Nun Too Soon (A Giulia Driscoll Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

looked up from her screen. “Why are you trying to smash down your hair? It looks curly and happy, just like it should.”
    Giulia smiled. “Sidney, you are irreplaceable. I certainly won’t choose that Mean-Girl-Who-Dumps-The-Geeks’-Books-In-The-Hall as your substitute.”
    A noise came from Zane’s desk that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Giulia and Sidney did a tandem double-take in his direction.
    Zane choked it down. “Her voice carried through the door. Sidney made faces every time we heard ‘In addition...’”
    “Serves me right for not going through an agency, I suppose.”
    Sidney said, “Think of the interviews if you’d have placed the ad on Craigslist.”
    Giulia crossed herself. “Give me credit for not being that naïve. Okay, I’ve got half an hour ’til the next interview. Hit save and listen up, guys.” She walked to the opposite end of the office and perched on the windowsill so they could both see her. “I agreed to take on the Silk Tie Murder case, and no, it was not because of the excellent lunch.”
    Sidney put on her most disingenuous expression.
    “His name is on the AtlanticEdge list.”
    “I know. We can do this. The two issues don’t overlap. Embezzlement does not equal murder.”
    A new worry crease appeared on Zane’s forehead. “Ms. Driscoll, despite that dichotomy I’m sure there’s a precedent.”
    “Zane, precedents are fine in the mouths of lawyers, but justice trumps legal nitpicking, at least in this office.”
    The worry crease deepened.
    “Zane,” Giulia said. “Embezzlement sends people to jail and makes them repay the stolen money. The Silk Tie case is murder and the death penalty is on the table.”
    “But Ms. Driscoll, even if that’s the situation, the amount of statistics we’re compiling for AtlanticEdge alone—”
    “Zane.”
    The admin gulped and shut up.
    Giulia smiled at him. “I know what our workload looks like. Sidney, don’t look all perky. You won’t be home playing with your baby for another two weeks. You’ll be buried under this with the rest of us.” Her phone alarm went off. “Fifteen minutes ’til the next candidate arrives. Here’s the scoop. First: I’m not taking this extra work merely to dump it all on you. If anyone puts in extra hours, it’ll be me. Second: Yes, I’ll be asking both of you to perform more brilliant computer acrobatics and no, it won’t break your brains.”
    Sidney replied with a long-suffering sigh. “Baby Brain is not a twenty-four hour condition.”
    Zane said, “Ms. Driscoll, the only reason I graduated magna cum laude instead of summa cum laude was the egregious application of the bell curve theory of grading by the programming professor in my dual major.” He cracked his knuckles. “Bring it.”
    Not a smidgen of guilt disturbed Giulia at Zane’s response. A good boss created opportunities for her employees to succeed. This wasn’t manipulation. It was Business Owner 101.
    “The lawyer’s emailing me more specifics. I’ll draw up a contract before I meet with him tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, I’m going to look at those Seminarian background checks and write up that report. My goal is to scratch one thing off the to-do list by four o’clock.”

      
    Giulia hit “send” on the background check summary at three fifty-one. “They should put us on retainer.” She paused with her fingers hovering over the keys. “Retainer. What a beautiful word.”
    She jumped up and opened the door. “Zane, Sidney, we’re going to convince the Diocese of Pittsburgh to put us on retainer.”
    Sidney looked up.
    “Oh.” She rubbed her belly. “Mini-Sidney likes that word. It sounds like ‘regular income.’ What do you want me to do?”
    “Make up a spreadsheet with everything we’ve done for them since the very first commission they gave us. Hours, fees, and importance of projects in ascending order. When you’re done, pass it over to Zane. Zane, please crunch the numbers and come up