The Hero Next Time: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 4)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Lauren, Monday

She was late.

She.

Was.

Late.

She thought her tiredness Saturday was just due to sleeplessness worrying about Rachel the night before. When the feeling of being hit by a truck lasted over Sunday and now today, and her breasts felt increasingly heavy and tender, she ran to her calendar and flipped to the previous month to see when her last period was, then flipped ahead to today's date.

Period lengths varied. She wasn't the most regular woman, who could time them to the day, but she thought it probably should have started by now. The cramping, at least.

Maybe she was hitting menopause early. She was in her forties, it wasn't that uncommon. She should ask her mother when she went through the change, to know when she should expect it. It wasn't something she was looking forward to, but at least she wouldn't have to deal with the bleeding every month.

She wasn't bleeding yet.

She'd felt exactly like this both times she was...

No. She was on the pill. It was 99% effective if she took it at the same time every day, and she did.

99% wasn't 100%. And wasn't there one day she thought she had food poisoning after eating at a sketchy diner with an informant giving her a tip on a case she was working? She'd actually stayed home from work for a day. Didn't that reduce the effectiveness of the pill? She thought she'd read that somewhere.

She spent the entire day worrying about it, and she wasn't entirely sure she presented her best self when she met with Jack Barnes, Manager of Security at VPL, to have a check in and see how her staff was doing at the new site, reviewing the incidents they'd dealt with and assessing where they could make improvements in teamwork and communication. Most of the work was logistical, and she could do that thinking in her sleep.

It was near the end of the meeting that Jack cleared his throat and said, "I should let you know that..."

She didn't hear the rest of what he said. All she could think of was the fact that if what she feared was true, then she was in a lot of trouble...

"Ms. Hasegawa? Lauren?"

She blinked out of her reverie and said, "Sorry, sorry, I don't think I'm feeling too well today. Could you repeat that last part?"

"Oh, sorry to hear that. We could have rescheduled."

"It just came on, I don't think it's serious. What was it you said?"

"Well, the guards interact a lot with the library staff, of course. They talk."

"Okay. Is this something you frown on?"

"Not necessarily, as long as it doesn't affect their work. What I thought I would bring to your attention is that the library staff is unionized."

"Uh-huh." She knew this already. Al mentioned he went to union meetings every couple of months.

"They've been encouraging your guards to look into organizing."

Lauren stared at Jack for a few seconds, unable to process what he was saying.

Jack cleared his throat and said, "Was that clear?"

She blinked as it finally clicked. "Yes, of course. Justiciar guards don't belong to a union. Library staff do. Having them both adjacent to each other, it's only natural for them to compare notes on their working conditions."

Jack nodded and said, "Just so you're aware, as a municipal body, we don't work to actively discourage that kind of activity. We take a neutral position out of respect for the other staff we employ."