Page 26 of Matteo

It wasn’t as if he’d be able to see it.

“I hear bodies are piling up,” the director spoke again, the ember on the end of his cigar glowing.

“Sir,” Jason spoke. “There was a witness to the first murder.”

Rain…

The director cleared his throat. “And has she said what she saw? Or who she saw?”

“No,” I said quickly.

“Well, I didn’t get a chance to question her,” Jason snapped and I could practically hear his teeth grinding.

Silence filled the void of the director’s office momentarily. I could hear Jason’s breathing and the stench of the cigars was starting to drive me crazy. The base of my head began to throb and I began to crave an aspirin, anything to take the edge off.

“Any connection between the murders except the obvious?” The Director asked.

Shaking my head in the dark, “No.”

“Find one,” the director quipped.

I was about to speak again when he dismissed us. I couldn’t wait to get out of that miasma of cigar smoke.

“We need to find a connection,” Jason said stepping onto the elevator.

“I do my best thinking over beer,” I shrugged.

“Still such a frat boy,” he shook his head.

“No completely. I work harder now than I ever did in college.”

The doors to the elevator parted and we stepped into the main lobby. A few other agents dressed in black suits and chatting animatedly walked by.

“What do we do about that witness,” Jason pushed open the front door.

Fresh air smacked me in the face and I took a deep breath closing my eyes for a second and filling my lungs.

“We need to stay on her…”

“I can’t do it,” Jason said. “I have a newborn at home and there’s no way in hell my wife is going to put up with me doing fieldwork after hours.”

I quirked a bow. “And I’m what just…”

“You’re fucking single…so yeah, you’re gonna be on this witness’s ass…”

Flashes of Rain’s ass popped into my head.

Fuck,I thought.You get to stalk the woman who won’t give you the time of day…

“Just until we figure out a connection…”

Jason was already walking down the sidewalk and getting into his car. The need to throw up my hands entered my mind but I didn’t. Walking over to my black-out SUV, I heard the Raven caw again nearby.

The second I turned his way, he flew from the branch as if he’d been waiting for me.

Bird shit hit the roof of my car, a loud grating thud.

“Fucking gross,” I hollered after it. The animal was already gone, flapping its wings higher and higher until it disappeared out of sight.

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