“Who is she, anyway?” Adam asks me, in a room full of FBI Agents. I glance at him with a hurried look of disgust and anger.

“Don’t question me about my business,” I tell him. “She’s a woman I’m saying. Let’s leave it at that.”

He has no business asking me who she is. Frankly, I’ve been nice to him up until a certain point. Him envying me and thinking I’m some sort of badass has now turned into him thinking I’m some sort of hedonist. Maybe I used to be. Maybe I used to sleep around with any woman I saw as a catch. That was then. Now, I’m devoted to one woman and I’m not letting the department get involved in my love affairs.

“Come on, man. Just tell me about her,” he says. I know where he’s going with this.

“What is this new obsession with my love life?” I ask him. “It’s getting weird.”

The way he looks at me now is so different. It’s like he’s questioning my motives, every second of the day. It started at the first stake out. Once I proved he was wrong, he felt thwarted. Now, he’s got it in his head that my girl is a bank robber. The whole thing sounds fucking ridiculous, even when I say it in my head.

“I just want to be closer with you, man. We’re partners, after all,” he says, in a friendly tone. Still, his eyes reveal everything. “I don’t know. Maybe we can go on a double date sometime, or something. I’m seeing someone too now, actually.”

“Oh yeah?” I laugh because I know he’s bullshitting me. He’s spent his nights hunched over at his desk, researching the case. There hasn’t been any time for him to find somebody. “Who is she?”

“Some girl I went to college with. I called her up the other day. I thought we could catch up and she ended up having dinner with me two nights ago,” he says.

I’m staring directly in your eyes, man. How could you lie to me like that? Partners? Fuck that. We’re so far removed from each other.

“That’s sweet, but I don’t really do the double dating thing. It gets… awkward.” I chuckle and drink the bitter coffee. It’s lukewarm at this point. The styrofoam cup in my hand feels out of place. I want to get the fuck out of this room. I’ve never liked working with the feds. No cop does. But Adam? Hell, he’s loving every second of this. He feels like a fucking superstar.

Policing used to be an honorable profession. I suppose it still is in some places. Down here, in this county, it’s nothing but an ego-game. It’s just a department full of guys trying to climb their way to the top. Ever since the new team came in, it’s been worse. It’s like they’ll do anything to get ahead. They’ll even chat it up with the feds.

“Suit yourself,” he says, looking over at Freddie Macker, the fed who showed up at my door, violating my privacy. Freddie smiles. They’re buddies, after all. Soon, they’ll all go out for beers, like all men working for the government do after a long day. Adam will make the suggestion to look into my affairs. Adam, my partner. My friend.

I haven’t been clean all of these years, but I sure as hell have done my job well. There’s paperwork I’ve fucked up on, there’s evidence I’ve withheld. Back when I first started, we were taught different procedures. We were told to go with our gut. Turns out, my gut was good. I put a lot of bad men behind bars. But how is that going to look to a federal agent, who’s trying to take over this case?

They’ll clean up shop. They’ll try to get me on some bullshit, but we all know they’ll just fire me. There won’t be any going to any other departments. My career will be over. The life I’ve made will fall to pieces.

“What do we know about the guy?” I find myself asking. I might as well be proactive on this. “Craig Richardson. Where was he last seen?”

Freddie glances at the bulletin board posted in the office. It has all of Elroy and Craig’s history up there, but it’s not clear how they met or what woman is involved.

“After the murder, he went off the grid for a while. Word on the street is he took a number of odd jobs. He was a dishwasher for three months, before screaming at his manager and breaking a rack full of dishes. He worked on a farm out in Louisiana for a bit, but that didn’t last too long. Someone told us he sold marijuana to some friends of his, but at this point, we can’t confirm the validity of that,” he says. “All in all, we don’t have much. The guy doesn’t use a smartphone or anything. He hasn’t had internet for years, or even a registered place.”

“Any bills? Anything we can trace to him?” I ask him. Adam won’t keep his eyes off me. The jealousy is palpable.

“There’s no paper trail. The man must’ve paid with cash,” he says. “We’ve found a number of bills related to his mother, as she was the sole provider for the family. But even then, nothing points to him. We’ve sent our guys out to different properties and each time we’ve come back empty-handed.”

“Fuck,” I whisper. “A real mastermind, huh.”

“Maybe,” he nods. “He definitely thought this through. I think he knew we were going to hear his name sooner or later.”

“Sir,” a man walks through the door, holding an envelope in hand. He’s looking at me. “This came in for you today. Just wanted to send it your way and make sure you got it.”

“Who the hell would be sending you something at the station?” Adam asks.

“No idea, but we’ll find out soon,” I say, ripping open the envelope.

I start to read the words aloud: “I never wanted to be typing these words. I never thought I’d be in this position, stuck in the middle of two crimes…”

I look up at the guys in the room and it’s pretty fucking clear to everyone that I’m holding something big. Everyone is waiting for me to continue. This is good news, whatever is revealed. Only, Adam is looking at me in a different way, as if I’m the one behind this somehow. Still, I tune him out and read the letter.

“…anyway, I hope this helps your prior investigation on the murder…” I finish the letter and set it down, slumping back in my seat.

“Jesus Christ,” Freddie whispers.

I smile and nod. “Jesus Christ is right. We just witnessed a miracle,” I say. “We got him, right?”

“Don’t be too sure. Could be a trap. Could be nothing,” Freddie says. “Either way, we have to send our men in now.”

“No,” I tell him. “This was our case from the get-go. It’s our boys in there or nothing.”

Freddie groans. “Are we really going to play this game?” he asks me.

I stand up and face him. “I’ve worked my whole life for these guys. Hell yeah, we’re going to play that game,” I say.

He sighs. “Fine. Your guys can go in. But it’s their lives that are on the line,” he says. “We’re going in behind you though. Our government orders it.”

“Deal.” I shake his hand. “Adam, you coming with me?”

“Yes, sir,” he says. I nod. “Gear up, boys! We’re about to have ourselves a little fun!”

* * *

Louisiana is hot, muggy, and full of dark mystery. It takes hours to get there, which means hours of silence with Adam. Finally, when we’re close, he turns and asks me a revealing question.

“Who wrote that letter?” he asks.

“Excuse me?” I laugh at the absurdity of the question.

“I just mean, it’s pretty good timing right?” he asks.

“What are you insinuating?” I ask him, turning grim. We turn off our lights when we get close and start driving a little slower. We park the car a block away and prepare to head out on foot.

“Nothing at all,” he says. “Forget I said anything.”

There are noises everywhere. Crickets, winged bugs, croaking gators… Louisiana always gave me the creeps, but it’s these parts that especially freak me out. As we walk up to the sheltered cabin, I hold my breath.

We get to the front door and move into position. I motion with my hands, keeping my pistol out. My heart is beating wildly. I motion. “1-2-3-” And we bust the door open, moving in.

We’ve got men with high-powered rifles, dressed in the nicest swat outfits our taxpayers can buy. “Craig Richardson!” I scream, holding my gun out. I look through the night vision goggles and see movement in one of the rooms. The door is open. “Down on the ground!” I scream.

He aims his pistol at me and I fire twice. One bullet clearly hits his abdomen, while the other hits his chest. He hits the ground fast and our men move in to arrest the bastard. It all happens so fast and I’m left, leaning against the wall, catching my breath. I’m dizzy with fear. I almost just lost my life. Worst of all, I almost lost the chance to have another day with Virginia.

“We need a medic,” I say.

“They’re on their way,” an officer says. I close my eyes and somehow, I know Adam is staring at me. I may have just killed our suspect and that doesn’t look too good.