come in with you. I can wait in the car. That way, I have the car ready for you when you come out."

"I'm not taking my car. I'll take a bus. My car would raise suspicions."

She throws her hands up. "Okay, as you wish."

I laugh. "I'm going to the office. Not a war zone."

"To the office where you've been threatened. And you're going at night."

"I'll be fine. Stop worrying."

At 6:30 p.m. I head out. I walk to the corner stop to catch a bus. On the bus, I think about who could have been at the office today. Sometimes, some of my colleagues go to the office on Saturdays to work on cases. I've done it too, but most of the time I make sure I finish my work on Fridays before going home or take my work home with me.

When I get off the bus, I pull my hoodie on and walk down the street to the office. I don't know if I'm doing a good job disguising myself, but I hope no one sees me. I go around the back, avoiding the security camera, and gun for the faulty window. I push it up, but it doesn't budge. My heart is racing now, because if I'm caught trying to open a window at night, I'll get the police called on me. I push again and again. When it’s still not opening, I look over to the next window. Have I got the wrong window? I walk toward the second window and push it up. To my surprise, it opens. I indeed got the wrong window. I'd made sure to wear very comfortable shoes to aid my climbing. I lift my left leg first so that I can push myself up with the right one, the strongest of the two. I jump into the office and shut the window. I look around carefully and wait, listening for any sound. But I'm met with silence.

I creep on my toes toward Micha's office. I bring out the spare key I'd nicked from her drawer and open the door. I want to switch on the light, but I decide against it and use my phone light as a guide. I boot up her computer and wait. When it’s fully on, I slide the flash drive into the port and start to copy. I can't sit still, so I pace for a while then come back to look at the percentage. Twenty percent.“Oh God, please let it finish quickly”I murmur to myself. I pace again, then check the screen and pace again, and check and pace again until finally it's a hundred percent copied.

Just as I'm about to remove the flash drive, I hear a sound that makes me pause. I almost stop breathing. Anything to stop the heaving of my chest. I listen carefully and strain my ears. But it was a false alarm. I take a deep breath and slip out the flash drive. Then the door opens, and the light comes on, flooding the room and jarring my eyes. I gasp and snatch the flash drive quickly, trying to duck under the table. But it's too late. I've been seen already. The sudden flood of light renders my eyesight dim for a second so I struggle to figure out who it is. Fern?

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