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The receptionistlooked them up and down before nodding. “I’ll let Detective Angelique know you’rehere. Hold on just a moment.”
The receptionistmade a call while Amber and Simon stood there, looking over the department. Afew moments later, Amber saw a woman coming down a flight of stairs. She wastall and dark-haired, pretty in a tough way, her suit rumpled in a way thatsuggested she’d been working pretty much non-stop. She’d probably had as littlesleep last night as Amber and Simon had managed on the way over.
She came over,holding out a hand for Amber and then Simon to shake, her brown eyes rovingover the pair of them as if trying to assess whether they would genuinely beable to help with this case or if they were going to get in the way.
“I’m DetectiveAngelique,” she said, in a tone that seemed to mix hope and caution. “You’rethe FBI agents?”
Amber and Simonnodded in unison. There was still a part of Amber that had to be reminded thatshe was an FBI agent, and not still a part of her former life as a puzzleeditor.
“We are,” Simonconfirmed. “I’m Agent Phelps, this is Agent Young. We’re here to assist withthe investigation into the murders any way we can.”
Amber noted thathe said “assist with” rather than just “conduct.” He was obviously trying toget the local PD on their side.
DetectiveAngelique nodded, her expression showing how much the murders were weighing onher. “You’re here pretty early.”
“The Bureau istaking this very seriously,” Simon said.
That seemed toplease the detective. At least, she smiled over at Simon. “We can definitelyuse all the help we can get. Emily Chen’s murder has rocked this town, and evenbefore that, Thomas Jackson’s death… well, he was a big shot with the local motorcompany. They employ a lot of people around here, and we’re all feeling thepressure to solve this as soon as possible.”
Amber could sensethe tension in the room, the weight of responsibility and the overwhelming taskahead. She knew that this was going to be a tough case, but she also knew thatthey had to find the killer before he struck again.
“We’ve beenworking around the clock, but we’re not getting anywhere,” Detective Angeliquesaid. “We don’t know how he’s picking his victims or what triggers him to kill.We just know about the puzzles and the websites he uses.”
“That’s somethingwe’ll have to keep looking into,” Amber said. She looked over at Simon. “Maybewe should head over to take a look at the latest crime scene? See if there’sanything the forensic techs missed, and at least get a sense of how it allplayed out?”
DetectiveAngelique cut in before Simon could say anything.
“I can drive youboth out there.”
That was an offerAmber wasn’t used to.
“I don’t know,”Amber said. Usually, it was just her and Simon working cases together. Thelocal PD helped, but not with this part. They tended to stay in the background,providing support.
Not in this casethough, it seemed. Detective Angelique’s expression was firm.
“You’ll need alocal’s perspective,” she said. “I know this town like the back of my hand.Trust me, it will be faster if I drive you out there instead of giving youdirections.”
“Even so…” Amberbegan.
DetectiveAngelique cut her off before she could finish her objection.
“I was the one whofound Emily Chen,” she said, the pain in her voice obvious. “This is still mycase, and I’m not just going to give it away, even if the FBI is here. I wantto be there to make sure that the guy who did this pays.”
Simon held up arestraining hand to stop the argument from escalating any further.
“We’re all on thesame team here. The sooner we can find this killer, the better for everyone involved.Detective Angelique, we’d be happy to have you along.”
Amber nodded inagreement, conceding the point. It probably would be better to have thedetective’s local knowledge, even if it meant a change in the way she and Simonusually worked. “Okay, let’s head out then.”
The three of themwalked out of the police station toward Detective Angelique’s car, a beaten-upsedan that looked as though it would barely make it across the street, letalone to the other side of town.
Amber sat in theback, while Simon took the passenger seat beside the detective. They drove insilence at first, the tension in the air from the case palpable. Simon was theone to break that silence.
“So, DetectiveAngelique, if we’re going to be working together, what’s your first name?”
Amber saw herglance over at Simon. “I’m Francesca. And you?”
“I’m Simon, thisis Amber.”
