“Yes.He was the chaplain of my company when I was in the Marine Corps.”
“Oh my God!I didn’t realize!Oh, Faith, I’m so sorry!”
Faith smiled.“It’s all right.I wasn’tthatclose with him.But I knew him, and I respected him, and…”And I never went to visit him, never even bothered to find out that he lived less than an hour away from me.“And I want to make sure he receives justice.”
“Hell yeah.I’m with you all the way.By the way, Rogers and Hammerton want me to tell you that they will not let David more than three feet away from them this time.”
Faith smiled.“David wants me to tell them that he will meekly allow them to remain within three feet of him this time.”
“Good.They’re not kidding.They like him, but they’re kind of like uncles who told their nephew not to go out with the hoodlums and now they have to bail him out of jail.”
Faith laughed.“Good.Maybe it will kill any bad thoughts David might have before they have a chance to take root.”
“Fingers crossed.I’ll see you soon, babe.”
She hung up, and Faith took another deep breath and smiled at Turk’s repeated affirming bark.A lot of her worries were addressed now that she had talked to Michael and Jessica.She called David and felt more relief when the deep basso voice of Special Agent Hammerton answered instead.
“Oh good.Just making sure you two got there.”
“We’re here.Rogers is right now gently and respectfully explaining to David what the wrath of God is and how it will fall on him if he tries to do anything sneaky again.”
Faith laughed, and Turl barked appreciation for the not-quite-joke.“Good.Well, when he’s finished, tell him I love him, but I support you two fully.”
“I will.Good luck, Faith.”
Faith hung up and scratched Turk behind his ears.“See boy?Nothing to worry about.We have a higher power looking out for us.”
That pulled her thoughts back to Hayes, murdered and staged in a mockery of his faith.Her smile faded as she began to focus on the case ahead of her.David had people looking out for him, but Hayes had died all alone.This killer, like most of the killers Faith had faced, preyed on the weak.
Then again, he now had Faith Bold and Turk to deal with.So maybe Hayes had someone looking out for him after all.
“We’ll get him, Turk,” she said.“We’re gonna catch this bad guy.”
CHAPTER THREE
Jessica had a cup of coffee and a ham and cheese croissant waiting for Faith when she arrived at the diner.Faith smiled gratefully at her and took a long sip of the dark roast while Turk greeted Jessica with his usual enthusiasm before eagerly devouring his plate of eggs and roast beef.
“I called Arlington, P.D,” Jessica said.“They gave Hozier some shit, but they’ve agreed to turn the case over to us.The crime scene was already cleaned and re-opened to the public, but the cemetery’s closing soon, so we should be able to get a good look at it without getting in the way of anyone visiting.”
Faith frowned.“Hozier went to bat for us?”
Markham Hozier was the SAC of the Washington Field Office.He’d made it very clear that he wasn’t a fan of Faith and her penchant for bending and sometimes even breaking the rules.He wasverymuch not a fan of Torres, his most promising young agent, jeopardizing (in his view) her career by working with Faith.
Apparently, that hadn’t changed.“Oh no,” Jessica replied.“Hozier’s fuming.Director Smythe told him to open this case up for us, then called Arlington PD to let them know the FBI was usurping control of the investigation.They gave Hozier shit because you can’t give the Director of the FBI shit.”
Faith gave Jessica another grateful smile.“Thank you for handling that.It completely slipped my mind that I needed to actually get permission to do all of this.”
“No worries.You lost a friend.It’s okay if you’re not a hundred percent.”She sighed and put on a professional look.“However, I feel a need to point out that you’re not a hundred percent and ask if you’re certain you can handle this case.Not just because you lost Hayes.There are other things getting in the way.”
Faith regarded her young partner.Jessica was in her late twenties, about ten years younger than Faith.She looked it too with perfectly smooth youthful skin, baby blue eyes and natural blond hair that hung down to lithe shoulders atop an equally lithe body.
Faith knew better than to judge Jessica based on her appearance, though.Her partner had proven wise, mature, and brilliant many times over.
And loyal.When Faith told Jessica that David was mixed up in serious trouble, Jessica immediately promised to be there for both of them.When they learned exactly how serious this trouble was, she still insisted on helping them in any way she could, including participating in the investigation against the 93rdTesting Brigade if it was necessary.Faith was lucky to have her.
And Jessica deserved an honest answer.The fact was, Faithhadbeen off her game in their last investigation.There was no reason to believe that she was going to be backonher game this time.
Still, she believed she needed to be involved.She made her case without shying away from the objections.“I think I need to handle this case.I’m not a hundred percent, no, but I can investigate.My weaknesses are going to show up in procedural areas like what you just handled tonight.You might have to be the one to manage stakeouts, coordinate with the police, and file reports, but I can look at evidence and figure out what happened to my old comrade.”
