“I wonder what got you put on the list?” I mused out loud, flipping through the hefty case file on my desk.
“I imagine that information is actually in the file, Eli’nahaame,” came an all too familiar voice from behind me. My door had been closed, but that didn’t seem to stop the persistent angel.
“Gabriell!” I exclaimed with an overly cheery expression as I slammed the folder shut. “Did you get lost on your way to the cafeteria? It’s just down that way,” I waved a hand towards the elevator down the hall wishing he would go away, and hating that I hadn’t heard him enter. That blasted carpet masked all sorts of sounds.
Gabriell leaned against the door frame, taking the time to look me up and down, quite obviously cataloging exactly how far the neckline plunged on my shirt. It bothered me, and not just because he was an angel.
“Not exactly, although I could eat.” He sucked on the back of his front teeth and straightened his perfectly straight tie. “Eli, listen…can I ask a favor…” his eyes had fallen to my cleavage again and I refused to cover up on principle.
“No,” I cut him off, my smile disappearing. “You can’t.” I reached across my desk, grabbed the jacket off the back of my chair, and snagged my file, intending to leave before he continued. As I brushed by the angel, he shuddered, his eyes half closed, and he grabbed my arm firmly.
“Eli…” he breathed my name, leaning towards me, almost pinning me between his freshly pressed suit and the rough door frame. My heart pounded in my chest involuntarily as the scent of lavender and vanilla filled my nostrils. In the next heartbeat, my tail materialized, the skin around my eyes taking on a deep purple hue that spread to my temples. Gabriell had time to frown as my extra appendage wrapped painfully around his wrist, squeezing until he winced and released my arm.
“I said ‘No’,” I enunciated the words. “Go feel up one of the frilly floozies on 12. They might be better suited to your skill level.” I watched his nostrils flare at the insult and I couldn’t help but crinkle my nose and smile impishly. My tail released his wrist and twitched, reminiscent of an angry cat, before melding back into my human form.
Leaving Gabriell rubbing his wrist, I donned my duster and headed for the elevator. I could practically feel his eyes boring into my back and it made my shoulder blades itch unpleasantly, my wings wanting to fan out. That was when Gabriell cursed me.
Of course, with any decent curse, the target doesn’t know they’ve been hit until it’s too late. The same held true for me. I should have picked up on the signs, but my mind was preoccupied as I rode the elevator up to Margie’s, the bar/coffee shop/diner that acted as a front for the DA and occupied the ground floor for our agency.
It was hard to accurately describe the original purpose of the establishment. The mismatched tablecloths ranged from red and white checkered pizza joint to flower print country diner. One table in a back corner even had an elegant embroidered white tablecloth and was adorned with a single golden candlestick. An entire wall of the dimly lit room was occupied by shelves of liquors. Mirrors with mood lighting made me think the bar area had been relocated from a swanky nightclub. The effect was ruined by a corner of the shiny metal bar being laden with two glass displays, shelves laden with freshly baked pastries and an old fashioned cash register. A polished coffee machine that was too bulky for the sleek bar top was crammed next to the cash register, almost as an afterthought.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen someone have coffee here. Or order from the kitchen for that matter. But every day, I stopped and bought a fruity pastry while I chatted with Margie. Today, the quirky bartender was absent. I was walking towards the exit, eyes scanning the bar and doorway to the kitchen, when I collided with a person. The menu flew out of his hands and dropped to the floor amidst a flurry of papers as I lost my grip on the file.
“Watch where you’re going you-” the words caught in his throat as he took stock of me. He must have been a little shy of six feet tall. I was wearing 5’ heels and was able to look him in the eye. I regained my balance much quicker than he did. “Uh…” The man, a detective by the looks of him - there was no mistaking the rumpled jacket and disheveled, sleep deprived look - was at a loss for words as I bent and scooped up my errant papers. I shoved them hastily back into the manila folder, my curly scarlet hair bouncing away from my face when I straightened. He was staring and I tried to guess if it was the unnaturally red shade of my hair or the golden eyeshadow framing my hazel eyes. He was more polite than Gabriell with his staring, though perhaps less bright.
“Excuse me, you’re in my way.” My comment brought him out of his reverie and he blinked as I lifted an eyebrow. He was effectively blocking the doorway and he mumbled an apology and stepped out of the way.
“Apologies,” he muttered as I swept past.
“Don’t mention it,” I said with a grin and a mock salute, then disappeared through the door. I had plenty of time to make it to the park before 2:00 pm. The file had said 14:00. I hated that. Dropping the file on the passenger seat of my Tesla Roadster, I tapped the LCD screen and watched the Tesla logo spiral, turn into a pitchfork, and burst into high def flames as music started to thump through the speakers. I had plenty of time. This was going to be easy.
You know what they say. Famous last words.
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