Kate paced her office like a caged lion, looking at the clock on her wall as she waited for Maggie and Nathan to arrive. Her brain was in overdrive trying to figure out who would be doing this to her and these women and what their motivation was. She rarely socialized, so couldn’t for the life of her figure out who she could have angered so much to do this.
‘You OK?’ A voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
Kate jumped back.
‘Jaysus! You frightened the life out of me. I’m fine. I just hate waiting.’ Kate hoped Mark believed her; she wasn’t in the mood to get into any deep discussions.
‘Well you don’t look OK. This must be freaking you out a bit, but we won’t let anything happen to you.’ He puffed his chest out and laughed. ‘That light still flickering?’ He pointed to the random bulb that didn’t seem to know whether it was off or on. It had been driving Kate mad.
‘Yeah, I logged it with HR again. Hopefully, someone will be out soon and … thanks.’ She gave him a nervous smile. ‘I’m just waiting for Maggie and Nathan. There’s been another murder and they’re coming by to collect me once they’re finished at the scene.’
‘You’re not going home, are you?’ There was a look of concern on Mark’s face and for a moment, Kate felt emotional.
‘To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’ve got a security system being installed at some point, but Maggie has offered me her spare room until all that’s sorted.’
‘I think you should take her up on that. If you need any help or a lift, just holler. Don’t let your pride stand in the way of your safety.’
‘I wouldn’t …’
Mark raised his brow. ‘You would. But don’t. We’re here for you and you don’t have to go through this alone. In fact, if the shoe were on the other foot, you’d make sure the help was taken.’
She smiled and raised her hands in defeat. ‘OK, I promise. I just wish they’d get here as the waiting is worse than the not knowing.’
Mark left her office and Kate sat down at her desk. She could hardly concentrate on her work with that bloody light flickering but she needed to focus on anything other than what was happening. She opened her emails and browsed through the endless queries, answering those that were simple enough and flagging those that needed a more thoughtful response. And then she saw it. She didn’t recognize the sender but her gut told her this wasn’t a spam email that had slipped through. With shaking hands, she clicked the mouse to open the email.
See you soon xx
She pushed herself away from the desk, nearly knocking over the cup of coffee that had now gone cold. She shook all over.
Why the hell is this happening to me?