“Yes, sir,” she answered, relieved he’d bought the story. “I will be—you can count on it.”
Athena had spent much of the day in court and meetings, only to return to the office to find Agents Paulson and Howard repulsed over some deeply buried video of a mayoral candidate in McAllen, Texas, engaged in grotesque sexual relations with a minor. “Bouvier, don’t look!” Paulson paused the playback and held his hand over the screen. “You don’t need to see this. Contact Judge Harrelson and get an arrest warrant for this pervert.”
Agent Cedric Howard spun away from the small screen in disgust, wiping a bony hand down his umber face. Pacing to meet Athena before she reached Paulson’s station, he grimaced and shook his head. “I figured we’d turn up some dirt on these politicians, but this one takes the cake! Paulson found it on the dark web, some kiddy porn site with revolving IP addresses. I need to go watch cute animal reels for a few minutes to get those images out of my mind.”
“You do that,” Athena concurred, moving to stand beside John’s chair. She laid a manicured hand on his shoulder, only half spying the amateur film paused on his screen. “And who exactly needs arresting?”
“So many people, but Henry Grover Culpepper, candidate for McAllen mayor, is top priority.” Raising his other hand to finish covering the disturbing image, he peered at her over his shoulder. “Bad enough he wastes oxygen, let alone gets the chance to become mayor of a city. I’ll copy over just enough of this to convince the judge. He doesn’t want to see it all—trust me.”
“I do trust you, John. That’s why I insisted you stay on my team. I’ll hit up Woody now.” Leaving him to it, Athena made her way to her office to contact the judge. His name wasn’t actually Woody Harrelson, like the famous actor. It was a nickname he got stuck with for arriving at a federal employee’s Halloween party dressed as Woody fromToy Story. He looked so much like the lanky cowboy sheriff that the moniker stuck.
She was halfway finished with the affidavit for the judge when her cell phone vibrated with a call. Spotting Flash’s name on caller ID, she stopped typing to answer. “Hey, sweetie, I’m still at work.”
“Still?”
Athena glanced at the clock. Six-fifteen was later than she’d stayed for a while, other than to work the cryptocurrency kidnapping case.
“Still,” she answered with a sigh. “Aren’t you on shift tonight?”
“Yeah, but I wanted to let you know.” Flash’s voice lowered to a whisper as Athena pressed the phone to her ear. “The warehousewasan arson, and it matched one from earlier in the summer. The fire investigator is looking for similar unsolved cases with a signature of a pile of burnables soaked in BBQ lighter fluid, ignited with a sparkler. That’s unique, isn’t it?”
“Very,” Athena concurred.
“We aren’t telling anyone that Edwards missed it,” Flash continued in a hush, “so he doesn’t go ballistic. Anyway, Captain O’Riley said I could tell you. I’ve really tried to keep us under wraps, but it seems he and half the firehouse know. Can’t people get their own lives?”
Athena chuckled. “It’s OK, Flash. I don’t mind if people know about us … unless you do.”
“You mean and have them all jealous of me for scoring the smartest, hottest, sexiest law enforcement officer in the country? Heck, no, I don’t mind.” Flash’s endearing laugh sounded through the airwaves, coming to rest in Athena’s chest. The alarm bell sounded in the background.
“Gotta run, honey,” she said. “Talk to you later.”
“Take care of my firefighter, you hear? Keep her safe,” Athena mandated.
Flash laughed. “Always.”
As Athena finished the affidavit and sent it off to Judge Harrelson’s office in a fax marked “Urgent,” she contemplated the fires and Captain O’Riley’s instructions to her girlfriend.They can’t ask for the FBI’s help since they’ve no evidence the arsonist has struck on federal property or in another state,she mused. But I get the feeling O’Riley would like me to check our database to see if he has. With no pressing cases consuming our resources, we could easily form a joint task force to catch this firebug before he burns down half of Houston. It’s no trouble for me to start a run before heading home, then see what turns up in the morning.
Confidentin her plan, Athena programmed her computer to run searches for similar fires nationwide, going back two years. If anything popped, she and Flash could end up working together. But would that be a good thing?
“OK, everybody,” Athena directed as her heels clipped into the situation room. Paulson spun his wheelchair around, and skinny Agent Howard froze in mid-motion, like one of those spooky mimes. Shoops, who’d adopted the routine of never leaving the office before the boss, looked up from her desk and adjusted her glasses. The other agents had taken off at regular quitting time.
“Go home.”
“But—” Howard protested.
“I’ve requested a warrant for that hideous Culpepper’s arrest, which he doesn’t know nor suspect, so he’s not going to skip the country tonight. Paulson, tomorrow, after you’ve had a shower, a good meal, and made love to your properly aged wife, I want you to dive deeper into that dark website where you found the incriminating video. Get a couple of guys from cybercrimes to help. Now, go home—and that’s an order.” Athena raised her chin, casting an intimidating stare around the room to underscore her command.
“If you insist,” John answered with a smirk and an arched brow.
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Howard yanked his suit coat from the back of his chair and made a beeline for the exit.
“I’ll walk you out,” Shoops offered with a meek expression, concluding with, “if it’s OK.”
“That would be acceptable.” Athena wanted to check in with Karen anyway, as they never had a chance to converse in the office about anything other than the current case. In the elevator, she asked, “How are you doing, Agent Shoops?”
“Oh, pretty good,” she said. “I had to get a cavity filled at the dentist’s last week. I thought those stopped happening past a certain age.”
“If so, I haven’t passed it yet,” Athena admitted. “That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about your psychological and emotional well-being. After almost being burned alive and losing a fellow agent on the job … I’m glad you haven’t tendered your resignation.”
