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Vanessa squeezed her partner’s knee. “Down,” she muttered. “Let’s not lead them on with potentially false promises.”
“This is good, though,” Moran said. “The worst outcome, besides Lister being on to us, would be her hating your guts and wanting nothing to do with you. Having a crush? That’s something we can work with.”
Vanessa hid her grimace behind a veil of complacency, but it took more effort than usual.The thought of Candace Lister with my Mitch…Vanessa was not a jealous woman. It was why she could so easily indulge in, or even gain her pleasure from, Mitch’s niche kinks that had revealed themselves over the years. Most women who openly expressed interest in having their way with Vanessa’s pet didn’t invite scorn. Mostly, Vanessa was neutral, if not intrigued. Yet there was somethingoffabout Candace. She had seen Mitch attempting to flirt with her at the party, and Candace had to essentially sit on her hands to keep herself from touching a woman everyone else already pinched that night.Except for Freida… but that doesn’t surprise me.Freida was a woman who embraced some of her kinks but was still ashamed of others. Vanessa had hoped that Mitch could help her in that department, but so far, it hadn’t taken.
But Mitch had shared something Freida said to her… about how getting involved with Candace was bad business…
Yet before Vanessa could think of how to spin that to the detectives, someone knocked on the door. The detective and his captain were not confused or on alert, however. If anything, that was disdain on Orchard’s face and outright rage on Moran’s.
No wonder. That wasn’t a SFPD officer poking his head into the conference room.
That was a woman in a black suit who knew she had power over everyone in the room.
“How lovely of you boys to tell us the wrong floor.” The older woman shot more than daggers from her eyes as both Moran and Orchard stood up from the conference table. She might have shot them with her firearm too, but only in self-defense. Moran looked like he was about to pop. “I’m sure that was a complete accident and not you attempting to thwart an open investigation.”
“This is our…”
Orchard cut off his detective before he continued to open his big mouth. “Agent James. I assure you that there was no intended deception. We changed floors at the last second because we thought…”
“That’s enough.” The woman with shorn hair and striking eyes dumped a folder on the table. Only then did she offer a curious look toward Vanessa and Mitch, neither of whom knew this woman. Yet Vanessa knew one thing about her.
That was an FBI badge on her waist.
“We’ve been quite generous, offering to work with the San Francisco Police Department on this case,” Agent James said. “One more stunt like this, though, and we’ll consider it a waste of our time and cut you out.”
“You can’t do that!”
Agent James’s eyes were so wide that Moran was convinced to sit down again. “I can’t do what, detective?” she asked through pursed lips. “Have you forgotten that this is the FBI’s jurisdiction since the beginning?”
“You’ve so helpfully taken our own information we’ve gathered over the months,” Capt. Orchard muttered. Unlike his insubordinate detective, he had sunken into his plastic chair and crossed his arms in defeat. “Moran,” he then said, louder, “you know we don’t have much agency here. Quiet down. Do you want to be taken off this case entirely?”
When Moran sat with a huff, Vanessa didn’t consider it a win.
“I know you.” Mitch leaned past Vanessa’s arm to get a better look at Agent James, still looming over the end of the table. “You worked some high-profile criminal cases in Portland, didn’t you?”
“Margaret James. Yes.” Some bravado allowed the agent to stand up straight and smooth out her suit jacket. “I used to work in Portland. I’ve been assigned to the San Francisco office since 2021. Since last year, I’ve been working on the Candace Lister case.”
“So…” Vanessa let out a heavy breath. “If the FBI is looking into her too, it’s not good.”
“No. In fact, the police department and the FBI office were both following leads until my office became aware that Det. Moran here had some evidence we didn’t. Since then…”
“They’ve invaded our case,” Moran muttered.
Margaret James slammed both hands on the table, her face leveled with the top of Moran’s head. “Your ‘case’ is way beyond your comprehension. We’re talking about Candace Lister, a woman worth over two billion dollars and with the kind of international contacts that make INTERPOL squirm. Here you idiots are, bringingciviliansinto your investigation!”
“It’s been nothing but a pleasant experience with San Francisco’s best,” Vanessa said.
“Ms. Richards.” The agent tucked a stray part of her dress shirt into her trousers when she stood back up. “I’d apologize on behalf of this decrepit department, but that’s not my job. Besides… part of the reason I’m here today is because I’m interested to hear what you’ve discovered as well.” She hooked her thumb toward Det. Moran and Capt. Orchard. “Both of you. Out. I want to speak with our witnesses,alone.”
“Absolutely not!” Moran asserted that, but his captain was already out of his seat and motioning for the detective to follow. “Are you kidding? They’re pulling rank on us!”
“Tale as old as time, detective,” Orchard said.
“Christ.” Moran kicked his seat back when he leaped up and grabbed his bottled water. Vanessa steepled her fingers before her face while Mitch became more alert now that things had gotten interesting. He lumbered out of the conference room as if he had nowhere better to be.
Agent James sat where he had been. She dragged over the thick folder she had plopped onto the table.
“I’d thank you for getting rid of those brutes,” Vanessa said, “but I have a feeling you won’t be much better.”
