“Computer forensics. To replace Jar—”
“Why are we worried about replacing Jared? We haven’t even had the man’s funeral.” Luke took a seat across from Faith. Just when he had started to like her more, she did something that ticked him off. Like talking about replacing a man before they’d even paid their respects.
“I’m not talking about replacing Jared specifically, Luke. I’m talking about finding someone with a similar skill set. Your office is now without your main electronic crimes investigator. And you guys deal with a lot of electronic crimes.”
“Oh.” He’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. Again. Why was he so determined to think the worst of her?
He knew why.
But as he looked at Faith, he had to admit that so far, she’d done nothing but think the best of him—and his agency.
Her face brightened. “I know who you need.” She pointedly did not look at Luke but turned to Gil and Zane. “Dr. Sabrina Fleming-Campbell. Do you know her?”
Luke knew who Sabrina was. And he knew her husband, Adam Campbell, but as Faith didn’t seem to want to include him in the conversation, Luke kept quiet.
“I know that name,” Zane said. “Why do I know that name?”
“Is she the quirky professor from Carrington who works on the human trafficking team?” Gil asked. “Kinda weird, but nice. Genius-level smart.”
“That’s her.” Faith buzzed with energy. “Sabrina is amazing. We’ve consulted with her on a few cases in our office. If you repeat this, I’ll deny it, but she’s better than anyone we have at the FBI. She has a reputation for being able to find files and break through firewalls when no one else can. I heard she cracked a defense department–level encryption a few months ago.”
“What did you say her name was?” Gil had pulled out a notebook. “Sabrina Fleming?”
“Fleming-Campbell. Hyphenated. She got married recently.”
“That’s right,” Zane said. “I’ve been diving with her husband.”
“She married a Campbell from Carrington,” Gil mused. “Interesting.”
“What’s interesting about it?” Faith asked.
Zane answered the question. “We do a lot of financial crimes investigations. The Carrington Campbells are loaded. One of the wealthiest families in the state.”
“I don’t think she’s the type to care about money,” Faith said. “Her standard uniform is skinny jeans and superhero T-shirts, hair in a messy bun, glasses. She’s everything you think of whenyou imagine a computer genius. She’s sweet but awkward, so if you call her, be prepared for her to be blunt and maybe even a bit oblivious.”
Luke joined Gil and Zane in a snicker at Faith’s comment, but her confused expression told him she didn’t understand what was so funny. “You just described Jared,” he told her. “Although I wouldn’t have said he was sweet.”
Faith gave him a shrewd look. “Jared wore skinny jeans and superhero T-shirts?”
The men’s chuckles morphed into laughter. “Um, no. Jared wasn’t skinny. But the man knew his way around a computer far better than he knew his way around people.”
The amusement faded, and a somber mood descended. Zane stood. Slowly. His face was smooth, but Luke could imagine how much effort it took for him to keep from grimacing. “Well, as fun as this has been, I need to get back to the office—”
“Oh no you don’t.” Gil popped to his feet, and Luke couldn’t stop the flash of envy at his easy movement. “You go back home. You rest. You—”
“What?” Zane’s voice was a growl. “Go home? Kick back in a hammock? Read a book? I don’t think so, man.”
“Listen, you have legit injuries.” Gil pointed to Zane’s arm. “You need to take it easy.”
“I don’t see you telling me to take it easy,” Luke said.
Gil rolled his eyes. “You don’t even have any holes. I don’t want to hear it.”
“I have to have holes to be injured?”
“I’m not saying you aren’t hurt, but Zane has two holes. He wins.”
“Where do stab wounds figure into this theory of yours?” Faith asked the question with overdone seriousness.
