Page 18 of So Wicked

“No. Nothing like that. I’m just… I’m supposed to focus on my current assignment.”

Slade's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and Faith could tell that the detective knew she was hiding something. He didn't probe any further, though. "Ah. Bummer." He stood and extended his hand. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Special Agent Bold. For what it's worth, I think you're doing a damned good job."

Now it was Faith’s turn to wonder what Slade wasn’t saying. Had he seen through her deflection and guessed that she was suspended and not on another assignment?

That mystery would have to remain unsolved. She stood and took his hand. “Good luck, Detective.”

He nodded, then left with his uniforms. Faith watched them leave, and only left the cemetery when they were gone.

They walked slowly back to Jacob’s house. Turk could sense that she was troubled and tried to engage her in play a few times while they walked. When she didn’t reciprocate, he whined softly and nuzzled her leg.

She reached down to scratch behind his ears for a moment. “Mommy’s okay, Turk. She just has a lot on her mind.”

Faith wasn’t superstitious, and she didn’t believe in spiritual signs that would show her what path to take in life. Still, it felt a little more than coincidental that she would happen to be in Carmel right when another of the killers she specialized in reared his ugly head and began to murder innocents. The cold,analytical portion of her mind told her that a coincidence was exactly what it was. After all, she had said to Slade that the “increase” in serial killers wasn’t an increase at all but a function of more awareness on the part of law enforcement.

But shewashere. Innocent peoplehaddied. And the local detective assigned to the case had stated explicitly that he was in over his head and needed help.

She cursed softly. “I should have told him to call the Indianapolis office and get their help. They probably have an agent who can shed some light on this.”

Once more, the cold analyst in her mind refused to let her explain away her actions as simple forgetfulness. Shecouldhave recommended the Indianapolis office, but she didn’t. Why not?

“Because…”

She looked at Turk. He met her eyes, and since she was being extra superstitious today, she might as well just accept that it looked like his expression encouraged her to be honest.

“Because I want to help. I’m the most qualified agent in the Bureau to handle this kind of crime. And I can’t sit still and wait for someone to tell me it’s okay to do my job again. I’m here, and I can make a difference now.”

Turk barked, and Faith smiled. Now that her decision was made, her uncertainty disappeared. Doing this would be a huge risk. If her superiors caught wind of the fact that she was assisting in a multiple murder investigation when she was supposed to be laying low on administrative leave, she risked losing not only her field agent status but her employment.

Not my life, though. Not like Dr. Summers and Dr. Patel.

She jogged the rest of the way back to Jacob’s house and caught him just returning from work. He lifted his eyebrow when he saw her.

“You look excited. Is the FBI giving you your job back?”

“No. But I’m going to work anyway.”

She explained about the dead body Turk had found and Detective Slade’s request for help. Jacob sighed at the end and shook his head.

“As your friend, I should tell you that this is a very bad idea and one you need to dismiss out of hand and never reconsider. As your First Sergeant, I am well aware of the fact that you will never follow an order you disagree with and aren’t particularly interested in hearing the rationale for that order. As a Marine, I’m going to tell you that I’m proud of you and wish you good luck.”

Faith smiled at him. “Thank you, First Sergeant.”

“Go get ‘em, Bold.”

She wrapped him in a bear hug, then jogged to her car. The drive to the Carmel Police Department took twenty minutes. She found Detective Slade in the lobby preparing to leave. His eyes widened when he saw her. “Special Agent Bold. What are you doing here?”

“It looks like I’ll have some free time after all,” she said. “I wanted to see if you still needed help.”

Slade grinned from ear to ear. “I’d be happy to have you.”

Faith returned Slade’s grin. Eventually, the other shoe would drop, and she would suffer consequences for her actions here, but she could worry about that later.

I’m back, baby!

CHAPTER NINE

The three of them drove into downtown Carmel. Traffic was steady but not particularly heavy this early in the afternoon.

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