A Dreadful Weight (First Draft) - Outer Realms Book 2

Chapter 5

When they returned to the office, Mikayla saw an unfamiliar car in the parking lot.

"Claire," Dominic said in response to Mikayla's unasked questions.

Claire Shaw sat behind the front desk, leaning back in the chair with her feet up on the desk, talking on the phone.

"I know, I know. I can't believe it either. I know!"

"What are you doing here?" Dominic asked quietly.

Claire held a finger up at her brother. "Yeah, they've just got back in so you'll get a timetable on that before the end of the day. Yeah, we'll look into it on this end and get back to you. Alright, have a good day." She hung up.

"Why aren't you at school?" Dominic asked, "And why are you here?"

"Day off," Claire replied, "Athletic carnival. They made it mandatory for seniors because school pride bullshit so I forged a sick note. Like I want to sit around watching sport and being yelled at. What about you?" She looked at Jai. "Are you arresting kids now?"

"Protective custody of a witness. Why come here?"

"Why stay home? I was going to go to your place but no one's answering their phones so I assumed you're all out. Apparently there's a missing body, by the way. Took calls from the coroner and a..." Claire looked down at a note on the desk. "... A Chief Inspector Caitlin Mackersey from Helensburgh who's got some swear filled questions about why you're all running around down there without proper records on the CNS. Told her it was a clerical error due to time sensitive operations. She bought it. We told the coroner that there was a cold storage issue. Might have slipped my mind that the body made it here.

"Also, Kelly's going to be out for dinner, Cameron has some forensic info for you, we've gone over a bunch of those old files and we're making lunch. Shouldn't be too long."

"Who is 'we' exactly?" Mikayla asked, "You didn't bring a friend, did you? We probably shouldn't let you roam around here unsupervised let alone a stranger. And who connected this phone?"

"Kelly," Claire said, "Obviously. We got bored and set up all the extensions properly and started categorising those files on the conference table. Why would I let strangers in here?"

"Kelly? Kelly my daughter?"

"Yeah. She had a half day so I picked her up and we came here together so Erik could give a lift to all his friends. He's going to someone's house to watch a rehearsal for a gig. Didn't get the name. Honestly, you all run around and go on adventures and leave Cam alone to hold down everything here. He's got his talents but he can't do his science and do autopsies and answer the phones and delve into social media profiles and feed you all at the same time. Why don't you have anyone else working here, by the way? There's got to be more than just the four of you who're in the know you can bring on board here. Cam's not even properly trained or certified for the autopsies."

"Do you have any idea what's involved in setting up a new unit in the police force," Mikayla answered defensively, "Anything under a year is a miracle never mind a couple of weeks."

Dominic kissed his sister on the top of the head. "You have all the answers then you have the job. How 'bout that? Don't criticize unless you have something helpful to contribute."

Claire smiled. "Thought you'd never ask. There's a draft employment application on Sergeant Wallis' desk. Didn't think something standard would work for this place. Used my own details as example answers, of course. Going to need flexible hours too. Got my education to think about."

Dominic shook his head but also smiled. "You could have just asked."

"Not nearly as much fun. I've sent Cam a message so he knows you're back." She leaned back in her chair and put her feet up.