Carnival of Secrets

Chapter 6

CHAPTER TWO

When Lizzie's cell phone rang on her drive home she frowned, not recognizing the number that was displaying on her SUV's hands-free console.

She pressed the button on her steering wheel.

"Agent Zimmerman," she said as she picked up the call.

"Zim! Hey there. It's Jones. How are ya?"

She was surprised to hear from her fellow Academy graduate.

"Hey, yourself. I'm doing well. How are things with you?"

"Well, I'm thinking about making a change, and I wanted to run it by you. I'm considering asking for a transfer down to Dallas, Zim. We'd be working out of the same field office! Wouldn't that be great?"

"Really? When would you be coming down?"

"If it's approved, I would think it'd happen within the next few weeks."

They talked a few more minutes, then Jones said, "Well, it's good to talk to you, Zim, and I'll keep you in the loop."

"Can't wait," she said. "Catch you later."

As she hung up, she frowned again, remembering the conversation she'd had about the kid with one of her instructors.

I just can’t get a feel for how he’d do under fire in a real-life situation. He might stand up just like he’s been trained to do, and he might fall completely apart. There’s really no way to know, Lizzie had observed when asked directly about Jones' skill set, and her instructor had voiced the same opinion.

Now there was a good possibility that the kid she had reservations about was going to join the Dallas team, and Lizzie wasn't sure how to handle things.

Should I share my concerns with Nathan ahead of time, or keep them to myself? I don't want the team here to form a subconscious bias against Jones, but at the same time if I don't say anything and something happens...

Not to mention he's only been at his current assignment for a couple of months. Why the sudden change?

The whole situation just didn't feel right, and she was still mulling it over thirty minutes later as she pulled into her driveway and walked into the house.

Huh. I'll run it by Donny and get his opinion. He always has good insights.

"Hi babe," Donny called out from the home office, and she followed the sound of his voice.

"Hey there," she answered as she closed the distance between them and started to lean in for a kiss. But she stopped when she noticed the tension in his frame.

"You okay?"

Her fiancé looked up at her from his chair, and the raw grief shimmering in his hazel eyes hit her squarely in the heart.

"Not at all. Phil Tucker passed away late last night. I got the call from his wife Terri about a half hour ago."

"Oh, Donny. I'm so sorry, honey."

She immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Donny laid his forehead on her chest and put his arms around her waist. She stroked his hair, trying her best to give comfort as he clung to her and shared his pain in a voice hoarse with sorrow.

"Out of everybody I knew when I was a professional athlete, he's the only one that stood by me, Lizzie. The only one I brought forward from my old life, and his faith in me never wavered at all, even when I hit my lowest point. Phil wasn't just my agent. He was one of the best friends I've ever had in my life."

"I know, baby. I know."

"Terri asked me to speak at the service and be a pallbearer. The funeral's on Thursday morning."

"The service arrangements are made already?"

"Terri is devastated, of course, but she made it a point to thank me for encouraging them to think ahead. I stressed the importance of pre-planning to them both when they had me set up their policies."

He leaned back in his chair and wiped his face with his sleeve.

"I need to book a flight to Los Angeles for Wednesday morning. I want to get there a day early in case Terri needs help with anything."

Lizzie leaned down and kissed him tenderly on the lips, then softly said, "How about I order us some Chinese food and mix us a couple of drinks, and you can tell me more about him. Share some memories. Celebrate his life. Whatever you want to do, babe. I love you, and I'm here for you."

He nodded and exhaled shakily.

"I love you too, Lizzie."

"And I'll come with you to California, if you need me to. Just say the word."

"I know, babe."

Donny stood and ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm feeling the need for a hot shower. Will you join me? We can order the food when we get out."

She reached forward and took his hands in hers.

"I think that's a great idea."

***

* * * *

"Okay, here's what I don’t get," Annie began as they followed Deputy Greisen from Chico down to the Lake Bridgeport location.

"What's that?"

"According to everything we’ve learned so far, none of the victims showed any signs of a struggle. No defensive wounds or marks at all, right?"

"Right."

"Don’t you think that's strange? I mean, I don't think anyone would just stand still and let someone shoot them, right? I know I sure as hell wouldn't. I'd put up a fight, at least."

"I agree. And yes, that's strange. Unless they were drunk or otherwise incapacitated in some way."

"Or distracted. But it would have to be a pretty damn big distraction to not notice that someone standing so close to you has a g*n pointed your direction," Annie pointed out.

Ben's eyebrow raised as he thought about it.

***

* * * *

Nathan paused his typing and glanced back through a section of the coroner's report on the man found north of Chico.

"Wait, what?"

He cross-checked the other two files and found more of the same notations.

"Interesting. That alters my approach, for sure," he murmured, and began to backspace his cursor. He amended his additional impressions, then saved the file before he shut down his desktop unit for the day.

As he moved to the elevator, he called Ben's cell phone.

"Hey guys, what's the status?"

"We're almost to Lake Bridgeport, where the second man was found."

"Let's gather in the conference room at nine a.m. and go over your intel from the scenes."

"Sure thing, boss. See you in the morning."

Nathan's next call was to Bella.

"I'm headed home. Need me to pick up anything?"

***