Page 67 of Inside Silence

Apparently, that doesn’t go over well with the man she was talking to, who loudly proclaims his displeasure. I gather he’s here to see Savvy as well.

Leaving Brenda to handle him—I’m sure she’s got that covered—I duck down the hall and make my way to Savvy’s office. The door is closed so I knock.

“Yeah,” she calls out, sounding distracted.

When I poke my head in the door, I’m greeted by a tired smile.

“Oh good, it’s you. Come in, and please, close the door.”

Her desk is covered in file folders and paperwork, a yellow-lined notepad is filled with scribbles and sports a few coffee rings from where she set her mug. I notice she did stop in at home to change this morning, because she’s wearing a pair of jeans and a black golf shirt with the sheriff’s department logo.

“You look swamped,” I tell her as I look for a place to set lunch.

She solves it by unceremoniously shoving all her paperwork to one side.

“You have no idea.”

I have no idea how she feels about public displays of affection, but I set down the insulated bag holding the containers and round her desk to give her a soft kiss on the lips. She looked like she could use it.

When there is no protest, I kiss her again, with a little more heat this time. Her arms snake around my neck as I brace myself on the chair so I don’t land in her lap. Not like that would be a bad thing—I can see some interesting scenarios playing out in her office—but this is definitely not the time.

“Let’s eat,” I suggest, gently peeling her arms from my neck.

The first few minutes we eat quietly, only a few appreciative moans from Savvy breaking the silence.

“This is good,” she voices, with a little smile sent in my direction. “All of it, the food, the break, and the kiss. It’s a little oasis in the middle of a hectic day.”

She shoves in another bite before covering her mouth, asking me, “Did you see the guy giving Brenda a hard time?”

“Yeah. Who is he?”

“Jeff Sanchuk’s lawyer. He’s demanding to see me, but I don’t want to see him. He can have all the access he wants to his client, but I’m not about to let him try to badger me into releasing his client, because it’s not going to happen. Sanchuk is lucky to be arraigned on Thursday, they can plead their case to the judge.”

“Do I need to be present for that?” I ask her.

“No. The judge will read Sanchuk his charges and ask what plea he wants to enter. Then they’ll discuss bail, which we’ll have to wait to see if the judge will grant, and set pre-trial dates. The district attorney’s office will likely be in touch with you to discuss all that.”

“Okay.” I point at the papers on her desk. “What have you got going on this afternoon?”

“I have a few meetings here in the office and then I have to head out to Quarry Road to follow up with Wanda Rogers about her husband’s case. What about you?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I was hoping you’d let me poke around your house a bit to see the scope of the work, maybe take some measurements.”

She wags a finger at me. “Didn’t the doctor tell you to take it easy?”

I shrug. “I wouldn’t actually be doing any work, nothing physical anyway, and it’ll keep me busy. Added bonus is I’ll be able to give you a cost projection so you know what you’re up against before any work starts.”

“That would be very helpful,” she admits. “I have money set aside, but I don’t really know if that’ll be enough.”

“I’ll be happy to help you figure that out, but I’m gonna need a key to get in.”

“All you need is the code. Zero nine zero six.”

I open my mouth to thank her when the significance of those numbers hits me.

“June ninth, that’s my birthday,” I share.

She looks at me, a little smile playing on her lips.