"So let me get this straight," she says after a while. "You let an unknown man bring you to your house and then you make out with him? What is wrong with you?"
"I don't know!" I rub my hands over my temple. The hangover is just an annoying reminder of last night. I need aspirin.
I wasn't going to tell her this, but I tell her anyway. "I think he's also the one that threatened Bruni Santos; sent me that text. He might also be the one that breaks into my house."
Lisa's eyes brighten. "We might have a lead then. Can you describe him? When we report to the police, they might get you an artist who can match his drawing to a face on their database. I know this guy will have a criminal record."
"He's tall," I start. "Broad shoulders. Muscular. Skillful fingers. He seems pretty strong."
Skillful fingers? I ask myself. How do you know and how is that important?
Lisa is giving me a look. "His facial features, I meant. I'm sure that is what the police would need."
"Well, he has dark hair and dark eyes. His hair is very curly," I continue. "I think he has dimples when he grins."
That look from Lisa again.
"Why are you describing him like you like him? I'm sure most victims would be like he had bloodshot serial killer eyes and stuff." She folds her arms as she watches me.
"Well, I was totally drunk, so what do you expect? I'm not sure my brain would have been able to tell normal eyes from serial-killer creepy eyes."
And a part of me knows his eyes were beautiful, not creepy. Not like that is important now. Or at all.
"Girl, you're insufferable. You must have enjoyed that makeout session," Lisa sings.
"Are you kidding me? This whole thing is an unwarranted and inconvenient sexual advance. I don't hook up with criminals who could possibly be after my brother. I don't hook up with criminals on a general note," I clarify.
"So we're in agreement then." She grins. "We make a report and we describe him properly, leaving the sexual tone to his description."
I kick her foot and she sticks her tongue out at me.
My phone rings beside me and I jump.
Lisa gives me a weary glance. Like a doctor would look at a patient who was just recovering but apparently wanted to take off the plugs and IV line connected to them.
"Hello?" I ask uncertainly. I hadn't glanced at the caller ID. Fear doesn't let you do that.
"Nicole Salvatore?" It's a woman. "This is your new head of department, Amelia Thornton. Why were you not at work yesterday? And you're running late today. I had to go check the records for your line. Apparently, you didn't notify anyone about your absence beforehand."
My jaw drops.
I blink. "Erm, I uh, I was sick."
Lisa eyes me and I ignore her.
"But I'm better today. I'm on my way. Traffic is hellish and my car needs a trip to the mechanic's. It's a struggle out here." I let out a small, pseudo-conspiratorial and hopefully benign laugh. But I think it sounds like a cackle.
"Okay. Since this is a first time, I'll let you go with a warning. I don't tolerate truancy at all. I'll see you in the office. I'm introducing myself to all the staff today at the newsroom before we commence activities for today. Try to be on time."
I'm just nodding even though she can't see it, this Amelia Thornton, my new head of department.
It's still surprising. Isn't she aware that I was fired by the old head of department? And where is that one?
"Um, so what happened to Bruni Santos? Did he get transferred to another branch?" I ask.
"Yes, he sought a transfer from this branch to the one in New York and it has been granted to him. But unlike me, he might resume a lot later at his new branch. He's been in hospital recuperating. He was attacked, and badly beaten up, you see."
Seriously?
"Oh. I'm so sorry for him," I say and Lisa sniggers. "Liar," she mouths at me.
"He'll recover," Amelia responds.
"Did he tell you anything about me?" I prod.
"Oh yes."
Crap.
"He was saying how great an employee you were under him. And he said something about a promotion that you rightly deserve that hasn't yet been given you and that I should look into it. I wanted him to properly introduce us to each other given his flowery commendation of you, but he emphatically said he would rather not. In fact, he wouldn't want to visit our branch anymore. I think he was pretty impatient to leave."
Oh. Oh.
"Anyway, Nicole, we'll get more time to talk better when you're at the office, okay? Bye for now."
"Un-fucking-believable," Lisa says as I hang up.
And that is the summary of that conversation.
In fact, it's when Lisa speaks that I realize that the call had been on loudspeaker. She'd been following.
"You think it's-" Lisa starts.
I hold up a hand. "Don't," I say. "I'm going to the office now and I'll find out everything. Until then, let's not make assumptions."
She holds her hands up in surrender. "Okay. Okay. And when you're back, we're going to the police because believe it or not, it might have been your visitor last night that paid Bruni a visit. I don't know why, maybe for firing you or hitting you."
I let out a sigh. I had hoped she wouldn't toe that line.
Lisa bites her pinky nail, so conversationally like we're talking about nail polish. "And that means that if Bruni had hit you again, he might have indeed killed him."
Holy crap.