So what kind of cases are you working on right now? Kate asked.
All things that would bore you, Im sure, he said. But she knew hed tell her; hed tell her because he loved the job just as much as she did.
Trying to crack some scammers that have been tampering with ATMs for the most part. Im sort of working in a partnership with a few other agents in what might be a small prostitution ring coming out of Georgetown, but thats about it.
Yikes, Kate said.
Told you. Boring.
So a far cry from these cold cases Duran mentioned? What do you know about that anyway? How long has that little side project been cooking?
A while, I think. I was only brought in to the loop two weeks ago. Duran and some of the other behind-closed-door types were asking about some of the cases we had worked on that never got solved. Not looking for methodology or anything like that, just asking for details and old case files.
And they didnt give you a reason?
No. Andwait, why do you sound suspicious? I thought youd be jumping all over this opportunity.
Oh, I plan to. But it makes me wonder if there is one particular cold case they are more interested in. Something had to have spurred on this sudden interest in cold cases. I seriously doubt its just so Duran could find some way to bring me back.
I dont know, Logan said. Youd be surprised. Youve been missed around here. Some of the newer agents still talk about you like youre some kind of mythological character.
She ignored the compliment, still stuck on her train of thought. Also, why would he call me in only to send me back, telling me he wanted me to take some more time before starting? It makes me wonder if whatever the real reason behind it is might not quite be fleshed out just yet.
Well, you know, Logan said. Based on the way youre overthinking this whole thing, maybe hes right. Relax, Kate. Like he saidthere are tons of retired agents who would die for this chance. So yeah, go back home. Relax. Do absolutely nothing.
You know me well enough to know thats not how I am, she said. She took a sip from her wine, thinking that maybe he was right. Maybe she should just revel in the joy of coming back to worksort of.
Retirement didnt change that, huh? Logan asked.
No. If anything, it made it worse. I cant stand to sit still. I hate an idle brain. Cross word puzzles and knitting arent going to cut it for me. Maybe deep down Duran knew that Im too young to be put out to pasture.
Logan smiled and shook his head. Yeah, but the grass in those pastures is pretty lush and green.
Yeah, and theres cow shit everywhere.
Logan sighed as he took the final bite of his lunch. Okay, he said. Some of us need to get back to work.
Cheap shot, she said, taking the last sip of her wine.
So what are you going to do? he asked. Head back home?
She honestly wasnt quite sure yet. Part of her wanted to stay in DC just for the hell of it. Maybe shed get some shopping done or go out to her favorite spot at the National Mall and just sit to reflect. It was certainly a gorgeous day for it.
But then again, she wanted to be back home, too. While she had struck out in terms of Brian Neilbolt, the fact remained that someone had killed Julie Meade. And it seemed that the police were at a loss so far.
Im not sure, she said. I may hang around town for a bit but Ill likely head back home before nightfall.
If you change your mind, give me a call. It was really nice seeing you, Kate.
They paid their checks and left the table after a brief embrace. Even before Kate left, her mind seemed to have snagged on one particular thought, one that had come out of nowhere, it seemed.
Julie was killed in her home, while her husband was out of town. If there was a break-in of any kind, no one mentioned it to me. Not the police while I was being lectured, and not Debbie or Jim. If there had been a break-in, youd think that would have been mentioned.
It made her wonderdid the killer enter the house because he was invited? Or did they perhaps, at the very least, know where a spare key was hidden?
Those questions settled it. Once shed given her glass of wine enough time to run its course, she was going to drive back to Richmond. Shed promised Assistant Director Duran that she would not beat anyone else up.
But shed said nothing about not investigating.
Of course, the funeral was first. Shed pay her respects and do her very best to be there for Deb tomorrow. And after that, shed step back into her roleperhaps with a bit more excitement than she cared to admit.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next afternoon, Kate was standing in the back row of mourners as the Meade family and their closest friends assembled at the cemetery. She stood with her little breakfast crewClarissa and Jane dressed in black and looking genuinely heartbrokenwho had managed to love on Debbie earlier in the morning. Debbie seemed to be doing much better than she had on the day she had asked Kate to look into the murder. She wept openly and let out a single anguished moan of sorrow, but she was still present. Jim, on the other hand, looked like a very broken man. A man who would go home and think long and hard about how sometimes, life just wasnt very fucking fair at all.
Kate couldnt help but think of her own daughter. She knew shed have to call Melissa when the funeral was over. She hadnt known Julie Meade very well but based on conversations shed had with Debbie, Kate assumed she had been around the same age as Melissa, give or take a few years.
She listened as the preacher went through the familiar Biblical passages. While her thoughts were very much with Debbie, they were also still slightly obsessing over how this could have happened. She had not come out and asked directly if there had been a break-in since she had gotten back from DC but she had kept her ears open. She had noticed that neither Jane nor Clarissa had ever mentioned a break-in, either. And that was odd because Clarissa somehow had a knack for knowing everything thanks to her nose for gossip.
She looked up at Debbie and Jim, noticing that there was a tall man standing by Jim. He was relatively young and dashing in a clean-cut sort of way. She lightly nudged Jane beside her and asked: The tall guy next to Jim. Is that Julies husband?
Yeah. Tyler is his name. They hadnt been married long. Less than a year, I think.
It occurred to Kate that maybe her little breakfast clique really didnt know one another very well after all. Sure, they knew all about their former jobs, favorite caffeinated beverages, and wishes and dreams for retirement. But they had never really gone much deeper. It had been sort of a mutual silent understanding. They had rarely talked about their families, keeping conversation surface level, fun, and entertaining.
There was nothing wrong with that, of course, but it left Kate knowing very little about the Meade family. All she knew was that Julie had been their only childin the same way that Melissa was her only child. And while she and Melissa were not as intimately close as they had once been, it still hurt to even think about losing her.
Once the service was over and the crowd started to disperse in a tangle of hugs and awkward handshakes, Kate and her little coffee group follow suit. Kate, however, hung back where a few people had kind of hidden themselves away for a cigarette. While Kate was not smoking (she thought it a disgusting habit), she wanted to stay out of sight for a while. She scanned the crowd and found the tall figure of Tyler Hicks. He was speaking to an elderly couple, both of whom were openly weeping. Tyler, however, seemed to be doing his best to remain calm.