Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Leonard is on my heels and steps into the circle of joy. “Who the hell are these people?”
My gaze shifts to Jay and I swear he wants to reply with, “Who the hell are you?” He’s evolving and that sucks, because this job should not take a nice guy and make him me, but I knew it would.
“They work for me,” I say as dismissively as he is rude.
Jack holds out his hand. “I’m Jack. I’m with forensics at the NYPD, but I consult for Agent Love-Mendez. Special Agent Love-Mendez.”
No Love today, I think, but it’s done. He’s made me that man’s daughter again.
Leonard just stares at him.
I eye Jack. “We need boots.”
He lowers the hand he’s offered Leonard rather awkwardly and cuts his gaze from the asshole still glaring at him. “I’ll get them.”
“And tell the forensics team to be ready in twenty.”
“Why is he telling them anything?” Leonard demands.
“Because I told him to, and I’m fairly certain you heard those words come out of my mouth.” I don’t give him time to reply, refocusing on Jack. “Make sure they’ve started an exterior search for evidence, including the hands, and I need to find the water hose used to rinse the carpet.”
“Got it,” Jack says. “And I was thinking about the hands,” he adds, because he just can’t help but talk when he should be reading the room.
“Think while you go get the boots,” I say and I motion to Jay. “I’m going to make your day. Wait for me. Outside.”
He gives me a salute, a reminder he was once a soldier, and cuts between me and Leonard to exit the house. I rotate to face Leonard. “You’re needed upstairs where you will find about twenty people who need to be interviewed. If you don’t have agents to do it, get agents to do it, and make sure they’re discreet.”
“I’d like to see the body.”
“Go for it. Make sure you ask him who the hell he is and why he’s here, and if he tries to shake your hand, but do not, I repeat, do not shake his hand.”
“You’re a real bitch, aren’t you?”
“I wear the bitch badge proudly.” I hold up my FBI badge. “Go get everything started.”
He scowls, people do that a lot around me, and it feels like an extra badge of honor. He rotates and exits the house. I hurry up the stairs and find Mickey Smalls right where I left him. “Where’s Pocher?”
“The office.”
I head that direction and round the corner right as he’s coming out of the office. “What the hell is going on?” he demands, his shoulders curled forward as if he plans to tackle me at any moment. “Where is your father? And when can I leave?”
“Did you kill that man?”
He smirks, not so much as a bristle to his reaction. “Do I look like the kind of guy who chops people’s hands off?”
“You’re the kind of guy who pays someone else to do it. Ghost visited my father last night and then he’s greeted with a dead body when he gets here. Do you know what motivates Ghost?”
His eyes dance with amusement. “You from what I hear.”
“Men like you with boatloads of money.”
“Money is a bittersweet symphony. It buys you what you want and everyone assumes they understand the sum of your desires. Causing chaos for your father is not to my benefit.”
“Isn’t it?” I ask. “Because it seems to me that he’s becoming a rebel with a cause and the cause is his independence from you. And we both know you’re not going to have it. You’ll force him to submit and get rid of him. Just like you tried to do with me. Or should I say, continue to try and fail. The governor-elect was escorted back to his home. He was never here. Make sure everyone here knows that. And if it leaks that he was, it was nothing but a team decorating session. There was an incident, and he was diverted.”
His eyes light deviously. “I guess he was smarter than I thought when he called you.”
“No one believes I’m doing this for him. This is about not letting the killer hide inside the political scandal he tried to create. Now, you have an assignment. Do your thing, and quiet your flock. Try not to fail, though I’m certain that’s a steep climb for you. I just seem to create that in you.”
“Create what?”
“Failure. It must really be irritating.” I rotate and walk the other direction, but pause without turning. “Don’t expect to get out of here any time soon. There’s a lot of questions to be asked and answered.” I turn and add, “Of course we’ll fail to get what we want, but we have to try and try again. And all that trying takes a very long time.” This time, when I offer him my back, I keep walking.