You Had Me at Halo

There was a faint sprinkle of laughter from somewhere down near the front and Holly crossed her fingers. Last quarter Todd had just missed out and she knew he was gunning for this to help move him further up the rungs.

“So without further ado I would like to congratulate, Jim McKenna.”

Oh, Holly felt her heart sink. Poor Todd—he must be devastated. Especially on top of everything else he’d had to go through in the last two weeks, though hopefully when she—

“And Todd Harman. It was a tie,” David Harris finished off with a flourish of his arms and Holly clapped her hands in excitement as she caught sight of Todd’s proud face. She just knew this was a sign that everything was going to be okay.

I’m so happy. You have no idea how hard he’s worked for this. Though what was David Harris trying to do by pretending that there was only one person?

Vince immediately shoved his hands in his pocket to stop anymore clapping. Yeah, the crazy-wild side of Baker Colwell. Who knew? Vince retorted.

Boy, you really are cynical. Besides, if you hate it so much, then why do you still work here? Holly demanded, completely forgetting about her own dark thoughts with regard to the poster.

Because they pay better than anyone else and I can use the money. My bank manager tends to send me letters when I don’t cover my mortgage.

You own your apartment? Holly said in surprise since most of her friends only owned credit card debts and too many pairs of shoes.

Vince nodded. I know it’s not in the best area and doesn’t have the right sort of stainless steel kitchen appliances, but it’s mine and as long I keep paying the bank, they can’t kick me out.

Did you get kicked out of houses a lot when you were a kid?

Enough. He shrugged and Holly suddenly wondered if that’s why he had left their school when he did? She’d never really given it any thought before, but before she could reply, the meeting finally broke up and Gemma sidled up next to them.

“I just overheard Rochelle saying she had to go up to fifth floor. I’ve got to go and see my boss about some new project he wants me to start on, but if you want to search her office, this would be the time to do it.”

“That’s great.” Holly could barely contain her excitement. First Todd’s good news and now this. Just went to show what a bit of hard work and determination could really do.

“Yes, because just in case I don’t get fired for missing my overtime last night, this should get the job done,” Vince retorted.

“What?” Gemma wrinkled her nose. “Was that Vince speaking?”

“Yes, just ignore him,” Holly advised. “For the tall, dark silent sort, he sure is chatty.”

“Pots and kettles.” He folded his arms.

“You know, it’s really weird when you both bicker with each other like that,” Gemma complained as she hitched her purse over her shoulder. “Anyway, I’ve got to go, but good luck.”

“We’re going to need it,” Vince muttered as they headed over to the other side of the room. Hey, where are you going? I thought Rochelle’s office was the other way.

It is, Holly admitted as she glanced over at the poster. But I just want to ask Martha from reception where those posters came from. She knows everything. And some. Then I’m going to pull the horrible thing down.

Vince tapped his watch. I don’t want to rain on your parade but we don’t have time to do both, so you’d better decide which criminal activity you wish to engage in because I need to be back in the workshop in twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes? Holly double-checked and she felt Vince nod his head.

That’s right. Besides, those posters don’t have anything to do with you. You died by misadventure. That’s what the coroner said.

And everyone knows that death by misadventure is shorthand for suicide, and they weren’t here two weeks ago were they?

I’m sure there are any number of reasons why they’re up, but if you find out then we won’t have time to go to Rochelle’s office.

Fine. She relented as she took one last look at Martha’s retreating back before turning in the other direction.

It didn’t take them long to make their way up to fourth floor, though every time someone so much as looked at them, Holly could feel herself freeze up.

You know if you keep doing that, someone’s going to twig that we shouldn’t be up here. Vince un-stiffened his spine as the finally made it to Rochelle’s office.

Sorry. Holly gave her arms a shake to help her relax as they peered over the top of the frosted glass to check Rochelle really wasn’t lurking around behind her desk. Then they waited until the coast was clear before slipping in.

Holly gagged on the overwhelming scent of perfume that hung in the air as she systematically went through each drawer. For one brief moment she thought she had hit the jackpot as her fingers latched onto a packet of pills, but on closer examination they discovered they were vitamins. Holly sighed and pushed them back in.

Ten minutes later Vince tapped at his watch and Holly was forced to admit he was right. They couldn’t risk getting caught so it was better to leave empty-handed than have Rochelle walk in on them. It would be more than a little difficult to explain.

She was just turning to leave when she caught sight of a holiday brochure poking from underneath a Baker Colwell training guide. She reached down and grabbed it.

Holly ignored the Hawaiian palm trees and golden sands on the cover and flicked through it until she came across a photocopied article on how to avoid motion sickness.

For a moment Holly was speechless as her eyes scanned the article and apart from various homeopathic remedies, was a suggestion for medication—including the name of the drugs that Gemma had mentioned.

“I can’t believe it,” she finally said as waved the brochure up in the air. “I mean thinking it and knowing it are two such different things. It’s a strange feeling.”

“Yes, but we don’t really know it,” Vince pointed out. “It’s not like you’ve found the pills or anything. Just an article.”

“Not yet.” Holly spun back around with renewed vigor as something brown caught her attention. Rochelle’s oversized Chloe bag, which was hanging from a hook on the back of the door.

How on earth had she missed that thing? For a start, it was the size of a house, and Holly had the feeling that it wasn’t just because of fashion, but because Rochelle had so many “sleepovers” during the week, that a large bag was essential for morning-after maintenance.

The idea of searching it wasn’t exactly appealing, but the idea of not getting up to see her father in Level Three was even worse. There were things she needed to tell him. Things she needed to say. So she purposely marched toward it.

“You know I don’t think this is a great idea.” Vince dug in his heels. “For a start getting caught going through someone’s bag is a bit worse than just being in their office. Then there’s my meeting, remember?”

“Two minutes,” she assured him as she reached up and unhitched the soft leather straps off the hook. “You know I still can’t really believe it. I guess she just freaked out when she found out Todd and were going to get engaged at the ball. She obviously decided to take matters into her own hands.”

“You were going to get engaged to Todd Harman?” Vince seemed stunned as Holly put the bag down on the nearby chair.

“On Friday night.” She nodded as she tugged at the zipper. “The thing is we had a bit of a fight over it. I actually wanted it to be a bit more low-key. Which is why I need to speak to him—to let him know how much I loved him.”

“Yes, but engaged?”

“Of course engaged. That’s generally how people do it when they want to get married. Perhaps we should talk about this later since the quicker I do this, the less chance there will be of getting—p”

“Caught?” Someone finished the sentence for them. “Too late—you already are.”