by S. E. Meyer
“It's my costume for the Governor's ball. I thought it would be funny to go as a pirate.” Jack smiled. “By the way, do you know what a pirate's favorite letter is?” he asked rubbing his stump.
He's in a good mood today.
“That's an old joke, sir, and an easy one,” Anna replied, reaching Jack's desk. “It's the letter 'R'.”
“You would think so wouldn't you, but actually it's the 'C',” Jack replied, laughing.
Anna pressed her lips together, shaking her head.
“You get it? It's the sea, you know like a large body of water?”
Anna nodded. “Yes, I get it. The joke is self explanatory, Jack, just not that funny.”
Jack lowered his eyebrows. “All right, one-legged jokes aside. There are more serious things to discuss,” He placed Anna's badge and gun on the desk. Anna lifted the weapon, grasping its cool metal handle with a smile.
Feels good to have this back.
She holstered her weapon and clipped her badge to her pants as Jack dropped a file in front of her. “What is this?”
“It's your first case back on the job. I'm promoting you to Special Agent in charge. I sent the details of the case to your tablet. All you need to do is choose who you want for a partner.”
“That's easy, sir,” Anna replied, opening the file. “I want Charlie.”
“I thought you'd say that. Review the file and update Charlie. I need some answers soon. We've got nine deaths in the last two weeks and no one can figure out how they died. The coroner is scratching his head on this one. I need you to make sure there isn‘t a serial killer on the loose. You sure you can handle this Anna?”
“Yes, I'm ready to get to work.”
“Good! Welcome back Wool. I need someone here that tells everyone where the bear shit in the buckwheat instead of blowing smoke up everyone's ass.”
Anna smiled. “You have a way with words. Thank you, sir.”
“One more thing. I need you to show restraint with your weapon. Seems like every time you run into trouble the bodies stack up at the morgue like cord-wood.”
“I'll do my best, sir.”
“Make sure you do. Now, last thing we need to talk about is your award. The city is throwing an awards ceremony for you tomorrow morning. We'll all be there. We're giving you the city's highest medal of distinction and Cornelius will be the one to give it to you.”
Anna winced.
Shit, Cornelius.
“Your rib bothering you again?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” Anna lied.
◆◆◆
Browsing the file on her tablet while Charlie drove to the first family on the list, Anna shook her head.
“What's up?” Charlie asked.
“Everyone on the list is so young. They're all around twenty.” Anna wrinkled her brow. “That's interesting. They're not only about the same age. They are the same age. They were all born within a few weeks of each other. That could be our first link between the victims. It's the only thing I can see that they have in common.”
“I guess we'll find out,” Charlie replied as he pulled the vehicle into the Anderson's driveway.
Anna took a breath. “This is a hard part of the job. Interviewing grieving families.”
They both exited the vehicle and walked to the front door. Anna pressed the doorbell.
“Hello Mrs. Anderson,” Anna greeted the red-eyed woman as she opened the door. “My name is Anna, and this is Charlie. We're with the homicide department, investigating your son's death. I realize this is a hard time for you and I am sorry for your loss.” Anna pressed her lips together. “Would you have a minute to answer a few questions?”
The woman nodded and invited them inside. Once they were all seated in the living room Anna spoke. “We'll make this a quick as we can for you Mrs. Anderson.”
“Please, call me Joan.”
“Okay, Joan. Was there any sign that your son, Jacob, was acting out of character or felt ill, or anything out of the ordinary you can tell us?”
Joan shook her head. “No, everything was normal. He had a job and liked to work, and he always helped Frank and I out around here.” Tears welled in Joan's eyes. “He was such a sweet boy.”
Frank burst into the room with furled brow. “You have a lot of nerve showing up here.”
Charlie stood up. “We're trying to find out what happened to Jacob. That's all. We all want to know what happened right?”
Anna continued her questioning. “Did Jacob have any enemies or anyone that wanted to hurt him?”
Joan shook her head. “No, everyone loved Jacob.” She sobbed. “Such a sweet boy.”
“What are you saying?” Frank asked. “You think someone murdered him?”
“We don‘t know,” Anna replied. “That's what we're trying to find out.”
Joan looked up from the tissue balled in her hand. “You should ask those mad scientists over at Gentech!” she said.
“Joan, no, not another word.” Frank demanded.
Anna raised her eyebrows. “Gentech?”
“They have nothing to do with this,” Frank continued through flushed cheeks.
“We've all heard of Gentech,” Charlie replied. “That's the company that builds designer kids through genetic engineering. What do they have to do with this?”
“Nothing,” Frank said.
Anna leaned in closer to Joan and touched her knee. “Joan, please continue. Was Jacob a patient there?”
Joan shook her head. “Are you kidding? We’re not rich. No, he was part of a trial-”
“Shut up!” Frank yelled, cutting his wife off. “They told us never to say anything.”
“No you shut up,” Joan said. “You caused this. You and your friends at Gentech.”
Anna's pulse throbbed. She stood up to face Frank. “Whoa, ease up. We're just trying to find out what happened to your son.”
“I'm going to ask you to leave,” Frank said. “And don't come back without a warrant. Let us grieve for our son in peace.”
Anna looked at Joan, still sitting on the couch squeezing the ball of tissue to the size of a grape.
“Fine,” Anna replied. “I sent my contact info to your phones. If you think of anything else, anything at all, please call me.”
“Well that was strange,” Anna said, once her and Charlie were back in the car. She turned to face her partner. “I need you to go back to the station and take another look at the victims' files. See if you can find a link to any medical trials, or Gentech.”
“You think there's something to this?”
“All the victims are the same age, within weeks. It makes sense they all may have been part of a trial.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I'm going to pay a visit to Gentech.”
◆◆◆
Anna sat at the end of a long meeting table on the top floor of Gentech's headquarters. She was alone in the cold boardroom staring at the snowflakes floating across the large windows at the room's end.
Anna sighed.
Winter's coming.
Adjusting her wool coat at the thought, Anna heard footsteps in the hallway.
The door opened and a stocky gray-haired woman entered the room.
Anna stood up, extending her hand. “Agent Wool.”
The woman eyed her through thin framed glasses before taking Anna's hand. “Gina Thorp,” the woman replied, sitting down across from Anna. “Please sit,” Gina urged, gesturing with an open palm. “Would you like anything? Water, tea or coffee, perhaps?”
Anna shook her head. “No thank you, I'm fine.”
“So what can I do for you, Agent Wool?”
Anna sat down and placed her hands on the table. “I'm investigating a string of deaths.”
“Murders?”
“That‘s what I'm trying to determine.”
“I'm the CEO of a large corporation Agent Wool. I have little time, so please get to the point.”
“Please, call me Anna. I spoke wi
th a victim's family today, Joan and Frank Anderson.”
Gina raised an eyebrow. “I've never heard of them.”
“Are you sure? Joan told me that their son, Jacob, was part of a trial performed here at Gentech.”
“I'm not directly involved in the daily workings of the labs and facilities. We run dozens of trials every year, all over the country,” Gina glanced down at the table and then back to Anna.
She's hiding something.
Anna leaned in over the table, boring her eyes into Gina's “I was hoping I wouldn‘t have to get a warrant Mrs. Thorp.”
“Call me Gina, and it's Miss, not Mrs., I don't have time for relationships.”
“Do you really want me to involve this corporation in a major investigation? Warrants, subpoenas, private e-mails being read in court?”
“You're over your head, Anna. My lawyers would bury your department in motions.”
“The best thing here, Gina, is for you to cooperate,” Anna maintained unwavering eye contact.
Gina stood up. “I will look into it and get back to you Anna. That's the best I can do for now.” Gina looked at her phone. “I have a meeting, Leave your contact information and the family's name with my receptionist. I'll get back to you as soon as time will allow,” she explained, extending her hand.
Anna rose from her chair and shook Gina's sweaty palm. “I look forward to hearing from you.”
“It was nice to meet you Anna. I'll be in touch.”
CHAPTER V
Jax walked into the formal dining room, followed by Isabelle. Anna looked up from the table, raising her eyebrows. “Had a sleepover, Jax?” she asked.
“I wish,” Jax replied, smiling. “No, this is Isabelle. Damarion's daughter.”
Anna stood, extending her hand. “I didn't know Damarion had a daughter.”
Isabelle shook Anna's hand.
“Cornelius had her locked up for years,” Jax explained, running his hand over his mud-brown mop of hair.
Anna's jaw slacked. “That explains a lot.” she made eye contact with Isabelle. “Your father betrayed us. Now I know why.”
Isabelle winced. “He told me he waited as long as he could to make sure you had enough lead time to get Atticus out.”
“Barely. We're lucky he got out at all, and I took a bullet. Many people died because of what he did.”
“Well, at least you got Atticus out and you're okay,” Isabelle replied.
“Tell that to my rib. Where is Damarion anyway?”
“He's spending most of his time at the office, surrounded by city security personnel. He's worried Cornelius will do something crazy. Kill him, or put him in the Chamber.”
“He has good reason to worry. So what are you doing here Isabelle?” Anna asked.
“My father thought I would be safe here and I could help the resistance.”
Anna nodded through pursed lips.
“She's been a big help Anna. She's helping me sift through your mother's hard drive. We're still sorting all the information.”
“Anything new?” Anna asked.
“We're piecing it together.” Jax made eye contact with Anna. “This is important, Anna, this goes all the way back to 2018. It was the catalyst that started a wave of mergers. In 2018, Dayer, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, bought Manplanto, the largest seed, GMO, and pesticide company in the world. It begs the question; why would a pharmaceutical giant like Dayer, want to own and operate a GMO, seed, and chemical company? It makes little sense. I'm having Isabelle sort through all of that data because of her background.”
“Her background?” Anna asked.
“Yes, Isabelle worked at Manplanto before Cornelius locked her up.”
Isabelle nodded. “I worked at the lab in their GMO division.”
“I see. Anything from Atticus?” Anna asked Jax
Jax shook his head. “Nothing yet.”
“Let me know as soon as you hear anything.” Anna turned to Isabelle. “And as far as your father goes, what's done is done, but trusting him will be difficult after what he did. I need to go, I have this award thing that everyone thinks is so important,” Anna said through gritted teeth. She wrapped her face with a scarf at the door and headed out into the ally.
Anna made her way to the car four blocks away in no kind of hurry. She didn't care about the award and never had a propensity for heading towards the lime light. As she got in the car Anna saw the man with the bowler hat out of the corner of her eye. He was standing between two parked vehicles and staring at her from behind his cold, dark eyes.
Anna shuddered.
He is following me, she concluded.
She started the car and hit the gas pedal hard.
It’s just creepy.
There was a large platform set up in front of the police station and a crowd was already gathering. Anna parked in the back lot and headed for the door, running into Charlie in the stairwell. “You all set for your big morning?” he asked.
“No, I would rather not do this at all, but I guess I need to keep up appearances and let people think want they want about what happened. Did you find anything out on our case?”
Charlie shook his head. “Dead end, after dead end. I can't find any connection other than they were all born around the same time. Did you learn anything at Gentech?”
“I met the CEO, Gina Thorp. She said she'd look into it, but I think she's hiding something.”
“Anna!” Captain Jack said, hobbling down the stairs.
Anna spun around to see Jack's broad grin. “How are you feeling? You ready?” He took a breath on the last step and peered out the front doors. “Looks like quite a crowd. They're all here to see you, Anna.”
Two plain clothes security guards walked up to Jack, followed by two more men with dogs on leashes. “The Governor has arrived. We'll escort him out once we're done with the security sweep.”
Jack nodded and turned to Anna. “All right then. Let's go.”
The crowd erupted into a thunderous roar of adulation as Anna emerged from the building and out onto the temporary platform. She lifted an arm and waved, making the cheers grow louder.
Jack made it to the podium with Anna on his right. He leaned into the microphone. “Citizens of Easton.” Jack raised his hands, quieting the crowd. “Thank you for coming out for this occasion. It is in celebration we gather today. A victory for the safety of our city and all of you, it's citizens. Thanks to this woman.” Jack lifted Anna's arm skyward. “Agent Montana Wool!”
The crowd exploded into another round of cheers. Jack waited several minutes for the crowd noise to subside. Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw two men appear at the small set of stairs to the left of the platform. Someone had erected a partition as a stage screen that blocked off the stairs and the edge of the platform. The two men leading dogs to the top of the stairs made the animals sit at either side. Cornelius came into view in Anna's peripheral and the dog on his left barked.
Anna swallowed hard.
The tyrant that tortured my mother. Odds are, the one who killed her too.
No one could hear the dog over the noise of the crowd, but it was ill tempered towards Cornelius. It growled and clacked its jaws as Cornelius made the last step.
A good judge of character.
The crowd noise died down and Jack spoke again. “Citizens. Here to present the award to Agent Wool is your Governor, Cornelius Cromwell!”
A quiet murmur went through the crowd, still unable to see Cornelius behind the partition. Anna watched out of the corner of her eye as Cornelius walked towards her. She was still the only one who could see him, other than the bodyguards and Jack. As Cornelius passed the barking dog, it snapped at his shin and Cornelius kicked the animal hard in the ribs. The dog cried out and turned away, but resumed its focus on Cornelius with a low grumbling growl.
The crowd noise rose as Cornelius appeared from behind the partition and Jack handed him a large medal attached to a lanyard. Cornelius shook Jack's
hand and then moved in front of Anna. The dog continued to growl in their direction as Cornelius placed the medal around her neck, leaning in close to Anna's ear.
“It never ceases to amaze me how annoying one little bitch can be,” he whispered.
The pungent odor of liquor and cigarettes filled Anna's nostrils.
“Yes, I got the Lonewolf out,” she whispered back. “I guess Cromwell's don't always get what they want.”
The vein in Cornelius's temple throbbed. He shook Anna's hand, squeezing it as hard as his arthritis would allow. “Be careful Miss Wool,” he said from behind bloodshot eyes.
“Your move, sir,” Anna added, letting go of Cornelius's hand as the crowd roared.
“Watch your back,” Cornelius replied. “The only reason I haven’t killed you yet is because you're about to become part of the family. I hear there are wedding bells in your future,”
“Never!“ Anna replied through a continued smile for the onlookers.
“We’ll see,” Cornelius finished and then sported a broad grin of his own before turning to face the crowd. He waved, and the crowd chanted as he neared the podium.
“Anna, Anna, Anna.”
Cornelius raised his wrinkled hands, quieting the crowd.
“As your Governor, I am pleased to present this award to one of our finest Agents. Under my direction, one of the worst terrorists in our history was brought to justice. My unwavering commitment to the safety of our city will not falter. It will not fail. Through my leadership, we have sent a clear message to those trying to undermine authority and your safety. I am confident you will continue to allow me to be your humble and devoted servant in the next election.” Cornelius raised his thumb. “Bode well with Cromwell! Two fat chickens in every pot and two new cars in every garage!”
The crowd cheered and Cornelius exited the stage.
◆◆◆
Strolling through the front door of her parent's home, Anna struggled with the large box in her arms. She set the box on the kitchen table. “Dad, where are you?” she called.
