“Don’t you dare get funny with me, young man!”
“No, Mom, I would never. I mean it. I can’t give you details because it’s a secret operation, but Andi and I are working for a governmental branch that operates under the radar. I now outrank every chief in this country as well as most higher-ups in the ABC agencies.”
“You’re not joking.” She sounded baffled.
“No, I’m not. It’s true.”
“And your new bosses, they don’t have a problem with you and—Andi being in a relationship?” The slight pause before she said his man’s name told George she was still on the warpath. One of the things his mother prided herself on, and which she had taken great pains to teach her sons, was never forgetting names. It was a trick George was glad to know. It also meant she was deliberately slighting Andi without knowing him. The fact that he had consented to a relationship at work outweighed everything else in her opinion.
“No. They value Andi’s talents too much to let something as petty as a relationship between two colleagues get in the way.”
“So, he is as good as his statistics make him out to be?” Of course she had researched Andi. George didn’t like it, but there was little he could do.
“He’s better.” George did nothing to hide the pride in his voice. His man was a genius, and he was honored to be working with him.
“Daniel mentioned he thinks Andi is somewhere on the autism spectrum or something similar?”
“Or something similar. We’re not at freedom to talk about the nature of his abilities.” You wouldn’t believe them, anyway.
“I guess I should give you and him a chance to prove me wrong.” She made a clucking noise with her tongue. “Let me be clear, George. I still don’t like it. I still think it’s wrong, simply because affairs with colleagues usually end up in disaster. That being said, if your superiors are turning a blind eye, probably nothing I say will sway you to end this.”
“No. And for the record, our superiors are not just turning a blind eye, they are in full support.”
“Even worse.” Again, the clucking sound. “Well, since this is a done deal, we’ll be seeing you and your boyfriend at your birthday in five weeks.”
“I’m looking forward to it, Mother. If you need help with booking a hotel, please let me know.” There. He made it clear they couldn’t stay at their place. It wasn’t a question of not having enough space. The house could have easily accommodated his parents and brothers if Daniel and Griffin shared a room. It wasn’t even because of the probable tension a sleepover with his parents would bring. It was simply because the arthropods didn’t like intruders and because Andi was especially in tune with the ones in his house and garden. Upsetting them meant upsetting Andi’s senses, in his relatively safe haven no less, so it was out of the question.
“How kind of you, George.” His mother’s tone suggested she was well aware of what he’d just done. He expected no less from her.
“It was nice talking to you, Mother.”
“While the topic wasn’t to my liking at all, hearing your voice was indeed pleasant.” She hung up. It was as much of a declaration of motherly love as he would ever get.
George stared at his phone. “That went better than I thought it would.” He turned toward the door to join Andi at the pool when his phone started ringing. It was an unknown number with a Spartanburg area code. Probably Chief Savalle. Or Kaustrowitz, though George’s money was on the chief.
“Detective Donovan.”
“Here’s Chief Savalle, detective. I thought we should maybe have a few words without the FBI present.”
George rolled his eyes. Of course the chief wanted to talk privately with him and Andi. “What can I do for you, chief?”
“Well, for one, you can shut that stupid bitch from the FBI down who thinks she can waltz in here, besmirch the work of good, upstanding detectives and make a mess of everything.”
No, really, chief, tell me how you feel. George started pacing the room again. He had fulfilled his quota for migraine-inducing discussions after the call with his mother. He didn’t need the chief barging in and trying to pressure him and Andi into saying what he wanted to hear. “Chief Savalle, Detective Hayes and I are here because somebody above all our pay grades has decided it’s a good idea to get a neutral opinion on the situation. As of now, my partner and I have just read the file on Judge Dunhill as well as the reports on the arthropod-related deaths. Until we’ve had more time to dig a little deeper than the information we’ve gotten from you, we can’t come to any conclusions, so no shutting down of anybody will take place. I can assure you that Detective Hayes and I take this whole incident very seriously, knowing full well what it feels like when the hard work you have done is belittled by another agency. That being said, we won’t take your side either because you know as well as I do that shoddy police work is not some rare occurrence but a reality and in the interest of all upstanding officers of the law, we have to get to the bottom of this. So far, it does not seem as if there were any errors made on your side. We’d like to follow up on some points, of which I will inform you at a later time. Anything else?”
For a moment, George listened to the agitated gasps on the other end of the connection. He tried to be as diplomatic as possible and was the first to admit this could have gone better. As in, the chief could have forgone calling.
“You’re a detective! One of us! How can you be so—so?—”
“Unaccommodating?”
Another angry gasp. “Just forget it!” The chief ended the call.
George was still staring at the now black screen, pondering some of his life choices, when the door to the hotel room opened. Andi came in, his eyes a bit glazed over.
“Bad, you’re agitated, stress, who annoyed you, not your mother, call was over some time ago, crt, crt, crt, it’s pounding in my head, don’t like it when you’re stressed, too sharp, too much!” He shook his head, and when George opened his arms, Andi entered the embrace willingly, pressing his ear against George’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“The talk with my mother was unpleasant but not as bad as I anticipated. We might get another earful when she comes down to Charleston or perhaps even sooner, when she decides she doesn’t like my explanation. I was just about to go down to get you when Chief Savalle called.”
