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He pulled onto the freeway and accelerated to merge with traffic. A driver in a lifted pickup started to speed up to cut him off, but braked hard when he saw that it was a policevehicle. Michael kept an eye on him until he was sure the pickup wouldn’t try anything stupid, then continued.
“I think Hilary was saying he didn’t want a prolific spree-slash-serial killer in Chicago. West happens to be the most prolific and well-known serial killer alive right now. It would be like someone saying they don’t want the next John Wayne Gacy in their town.”
Faith frowned. Michael was right. Obviously right. Clearly right. She shouldn’t have needed to hear him say that. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me. You might want to kick an apology Hilary’s way, but it can wait. I’m just concerned that you might still be fixating on him.”
“Do you have an issue with how I’ve been performing on this case?” she asked.
“I have an issue with that smarmy-ass question,” he said. “I’m concerned because you’re my friend, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” she insisted. “I just made a mistake. Look, it’s… grating… to hear people treat him like a celebrity. I’m not very happy that he’s been given celebrity status like he’s a damned movie star. But it’s not a big deal. It just rubbed me the wrong way to hear Hilary say that. Especially arguing for some sort of handshake deal with a judge.”
“I don’t know if handshake deal means what you think it means,” Michael replied, “and I also don’t think that Hilary’s suggesting anything illegal. I think he knows a judge who trusts his judgment, not a sleazeball whose palm he can grease.” He glanced at her. “Seriously, why does this bother you anyway? You’re normally the one stepping outside of the rules to get something done.”
She sighed. “Upper management is trying to get me sidelined to a desk job when Turk retires next month. The media blew upthe story of my mistakes with past cases to try to sensationalize the West case even more, and now the brass is worried that I might be a liability in the field because I’m more well-known now.”
He lifted an eyebrow. "Well, no one's recognized you here so far, so I'd say they're mistaken."
“Yes, but if we get a complaint saying we obtained an illegal warrant to talk to a suspect, then it’s going to make the probably end of my field career a certain end.”
Michael nodded. “I get it. I understand now. But I still think you’re worrying too much. And at the end of the day, it’s about protecting the innocent and catching the bad guy, right?”
Turk barked firmly.
“See?” Michael said. “He gets it.”
Faith chuckled. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just hate feeling like I’m walking on eggshells.”
“So many roads are paved with them,” Michael said.
They reached the hospital a few minutes later. As Michael pulled into the parking lot, Faith noticed a man matching Oliver’s prescription about to enter a pickup truck.
“Hold on, Michael,” she said. “I think that’s him.”
“It is? Shit. Hold on.”
He swung the cruiser around and pulled behind the truck. Faith rolled down her window and said, “Oliver Pennington?”
The man jumped and turned to her, eyes wide. “Wh—what do you guys want?”
“I’m Special Agent Faith Bold with the FBI. This is my partner, Special Agent Michael Prince, and my K9 unit, Turk. We have some questions we’d like to ask you.”
"Oh… Um… I don't know. I really don't know anything. I don't think so, guys. Sorry."
“You haven’t heard why we want to talk to you yet.”
Oliver was trembling slightly. He looked ahead of his truck, then back at the cruiser. “I just don’t know anything that can help you. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t know anything about Cassidy Holt or Samantha Reynard?”
At the mention of Samantha Reynard’s name, Oliver jumped. His demeanor changed suddenly. “You guys need to get the fuck out of my way! I told you I don’t want to talk to you. It’s illegal for you to block my truck like that.”
Michael’s phone buzzed. He checked the text, then nodded to Faith. “Warrant went through.”
“Outstanding,” Faith said. “Oliver, I’m going to ask nicely. If I have to ask again, it’s not going to be nearly as nice. Will you please come with us so we can talk?”
Oliver looked green. He looked at the cruiser, then at Faith. She saw his eyes change and warned, “Don’t do it, Oliver.”
