Page 36 of So Lethal

“I’m not at liberty to talk about the case to unrelated individuals,” Faith replied. “But I would suggest leaving him be for now.”

Casper nodded. “Sure. All right. I hope he’s not in any serious trouble. I don’t think he’s a bad man. He’s just suffering.”

The three agents left Casper’s house and headed back to their car. They caught sight of a police cruiser approaching the house just as they pulled away. A part of Faith hoped that Marcus would do something stupid and get himself arrested to make their lives easier. Another part of Faith hoped that if he was innocent, they would figure it out quickly and stop making a difficult time for him even more difficult.

Either way, they needed to find an interpreter—Beth or someone else—and talk to him ASAP.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

When they reached the hotel, Faith decided to look for another interpreter. Beth still hadn’t gotten back to them, and Faith didn’t want to wait. Besides, Beth hadn’t asked to be involved in this case. She might be ignoring their call on purpose, which was fine with Faith. There were professionals trained to interpret for law enforcement.

“I’m going to call the San Francisco field office and see if they have an ASL interpreter available,” she told Michael. “I don’t think Beth’s—”

Her phone interrupted her. She frowned when she saw the number. “Shit. It’s Tabitha.”

Michael grimaced. “Oy. Good luck.”

She answered the phone, and before she could say anything, her boss shouted, "What the hell is going on, Faith?"

Faith blinked. “Um… We’re working the case?”

“Are you talking to the news while working the case?”

“No.”

“Well, someone is. Someone told the news that there’s a serial killer on the loose in the bay, and they just told them that Faith Bold and Michael Prince are the ones investigating. Now your name’s right at the top of every news headline again.”

Faith frowned. “I can see how that’s frustrating, ma’am, but that’s bound to happen. We’re working with local law enforcement and interviewing people of interest. The media is eventually going to figure out who’s working the case.”

Tabitha sighed. “I know, but the fact that it’s you makes it a news story. Christ, why the hell…” She took a deep breath, and to her credit, she tried to use a more professional tone when she spoke again. “I’m assigning a new investigator to the case, or rather, I’m going to call San Francisco and have them assign one. I really don’t know why we ship our investigators across the country when there are perfectly good field offices in every major city in the United States.”

Faith’s frown deepened. “We send people who are best suited for each investigation. I’m the most experienced agent in cases like these. That’s why I get sent instead of local agents.”

“I’m not disparaging your skillset, agent, but we’ve talked about the danger that your celebrity status poses to the FBI. I can’t have this kind of media exposure.”

Faith fought to keep her voice even. “With all due respect, ma’am, you already have it. If you remove me from this case, the news media is going to wonder why. And if there are any more victims, they’re going to decide that it was your interference that led to that.”

“Don’t threaten me, Special Agent!”

“I’m not threatening you,” Faith insisted. “I’m making you aware of the side effects of a decision to remove me from a case, especially one you assigned me to. You did assign me to this case, right?”

Tabitha sighed. “Yes. I thought it would take you out of the spotlight since you and your partner decided to publicize the Messenger Killer and turn it into another goddamned media circus. God, what happened to us being detectives? What happened to undercover work? When did we go Hollywood?”

Faith listened to the ASAC rant, sharing a dry look with Michael. Tabitha had legitimate reasons to be concerned, but she catastrophized even the slightest attention from the media. It was unavoidable in a day and age when any teenager with a cell phone could broadcast anything they wanted to the world via the internet.

“Shit. All right, you’re still on the case. But for the love of God, Bold, please try to act like an investigator and not a supermodel.”

Faith’s fingers tightened around the phone. “I will continue to conduct myself with professionalism and integrity as an FBI agent, just as I always do, ma’am.”

Tabitha sighed again, then hung up without another word.

Faith set the phone down and sighed. “How did she get her job?”

“Technically speaking, she still doesn’t have it. She’s interim.”

“It’s been months. When are we getting someone else?”

“The Bureau has a shortage of agents with supervisory experience who don’t very quickly despise leadership with every fiber of their being. And the field office is trucking along just fine. It’s probably not high on Smythe’s radar.”

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