Page 43 of So Wicked

“Oh yeah. He was under the impression that I had formally requested the FBI’s help and gotten permission to work with you. He was less than pleased to learn that I had just asked you for help at a crime scene.”

“I see. Sorry about that.”

“I’m not. Between you and me, I really don’t give a shit if the brass gets their feathers ruffled. My job is to catch killers. If they want a politician, they can hire a politician.”

Faith perked up a little. “I agree. What do they want us to do? Just let people die so the right I’s are dotted and the right t’s are crossed?”

“They want to win reelections and earn promotions,” Slade agreed. “That’s all it is. They disguise it as ‘the greater good,’ but that’s bullshit. It’s just the greater looking good.”

“Exactly,” Faith said, perking up even further. The sting of Tabitha’s rebuke was fading. “I’m not going to fold my hands and curtsy just because it makes people look better.”

“Me either. Glad we’re on the same page.”

Turk barked his own agreement.

“And he makes three,” Faith said, reaching back to scratch Turk under his chin. “And you said you had a lead?”

“I do. A customer of Dr. Foster’s. Kid named Alex Winters.”

“An actual kid or just a younger adult?”

“Everyone under thirty is a kid to me,” Slade replied. “He’s twenty-five.”

“You’re over thirty?”

Slade grinned. “I’ll be forty next week.”

“Wow. You look good.”

“Thank you, but we can flirt later. This kid Alex is a lot more attractive to me right now.”

“Tell me about him.”

“He’s one of Foster’s pentobarbital customers. Most recent sale was a week ago, for thirty days’ supply of pills. That’s enough to kill our three victims. I looked through the security footage for the sites of our murders. I didn’t place him at the exact scenes of the crimes—those aren’t covered by cameras—but I confirmed that he was at the pet cemetery where Dr. Patel was murdered on the night of her death.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep. Camera caught him walking right through the graveyard wearing a black hoodie and black gloves. Thankfully no ski mask, so we have a nice look at his face.”

“Wonderful! And your department doesn’t know about this?”

“Nope. They might figure it out eventually, but I’m hoping that the delay caused by transferring the case to another detective will give us time to close it. I’m sure you know that thepositive press of closing a case successfully always outweighs the negative internal press of not following rules.”

Faith wasn’t sure that was the case for her any longer, but she could deal with those consequences later. “I’m in. Let’s go get him.”

“And what a coincidence. Here we are at the pet store where he works.”

Slade parked the vehicle, and the three investigators jumped out and walked inside.

Squeaks and Giggles was a small family-owned shop, and the three of them, plus the three shocked employees and three equally shocked customers, made for a tight fit. The birds, lizards and rodents that comprised most of the store's animals didn't take well to the presence of a large predator, and the cacophony of fearful and indignant calls added to the chaos.

One of the employees—a tall, gangly young man with a shock of messy dark hair and eyes that Faith could generously call vacuous—tried to take advantage of that chaos to run through the back door. Turk caught him at the end of the hallway, jumping up and landing onto the young man with all fours and slamming him into the back door. He sank to the ground and cowered, competing with a particularly insistent cockatiel to see who could shriek the loudest in the store.

Faith and Slade walked over to him. “Okay, Turk,” Faith said.

Turk backed away but remained ready to pounce at a moment’s notice should the suspect try to flee again.

“Alex Winters?” Slade asked.

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