Talk to him.He was a good friend.
“He’s not wrong,” she said, “but it’s not something I talk about.”
ALPHA Operatives were given badges for several federal agencies—FBI, ATF, State, DEA, and DHS, to name a few. Since they couldn’t come clean that they were with ALPHA, they used their aliases when making an arrest, interfacing with other LEOs, or interviewing witnesses.
“We always did keep each other’s secrets,” he said. “Do you remember what you said when you met Alice?”
Alice had been his girlfriend.
“Not really.”
“You didn’t think we were right for each other.”
“Ouch. Sorry.”
“No, I loved it, and wished I’d broken it off sooner. When Alice went out of town for six months, I started man-whoring around.” Jerod shook his head. “Not my proudest moment.”
Simone nodded. “I remember that.”
“You gave me great advice. You said that if I couldn’t be faithful to her, I should break it off and find someone I could be faithful with.” He showed her a photo of his girlfriend. “Becca and I are talking about her moving here so we can be together. I’d love for you to meet her.”
“Where does she live?”
“Atlanta,” he replied. “So, what case were you working that messed you up?”
She leaned forward. “The Bomb Maker.”
His eyebrows jutted up. “Wow. That was my case. How’d you get it?”
Despite the uneasiness in talking about it, she couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Jerod, not evenyoucould workeverycase.”
“Of all the cases I got assigned, Ihatedlosing that one.”
“It was good you didn’t end up working it. It was a total fail. I left, went into private industry.”
“Whatever happened to The BM?”
She chuckled. “Leave it to you to say something totally inappropriate about one of the worst mass murderers of our time.”
Rudy returned with their food. “Enjoy, my friends.” He set down their plates, put the French Fries and Ketchup between them. “I’ll be back with refills.”
After he left, Jerod asked, “Did The BM get arrested?”
Simone’s stomach lurched as she bit into the greasy burger. Maybe talking about The Bomb Maker wasn’t so smart after all.
“He was never found,” she replied.
“Maybe he blew himself up,” Jerod added.
“Why would you say that?”
“He blows up a bunch of buildings, then just vanishes?” Jerod shook his head. “There was never a manifesto, never even a suspect to question. I’m guessing The BM is dead.”
She glanced around the crowded restaurant.
I can’t talk about this here.
Needing to change the subject, she asked Jerod about his work.
