Think Murder Read Free Page B

Stickler. Adina, if you change your mind and wish to take time off, let me know.”
    I thanked Kaye and went to my cubicle in the large open space area. I stored my bag in the drawer for safekeeping and booted up the computer. The email from Kaye was already in my Inbox, marked with a high priority flag. It didn’t specify the reason for the meeting, only that attendance was mandatory.
    After checking the rest of my incoming messages for anything that required urgent attention, I went to Matt’s office to see if he needed anything. Matt Murphy, Director of Energy Programs, is brilliant and pretty cool for an older man. He’s a great boss and he doesn’t even expect me to bring him coffee. Matt was out somewhere, so I headed into the kitchen to get something to drink. I hate coffee, even the smell of it, but an occasional cup of herbal tea is lovely. Besides, I was restless.
    Several people were already in the kitchen, mostly secretaries doing the morning coffee run for their bosses. The women around the coffee maker were chattering away, speculating on the reason for the staff meeting. Brenda, one of the office mavens, was convinced that the meeting was to discuss downsizing or something else related to budgets. I kept silent as I selected a spearmint flavored green tea and added water from the instant hot faucet.
    Michelle, a fellow administrative assistant, and Amber, one of the younger secretaries, were seated at one of the cafeteria style tables. Michelle is 25, same as me. We started working at the DIPPeR the same week and we do lunch together a lot.
    Michelle called out, inviting me to join them. I was in no hurry to go back to my desk, so I pulled up a chair. They didn’t seem to notice my puffy eyes, or at least they didn’t say anything. They were in the middle of discussing the latest episode of a dating reality show – “The Bachelor.”
    Then Michelle asked, “Did you guys see last night’s news. They found a girl dead in that Irish pub in Georgetown. McSweeney’s, I think. Adina, isn’t that the place where you and Hilary like to hang out?”
    Fortunately, I didn’t have to answer because Amber piped up, “Yeah. That was terrible. I wonder what happened, who it was. They didn’t say much.”
    I gulped down the last of my tea and made my escape. “Better get back to work, Matt has a report that needs to go out today. Catch you later.”
    On the way to my desk, I saw that Matt still hadn’t returned. I didn’t have any pressing tasks, so I pretended to work. My cubicle was backed by a real wall, meaning nobody could peek over a partition and see my computer screen – so I began to search the news sites on the internet. Indeed, items on several sites reported that a dead body had been found at McSweeney’s Irish Pub. The more reputable sites stuck to the basic facts – young woman, bathroom of a popular Georgetown pub, and “under investigation.” Then again, a few sites offered their own hypotheses, such as murder, suicide, or even the distasteful suggestion that it might have been a tryst gone wrong. Thankfully, Hilary’s name didn’t appear in any of the articles I read.
    As 11:00 approached, people began drifting in the direction of the conference room. It would be a full house. The DIPPeR staff numbers close to 50, and the conference room had seating for only 30. The large oblong table was surrounded by 12 upholstered armchairs, with matching upright chairs dispersed along the walls. In keeping with unwritten rules, the senior staff would be seated around the table, with the rest of the staff standing or sitting along the perimeter.
    One of the last stragglers to enter the room, I staked out a spot close to the door so I could make a quick getaway if I started to lose control. I searched the room but I didn’t see Duncan anywhere in the crowd.
    Dr. Grayson, the Director of the DIPPeR, stood at the head of the table together with Kaye Blunt. Kaye cleared her throat, “If I could have