“Oliver, are you jealous of Jed Monroe?”
A splash of red burned across Oliver’s face as he opened his mouth before clamping it shut. “No.”
“You aren’t very subtle, you know.” Felipe knew he shouldn’t find Oliver’s flustered expression amusing, but he did. It was tempting to goad or tease him, but he wasn’t Louisa, and Felipe knew he wouldn’t like it. “But, no, Jed and I were partners only in the professional sense, and for your information, I did do most of our field notes.”
“He seems like the kind to write, ‘Found monster, chased monster, killed monster,’ and think that’s enough.” When Felipe laughed, Oliver’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “I’m not trying to be rude when I ask this, though I know it will sound judgmental, but what is the appeal of working with someone like that? I would rather just work alone if I’m doing most of the work, anyway.”
Taking a seat at the empty lab table, Felipe sighed. “It’s different when you’re out on a cross-country case or bounty hunting. In those cases, the Paranormal Society prefers brawn over detailed field notes. For everyone’s safety, they would rather you catch whatever you’re sent after, then kill it or contain it, and bring enough evidence back to collect the reward or at least put everyone’s mind at ease. Most of the case notes are done at the end when you have enough time, and you can pick and choose what’s important enough to include.”
“That seems inefficient. You would miss so many details that might be necessary later if you didn’t document them regularly. I know that can’t always be done if you’re roughing it or actively chasing things, but still.”
“Trust me when I say, I wish it could be more of a professional science, but it’s difficult. The people who go out in the field are good at what they do and come from all walks of life. They aren’t all college educated or from families who cared about formal education, so either notes are the furthest thing from their minds in the moment or they can’t produce what you’re expecting. Even so, what they contribute is just as valuable as what you or I do.”
“Ah. Maybe if we were less short staffed, the society could send people to act as secretaries or those trained in a more scientific way.” Oliver straightened the jars of chemicals on the bench nearest the door one-by-one. “It’s frustrating to receive notes that make little sense. There have been so many instances where I had to piece together all the evidence from a body with little context, and when I match it up to what I have of the notes, they conflict. It makes us both look sloppy. Sometimes I... Never mind.”
“What?”
Raising his gaze to meet Felipe’s, Oliver’s cheeks reddened as he blurted, “These past few days have made me wonder what it would have been like if I had chosen to do field work.”
“Oh.”
“I never would have thought it was something I could do, but when I worked with you at the gallery and at the monastery, I enjoyed it. I have gone out to crime scenes in the past only to tend to the body or the pieces left behind, but having free reign to look for evidence or try to put the pieces together myself has been helpful in ways that the notes I’ve received haven’t been. Most investigators don’t want me intruding or contradicting their findings, so I stay out of the way. I know I couldn’t act as a medical examinerandan investigator in every case with a body as it would be too much, but I’m starting to wonder if I was too hasty when I told the head inspector and Mr. Turpin that I would never step into that role. You even said I had a good eye.”
Felipe swallowed against the knot in his throat. Oliver did have a good eye. He was detail-oriented and thorough, and more than anything, he actually cared about uncovering the truth. He wouldn’t be swayed by the easiest explanation, which was more than Felipe could say about some of his fellow investigators. But the thought of Oliver working cases with someone else didn’t feel right. Other investigators would resent the things Felipe appreciated about Oliver. There were those who were of Oliver’s mindset, but the investigators who cycled through cases most often were willing to seek the truth only so far as it was convenient for them or they were counterbalanced by a steadier partner who could manage that sort of pushback.
Could Oliver stand up to that sort of personality or would they outmaneuver him to get him out of their way? Felipe had seen it happen before. There had been investigators who transferred to different branches or left the society all together due to personal conflicts. As brilliant as Oliver was, being a good investigator was as much about piecing together clues as it was managing personalities. Felipe had already snapped at Newman after one day of working together, and his people skills were usually something he took pride in. Newman and Monroe both found Oliver to be odd and aloof, and while that could have been chalked up to them not spending enough time with him, Felipe had thought the same before the man had reanimated him.
Licking his lips, he caught Oliver staring at him expectantly. How could he tell him he didn’t want his hopes to be dashed by people who would take his silence as frigidity instead of thoughtfulness?
“You do. You have a very good eye for detail, but being an investigator can be a very dangerous job. You saw what happened to me. I probably would be alive today if I didn’t get involved with the Sister Mary Agnes case, and I end up injured regularly during the cases I work for the society. Besides, there can be a lot of traveling involved.”
“Well, I don’t think I would sign up for bounty or monster hunting. I know not everyone does that. I was more so thinking of helping out with local cases.”
“You’re right. And it’s definitely something you should look into. But keep in mind that if it doesn’t work out, not everyone has the right temperament for it.”
Across the room, Oliver’s hands and face stilled. His expression became unreadable as he blinked and turned his attention to scribbling a note. Felipe’s eyes tracked him as he shoved the missive up the pneumatic tube and disappeared around the corner to use the sink. Sighing, Felipe ran a hand over his face. Nothing he said had been a lie, and he wasn’t going to apologize or backtrack to soothe Oliver Barlow’s ego. Not when doing so could cause him to make the same mistakes Felipe did.
