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Ella scanned the details. Three victims, first one was a woman, second two were men. All killed in private spaces, all showed signs of strangulation.
‘He’s not a pervert,’ Ella said. ‘Nothing sexual about this.’
‘Yadda yadda. I didn’t want to assign this case to you, but I thought I’d give you a chance to prove yourselves.’
Ripley slammed her folder shut and jumped out of her seat. ‘Prove ourselves? Tell me you didn’t just say that.’
Carter's smirk faded slightly, replaced by a guarded expression. Ella rose to her feet and moved a little closer to her partner, close enough to hold her back should she explode. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
‘Proves my point,’ Carter said. ‘When you’re out there, I need everything logged. Every bullet, every suspect, every movement – I want it all documented as it happens, understand? No sketchy moves, no protocol breaches, or Miss Dark here might go straight back to her old desk job. Am I making myself clear?’
Ripley was already headed towards the door before Carter had finished his monologue. ‘We're not mindless drones, Carter. We're agents trained to read people, to understand the why behind the what. You can't just erase everything we were trained to do.’
She knew arguing with Carter was futile, but the urge to defend their work, their skills, was overwhelming. ‘Mr. Carter, things happen very quickly out in the field. We can’t just pause an investigation until we fill out paperwork.’
Carter went back to the notes on his desk. ‘This discussion is over. You have your orders, Agents. You can either follow them or find employment elsewhere. Oh, and Miss Ripley, before you storm out, I need to talk with you about your current status.'
Ripley was halfway out of the door, then spun on her heels. ‘My status?’
‘Your impending retirement.’
‘What about it?’
‘You gave six months’ notice to the former director, is that correct?’
‘Yeah, I did.’
‘Well,’ Carter began as he inspected his fingernails. ‘Special Agents of your level are required to give twelve months’ notice, so don’t go planning your next cruise just yet.’
Ripley stepped forward, fists clenched, face reddened. ‘Don’t give me that crap. Me and Edis had an arrangement. I told him straight. Six months and I’m out.’
‘I’m afraid Edis didn’t have the authority to reduce your notice period. It needs to go through the Attorney General and the Head of the SA Division. Edis might have operated on handshake deals with his old pals, but I don’t.’
Ella’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart sank at the thought of the broken and battered Ripley being forced through another six months of cases. ‘Mr. Carter, isn't there a way to resolve this amicably? Agent Ripley's service has been exemplary. She deserves to leave on her own terms.’
‘I don’t remember asking you anything,’ Carter said.
Ella tensed her bicep as she curled an involuntary fist. A storm began to brew inside her, one that could be quenched by landing her knuckles into this jerk’s nose. She grabbed Ripley by the wrist, because if Ella wanted to punch him, Ripley probably sought something more extreme.
‘Talk to her like that again and I’ll stiff you in the other eye,’ Ripley said. ‘I’m free to walk out of this place whenever I want, so if you think I’m sticking around for another six months, you can think again.’
‘And your transition period? Your active cases? We need time to ensure everything is handed over properly. Oh, and if you leave before your official notice period is up, you can say goodbye to that pension you’ve worked so hard for.’
Ripley stepped closer, the intent to escalate written on every limb.
‘You're using technicalities to keep me here? Is this your way of getting back at me? Mr. Roofie over here can’t stomach being manhandled by a woman, so he exerts his power like this.’
Ella pulled her back and said, ‘Leave it, Mia. Focus on the case. We’ll fix this.’
Ripley, still seething, gave Carter a final, piercing look before turning on her heel and striding out of the office. Ella followed, her mind racing with thoughts of how she and Ripley could navigate these new treacherous waters.
‘Can you believe that son of a bitch?’ Ripley’s comment drew some early-morning eyeballs out in the corridor. Ella gave a few passers-by some apologetic looks.
‘No, but he’s in charge. Threatening him isn’t going to do you any favors.’
Ripley was already down the corridor. ‘Come on. Let’s show this guy how we do things.’
Amidst the turmoil of Carter's power play and the uncertainty of Ripley's retirement, one thing was clear – they had a killer to catch. That was Ella's priority, and no amount of bureau politics would change that. She wasn't about to let Carter's manipulation deter her. She was going to solve this case the way she always did.
