Home of the Braised by Julie Hyzy Page B

nod. “In the meantime, I suggest you continue to do your best to work with Virgil. Play the hand you’ve been dealt, as it were.” He scribbled a note as he spoke. “I will let you know the result of my discussion with Mrs. Hyden. She and I are due for our first consultation tomorrow. She suggested that I take the whole day today to get acclimated.” He sighed. “As though it would take me that long.”
    Sensing that we were done, I stood. Sargeant didn’t stop me, but he regarded me with curiosity.
    “Is there something else?” I asked.
    He pursed his lips again. This time when he spoke, I got the impression he was less sure of himself. “Do I understand correctly that you and your special agent beau are intending to wed soon?”
    That took me aback. “You understand correctly.”
    Another quick nod. “I have heard a rumor that you’ve run into a problem because the judges are backlogged.”
    “Word travels fast around here.” I placed both hands on the back of the chair I’d vacated. “We’d planned to be married just as soon as the license was issued.” I shrugged as though it was nothing, but the discussion reminded me that I still hadn’t heard from Gav. Like a sharp bite from within, my stomach clenched. “We were disappointed to discover that it may take us a bit longer than we’d first thought. Unless, of course, we find a minister on our own who’s willing to perform the ceremony.”
    “Do you know any ministers or members of the clergy?”
    The image of Evan Bonder and his four colleagues slid into my brain. I sucked in a quick, hard breath. “Not personally, no.”
    Sargeant tilted his head, doing his curious-squirrel imitation. This time the personal quirk didn’t annoy me so much. “I expect you to provide notice if you intend to take any days off.”
    “Of course.”
    “You will not allow this disappointment of yours to adversely impact your job performance.” He didn’t phrase it as a question.
    Bristling irritation danced its way up the back of my neck. “Certainly not.”
    “Thank you, Ms. Paras. That will be all.”
    I bit the insides of my cheeks to keep myself quiet. Sargeant was fully within his rights to question me. I would have liked to believe, however, that he knew I wouldn’t allow personal problems to affect anything I did at the White House. If he only knew how much was on my mind right now.
    I made my way back down to the kitchen, reminding myself that he was new in the job and probably wanted to establish his authority. Made sense. I’d probably do the exact same thing. By the time I made it back to the kitchen, I’d almost convinced myself of it, too.
    • • •
    A HALF HOUR LATER, I HAD MY BACK TO THE pantry doorway and my wrists deep in a gooey flour mixture, when a lightning bolt of an idea hit. I opened my mouth, and almost blurted “Yablonski,” when good sense halted me before the name tumbled out.
    At the other end of the center countertop, Cyan reacted to the look on my face. “What?” she asked.
    Suddenly cheerier than I’d been in hours, I pulled my hands out of the bowl and grinned. “I remembered something important.” I hurried over to the sink to wash up. Bucky and Virgil weren’t paying us any attention, but I could tell Cyan was curious. “A friend of Gav’s,” I said by way of explanation, knowing it was no help to her at all, “I need to call him.”
    Cyan narrowed her eyes but didn’t question me. She returned to experimenting with a molasses and orange juice mixture that we hoped would become our sweet potato side dish.
    Joe Yablonski had, at one time, been Gav’s commanding officer. Now he was a good friend, one who had helped us in the very recent past. We trusted him completely and I knew that even Gav would believe it safe to tell him about the five dead men on Ainsley Street. More important, I could tell Yablonski that I hadn’t been able to reach Gav since he’d dropped me at home Thursday night.
    Once he had that