On Pins and Needles: Sierra Fox, Book 3 by Yolanda Sfetsos Page B

smiled at me. “It doesn’t take a mind reader to know what you two did last night and probably this morning, so don’t act surprised when I read between the lines.”
    I pushed the chair back and stood, unable to stay seated for another second. “That’s seriously twisted, old man.” I headed for the sink and rinsed my mug before dumping it inside. “Even for you, it’s twisted.”
    “I’m just stating the obvious.”
    A quick glance in Papan’s direction confirmed he was amused by the exchange.
    “Whatever,” I said.
    My mobile ringtone sounded again and for the first time in hours, having to answer the pesky phone seemed like a better option than continuing this awkward conversation.  
    I left the kitchen, picked up the mobile and noticed the same number from before. “Hello?”
    “Hi, Sierra Fox?”
    “Yes, this is Sierra.”
    “This is Constable Gareth Crewe.”
    “Oh, hi,” I said slowly. I remembered him—he was the nice-looking cop who’d taken my statement when Benita was killed. “How are you?” I didn’t know what else to say. The thought of the missing and very bloody letter opener I used to stab Mauricio in his dog form came to mind. In spite of searching every inch of my office, I still hadn’t found it. Maybe the cop had and was ringing to get some answers.
    “I’m…good.” He sounded as if I’d either thrown him off by my question, or he didn’t know how to broach the reason he was calling.
    “What can I do for you?” Might as well get this over with… I closed my eyes, my heart beating a little too fast and my nerves slowly cutting into my happy mood.
    “I’m at your office at the moment, and we’ve got a problem.”
    “What, why are you at my office?” Shit, he really had found the letter opener.
    “I needed to talk to you about something, but when I got here one of your office neighbors informed me there were some strange noises coming from inside yours.” The constable paused. “He claims to have knocked on the door, but when you didn’t answer he assumed something was wrong. In fact, he was calling the police when I got here.”
    “That’s some great timing.”
    “Yeah,” he said with a dry chuckle. “Anyway, I found something in your office that you need to see.”
    Despite my certainty, my mind raced with other possibilities—a demon, a ghost, a new member of the Obscurus .Maybe even Jonathan waiting inside to ambush me since I’d been doing my best to ignore him. But no, it had to be the weapon I’d used to stab Mauricio.
    “What is it?” I croaked before clearing my throat.
    “Ah…” He sighed into the phone. “I think it might be best if you see it for yourself. Are you able to come in?”
    I snapped my eyes open and rubbed the bridge of my nose. My initial response was a defiant no . There were so many reasons why I didn’t want to leave the house right now—Papan, what Oren was working on, Papan, the fact I’d have to go in later anyway to see Willow. Out of every reason running through my head Papan was the main one. I didn’t want to leave his side. The thought of spending the weekend together was getting brighter by the minute. But how could I deny going to my own office when something was wrong?
    Even though he couldn’t see me, I nodded. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    “You, get back inside.”
    “What did you say?”
    “Sorry Sierra, I wasn’t talking to you,” he said apologetically. “That’s great. I’ll see you soon.”
    I opened my mouth to respond, but he’d already hung up. Lowering the phone, I sighed.  
    My day had started out brilliantly—on the highest note possible. But as usual, something was trying to get in the way. Why couldn’t I catch a freaking break?  
    I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air before releasing it. I was determined to deal with whatever was going on, and would then get back as soon as I could. Yes, I could do this. It would take an hour—tops—to sort this