He had.
“It’s up to forensics,” Cloister put everyone’s favorite qualifier around his statement, “but I don’t see any signs that SSA Joel was under any sort of immediate duress when she left.There’s no sign of forced entry…”
He glanced at the back door.The glass he’d broken to gain entry glittered on the tiles, the sound of deputies' voices outside filtering through the gap.
“None until I got here,” he amended dryly.“And while we have blood on the scene, it looks like she just cut herself making a sandwich.Peanut butter and banana.”
“Forensics pending,” Javi said dryly.
In the background, Gardner forgot himself enough to snort.“Your name is going to be mud, Agent Merlo, if it turns out she just panicked at the sight of blood and is in an ER somewhere waiting to be patched up.”
The ghost of a smile twitched at the corner of Javi’s mouth as Gardner gave him the excuse he needed.
“You,” he said.“Out.”
Gardner turned around.He gawped at Javi for a second and then mustered a spluttered protest.
“Hey, I’m just saying—”
“That you think a seasoned FBI agent, who’s killed in the line of duty, was so overcome by the sight of her own blood that she forgot how to do her job?”Javi finished for him.“If that’s the level of your contribution, I’d prefer someone capable of basic reasoning to log the scene.So, again, out.”
Gardner’s jaw clenched, the muscles in his cheeks visible under a scruff of stubble.
“You know what,” he said, “people are right about you.”
He left.The glass on the floor crunched under his boots as he went out the back door.He didn’t quite slam it, but the sharp snap of the door against the frame made it clear he wanted to.
“What’s he mean by that?”Javi grumbled.
Cloister gave Javi an amused look.“Oh, come on,” he said, “you know the answer to that.”
That earned him an amused glance and a clipped, starched response.“If we had time, I’d make you explain that, Deputy,” Javi said.“Since we’re up against the clock, how about we stick to the scene?”
Fair enough.
Without Gardner in the background, Cloister felt his shoulders come down from around his ears.He breathed out and relaxed into the familiar rhythm of working a case with Javi.It still caught Cloister by surprise how easy that felt.
He wasn’t complaining, but the “boyfriend” thing turned out to be a daily minefield.The only saving grace was that it wasn’t just Cloister’s issues that caused problems.They both contributed equally to the “what the fuck was that” moments.
At work, though, everything just…worked.Not always smoothly, and sometimes they only went in the right direction from spite, but it got results.
“There’s no direct duress on SSA Joel,” Cloister said.“But there wasurgency.”
Javi nodded at Cloister to go on as he moved around the kitchen.He checked in cupboards and tapped the toe of his boot on the pedal of the swing bin to look inside.
“It would be a 50/50 chance whether this would hold up in court,” Cloister admitted.“The trail is compromised just because it’s everywhere, but based on Bon’s nose, Joel went from here to the sink, to the bin—”
Javi stooped down and fished out a bloody wad of paper towels, holding it up between gloved thumb and forefinger.Cloister nodded.
“Then she went through the utility room and into the garage,” Cloister said.“She didn’t leave a note, she didn’t stick her head in to check the kid was really asleep—”
Javi wobbled his hand in the air to indicate that part might not be as compelling as he’d expect.
“I don’t think they got on very well,” he said.
There spoke someone who had a good relationship with their parents.Cloister put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and leaned back against a clean stretch of counter.
“Doesn’t matter,” Cloister told him.“That would just mean she’d be more vigilant about making sure there’s nothing concrete the kid can point out to use against her.Abandoned in the middle of the night is pretty concrete.”
