The station was alive with its usual noise — ringing phones, the steady clack of keyboards, and the occasional burst of laughter from the break room — but Daryl felt the undercurrent of tension thrumming just beneath it all.
After what he’d discovered yesterday, the air around him felt heavier, every conversation seemed more guarded. He could feel eyes on him. Watching. Assessing.
But he kept his head down, playing the part of a rookie just trying to get through his first week without messing up.
He was at his desk, reviewing the scant evidence from the construction site case, when Officer Leo Mendoza slid into the chair beside him with a too-casual air.
Leo was a few years older, with sharp eyes and a slick confidence that didn’t quite sit right with Daryl.
They hadn’t spoken much
