[///ON HOLD///] Animal House (Rendezvous #2)

Chapter 15

Nora sat in her office answering emails and finishing up paperwork, but she couldn’t get far with her work due to the ringing words of both Gloria O’Good and Dr. Silverz. She hadn’t experienced the feel of meddling parents ever since her real parents passed, but those two did a damn good job of making her feel like a child all over again.

“Nora?” Veronica poked her head into her office. “There’s a detective at the front desk who wishes to speak to you.”

She immediately perked up. Though Nora originally wanted to not open an investigation, everyone else pressured her into doing so. Honestly, she didn’t know what to expect since nothing was stolen, but she turned over her security cameras in hopes of finding out. And it seemed the authorities finally finished going through the tapes.

The detective greeted Nora when she went to the front and introduced himself as Tyrone Berkley. Immediately, he showed her a picture. At the back of her building, there were two young men in black hoodies. One of them was scanning a keycard that unlocked the door.

“Do you recognize them Ms. Banks?” the investigator asked.

“No,” Nora said, in shock. “They don’t look familiar at all.”

“Who would have a keycard to the back door?”

“Only the employees. Those who live upstairs with me use the door at the side, and that lock requires an actual key.”

Berkley scribbled the information into a small notepad he held in his hands. “Did any of your workers report a lost or stolen keycard?”

“I haven’t heard anything.” Nora looked to Veronica for confirmation and her receptionist shook her head as well. “No.”

“How many employees do you have, Ms. Banks?”

"Three. I have my receptionist here and two assistants. One of them is off today while the other is in the back.”

He glanced at Veronica. “If you don’t mind, I wish to speak to them for more information.”

“Of course. But I just have one question.”

“Yes?”

“The morning after the break-in, we found a cat in the clinic. Did the tapes reveal how it got inside?”

The detective nodded, flipping through his notepad. “The two men entered through the back door  and were inside for only ten minutes. The cat was wandering around the building when they exited and were startled by it. One of them kicked the cat into the building before shutting the door and they both ran off.”

“What?!” Nora shouted, startling the detective. “Assholes! Not only did they kick the cat, it was probably them who broke all the equipment in the storage and framed the poor thing!”

“I don’t think they were actively trying to frame the cat,” the detective slowly reasoned. “It was reaction that caused them to kick it into the building.”

“It doesn’t matter! I will cooperate however much you need me to in order to catch them!”

The detective was taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm and Veronica leaned in to whisper, “You’re talking to a veterinarian, what’d you expect?”

“Grant!” Nora called.

A few seconds passed before he peeked around the corner with curious eyes. “What’s up?”

“There’s a detective here that has a few questions about the break-in. We’re gonna catch those bastards!”

Grant glanced at the detective with a raised brow before making his way over to them. “So I’m guessing it wasn’t just the cat?”