Bishop Security Headquarters
March 29
Twitch shifted in her seat at the conference room table flanked by Tox and Cam. Ren and Chat sat opposite, and Nathan stood at the end. Steady and Herc walked in, chatting like it was a standard Thursday morning, like this meeting was no big deal. They had been at the range, the smell of gun oil reassuring. Steady took the chair at the far end of the table, and Herc flopped down next to Chat. Twitch had seen a photo once of a charming old church in downtown Manhattan surrounded by looming skyscrapers. In this room, she was the little church. She turned her head to find she was eye-level with Tox’s bicep. She tipped her head up, up. When she came to his face, Tox gave her a wink.
“All right,” Nathan began. “There have been some developments.” He leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. “The locals are working the case with surprising efficiency.”
“Well, shit, boss, this is probably their first crime in a decade that didn’t involve toilet paper or eggs,” Steady deadpanned.
“Probably true. Nevertheless, they appear on top of it. Our efforts will be more rigorous, of course.”
“Damn straight,” Tox said.
Nathan continued, “Chat, as usual, was correct when he suggested the neighbor was the weak link. Ren and I spoke again with Mrs. Critchfield, and she remembered a man from what turned out to be a bogus security company. He came to her house on a sales call. From the information she gave him signing up for her own burglar alarm, the man was able to deduce Twitch’s code.”
Cam looked at Twitch, confused.
“She brings over food sometimes or packages. I made the code her birthday so it would be easy for her to remember,” she explained.
“That tells us something significant,” Nathan said.
Ren chimed in, “The perp was watching the house. He knew the old lady knew the code.”
“Exactly. This was not some impulsive act,” Nathan added.
Across the table, Chat’s knowing brown eyes met hers. Twitch cleared her throat. The men gave her their attention. “I didn’t say anything before because there was nothing to tell.”
The team waited.
“For the past month or so, I’ve just had this strange feeling. Like someone was watching me. It started right after I found out I was pregnant. I thought it was some hormone-induced paranoia.”
“You’re pregnant?” Herc sputtered.
“Congratulations, Mija.” Cam kissed her cheek.
Tox stood, his expression unreadable. “Excuse me for a second.” With long strides, he left the room.
Twitch felt a pang of guilt. She knew Calliope had told Tox about her pregnancy, but it pained Twitch to remind him of their struggle conceiving. Thuds from the hallway had her looking up. Was Tox jumping around? Had she heard a muffled whoop?
“Poor guy,” Steady looked over his shoulder toward the door. “Totally happy for you, Twitchy-poo, but I know this has to be hard on the big man.”
Tox returned, filling the doorway stone-faced. Retaking his seat, he wrapped a big arm around Twitch’s shoulders in a half-hug. She understood the message: it’s okay. I’m happy for you. She smiled up at him, hoping this wasn’t too painful.
When she turned back to Nathan, her boss was staring at Tox with a keen eye. Then he got back to business.
“You discovered you were pregnant right before Christmas, correct?” Nathan asked.
“Yes,” Twitch confirmed.
“Christmas,” Herc muttered.
“Herc, you’re one of the first to know. Outside of this room, I’ve only told my parents and the girls. It’s still early,” Twitch soothed.
“They knew,” he pouted.
“Would a batch of snickerdoodles make it up to you?” Twitch asked.
Herc pumped his fist, “I’m gonna be a funcle!”