My One and Only

3. They've Got No Idea About Me and You

It felt weird to see another officer at the Watch Commander's desk, and Lucy couldn't stop staring.

"Lucy? Did you hear a single word I said?" Angela asked.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

She rolled her eyes. "I asked if you want to help with a case to get some detective experience before the exam in a few months."

"Right, that would be so cool! I'd love to!"

"Perfect. The case has gone cold, so it's super low in our stack, but maybe fresh eyes could help?"

"I'm totally in. Can I get a copy of the case file?"

"Sure...how about we talk about it over coffee."

"Could definitely use some right about now," Lucy confessed since her quality of sleep had been terrible for almost a month now. With one last glance at the Watch Commander's office, she followed her friend to the break room.

Angela poured two cups of coffee and joined Lucy at the small table in the middle of the dingy room.

After eyeing the eager officer who had been diligently scanning the file since it was presented to her, Angela decided it was the perfect time to talk to her. "So...what did Tim do?"

Lucy's eyes snapped up from the papers in front of her to look at the detective. "What are you talking about?"

"Tim Bradford. What did he do?"

"I...I don't...he didn't..."

"I'm gonna stop you right there, since you're clearly struggling. Let's go over the facts. I've observed some awkward interactions between you two over the last few weeks. When I asked him about it, he shut down, and now he's asked Grey to transfer to the night shift. Tim HATES working nights. So, he's clearly punishing himself for something, and I want to know what he did, so that I can adequately torture him about it."

"He didn't do anything."

"Lucy, I really don't understand why you're lying to me right now."

"I'm not."

"That was almost believable that time," Angela pointed a finger at the almost perfect mask of neutrality on Lucy's face.

"Well, believe it."

"So, neither of you will tell me what's really going on?"

"Hey...am I late?" Nyla asked while walking further into the break room.

"She's denying it, too," Angela brought her partner up to speed.

"Must be worse than we thought," Nyla stage whispered.

"Guess so," Angela agreed.

"I'm gonna go now," Lucy announced awkwardly.

Angela stretched out a hand to stop her friend's exit. "Look, whatever he did, he clearly feels really bad about it. I'm not saying that means you should let him off the hook, but is there any way you can TRY to forgive him?"

"There's nothing to forgive." At least that was the truth- it wasn't his fault he earned a promotion. She couldn't withstand any additional questioning, so Lucy left the break room.

"Okay, so are you gonna talk to Tim?" Nyla asked.

"And say what?"

"I don't know. Something like: Hey, Tim, stop being an idiot?"

"Yeah, that would go well," Angela said sarcastically.

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