“None of your business,” he replied shortly.
She flinched slightly at his bluntness. It was more in character for the Boss she had known for ten years but a sharp turn from the more subdued man who spoke to her a moment ago.
“You’re off the case, Bold,” he said, “now and forever. I don’t want you anywhere near it. In fact, I don’t want you anywhere near Philadelphia.”
She blinked. “You’re transferring me?”
A smile crossed his face before fading like a puff of smoke. “If I thought another SAC would do a better job of reining you in, I would have transferred you years ago.”
Faith felt a punch to the gut that was every bit as devastating as the actual punch she had suffered at West’s hands. She lowered her eyes so the Boss wouldn’t see the tears that welled there.
“I’m assigning you another case,” he said. “In Iowa.”
“Iowa? Isn’t that Abel’s wheelhouse?”
Clyde Abel was head of the St. Louis, Missouri field office, and responsible for much of the Midwest. He was also a personal friend of Faith's, having earned his promotion in part due to his assistance with an earlier case where a troubled preacher's son was dropping women he deemed unclean into wells and leaving them to drown. He had also followed up on Gordon Clark’s past at her bequest and proven in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t possibly have been the killer Faith thought he was. If she was working with Abel, she could possibly convince him to help her look into Dr. West.
“It is,” the Boss confirmed, “and he has been warned explicitly by Deputy Director Smythe not to talk to you. At all. Not even over a friendly cup of coffee.”
Faith’s lips thinned in irritation. “He’s a friend, Boss, not an informant.”
“Bold,” the Boss said, venom creeping into his tone. “Do not lie to me again today. I’m not nearly as stupid as you think I am. I know that you asked him to look into Gordon Clark for you off the books.” Faith concealed her surprise as he continued. “I know that you’re not going to let Dr. West go. The only way that happens is if I formally charge you with obstruction of justice and interference with a criminal investigation and have you imprisoned. Fortunately for you, I’m not at that point yet.” She opened her mouth to protest, and he held up his hand again. “But Iwillget there, Bold.”
He fell silent and allowed his warning to sink in. Faith met his eyes, but after a moment, lowered hers and nodded. “Okay. No contact with Abel.”
“For your sake, I hope you mean that,” he said, “but just in case you need a little extra incentive, let me remind you that Agent Turk is not officially your dog. He’s the property of the FBI, and if you end up on the wrong end of a criminal investigation, he will be taken from you and assigned to another handler.”
Faith's blood ran cold at the thought of losing Turk. Her eyes snapped back to the Boss's, and the steel in his expression told her he wasn't bluffing.
“Good,” he said, “glad to know something can still get through to you.”
Faith snapped, her self-control finally giving way to her frustration. “Why are you doing this? Why is it so damned unacceptable to you that I be the one to catch Trammell? I’m the one who’s closest to this case. I’m the one who’s been studying him for years. I’m the one who… who has more reason than anyone to find him. Hell, Ihavefound him. That’s more than anyone else can say. Yes, it was a mistake to chase him on my own, but I’ll find him again, and this time I’ll go in with backup. Why can’t I have this chance? You know how important this is to me.”
“Catch who?” the Boss asked softly.
“Tramm…” her voice trailed off as she realized her mistake. “West,” she corrected lamely. “To catch West.”
The look in his eyes told her that he knew that she knew the answer to her question. She looked away, tears forming again in her eyes.
“Two victims found so far,” he said, choosing not to respond. “Dr. Gemma Montgomery, forty-seven, and Patrick Jeter, sixty-three. Jeter was found in an abandoned storm shelter just outside of Plato, Iowa. Dr. Montgomery was found in a grain silo on an inactive wheat farm an hour away near the border with South Dakota. That’s all the information I have right now.”
“Boss, I would like to formally protest this assignment and reiterate my firm belief that I am the most qualified agent to lead the West investigation.”
“Denied,” the Boss said immediately.
“So I can’t even complain about this?”
“You can complain, but if I put a formal note in your file, I’m going to have to put a lot of other formal notes in your file, and we both know how that’s going to look to leadership. The only reason you still have a job with the Bureau is that you’ve been our most successful agent in the past two years, and you still have enough of a celebrity status in Washington that it’s worth the headaches to keep you onboard.”
He leaned over the desk, his steel-blue eyes boring into Faith’s own. “Barely,” he added. “It’sbarelyworth it to keep you onboard. You screw up one more time, Faith, and your reputation won’t save you. So do everyone a favor and think of all the people who will die at the hands of the killers you’ll never have a chance to catch if you get yourself fired for ignoring my repeated commands to stay off this case. This is my final warning, Faith. I mean it. You and I both know this has nothing to do with anything but feeling like you ‘lost’ to Trammell and wanting to take that anger out on West. Keep your mouth shut, Faith, I’m not interested in hearing it. You are not a vigilante. You’re an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and you serve at the Bureau’s pleasure, not yours. I hope I make myself clear. I’m not going to ask you to tell me if I do because I really can’t handle another lie from you.”
He reached into his desk and pulled out the file of the Iowa case. “Here,” he said, tossing it onto the desk. “That’s the file. It’s thin right now, but I’m sure you and Prince can fatten it up in no time.”
“Michael’s coming?”
“Of course he’s coming,” the Boss replied. “He’s your partner. He’s already been briefed. He’ll meet you at the airport.”
Faith stood and headed for the door without another word. Just before she left the office, the Boss called, “Stop by the medical office before you leave and get yourself cleaned up. A clean uniform wouldn’t hurt either. And Bold, figure out how to work with your partner. You’re causing me enough grief without me having to worry that you and Prince aren’t getting along.”
