by Blake Pierce
With a final puffing breath of frustration, Adele turned to the doors and moved to buzz the bottom button marked Landlord. He’d been instructed to let her in. With or without Paige, Adele was determined to see the crime scene of the second victim.
Before she could push the buzzer, though, there was a quiet screech of tires. Adele glanced over her shoulder and spotted a second SUV with black tinted windows parking behind her own vehicle. Agent Paige’s silver hair appeared over the top of the doorframe as she exited the driver’s seat, taking her sweet time about it. The older agent paused on the curb, then snapped her fingers as if realizing something, turned back to her car, opened the door, and began rummaging around inside.
Adele stared; it took nearly a minute before Paige found whatever she’d been looking for, and then once more, at a snail’s pace, began to move toward the stairs to the apartment. She gave a noncommittal grunt in Adele’s direction.
Adele suppressed her temper. She would have to work with Paige for the duration of the case, and starting off on the wrong foot wouldn’t help anything. But it almost seemed like her assigned partner was intentionally dragging her feet on this one.
“I thought we agreed to come straight here,” said Adele, trying to keep her tone neutral.
Paige shot Adele a long look out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah? I’m not usually in a hurry to waste my time. The crime scene monkeys have already been over this. Not sure why we’re here.”
Adele turned fully now, looking away from the apartment doors and the buzzers to face her partner. “We’re here,” she said, gritting her teeth, “because I want to examine the crime scene myself. Is that all right with you?”
Paige picked at her fingernails, flicking whatever she found onto the sidewalk. “You’re not going to discover anything new.”
“Maybe not, or maybe so.”
Adele could smell Agent Paige’s perfume, though to call it perfume would have been a stretch. Her partner smelled of soap; not scented soap, but rather a sort of plain cleansing odor that hearkened of hygiene and simplicity. Agent Paige wore no earrings, nor jewelry of any kind. She had a strong profile with a roman nose and sharp cheekbones. Adele remembered her first year at the DGSI, working under a taskforce with Agent Paige—she’d been intimidated by the older woman then, and, judging by the twisting swirling in her gut, the sensation hadn’t faded.
Adele had never visited Sophie’s family, but she knew from discussions with other agents that Paige had five children of her own, all of them adopted. And yet, in Adele’s experience, she’d never seen the woman miss a day of work. It had taken some digging, when she’d been at the DGSI, but by the sound of things, Agent Paige’s husband stayed at home, taking care of the kids while his wife worked long hours for the government.
Paige returned Adele’s look of annoyance, and in answer, Adele reached out and slammed her thumb on the buzzer for the landlord. It took a moment, then the doors buzzed. Sophie pushed open the front door, moved in, and allowed it to swing shut behind her.
Adele had to hurry forward to jam her foot in the gap, catching it before it closed fully.
Adele stared in frustration at the back of the older agent’s head. Again, not a single hair was out of place. Paige’s clothing was neatly pressed, her suit jacket a charcoal gray, matching her pants.
Adele had never particularly enjoyed her old supervisor’s company. The last time she’d interacted with the woman, on the previous case in France, Paige had caused trouble.
“Excuse me,” said Adele, keeping her voice low, “do we need to talk?”
Paige acted like she hadn’t heard, though, and continued toward the stairs.
Adele took a few hurried steps to catch up with the older woman, and she reached out, gently placing a hand on the other agent’s forearm. As if she’d been scalded, Paige whirled around, a snarl on her lips. “Don’t touch me!” she snapped.
Adele’s eyes flicked to the woman’s holster beneath her parted jacket. She lifted her hand, raising it in a placating gesture. “Apologies.”
“What do you want?” Paige said, scowling. “We’re doing it your way, aren’t we? We’re here wasting time instead of talking to witnesses.”
“What witnesses?” Adele said, biting back further retort.
“The American. The one who found the body.”
Adele shook her head. “She found the victim, but she didn’t see anything.”
Paige pursed her lips. “It would be a better use of our time than going over an empty crime scene. You read the report, didn’t you? No physical evidence. There’s nothing for us here.”
Adele huffed, shaking her head. She reached out as if to steady herself, gripping the wooden banister of the railing that led up the apartment steps.
She could hear the jingle of keys and the sound of footsteps approaching as the landlord made his way across the hall. She glanced past her partner, over the banister and through the wooden rails, to spot an old, bald man with a bit of a paunch and a stained sweater moving toward them.
Adele lowered her voice, trying to keep calm as she said, “You can contact the officers with the American. They’re on standby. Tell them to bring her here, if you want. We’ll interview her after; better here than the station, anyway.”
“Fine,” said Paige. “Maybe I will.” She reached for her phone and fiddled with it for a moment.
Adele waited as the landlord approached, hoping this was the last heated exchange for the moment. It wouldn’t do to look unprofessional in the face of public speculation.
The landlord glanced between the two women, seemingly ignorant of the bad blood. He adopted a simpering, oily smile and said, “I can show you to the room.” He paused for a moment, his smile still stretching his lips like taffy. “Just out of curiosity…” He paused, as if waiting a rehearsed number of seconds. Then he said, “When will I be able to rent out the apartment? There are bills to pay—”
“I’m Agent Sharp,” Adele interrupted. She studied the man. “This is Agent Paige.” She reached into her pocket and flashed her badge, as well as the Interpol credentials Robert had given her.
The landlord waved them away without glancing toward either ID. Paige was still glancing at her phone, ignoring the man.
“I can show you,” he repeated.
Adele gestured with a hand up the stairs and allowed the landlord to take the lead, following him at a slow pace as he breathed heavily, moving up the stairs one at a time. When they reached the third-floor landing, he clicked the keys into the lock and twisted, pushing the door open. Adele examined the keys, then glanced at the back of the landlord. “You didn’t enter the apartment a couple of days ago, did you?”
The landlord regarded her, and then after a moment, his face adopted a horrified expression. He immediately began shaking his head wildly, causing his jowls to jiggle. “No,” he insisted. “Certainly not. I never enter the apartments. The keys are just for emergencies.”
Adele raised her hands. “Does anyone else have access to a set of keys?”
The landlord shook his head firmly. “Only the apartment tenant. And myself. And I don’t use them,” he repeated.
Adele nodded to show she’d heard, watching as the man pushed open the apartment door and stepped aside, gesturing for the two agents to enter.
The agents ducked under the crime scene tape crisscrossing the door. Adele moved onward and glanced at the tile floor.
Already, most the blood had been cleaned up. Photographic evidence had been taken of the scene, and previous investigators had come through to catalog everything. Adele glanced around the kitchen; she noted a few stains of blood against the cabinet next to the fridge, as well as along the tile floor. She moved over the stains and glanced at the fridge. It was closed now.
Besides the closed fridge door and the missing stain, the crime scene looked exactly the same as the photos. The body had long since been taken to the coroner, and the final report would be forthcoming soon enough.
She hated to admit it, but there wasn’t much to be seen. No physical evidence. Just liked she’d been told.
They’d already dusted and scanned for fingerprints all along the counters, the fridge, the body. And still, nothing had shown up. Nothing besides the victim’s own fingerprints.
The second victim had been found with her back against the cabinets, facing the fridge. This meant whoever had attacked her had done so quickly. There had been a bit of blood spatter, but not much. There’d been no signs of defensive wounds on the body. No struggle whatsoever.
“Do you think she knew the killer?” Adele asked, quietly.
Agent Paige said, “Maybe.”
Adele stepped daintily over the faded pool of blood. She walked to the fridge, and, using her pocket to sheathe her hand, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open. There were still groceries in the fridge. Old sandwiches rested in the crisper, and a large jug of milk sat nestled next to a dozen eggs. Otherwise, the fridge was mostly bare. Adele regarded the cabinets where the woman had been found, sitting on the floor in a pool of her own blood.
She examined the wooden block of steak knives next to the sink. All the knives were accounted for. They’d been scanned for blood and cleared. The killer had taken his weapon with him. They still didn’t even know what he had used to kill the woman.
Adele reached up, opening the freezer. There were two trays of ice, a tub of ice cream, and some frozen pizzas. The ice cream container was stained with melted, then refrozen, streaks on the side, and one of the trays of ice was completely empty. Adele pursed her lips; it was a personal pet peeve, but she hated when people put empty ice trays back in the freezer. She glanced at the ice cream container, and then her eyes flitted to the frozen pizzas. Cauliflower. She wrinkled her nose, but felt a sudden flush of embarrassment as she studied the food.
What had she been expecting to find?
She eased the freezer door shut and turned back to survey the room. There was no indeed physical evidence. She regarded the sink and noted a slow drip. She moved over and twisted one of the handles. The drip continued, one droplet at a time. Tap, tap. Droplets struck the metal basin.
“Is the witness coming?” Adele said, glancing over at Paige.
The older woman was still watching the skyline through the window. She grunted, “On her way.”
Adele cleared her throat. “What was her name again?”
“Melissa Robinson. Also American—she found the body.”
Adele set her lips. “How do you think we should approach questioning?”
Agent Paige shrugged again. “You’re the Interpol operative. I’m just here following your lead. Do what you want.”
Adele hesitated, staring across the crime scene. She nodded once, then, in as diplomatic a tone as she could summon, she said, “I think we need to have a chat.”
Paige finally looked away from the window and raised a silver eyebrow.
Adele approached carefully, coming to stand in front of the older woman, though part of her wanted to hide in the corner of the room. The scent of soap was even stronger than before as she met her partner’s gaze. “This doesn’t have to be painful, but I have a feeling you’re not putting in as much effort as you could.”
Paige betrayed no expression for a moment. At last, she shrugged and said, “I’m not in charge of your feelings. Maybe you should do a better job controlling them.”
Adele stared at the older woman. “I don’t believe this is helpful.”
“The number of things you’re unable to believe isn’t my business,” Paige said coolly. She carried the attitude of someone delighting in the frustration of another. Adele’s mounting temper seemed only to further fuel Paige’s enjoyment.
“I didn’t know it was you,” Adele blurted out at last.
Agent Paige’s expression became fixed.
Adele glanced back toward the door, and was glad to see the frame empty, suggesting the landlord was further down the hall. She lowered her voice all the same and said, “I didn’t know. I just saw someone had moved one of the accounting documents out of evidence. I thought it was a clerical error. When I reported it to Foucault, I had no clue—”
“Stop,” Paige snapped, gritting her teeth.
The quiet, quizzical expression of complacency had faded now, like ice melting over a pool, revealing the boiling anger beneath.
“I’m serious,” Adele said, “if I had known—”
“You did what you did.” Paige was scowling now. Her hands, at her sides, trembled against her gray suit. “They demoted me. I’m lucky I still have my job. Matthew was arrested. They questioned him for nearly a week!”
Adele winced. “I’m sorry. All I saw was missing evidence. I didn’t know—”
“God damn what you don’t know,” Agent Paige snapped. She slammed her finger into Adele’s chest, pushing sharply against the younger woman. “You should have come to me. I was your supervisor! You went behind my back, like a little rat.”
Adele stepped back, reaching up and rubbing at her chest, wondering if she’d find a bruise come morning. She shook her head and said, “You moved evidence to protect your boyfriend. I didn’t know what had happened. I didn’t even know you were dating a suspect—”
“He wasn’t a suspect when we started,” Paige snapped, but then trailed off, biting the words with a snarl. “It’s none of your fucking business who I date, understand? And they cleared him. He didn’t do it.”
Adele nodded, trying to keep her posture nonthreatening. “Good. I’m glad. I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew was that someone had moved evidence. If I had known it was you, I would have talked to you. I definitely would have. You didn’t tell me, though. I just saw it missing—”
Sophie snorted and waved a hand at Adele. “Not everything has to be catered toward precious little Adele,” Paige snapped. “Not everything is about you.”
Adele ground her teeth, and she wanted to protest further, but the words wouldn’t come. The situation had been a bad one. Agent Paige had been lucky to keep her job. Her relationship with Matthew, an accountant with the DGSI, hadn’t been public knowledge at the time. Adele hadn’t known her supervisor was dating a suspect in the death of a prostitute. In the end, Matthew had been cleared. But Paige had blamed Adele for reporting the missing evidence. It had turned out Paige was trying to cover for her boyfriend; in the end, though, it had come to light that Matthew had been sleeping with the prostitute. Adele suspected Paige hadn’t known this when she’d hidden receipts and documents suggesting Matthew’s involvement.
Adele had seen the evidence missing, though, and had immediately reported the vanished files. After that, Sophie Paige had been investigated as well as Matthew. Her boyfriend had been cleared of murder charges, but had been fired from the DGSI. Paige would have been fired, but Foucault—for some reason Adele didn’t understand—had gone to bat for her and kept her on, demoting her in the process.
“I don’t like you,” Paige said, simply, all pretenses gone now, her expression once more a scowling, stony one. “I’m not ever going to like you. I didn’t ask for this assignment. I have to bear it. As do you. Now how about you stop wasting my time by dragging me to crime scenes that have already been investigated? Did you find anything new?” she demanded.
Adele hesitated, glancing back toward the kitchen; she was loath to admit she hadn’t. So instead, she said, “When’s the witness coming?”
“You’re insufferable,” Sophie snapped. She turned back to the window and stared out into the city. Adele, her hands trembling from anger, moved to the door and into the hallway, preferring to wait outside for the witness to arrive, rather than spend another moment with Agent Paige.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Adele was startled from her reverie by an officer in uniform tapping her shoulder. She glanced back, turning from the window in the hallway outside the victim’s apartment.
“Excuse me,” the officer said, quietly.
Adele raised an ey
ebrow to show she’d heard.
The officer cleared his throat and smoothed his mustache. “The witness refuses to come inside. She says she’d rather talk on the sidewalk. Is that all right?”
Adele glanced at the man, then toward the open door to the apartment. For a brief moment, she was tempted to leave Agent Paige and go talk to Ms. Robinson on her own. But at last, she sighed and nodded. She pointed toward the open door. “Would you mind telling my partner?”
The police officer nodded once, then circled the banister, heading for the door. He gave a polite wave toward where the landlord still waited at the end of the hall, keys in hand. For all Adele cared, he could wait all day. They wouldn’t be renting out the place anytime soon. Not yet at least.
She moved back down the stairs, taking them two at a time, hoping to have a couple of moments to speak with the witness without Agent Paige’s presence clouding her thoughts.
She reached the ground floor, pushed open the door to the apartment building, and noticed a third car, this time a police vehicle, waiting at the curb. Adele glanced at the front of the vehicle, where a second officer sat on the hood. She had a cigarette in her hand and looked to be lighting it, but when she spotted Adele, she quickly tucked her lighter back in her pocket and flicked the cigarette toward the grate beneath the car’s front wheel.
The officer pushed off the hood just as quickly and nodded toward the back seat of the vehicle.
“She refuses to get out,” the officer said. “I can make her, if you’d like—”
“Of course not,” Adele retorted. “She’s not a suspect.” She moved toward the rear of the vehicle and peered inside. A dimple-faced young woman with curly brown hair sat in the back. She couldn’t have been older than Adele. Perhaps early thirties.
Adele tapped on the door and looked toward the officer expectantly. The officer waved apologetically and then reached into her pocket and clicked her key.
