“We need to check his house for a weapon.I realize that he’s a weak lead, but heisa lead.Right now, he’s theonlylead, and you know as well as I do that sometimes weak leads turn out to be the right leads.”
Turk groaned, and Faith glared at him.“You know that too, boy.”
Turk blinked at her, then looked at Jessica sympathetically.
Faith sighed.“Come on, guys, we can’t give up on this.I know he’s hiding something.When I asked him if we could take a look inside, he freaked out.He wasn’t just angry anymore; he was scared.”
Jessica nodded.“Okay.I trust you.If you say we need to see this through, then we’ll see this through.”
Her phone rang, and when she saw the number, her eyes brightened.She answered.“Hello?Yes, sir.Yes, sir.Yes, that email works.Wonderful, thanks so much.”She hung up and rolled her eyes to the sky.“Oh, thank God!That’s Justice Phuc.She signed the warrant.She’s emailing us a copy right now.”
“Thank God,” Faith echoed, starting the car.“Let’s go.”
She nearly spun the tires pulling across the street and up to Meadows’s house.She opened the door at the same time as she set the parking brake, then rushed up the porch, Turk and Jessica scrambling to catch up.
She pounded her fist on the door.“Brian Meadows, this is Special Agent Bold!I have a warrant to search these premises!Open the door now!”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Meadows called from inside.He opened the door a crack.“Can’t you just leave—”
“Do you want to open the door the rest of the way, or do you want me to open it for you?”Faith asked curtly.
Meadows’s lips trembled.“I didn’t do anything illegal.”
“Sure.”
Faith grabbed the door and yanked it firmly.Meadows released the door, and Faith realized the chain wasn’t engaged when nothing snapped off.Jessica stuck her phone ahead of Faith and quickly said, “This is the text of the warrant.You have a right to read it, but wearesearching the property now.”
“Fine,” Meadows said, screwing his face up in a pout.“But I’m doingnothingillegal.”
Turk trotted past him, nose to the ground, sniffing.Faith stepped after him, looking around the home.
The place was spotless.Impeccable.Even the furniture seemed freshly oiled and polished.Faith was pretty sure she could find a speck of dust if she spent enough time here, but it would take a few hours.
Everything was perfectly organized.The bookends on the mantle above the fireplace were a precise one centimeter from the opposite edges.The TV remote sat in the exact center of a TV Guide, which sat on the exact center of aTIMEmagazine, which sat on the exact center of a photo album, which sat on the exact center of the coffee table.The dining room table sat on little furniture doilies to prevent the legs from scraping the hardwood floors.
Meadows followed Turk, wringing his hands.He no longer seemed like an angry old man but like an anxious, fastidious old maid.“Oh… Please tell him to be careful.Can’t you put him on a leash?”
“He’ll be careful,” Faith promised.“Did you clean this place last night?”
“I keep it clean,” he snapped.“Have for my whole life.Just… Look, I didn’t doanythingillegal!”
“You keep saying that,” Faith said, stepping into the kitchen.“It makes me think that you might have done something illegal.”
Turk sniffed at the cabinets and appliances.He didn’t react to anything within, but Faith opened them and checked just in case.She’d do a more thorough inspection later.Right now, she just wanted to see how Meadows would react and note places where he seemed unusually concerned.
He seemed unusually concerned every place Faith touched.Each time she opened a cabinet, he released a soft cry and rushed forward as though to prevent her from disturbing the perfectly stacked, perfectly organized pots and pans within.When she opened the refrigerator, he actually closed his eyes and whimpered, going stiff as a board.
No wonder he was so nosy about his neighbors.He couldn’t handle a single thing being out of place.
He finally showed some sign of an abnormal reaction when Turk started up the stairs.He cried out and rushed after the dog, moving quickly enough that Faith thought it prudent to intercept him.He struggled in her arms and called, “It’s not illegal,it’s not illegal!”
“What’s not?”Faith asked.She nodded at Jessica and her partner started up the stairs after Turk.“What’s not illegal?”she asked Meadows.
He struggled for a moment longer, then sighed.“I keep an eye on my neighborhood,” he said.“I’m a concerned citizen, and I have a right to ensure that I live in a safe and respectful neighborhood.”
“I feel like you’ve told me this already,” Faith said.“Tell me what up there is so important that you have to insist that it’s not illegal.Will I believe it’s illegal?”
“Faith?”Jessica called.“You need to come see this.”
