“Thanks, Rog,” Lacy said to him.
He bobbed his head. “’Course,” he replied.
Then she turned to me. “Well, will you take it? Or are we too small-town for you?” The question was asked with a nervous smile.
I blinked. “You’re—offering me the position?” I’d expected a handshake and a we’ll-call-you-later.
“Are you kidding?” She snorted. “You’ve got more experience in homicide than either of us, and your mastery of CSI procedure and techniques is clearly better than mine. And Gale Smith likes you.”
I felt the flush creeping up my neck, and not just because I was hot and slightly sunburned. “Thanks. I—I accept.”
Lacy’s eyes turned up at the corners as she grinned, then grabbed my hand and pumped it. “Great! I know—I know you probably can’t start right away…”
“I can, actually.” Maybe I shouldn’t have been so eager, but she had offered me the job, so I felt like I wasn’t going to jeopardize anything by doing so.
“See you in the morning, then?”
I felt myself grinning back. “Absolutely.”
9
Elliot Crane
Thanks for the coffee.
Seth Mays
No problem.
I’d madea full pot of coffee in the coffeemaker so that there would be coffee hot and ready when Elliot got up. He was not a morning person, and usually rolled out of bed around nine or even ten. He actually slept for what seemed to be a full eight hours. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had that much consecutive sleep pretty much ever. Even when I’d been sick, I’d slept in fits and starts, not solid chunks.
Getting about six hours was my average, hence my addiction to coffee. In my defense, pretty much everyone in law enforcement or CSI work was addicted to coffee.
I spent the morning doing paperwork, all of the fun stuff that was required to become a certified employee of the state of Wisconsin and Shawano County, plus tax forms, HR processing forms, and so on. And then I’d been introduced to Sheriff Jefferson Mallet, a tall man with thick, dark hair and a skintone that looked sun-bronzed. He’d asked a couple perfunctory questions, then shaken my hand, welcoming me on board.
It was well after one by the time I managed to get through all of that. I made my way back to the crime lab, such as it was, to find Roger and Lacy working on matching tire treads and shoe prints.
“You all legal now?” Lacy asked me, grinning and showing her teeth. Neither she nor Roger had masks on today. Not like I was worried about it, but I wondered what protocol was here.
“I am,” I replied with a nod.
Lacy reached over, picking up a bowl, and offered it to me. A glance inside showed me chips with some sort of orange powder on them.
“Oh, um. Thanks. I have some… food allergy issues,” I said, feeling heat on the back of my neck. “I can’t have dairy.”
“You moved to the dairy state and can’t have dairy?” Roger asked, sounding both pitying and incredulous. It was then that I noticed the wrapper of a massive sandwich, a pile of chips next to it, as well as a pickle.
“Not by choice,” I replied. “But yeah. I realize that I’m facing a bit of a challenge.” He hadn’t sounded mean, and I didn’t want to start things off on the wrong foot with my new coworkers.
“I’m sure Terry will make you something without cheese,” he said.
“Terry?” I asked.
“Terry runs the food truck that makes the rounds to all the government buildings,” Lacy told me, speaking around a mouthful of her own sandwich. “I’ll take you over and introduce you.”
“Oh, um, I brought?—“
“Nonsense,” she replied, standing up and brushing her hands on her thighs. “I’m buying you lunch on your first official day.Especially after you had to do all that paperworkanddid an impromptu crime scene yesterday!”
