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Authors: Cassidy Salem
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myself.
“What if she walked in on a drug deal? Witnesses get eliminated all the time, don’t they? At least they do on TV,” Michelle suggested.
I shrugged. “That might be a valid theory.”
“Anyway, Adina, it must have been terrible for you, finding her body and all that. What happened?”
“Amber, I wish I knew. I can’t imagine why anyone would kill Hilary.”
“Adina, you were there when it happened. You must know something,” Amber pressed on.
“All I know is that one minute we were at the table talking, and then almost the next she was dead on the bathroom floor.”
Wide-eyed, Amber waited for me to go into details. When it became obvious that I wasn’t going to elaborate, Michelle changed the subject before Amber could continue with that line of questioning. “So… why were you meeting with Dr. Stickler?”
“Well, Hilary had been working on a project that has to be completed in the next few weeks. That land use study she was always talking about. I guess there’s not enough time to recruit a replacement, so Matt suggested that I might be able to help out – Stickler needs lots of graphs and charts, and a presentation for a conference next month.”
Amber was emphatic. “But he already has a secretary. He should have Carol help him.”
I paused, not sure how to respond. The secretaries at the DIPPeR sometimes got territorial. Amber didn’t want me to horn in on a fellow secretary’s turf. Never mind that Hilary wasn’t a secretary, and technically neither was I. Besides, I didn’t want to be quoted as having put down Carol’s skills.
Michelle saved me again, “That sounds right up your alley, Adina. Nobody whips up charts and presentations the way you do.”
“Thanks, Michelle,” I laughed. “Anyway, it’s just temporary. I’ll help out with this one project. I’ve had a pretty light workload lately so it’ll help keep me busy until Matt’s next project kicks in.”
Amber seemed appeased, “It didn’t sound like a very interesting project. Better you than me.”
Michelle tapped on her watch. We threw our trash in the nearby bin and hurried back to the office.
After lunch, I sat down at my computer and logged on to the project files. Thankfully, Hilary was well organized. She had created folders for each state, with subfolders for data, background, graphs, and so on. I also found a folder for the report, which contained an outline, a working draft, and several files containing notes.
I started by checking out the draft – to gain a better sense of what the project entailed. At the same time, I could see what was done and what was missing.
The report structure included an intro chapter, a chapter for each state, and then a chapter comparing the states’ data. The first few chapters were almost finished. They even included many of the charts that Dr. Stickler had told me to create, complete with placeholders for missing data.
By contrast, the chapter on West Virginia was quite sketchy. So was the comparison chapter. I was going to need to fill in the gaps, presumably model the presentation of data after the chapters on the other states. My thoughts were interrupted when Matt stopped by my desk on his way out. It was past 5, so I logged off my computer and went home.
I knew I should take Daniel’s advice and not spend too much time alone. Easier said than done. Especially on a Monday night. After a quick shower and dinner, I decided to give writing a sympathy message another try.
I searched for the obit notice and clicked the link. Several more messages had been posted. Most of them were the short standard expressions of sympathy, ‘sorry for your loss,’ ‘thinking of you,’ ‘heartfelt condolences,’ and so on.
Hilary’s brother, Brad, had posted a short yet moving tribute. I had never met Brad but Hilary had spoken of him with love and admiration. Clearly, they had been close and he was hurting.
I didn’t want to write something impersonal, or that
“What if she walked in on a drug deal? Witnesses get eliminated all the time, don’t they? At least they do on TV,” Michelle suggested.
I shrugged. “That might be a valid theory.”
“Anyway, Adina, it must have been terrible for you, finding her body and all that. What happened?”
“Amber, I wish I knew. I can’t imagine why anyone would kill Hilary.”
“Adina, you were there when it happened. You must know something,” Amber pressed on.
“All I know is that one minute we were at the table talking, and then almost the next she was dead on the bathroom floor.”
Wide-eyed, Amber waited for me to go into details. When it became obvious that I wasn’t going to elaborate, Michelle changed the subject before Amber could continue with that line of questioning. “So… why were you meeting with Dr. Stickler?”
“Well, Hilary had been working on a project that has to be completed in the next few weeks. That land use study she was always talking about. I guess there’s not enough time to recruit a replacement, so Matt suggested that I might be able to help out – Stickler needs lots of graphs and charts, and a presentation for a conference next month.”
Amber was emphatic. “But he already has a secretary. He should have Carol help him.”
I paused, not sure how to respond. The secretaries at the DIPPeR sometimes got territorial. Amber didn’t want me to horn in on a fellow secretary’s turf. Never mind that Hilary wasn’t a secretary, and technically neither was I. Besides, I didn’t want to be quoted as having put down Carol’s skills.
Michelle saved me again, “That sounds right up your alley, Adina. Nobody whips up charts and presentations the way you do.”
“Thanks, Michelle,” I laughed. “Anyway, it’s just temporary. I’ll help out with this one project. I’ve had a pretty light workload lately so it’ll help keep me busy until Matt’s next project kicks in.”
Amber seemed appeased, “It didn’t sound like a very interesting project. Better you than me.”
Michelle tapped on her watch. We threw our trash in the nearby bin and hurried back to the office.
After lunch, I sat down at my computer and logged on to the project files. Thankfully, Hilary was well organized. She had created folders for each state, with subfolders for data, background, graphs, and so on. I also found a folder for the report, which contained an outline, a working draft, and several files containing notes.
I started by checking out the draft – to gain a better sense of what the project entailed. At the same time, I could see what was done and what was missing.
The report structure included an intro chapter, a chapter for each state, and then a chapter comparing the states’ data. The first few chapters were almost finished. They even included many of the charts that Dr. Stickler had told me to create, complete with placeholders for missing data.
By contrast, the chapter on West Virginia was quite sketchy. So was the comparison chapter. I was going to need to fill in the gaps, presumably model the presentation of data after the chapters on the other states. My thoughts were interrupted when Matt stopped by my desk on his way out. It was past 5, so I logged off my computer and went home.
I knew I should take Daniel’s advice and not spend too much time alone. Easier said than done. Especially on a Monday night. After a quick shower and dinner, I decided to give writing a sympathy message another try.
I searched for the obit notice and clicked the link. Several more messages had been posted. Most of them were the short standard expressions of sympathy, ‘sorry for your loss,’ ‘thinking of you,’ ‘heartfelt condolences,’ and so on.
Hilary’s brother, Brad, had posted a short yet moving tribute. I had never met Brad but Hilary had spoken of him with love and admiration. Clearly, they had been close and he was hurting.
I didn’t want to write something impersonal, or that
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