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[center][b]”Why not. –Charles Plygaurd[/b][/center]

I looked down and checked the message when my watch chimed. Under most circumstances I’d be gloating, but currently I was too angry to be relieved at my roommates response. I’d been wandering around hallways for what felt like hours although the digital clocks above the doorways claimed it had only been twenty minutes. 

The situation reminded me of the time I’d thrown my first dinner party when I moved out of my family's house. Charles hadn’t moved into the place just yet so I didn’t feel bad inviting over my four closest girlfriends. I’d spent twenty minutes running around the nearest grocery store trying to find lemon juice for the marinade. Was it a condiment? A salad dressing? A mixer? A canned product? A juice product? Was it with the lemons? Eventually, feeling annoyed and frustrated I gave up looking. But I wasn’t going to give up on this. Claudette was one of my closest friends and if I needed to wander around this rat's maze of an office for days, I would.

Fortunately it didn’t take that long. Through the benevolence of a few of the office staff, I finally found my way to the Domestic Crimes Unit. Like the front secretary had stated, its door was in fact brown, but it was only three doors down from the main entrance I’d first come through. I ground my teeth together. If I ever ran into that woman in a dark alley…

As luck would have it, Wanda was on a smoking break. When she finally returned seven minutes later, a cloud of the fumes hovered around her body. [b]”Can I help you?”[/b]

Wanda was clearly upset that I managed to find my way to her office. I offered up my best smile, and sent a silent pray to whoever was in charge up there that I hadn’t ended up in this congregation of jerks. [b]”I certainly hope so.”[/b]

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Wanda was, as I’d begun to expect well into my adventure, not incredibly helpful but short of combing the streets for Claudette I didn’t know what else I could do. I knew I was being paranoid. Chances are she’d met someone at the club and had run off with them on some momentary fling. She’d come back, she always did. Still, while that explained why her husband hasn’t seen her lately, it didn’t explain why she wasn’t picking up her phone. Sure we’d had a tiny spat but there was no way she was that angry with me. Yes, it was a bit clingy but we’d chatted on the phone almost daily since our school days.

I was so engulfed in my thoughts that I wasn’t entirely paying attention to my feet. This, usually wasn’t a problem in my building’s corridor, but today someone decided it would be a good idea to stack boxes out in the hallway by their door. The toe of my black heel caught the edge of one such box enough to scuff it. I easily caught my balance. [b]”Who…?”[/b] I said, my voice not hiding my annoyance. That’s when I realized the apartment door next to me was open. Apparently Charles and I had a new neighbor. It was really only a matter of time since the McKenzie’s moved out a few days back. 

I couldn’t avoid looking inside even though I knew it was rude, door open or not. A woman was sitting on the floor, unpacking on of the boxes she’d brought inside. She looked to be about my age with medium brown hair and pale eyes. [b]”Uh, hi,”[/b] I said, waving awkwardly. [b]”I guess you’re our new neighbor. I live there.”[/b] I said pointing to the unit directly across the hallway. [b]”My name is Nym Yurigei.”[/b]