He chuckled bitterly, but before she could screw up the courage to ask him for more info after all, he grabbed a box off of the shelf and set it on the counter.“Winters is cleaning house and wants everyone to make sure their ducks are all in a row.I need your help going through the Lakeview Automotive case.”
“Lakeview?Seriously?”
Lakeview Automotive was the second case they’d ever worked on, before the first commandment killing, back when they were new partners still getting past the awkward initial meeting stage.The owners of Lakeview were suspected of laundering money for organized crime.As it turned out, they were just committing garden-variety tax fraud.All in all, a rather boring case, but it did feature a memorable conversation with one of the principals where he tried to bribe Kate with a steep discount on a 2008 Mercury Sable.
“Well, we’ve had enough eyes on us for the recent cases that I’m pretty sure every t and i that can be crossed and dotted has been crossed and dotted.The only ones that haven’t been poked at by literally everyone in the Bureau with an office instead of a desk are the pre-Cox ones.”
“Got it.And you needed my help with this?”
Marcus hesitated.He looked past Kate at the door, and her heartbeat started to quicken.Was he about to spill the tea about his and Cheryl’s latest fight?
“Winters doesn’t like the idea of you out of her sight after… well, you know.”
Kate blinked.“So, you called me here to babysit me?”
“I called you here so she knows you’re not running around causing trouble again.”
His words pierced her like sewing needle to the chest.“Causingtrouble?”
“Come on, Kate, you know what I mean.”
“No, actually, I don’t know what you mean.Because the last time you and I talked, you said you understood.You said you supported me and that you’d have my back.”
Marcus frowned.“Iamsupporting you, and Idohave your back.That’s why I called you here.”
Kate opened her mouth to offer another angry retort, then stopped and replayed what he’d said in her mind.She frowned.“When you say Winters is cleaning house, what exactly does that mean?”
Marcus sighed heavily.“I mean… Last time wasn’t the first time, Kate.”She pressed her lips together, and he said, “I’m not saying I disagree with you or that I wouldn’t have done the same thing in your position.I’m just saying that from the Bureau’s perspective, you’ve demonstrated a habitual disregard for procedure and authority.”
“But that’s not true!”
“Isn’t it?”
Kate opened her mouth.Closed it.Looked away.Folded her arms across her chest.
“Like I said, I get it.And so does Winters.She’s pissed at you, but shedoesunderstand.On the other hand, the bigwigs see it as her losing control of her agents.They’re reviewing the Field Office’s records.Depending on what they find, they’ll probably send an observer from Washington to keep an eye on things for a while.”
“Anobserver?”
“That’s just my guess.”
“Is Winters going to be replaced?”
“No,” Marcus said.“It’s not like that.”
But his eyes flicked down and to the left, and his head twitched very slightly that way.
Before Kate could process this, Kate’s phone buzzed.They both jumped, and Kate cursed softly when she landed.Winters.She answered the phone.“Kate, you and Marcus are needed in my office immediately.”
“Understood, ma’am.Is everything—”
The line clicked dead.Kate looked at Marcus.“It’s Winters.She wants to see us in her office.”
Marcus took a deep breath.“Okay.It’ll be okay.Don’t worry.”
She frowned.“Well, Iwasn’tworried until you said that.”
They left the records room.More glances followed Kate as they walked into the office of Assistant Director Victoria Winters, the head of the Portland Field Office.Winters' office was, as always, spartan and meticulously organized, smelling faintly of the French perfume she wore.The only personal touches were a Charlotte Bobcats pennant, and a framed photograph of a handsome, but pensive-looking man in naval dress uniform.Nobody knew if he was a husband, brother, father, lover… Nobody, thus far, had ever dared to ask.
