Page 10 of Anarchy Missing

I’m about to sneer at him when his face softens. He looks like shit. His hair is a mess and he’s not wearing one of his thousand-dollar suits. He’s in jeans and a white button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up, that isn’t even tucked in.

“Finally,” he repeats. With something that might be… relief.

“Jesus, Randy. What’s going on? You look like you’ve been up all night.”

“I have,” he says, lowering his voice as I come closer. “I got a phone call from the mayor at two AM that the government systems were all down. So I came in to help sort things out with IT and that’s when the banks were hit.”

“Shit,” I say, trying to see past his body. His office is filled with angry voices and upper-level officials. “You should’ve called me. I’d have come in to help.”

“I know,” he says, even softer. “But there was nothing you could do. I figured one of us deserved to get some sleep. Be fresh in the morning.”

Oh. Well, that was nice of him. Maybe he’s not an asshole. Maybe I’ve misjudged him. I don’t do that often, so it would be a nice surprise—especially the way I’m feeling today—to be wrong about Randy. “I’m here now. What can I do?”

“Just…” He looks me in the eyes, almost pleading.

That’s when the scent of cinnamon hits my nose. “Is that coffee I smell?”

“Oh, yeah,” Randy says, absently. He lifts up a white paper cup with a crimson lid and holds it out. “I had Cait get coffee. You want one?”

“Oh, hell yes,” I say, taking the cup. “I came in as soon as Cait called. Didn’t get my second cup at home.”

Randy slips out of his office and closes the door behind him. We are so close, we’re practically pressed together, chest to chest. “If you really want to help me out, Lulu—”

Lulu. He never calls me Lulu. It’s always Louise. Or Miss Lightly. Or, like a few seconds ago… just Lightly. Like we’re old army buddies who’ve been through hell together and only use each other’s last names.

“—just back me up in there, OK?” He nods his head to the closed office door.

“Whatever you need,” I say. He turns to go back in, but I grab hold of his bare arm. My unexpected touch stops me and him at the same time, and I let go. “But what’s happening?”

“Just follow my lead. We have huge problems, Lulu. Huge.”

I enter his office right behind him. No one looks at us. No one pays any attention to us at all. They are all too busy talking in short, clipped sentences. Bouncing accusations and defenses off each other.

“This is an inside job,” Mayor Salinas roars, his index finger stabbing a thick folder on his desk so hard, I cringe at the thought of how that feels. “If this gets out to the press, we’re all fucked.”

Jesus Christ. Something big is happening. I feel a little excited over it.

Then feel shame at my excitement.

But a big case is… sorta fun. Right? A challenge.

Salinas looks up at me. “Miss Lightly,” he growls. “Nice of you to join us.”

I’m about to get defensive when Randy interrupts. “I wanted Lulu to be fresh when she came in and took over. She’s not late, Mayor. She’s right on time.”

Mayor Salinas calms down a little before he says, “Well, good. You’re on for the duration, Miss Lightly. You can expect to eat at your desk or in your car. We’re not going home tonight until we have a lead, do you understand?”

I don’t. Not really. But I nod my head.

“Good,” the mayor snarls. “I want Chuck and Juan to go over to the banks and start interviewing everyone. And I do. Mean. Everyone.” He punctuates each of those words with more finger stabs on the thick folder.

Chuck and Juan both nod. They’ve been special assistant DAs for many years now and have a lot more seniority than I do.

“Sally, Tim, and Tiffany will coordinate all the court cases today. If any of the judges give you any shit for shuffling lawyers around, you tell him to call me. Understand?”

Sally and Tim, both assistant DAs, nod quietly. Almost meekly. “Yes, sir,” Tiffany says. “We’ll handle it.” Tiffany is the chief deputy, reporting directly to Randy.

There’s silence for a few seconds, then Mayor Salinas bellows, “Well, what the fuck are you waiting for? Get your asses out of here and back to work.”