Dead Woman Crossing by J.R. Adler (books on motivation .txt) 📗

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep,” Kimberley lied.

It wasn’t a good look to say she had drunk two bottles of wine the night before.

“I’ll have to bring you in some coffee and a chocolate croissant,” Barbara said with a smile. “Chocolate always makes me feel better.”

Kimberley nodded and thanked her, even though her stomach heaved at the thought of it.

Barbara walked around her desk, carrying a binder. “By the way, I pulled everything on Tyler Louis. It took me longer than usual. He’s pretty elusive and it’s such a common name.”

“Perfect. Let’s walk and talk. What can you tell me about him?” Kimberley said, walking through the first set of doors.

Barb followed behind, keeping up with her quickened pace.

“He’s twenty-nine. Grew up in Dead Woman Crossing but relocated to Houston, Texas thirteen months ago. He works in the oil industry as a driller on an oil rig. He’s an avid Texas Longhorns fan. Traitor. He’s an Aquarius, which explains a lot. They’re total chameleons, inconsistent and unpredictable—”

“Okay, Barb. I need more facts and less astrology,” Kimberley said as they passed through the second set of doors entering the open floor office area.

Passing by the desks, several deputies gave her second looks, surprised by her disheveled appearance.

“Wooo, someone had a late night,” Deputy Bearfield commented as she walked by.

Kimberley gave him a tight smile.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” Hill asked.

Kimberley ignored the comments and the looks. She was used to that type of banter back in New York. It was typical of fellow officers to give each other shit, but between the throbbing headache and the news she had to share with Sam, she didn’t have the time or energy to tease back. Barbara gave them a disapproving look and they quickly quieted down. Sam wasn’t in his office. Kimberley ducked into hers with Barbara following closely behind.

Barbara nodded and flipped several pages, which Kimberley presumed all had to do with Tyler’s astrological sign or other non-pertinent information. “Let’s see here. Both his parents live over in Weatherford. I have a phone number for them and a cell phone number for Tyler. I couldn’t find an exact address in Texas, but I have the parents’ address.”

Kimberley entered her office, setting her tote bag on the floor beside her desk.

“Perfect. Let’s call Tyler first.” Kimberley handed Barb her cell phone.

She quickly punched in the numbers and handed it back to Kimberley with a smile. Kimberley held the phone to her ear. It went straight to voicemail.

“Tyler Louis, this is Chief Deputy Kimberley King of Custer County. I need you to give me a call back to answer a few questions in relation to an investigation I’m conducting. Thanks.”

“Do you want to try his parents?” Barb asked.

“No, I’ll give him a day before I contact them,” Kimberley said, thinking she had more promising leads to chase down and some damning information she needed to tell Sam. Besides, Hannah’s ex lived over five hundred miles away.

“Well, I’ll let you get…” Barb looked Kimberley up and down, taking in her unkempt appearance, but not judging her “… Settled.”

“Thanks, Barb,” Kimberley said with a small smile.

Barb nodded. “I’ll be back with coffee and a chocolate croissant. You’ll be right as rain then,” she said, closing the door behind her as she left Kimberley’s office.

Kimberley closed the blinds that looked out onto the deputies’ floor and walked to her wardrobe. She looked at herself in the mirror. “Real professional,” she said out loud. Kimberley didn’t want Sam to see her like this. Showing up on her fifth day of work hungover and looking disheveled wasn’t the look she was going for. She immediately retied her ponytail, ensuring her hair was in place. She swiped on some lip balm and massaged the color back into her cheeks. Kimberley kicked off her dirty shoes and unbuttoned her pants and shirt, pulling off her wrinkly clothes.

She grabbed a fresh-pressed outfit hanging from the closet and laid it on her desk.

“Knock, knock,” Sam said, opening the door.

Kimberley tried to cover herself with her hands and arms, twisting her body to the side, but her white underwear and bra were on full display.

Sam didn’t notice right away as he was looking down at an opened folder. But when he looked up, his eyes widened, eyebrows raised, mouth dropped open.

“Oh, God. Sorry,” he stammered, stepping back out of the office and closing the door behind him.

Kimberley brought her hands to her flushed face. “Could this day get any worse?”

Less than ten minutes later, she put her hand on the door handle and took a deep breath. It’s fine, she thought to herself. It’s just like a bikini. It’s not that big of a deal. If anything, he should be the one embarrassed. Who says “Knock, knock” rather than actually knocking? She opened the door and headed straight into Sam’s office, holding her head up high with her shoulders pressed back.

He was seated at his desk, poring over several case files.

“Hey,” Kimberley said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, ignoring the fact that her boss had just seen her in her bra and underwear, in the office no less.

Sam looked up at her. His cheeks slightly red.

“Good morning,” he said. “Sorry about that. Didn’t realize you used your office as a changing room.” The corner of his lip twitched.

“Didn’t realize you didn’t know how to knock,” Kimberley said crossly, taking a seat across from him.

“There you are,” Barbara said.

Kimberley turned back to find Barb standing in the doorway, holding a mug of coffee and a small plate with a chocolate croissant. She walked in the office and set them down on the desk in front of Kimberley.

“Thanks, Barb,” Kimberley said.

“Of course. Hope this helps you feel a little better.” Barb gave a warm smile and left the office.

Sam raised an eyebrow. “You’re not feeling well? You know you can take the day off?”

“I’m fine, and I don’t take days off of