“Unlikely,” Quinn said.
“And this isn’t even that weird an example,” Lola said. “Moose used to housesit for his dentist. And the first apartment I ever got I ended up moving in downstairs from my kindergarten teacher’s son. When I moved to a new place, her other son lived on the first floor. Total coincidence.”
Isabelle returned and everyone looked at her expectantly.
“Bertie was thrilled to hear you’re in town. I gave him your number. He said he’d be calling shortly to set something up.”
“Just like that?” Quinn asked. Her cell phone rang.
“Guess so,” Isabelle said.
She didn’t think she was in any shape to answer questions about her professional goals, her research. She’d almost been shot a few hours ago. She was still shaking and her heart rate was probably four times normal. It certainly felt like it.
But she took a deep breath, answered the phone, and stepped out of the room. Luckily, Dr. Castellano didn’t ask why the two grants that were supposed to be her ticket to an independent research career were likely not going to be submitted, or what she was doing in Rhode Island unexpectedly. They agreed on an interview time and hung up.
When she returned to the table it was clear everyone had been trying to eavesdrop but were now pretending they hadn’t been. Lola looked at her expectantly.
“I have an interview in two days. Will you help me prepare? This one means a lot to me.”
“Of course, yeah, sure,” everyone at the table answered.
“Oh, did you mean just Lola?” Dubs asked.
“I’d be happy to,” Lola said.
She kissed Lola on the cheek and went back to her dinner. Lola slid her hand onto Quinn’s knee under the table. It didn’t seem to be a gesture of seduction, instead one of comfort and connection.
Quinn liked the feeling. For the first time since she stepped out of the truck earlier, she stopped shaking. Having a focus for the future helped and made her feel a little bit like her old self. She liked the warmth and solid strength of Lola’s hand too. That made her feel like the whole world was new and full of possibility.
Chapter Twenty-three
“How did the interview go?” Jessica asked.
“God, Jess, it was amazing. Everything about it was exactly what I want. They’re interested in me doing the kind of research I want and there isn’t pressure to come in already funded. Which is good since these two grants aren’t happening. I would have a little time before they’d expect me to support myself. But this job was a long shot when I applied. I’m not fully qualified. I think they’re looking for someone more experienced and established. I still felt that way when I left.”
“So what does that mean for you?”
“I don’t know. But I heard about the Michigan position I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. They made an official offer. I don’t know what to do about it. I like the position at UPVD so much more. It’s just better in every way, except actually being mine. That I have to wait and see about.”
When she’d first started applying for faculty positions and thought about leaving her postdoc early, she’d imagined joy, excitement, a sense of adventure and challenge. What she was feeling now was closer to the opposite end of that spectrum.
“In all the years I’ve trained for my career, nothing has gotten in the way of my goals. Now I feel like I’m about to achieve one of the most important ones, and I’ve actually thought about throwing it all away. Dubs joked that Holt would try to hire me and I should insist on an obscene salary. It’s crazy, but there’s a part of me…how can I walk away from her?”
“I’m assuming we’re talking about Lola here, not Dubs?”
“A safe assumption.”
“Why not ask her to go with you? We could be a little trio off on an adventure. Lola and I could be your guard dogs. I’ll be your little Chihuahua and she’ll be your big strong Doberman.”
“I can’t ask her to do that, Jess.” Quinn said. Could I? Lola said she wanted a change. How big a change would she consider?
“You’ve got to talk to Lola,” Jessica said. “Lay it all out.”
“Talk to me about what?” Lola asked as she sauntered in.
“That’s my cue to be elsewhere,” Jessica said. She scampered out of the room faster than Quinn thought was necessary.
“She’s in a hurry,” Lola said. “This must be serious.”
“Sort of. I guess. I got a job offer.” Quinn watched the emotions flit across Lola’s face. First confusion, excitement, panic, sadness, tenderness.
“And what does that mean for us?” Lola asked.
“I don’t know,” Quinn said. “Jessica was just telling me to stop being a coward and talk to you.”
“Probably good advice,” Lola said. “What do you want?”
“I had my interview this morning at UPVD,” Quinn said.
“That’s a fact,” Lola said. “But what do you want?”
“I got a job offer from Michigan. The position is great. I should be happy, but I’m hesitating. I don’t want to make any decisions before I hear from Providence.” Quinn felt like she was rambling. She was listing the data points she had and hoping to draw some conclusions.
“Is that what you want? To work at UPVD?”
Quinn considered. Of the two jobs, yes, that was the one she wanted. But was it what she really wanted? She looked at Lola and what she needed was clear. She walked to Lola, put her arms around her neck, and kissed her. Lola didn’t react immediately, but when she did, she lifted Quinn in her arms. Quinn wrapped her legs around Lola’s waist and Lola held her tightly as they kissed.
When they separated, Quinn ran her hands through Lola’s hair and traced a finger gently down Lola’s cheek. “I want you.”
Lola spun them both around until they were laughing. “I want that too,” she said. “How do we make it happen?”
“Why do I have to have all the answers?” Quinn asked.
Lola set her down and they both sat. Quinn leaned into Lola’s chest.
“Is the job in Michigan good for your career? Is it at a good school? Do they know about the grants?”
“It would be great for my career. They have a very strong, well respected research program,” Quinn said. She felt like she was having trouble remembering what her career looked like, what research was, what she did. Her life was so different these days, in mostly negative ways, but in a few very important positive ones as well.
“They do a lot of research that’s similar to what I’ve been doing with my mentor now. The grants hadn’t gotten derailed when I interviewed, so that wasn’t part of their decision-making. I informed them when they made the offer, but they said it still stood. They expect you to have funding quickly though, so there’d be pressure to write again immediately.”
“But you don’t want to do that kind of work,” Lola said.
It meant a lot that Lola understood her work and career goals to know she might have hesitations with the expectations at Michigan.
“Maybe these grants not going in is a blessing,” Quinn said. She was so comfortable against Lola’s chest, as if this spot was custom made for her. “I’ve been thinking about what you asked me, about why I can’t do the research I want. I don’t think I’m going to submit these. I’m going to propose a project I actually want to build a career around.”
“That’s my girl,” Lola said.
“I hope so,” Quinn said.
“Once you take a position,” Lola asked. “Is that where you’ll be for your whole career?”
“Thankfully, no. Especially not once I have my own money. Researchers can move their grants pretty easily. It’s a little complicated if you have a special population you’re recruiting from a specific site, but people move institutions all the time.” Quinn thought about it. Obviously, it wasn’t ideal, but perhaps they could make a long distance relationship work for a while and then figure out how to be together down the line. “Were you thinking if I moved to Michigan in a fe
w years I might be able to move back here to be with you?” Her heart ached at the thought of two or three years of only seeing Lola a few weekends at a time.
“Close,” Lola said. “I was thinking if we both moved to Michigan, we could move back at some point, but only after I finished my undergraduate degree. How long does that take?”
“Is Holt opening a satellite office?”
“Before all the shit really hit the fan with the CMCs, Holt said she’d pay for me to go to school, full-time or part-time, it’s up to me. If I’m still in the area, the director of Holt’s charity is looking to retire in five or so years and wants to hand it off to someone who really cares. Holt thought of me, which is incredibly flattering. The charity helps kids who are headed down a bad path straighten out their lives. It hits close to home because of my brother.”
“Is this what you were talking about when you implied you might not be a bounty hunter for much longer? How do you feel about it?” Quinn was just starting to get used to the idea that Lola could spring into action at a moment’s notice and stop a speeding bullet in her teeth. Somewhere along the line it had become a little bit of a turn-on, despite the scary parts.
“I’m a little nervous, to be honest. I didn’t even finish high school, and college seems daunting. But I figure I have one of the most brilliant women in the world right here to help me if I get stuck, so what could go wrong?”
“You better not have one of the most brilliant women in the world,” Quinn said. “I’m protective of what’s mine and I don’t like sharing.” To prove her point she kissed Lola, slowly at first, then deepened the kiss until they were both breathing heavily.
“No one but you,” Lola said, gasping.
Lola seemed interested in continuing what Quinn had started with the kiss, but Quinn wasn’t done talking. Her mind was still churning with all the new information and she needed to process it.
“What happens to Holt’s college tuition offer if you leave Rhode Island with me?”
“Doesn’t matter where I go,” Lola said. “I can choose any college I want. Holt reiterated the offer last night and made that part very clear. She must suspect I was considering following you. She usually knows things are happening three steps before anyone else.”
Quinn appreciated the unspoken support from Holt. She knew it meant a lot to Lola. It meant a lot to her too. She’d come to respect Holt, even in the short time they’d known each other. “But what about the charity?”
“What about it?” Lola asked. “It’s a great opportunity if I’m here. The charity is amazing and something I would be happy to be associated with. But it, or something like it, will be available if I come back someday. Or I’ll find something else I love. No job is more important to me than you. Besides, I don’t know what I might be interested in doing once I’m done with my education. All I’ve ever done is work for Holt. It’s all I know, all I’ve ever known, but there’s a big world out there. Maybe I’ll be an engineer, or a paleontologist.”
“Ugh, then I’ll have to follow you all over the world while you dig up dinosaur bones,” Quinn said.
“Nah, that wouldn’t work for me anyway,” Lola said. “I’m a fan of malls and creature comforts. Dirty little secret.”
“I won’t tell,” Quinn said. “Superficial question. Are you keeping these if you change careers?” Quinn ran her fingers along Lola’s biceps and up and over her shoulders. “I’m a big fan.”
“Seems like we’ve got some time to make that decision,” Lola said. She was laughing but seemed to be enjoying the attention. “But if you like them this much, I think I’m going to be pretty damned motivated to keep them. Before you distract me completely, tell me more about your interview today.”
Reluctantly, Quinn stopped massaging Lola’s muscles and relaxed back into her arms. She’d never had anyone to share these kinds of important life decisions with. It felt sublime.
“The interview here today seemed to go well too. I loved the department, and the job is a dream. It’s everything I told you it was, including out of my reach. So I’m going to ask the Michigan folks for a few weeks to decide and keep my fingers crossed that Jose’s mechanical wizardry is enough of a recommendation to set me apart and get me the job here.”
“Did Jose really come up in the interview today?”
“He most certainly did. I said he was currently very graciously hosting my best friend as a houseguest. Dr. Castellano is enamored with Jose.”
“Everyone is,” Lola said. “It’s part of his charm. So we have you and Jose on our side for Providence. I like our chances of staying right here.”
Quinn hesitated when she thought about what Lola was offering. Could she really leave her whole life, all of her friends, family dinners, to take a chance on her? “Lola, I want you. I want you to come with me if I leave, but I can’t ask you to do that,” Quinn said.
“You aren’t asking, but it wouldn’t be out of line if you did. I want to go where you go, wherever that is, as long as that’s what you want too. We want this to work, but there’s a real chance you are going to move. If you have to take the job in Michigan, that’s not negotiable, but my job is.”
“But all your friends are here. Your job.” Shut up. Why are you trying to talk her out of this?
“And they’ll still be my friends, even if we live across the country, or the world.”
“How can you be so sure that giving up your whole life here to follow me and my career is the right decision? What if I let you down?” Seriously, what’s wrong with you? Shut up.
“That’s easy,” Lola said. “You could never let me down. It’s just not possible.”
Quinn was in Lola’s arms before she remembered to be careful of her still healing injuries. She tried to loosen her hold, but Lola just pulled her tighter.
“I know there isn’t data to collect or past research to consult saying this is going to work out. We have to trust how we feel, which is a little unscientific. I know that’s not your usual style, but I’m not letting go unless you tell me to.”
“You know my whole family disowned me when I came out,” Quinn said. “You have no idea how much it means that you want to fight for me.”
“Anyone who would let you out of their life, especially when they could do something about it, is a fool,” Lola said. “I will always fight for you. As long as there’s fight in me.”
Quinn didn’t know what it meant to share her life with someone else, to lean on, love, and support each other. The people who were supposed to do that for her in her early years had cut bait at the first chance. Now she had Lola. Part of her wanted to take the Michigan job so they could start fresh without all of Lola’s friends and family, so she could have her all to herself. But she would never do that to her. She was just excited about the possibility of building something she’d always wanted with an amazing woman.
Chapter Twenty-four
Quinn watched the flurry of activity from across the room. Max and Holt were at the center of it, which she assumed meant Max’s program had just jumped to a new phone. They’d been tracking the CMCs via cellular communication for three days and were beginning to flush out a picture of their network. Since the bluesnarfing had started paying off, Max had left the financial inquiry to Isabelle and had gone full-time tech. Isabelle, in turn, had teamed up with Dubs and Quinn. They’d formed a power trio analyzing the tremendous amount of data coming in from the phones. The CMCs were a very social group.
They were also chatty and had been emailing Holt or calling the office regularly to threaten Isabelle, George, Quinn, Jessica, and Isabelle’s sister, Ellen, and her family. The threats of violence were graphic, and after listening to the first one, Quinn had declined to hear a second. Just knowing they were still coming was enough for her.
Holt said Sam was getting threats now too. Since the attack on Quinn and Dubs, Holt seemed more driven to close this case. She was single-mindedly focused on LA, the CMCs, and a potential mystery player. Lola said Holt
and Sam talked multiple times a day. Quinn wasn’t sure anything could stop Holt now. Watching her work, she almost felt sorry for the CMCs. They didn’t know what they had unleashed.
So far, they hadn’t detected any communications that indicated any CMCs, aside from their friends from the sedan, were in Rhode Island or headed east. That didn’t mean they could rule it out. They weren’t picking up all of the network chatter.
In addition to background, Lola and Moose were running security for all locations where crew members were congregating, eating, sleeping, or working. Isabelle and Holt’s house was locked down tighter than the governor’s residence, with security twenty-four hours a day. Lola and Quinn were sleeping at Holt’s. So was Moose. Everyone else had been moved to the loft apartments where Max and Dubs were living. The entire crew, newbies included, had rotating guard shifts.
“At least our joy ride wasn’t in vain,” Dubs said.
“I’m disappointed in you, Dubs,” Isabelle said. “That’s the best you could do? No fancy word I have to pretend to know and look up later?”
“To be honest, I get a little nervous around Dr. Golden,” Dubs said.
Quinn laughed. “That’s a complete lie.”
“Fine,” Dubs said. “We’ve been working on this data set, as you call it, for so long I couldn’t think of nugatory or otiose fast enough. This is what you erudite people reduce me too.”
“I’m really feeling for you, Dubs. Not like it was your idea to sort the data by call volume to try and establish a hierarchy, after all.”
They’d had been struggling to make sense of the huge volume of data until Dubs had suggested they look for a pattern in who was calling and texting whom. She’d argued in a staff meeting that lowly soldiers would call, text, or email the much smaller number of people higher up the food chain, but the number of return messages would be relatively small. Bosses didn’t need to initiate frequent contact unless there was a problem. Especially when the work was illegal and communications might be monitored.
Data Capture Page 25
