Page 42 of So Bleak

“Tough shit. It’s that or file paperwork for the rest of your career.” In a softer voice, he said, “We need good press, Bold. We’ve been sweeping you under the rug for a long time, but we can’t get away with that anymore. It’s time to remind people why you’re the best damned agent this Bureau has ever seen. All right?”

Faith could have spent the rest of the day listing the reasons why this wasn’t all right, but it would have been a waste of time. The Boss had his mind made up, and when he had his mind made up, he was unshakable.

And, much as Faith hated to admit it, he was right.

“All right, sir. I’ll do my best.”

“Fuck your best. You’ll succeed. You have to.”

He hung up before Faith could reply. She sighed and pressed her hands to her temples until both fingers and temples hurt.

A soft knock at the door told her Michael was in the room. She quickly pulled her hands away from her head and turned to him.

He gave her a sympathetic smile, then said, “I have a lead.”

She took a breath to steady herself. “Good. Who?”

“Alex Ferris. He’s a sommelier for Paul Revere Vineyards near Bucktown.”

“Bucktown? That’s a long drive.”

“A bit over an hour, yeah. But it should be worth it. Mr. Ferris’s job for Paul Revere is to travel to restaurants and offer wine pairings with meals to advertise their products. Within the past month, he’s been at restaurants serving Eleanor Crestwood and Harold Grimes. And Lila Vance visited the vineyard for one of her Instagram stories.”

Faith shook her head. “There’s no way he’s poisoning them weeks in advance.”

“No, there isn’t. But, all three victims ordered cases of wine from Paul Revere which arrived within two days of their death in all three cases.”

Faith lifted her eyebrow. "Ah. Well, that's interesting."

“My thoughts exactly. I put your coffee in a thermos already. If we hurry, we can beat the worst of the traffic out of the city.”

The three of them left her apartment without further fuss. Faith tried to put her conversation with the Boss out of her mind, but she couldn’t quite push it away. This lead could very well determine her future with the Bureau.

And it could be the difference between West failing or ultimately succeeding in his quest to break her spirit.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

They reached the winery just after nine. The winery itself didn’t open to the public until ten, but the receptionist saw their uniforms and didn’t offer any fuss.

“Alex should be in the tasting room down the hall,” she said. “That’s Room Twelve. Should I page him to let him know you’re coming?”

Faith thought a moment, then shook her head. She didn’t want to give Alex a chance to run. “No, that’s all right. It’ll be our surprise.”

The receptionist paled a shade and nodded.

The three of them proceeded through the winery. A few of the winemakers and sommeliers gave Turk a dirty look, but no one dared say anything to the two human agents, whose expressions made it clear they weren’t interested in any complaints about their dog being inside a food establishment.

Room Twelve was at the end of a very long hall. The window was covered with brown paper, and a laminated sign was taped to the front of the door that said TASTING IN PROGRESS. DO NOT DISTURB.

Well, they were going to disturb Alex whether he liked it or not.

Faith knocked on the door and said, “FBI! Open up!”

No answer. She tried the handle and, of course, found it locked. She knocked again, louder this time. “Alex Ferris! This is the FBI! We need to talk to you now!”

No answer. She shared a look with Michael and tried one last time. “Alex! We’re coming in! You can either open the door for us, or we can break it down!”

“Hold on!” a voice called.

---