Page 28 of Detective Daddy Next Door

Daisy comes over and stands at the table, staring at the computer.

"How many documents?"

"Ten. I've finished three."

"Alright. I'll be leaving for home soon. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright. Bye."

She blows me a kiss and leaves.

The whole office will be empty soon, and I can start downloading. I wait while I enter three more files. Then I step out of Micha’s office and walk around. The building is deserted. I nod and go back to Micha's office. There's no need to lock the door. I bring out the flash drive and stick it in the port. I begin to scroll through her files and start to download.

I watch the clock on the wall. 2 percent. 6 percent. 10 percent. I watch the percentage of downloading completed go up and up and up and crawl until it gets to 99 percent. Finally, the download is complete, and as I pull out the flash drive the door swings open. My heart jumps into my throat and almost leaps out of my mouth.

"Micha!" I scream. But thankfully she doesn't notice my surprise.

She smiles as she rushes to her table. "I know. I forgot an important file. I'll be going for a meeting early tomorrow and I don't think I'll be able to get to the office before then.”

I slip the flash drive off the table where it had landed when it fell out of my hand and go to quickly slip it into my pocket, but it falls to the floor. When Micha is at the desk, I kick the flash drive out of sight with my foot and hope it doesn't slide out from under the other side of the desk, into Micha's path.

She pulls her drawer open and pulls out a file then peers at the computer. "Well-done. You're doing good. You don't need to finish it today though. You can continue tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm almost done."

"Alright. See you tomorrow." She rushes out just the same way she rushed in.

My chest is heaving from my heart beating hard. I fall back into the chair and let out a sigh of relief. Then I stand up to see if the flash drive had been in view beyond the desk, and luckily it hadn’t. I pull the chair back and get on my knees. It's getting dark, so I don't see anything. I get up to switch on the light. I get on my knees again but do not see it. Had Micha kicked it, or had she picked it up because it was in her way? But she hadn’t bent to pick anything up. Then I see it. A black spot at the edge of the distant foot of the desk. I sigh and stick my head under to retrieve it. When it's in my hand, I let out another sigh of relief and put it in my pocket.

I sit back on the chair and do the sign of the cross. What would have happened if Micha had come in when the flash was still stuck in the port? I don't even want to imagine it.

Chapter 10

Myles

IsawBrialeavingfor work this morning. I was at my kitchen sink, washing some plates, when she stepped out of her house. I find it weird that I felt some type of joy just seeing her face. I'm not sure what that feeling is, but I've been having it since we went to her sister's wedding. It's a feeling I do not want. A feeling I shouldn't be feeling. And it makes me think I've been spending too much time with her. But the thing is, I want to spend more time with her. I love the way she laughs. The way she smiles. I'm beginning to see a different side to her. A more relaxed side that I didn't know she had. I love being around her. And against my better judgment, I'll be inviting her to dinner tonight.

I'm sure it won't get in the way of the investigation. I'm good at compartmentalizing my feelings. This is the first time I'm sexually involved with a supposed suspect. I say suspect because I don't know yet if she's involved in whatever is going on in her office. But it doesn't seem like it. No, I'm not catching feelings for her. It's the sex; it's damn good. I just love having her around. It's not more than that, I tell myself.

I shoot her a quick text asking her to come over after work. She sends one back to say she will.

At 8 p.m. the doorbell goes off. I open it to find her smiling.

"Come in."

"Smells good in here."

"That's my handiwork."

"You made dinner? I can't wait to see if it looks as good as it smells."

"It does. Not just that, it tastes good, too."

She rolls her eyes.

Ellie is sitting at her spot at the dining table. She's not smiling when she sees Bria.

"This is Bria, Ellie. You've seen her before. Bria, this is my daughter, Ellie."

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