“Why don’t you wait at the end of the bar? I’ll have those right up,” Todd said.
Blayne watched the facial expression on Todd’s face. Blayne guessed Todd had seen the news and was now thoroughly confused about what was happening.Good, if I can confuse a student, maybe we can do the same to the paparazzi.
Blayne kept a smile plastered on his face the entire time. He kept his back to the bar and watched the patrons inside, pretending not to notice Blayne and Kira’s presence in the coffee shop. He even caught a couple of patrons discreetly taking his and Kira’s pictures.Good… Instagram that shit!
“Mr. Dickenson, your order is ready,” Todd said.
“Thanks, Todd.” Blayne turned around and grabbed the coffee. He handed the large regular coffee to Kira. “Shall we sit outside?”
Kira said nothing as she walked toward the front door. Blayne moved the Oakleys down on his face as he headed out. He wanted his face partially covered as he exited. As soon as he was back in the sunlight, he placed the baseball cap back on and followed Kira to a table near the front of the patio.
“So, now what?” Kira asked once they’d both settled in at the table.
“We smile and have a conversation. Pretend like nothing strange is going on. Remember… Our goal is to look like we do not know what’s going on.”
Blayne watched Kira take a deep breath through her nose and let it out slowly. “Did you talk to your partners about Jamie today?”
“I had a conversation this morning with one of the senior partners. He’s on board with taking Jamie’s case pro bono. I already called Dr. Reich and set up an appointment for coffee this afternoon.”
“Where are you two meeting?”
“Fuck! Dammit, I didn’t even think about that,” Kira said, a look of disgust washing over her face. “We’re meeting here.”
“Well, use it to your advantage,” Blayne suggested.
“What do you mean?”
“Like we talked about last night, you’ll have a ton of reporters who want to point cameras in your face. You might as well use the publicity. Get public opinion on your side.”
“I’ll think about it. I still need to run this past the senior partners before I do something like that.”
“How did you explain the whole Ethan thing to them?”
She let out a sigh. “I told them the truth. I told them you were friends, and the picture was taken completely out of context. They weren’t concerned. If anything, they thought it was pretty damn funny, since they all know I’m not into guys.”
Blayne and Kira sat for another thirty minutes before deciding to leave. While waiting, Blayne purposefully removed the baseball cap and sunglasses. He hoped the paparazzi would get a perfect shot of his face.
* * * *
Agent Murphy
Agent Murphy got up early in the morning and went to the gym before heading into the office. Thankfully, after her conversation with her boss the previous morning, not much else had come through her email. At least no one was calling for her head again.
She pulled into the nondescript three-story white-paneled and red-brick building. After parking her car, she headed into the lobby, flashed her badge at security and walked up the stairs to the third floor where her office was located. The building was still quiet, so she didn’t run into anyone, which was great in her mind. She had a bunch of paperwork to finish after their interviews with the cast and crew atNOLA Nightsthe previous afternoon.
She set her coffee down on the table and booted up her computer. She then entered her sixteen-digit password and the keycode on the dual-authentication device she kept on her keychain. She scrolled through the email to see any additional information from NOPD on the forensic analysis. Since the New Orleans FBI Field Office was small, they worked closely with the NOPD on most cases. Of course, the FBI didn’t run around sticking their noses into local law enforcement cases unless they were invited in or some national security issue trumped local jurisdiction.
She deleted a handful of emails that were not pertinent. She was amazed at the amount of spam she received in her FBI email inbox.You would think we would have better spam filters by now, she thought as she continued deleting. She almost deleted one by accident but stopped herself when she saw the address was from a colleague who worked with the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force—NCIJTF.
Murphy opened the message.
Agent Murphy,
Your case has come across my desk. There are some peculiarities we need to discuss. When you get this email, please contact me using the NOLA sensitive compartmented information facility—SCIF. I’ll be in my office by eight a.m.
Agent Annie Little
Murphy responded, letting Agent Little know she was in the office herself and would be in the SCIF in ten minutes.Very strange. So, cloak and dagger.
