Jane arrivedat the Seattle FBI Headquarters building and joined what remained of her ten-person squad in the main office. She sat across from her fellow agent and good friend, Jenn Sullivan.
“How was the home invasion?” Jenn asked, sipping her coffee.
Blond, petite, and smart, Jenn liked wearing nice clothes to the office and could always be counted on to get the job done. A consummate professional.
Jane loved Jenn’s sarcastic sense of humor and that she didn’t take herself too seriously. Like Jane, she worked to catch criminals, not for promotions and accolades.
“It wasn’t a home invasion. Just a teenage love affair gone wrong.”
“That sounds interesting. Better than my morning, at least.” Jenn sighed. “I thought I was getting somewhere with a lead in my human trafficking case, but the investigation stalled again, and I’m not sure why.”
“Have you figured out where they’ve based their operation?”
“You mean, instead of all over the city?” Jenn huffed. “The creeps are picking up young girls at strip malls. In Targets and Walmarts. And they’re successful. No one has seen anything odd before the girls disappeared.”
“Not good.” Jane shook her head. “Let me make a few calls. Maybe I can shake something loose for you.”
“Anything and everything is appreciated. Thanks.” Jenn slid a folder toward her, and Jane tucked it with her other open cases, making a note to look into it.
Like everyone else on the squad, Jane investigated violent crimes. She’d closed a few cases recently, but those had quickly been replaced by new ones.
Not only that, but she, like the rest of her squad, was still getting used to their new boss. Supervisory Special Agent Natalie Grimshaw had worked in another squad on their floor before being promoted to SSA.
Jane liked her so far, but not as much as she’d come to like her old boss, who’d been promoted within the Seattle branch. SSA Grimshaw reminded Jane of Jenn Sullivan—intelligent, petite, and no-nonsense. Unfortunately, the woman didn’t seem to have made up her mind about Jane.
“Cannon, with me,” Grimshaw barked before darting back into her office.
Jenn smirked. “Go get ‘em, Tiger.”
“Shut up.” She ignored the knowing grins of several other agents and stepped into Grimshaw’s office after a brief knock.
Her supervisor had stamped her own mark on the space. The office still had a stark feel with its cream-colored walls, mahogany desk, and matching bookshelves lined with volumes on everything from law texts to reference guides on religion, forensics, and the Bureau.
The pictures on the walls had been changed out. New photographs of the White House and the J. Edgar Hoover Building looked down over a centered, framed photo of SSA Grimshaw shaking hands with the current Director of the FBI, back when he’d been the assistant director.
From what Jane had learned, Natalie Grimshaw had been instrumental in tackling a national security threat to Washington, D.C. as ajunior agent, impressing her superiors. The woman had been moving steadily through the ranks over the years and did her homework. She didn’t have connections in the Bureau or riches to ease her way up the ladder.
Jane respected that.
She also respected the fact that her tech genius of an uncle hadn’t dug up any dirt on Grimshaw. If Hal couldn’t find it, there was nothing to find. Grimshaw was who she said she was.
“Ma’am?”
“Have a seat, Cannon.”
Jane even liked the way the woman called her by her last name, the way Jane was used to being addressed during her time serving in the Marine Corps.
After sitting, Jane waited in silence for her boss to speak.
Grimshaw stared back.
Jane didn’t blink.
Grimshaw’s lips curled into a rueful smile. “I hear you’re the squad’s problem child.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. ASAC Haversham thinks you walk on water. Your old boss, our new ASAC Matthew Scott, describes you as smart, handy, and prone to taking the initiative.”
