Page 57 of Barron

She sighed.

On the upside and despite the many interruptions, including Betty’s on-and-off drama, Yoanni had reduced the pile of documents to a few sheets. After Officer Durbin’s thorough examination—under the careful supervision of Captain Weaver—no poisons or other harmful substances were found in the bag the mysterious boy had delivered. The sender’s intentional mind fuck, though, had succeeded beautifully. When her old things were returned to her, she dropped the entire cut-up bag and belongings into her side drawer and slammed it shut. She didn’t want to think about this anymore.

Throughout the day, Betty peppered Yoanni with questions about the home invasion and who Barron was. Yoanni gave her the thinnest explanation, but when she said her boyfriend wanted her to order in and have lunch in the office, the announcement elicited a drama attack in Betty.“What a domineering jerk. If youwant to go out for lunch, he can’t stop you. He’s not your father or your husband. How dare he?”

On and on it went. Yoanni did her best to ignore Betty’s nonsense as she munched on her delivered fried chicken and labored to finish the pile of documents.

Yoanni glared as the digital clock flipped to four thirty. She picked up her dictation pad and pencil and marched toward the captain’s office. She knocked on the open door. “Excuse me, Captain.”

He stopped writing and lifted his gaze. “Yes, Miss Sanz?”

“If you have any work for me, I’d prefer you give it to me now. I’d like to go home by five.”

“You’re free to go. I’ve got nothing for you.”

“One more thing, sir?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m staying at Barron’s, and I’m running out of clothes. I need to pick up a few things from my place. Is the investigation finished? Are we allowed to go inside the house?”

“The investigation is ongoing, but forensics is done. You have permission to go inside, take whatever you need, and return to Barron’s.”

“That’s the plan, sir.”

“Good night, Miss Sanz.” He waved a dismissive hand.

“Good night, sir.”

Now she had wings on her feet. As she hurried to her desk, she took out her phone and called Barron.

He answered right away. “Hey, Nugget.”

“Hi…” She almost said Daddy, then stopped herself. She wasn’t ready to reveal her special relationship with Barron to everyone around. “I’m ready to go home.”

“Guess what? I just checked the time and thought you’d be close to leaving. I’m on my way over to you. Be there in about five.”

“Awesome. Great minds think alike. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“What’s going on?”

“Betty, the new assistant, has been a pain in my behind. I think she’s jealous I have a…um…boyfriend.”

Barron laughed. “You were going to say Daddy, right?”

“I was.”

“Get your stuff ready and come out. I’m four blocks away.”

“Okay. Meet you outside.”

Back at her desk, Yoanni locked the documents and folders marked confidential in the security drawer, dropped the key in her purse, and gathered the rest of her things.

“I don’t believe it. Are you going home?” Betty shot her an angry glance. “Already? It’s not five yet.”

“Why are you so surprised, Betty?” Yoanni took a deep breath to control her response. “You know I’m not on the clock. My schedule fits the captain’s needs. At times, I come to work before anyone else does, or I stay well after everyone’s gone home. On occasion, I even work on weekends. Understood? If you have any complaints, I suggest you bring them to the captain.” She swung the strap of her purse onto her shoulder and grinned. “I’m going home. See you mañana.”

As she strode down the hallway, heels clicking with her steps, Betty called out to her. “Wait, Yoanni. Don’t leave angry. Please.”

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