AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The three of them ignored her once more and entered the office. A husky-looking man in his late thirties looked up from a twenty-year-old desktop computer with a look of mild irritation that quickly changed to fear when the two agents held up their IDs.
He quickly offered a smile and stood to greet the agents. “You must be the FBI agents I spoke to a moment ago on the phone. Derek Lasseter. I’m the manager.
“We need to speak with Antonio Delgado,” Faith said. “Is he here?”
“I’m afraid we don’t give out our employee’s schedules,” Derek said apologetically.
“I’m afraid I don’t give a shit,” Michael said. “I can get a warrant if you want me to, but that will involve a judge contacting your corporate office and mentioning you by name.”
“There’s no need for that,” Derek said quickly. “I can give you his schedule.”
“How about you tell me where he is now?” Faith said. “Home address?”
“Well, he’s not at home,” Derek said. “He’s at an in-home session.”
“Fascinating,” Michael said, “where might this home be?”
Derek hesitated. “I’m really not supposed to give out members’ information.”
Michael held up a finger and punched some numbers into his phone. “Hi, is this Judge Michaelson? This is Special Agent Prince, FBI. Yeah, I need a warrant for—”
“All right, all right,” Derek said, lifting his hands in front of his chest. “One second.”
He plopped down in front of his dinosaur computer, and a moment later, he turned the massive tube monitor toward the two agents. Faith leaned down and quickly jotted the address down on her notepad.
“Wonderful,” she said, offering Derek a frosty smile. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Derek nodded but didn’t answer. His eyes flitted back and forth between the two agents and Turk, who stared impassively at him.
“Come on, boy,” Faith called, “let’s go find Romeo.”
They drove to the address they got from Derek. It led them to a nice house in the Catalina Foothills. Faith noted that the house looked almost identical to Katherine Navarro’s. That didn’t mean anything, but it fascinated Faith how true the McMansion stereotype was.
Turk grew anxious as they approached the house. Michael and Faith exchanged glances. Turk’s intuition was usually spot on in situations like this.
They left the car, and Turk trotted next to them, his ears perked up and his tail straight. Michael and Faith exchanged another glance and unholstered their weapons.
When they reached the front door, Michael stood back with both hands on his weapon and waited while Faith prepared to knock. Just before she could knock, a scream came from inside the house.
Faith and Michael looked at each other in alarm. Turk barked loudly, and Faith pounded on the door. They heard a low cry and sounds of scuffling from inside.
“FBI!” Faith shouted. “Open up!”
They heard another cry and more scuffling.
Faith swore under her breath. She stepped aside as Michael stepped forward. He lifted his leg and kicked just to the right of the doorknob. The doorjamb splintered, and the door flew inward off of its hinges. Michael and Faith ran inside the house, guns drawn. Turk sprinted past them, making a beeline up the stairs.
“FBI!” Faith cried, rushing after him. “Show yourself!”
She heard a woman’s cry and then, almost immediately after, a man’s voice screaming, “Help! Help! Get him off me!”
The two agents burst into a bedroom and aimed their weapons. Turk had a man by the ankle and was dragging him back inside from the window through which he was trying to escape. The man was completely naked, as was the woman on the bed currently scrambling to cover herself with the blanket.
Turk planted his feet and dragged the man into the house. He shrieked and flailed and beat on Turk ineffectually, which Faith found slightly comical considering the man’s toned, muscular physique.
She looked at Michael, and the two of them holstered their weapons.
“Help!” Antonio Delgado shrieked. “Get him off me! Please!”
