A Neighbor’s Lie
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She could easily see two bullet holes in the kitchen wall, about three inches apart. She could see them from the couch. But if there were two stray shots there, maybe there were more elsewhere. If there were, it might give them a more precise chain of events throughout the scene.
She went to the coffee table and hunkered down. If someone had stumbled here before being shot, the killer would have aimed low. She looked around for any other stray shots and saw none. The killer had apparently hit his target.
However, she did see something else that she had not even been looking for. There was a small desk pushed against the wall to her right. It held a decorative bowl and a framed picture. Stuffed between the legs of the table was a tattered wicker basket with old mail and books. Between that basket and the back legs of the table was a cell phone.
She picked it up and saw that it was an iPhone. She pressed the power-up button and the screen lit up. The lock screen was a picture of Black Panther. She pressed the home button, expecting the passcode screen to pop up. When it didn’t, she was surprised. Instead, it opened without an issue.
Must have been the son’s phone, she thought. And maybe the parents rigged it so there was no passcode so they’d have access at all times.
It took her a moment to understand what she was looking at. She saw a young boy’s face with some weird zombie-like features cartooned over it. She checked the edges of the screen and then saw the telltale signs of Snapchat. She was looking at a video (or a “snap”) that had not yet been sent.
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
She then realized how warm the phone felt. She looked to the battery indicator in the upper right corner and saw that it was in the red.
She ran toward the hallway, gripping the phone. “Rhodes, do you see a phone charger in there?” she yelled.
There was a pause before Rhodes answered. “Yeah. On the bedside table.”
By the time the full answer was out of her mouth, Chloe was already entering the room again. She saw the charger Rhodes had mentioned and instantly ran to it.
“What is it?” Rhodes asked.
Chloe couldn’t help thinking: Wouldn’t you like to know, you bitch? But she kept it quiet as she plugged the charger into the phone.
“I think the son was on Snapchat when the killer came in. And I think he was sending a snap to a friend. Only he never got a chance to send it.”
She played the video that had been on the screen when she found the phone. It was of a young boy, maybe twelve or thirteen. He was sticking his tongue out, his face highlighted with the zombie-like animation. Within two seconds, the first gunshot sounded out. The phone was jostled and then a second gunshot sounded out. The boy appeared to fall to the floor, the phone was jostled again, and then the screen went black—apparently coming to a stop in its resting place beneath the little desk.
That’s where the snap ended. The entire thing lasted about five seconds.
“Play it again,” Rhodes said.
Chloe replayed the video, this time paying attention to the jostled moments. For about a quarter of a second, there was the shape of a figure standing in the hallway, coming into the living room. It was brief, but it was there. And because the phone was a newer one, even in its hectic movements, the image was fairly clear. Chloe couldn’t make out a face with her untrained eye, but she knew the bureau would have no problem running a frame-by-frame analysis and enhancing the footage.
“This is literally the smoking gun,” Rhodes said. “Where did you find the phone?”
“Under the desk pushed against the wall in the living room.”
Chloe could tell that Rhodes was excited by the find but did not want to give her too much credit. Instead, she nodded her approval and went back to her work, dusting for prints underneath the window.
They both sensed that, thanks to the Snapchat video, their work here was just about done. They had the perfect piece of evidence and anything they did afterward was just going to be out of methodology and routine.
Chloe figured she might as well play along and not cause any further tension between them. She took the phone with her back into the living room. She walked across the kitchen and set about digging the bullets out of the wall. But she knew the key to the case was in the phone she carried, waiting to bring the killer of this family to justice. And in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel that this was too easy. She was sure that Rhodes might also be thinking the same thing—as well as a way to somehow make it backfire in Chloe’s face.
CHAPTER FOUR
They returned to FBI headquarters two hours later with what Chloe felt was more than enough evidence to have a suspect in custody by the end of the day. The Snapchat video was the most powerful thing they had found, but they had also managed to come across two solid fingerprints, the footprint on the bedroom carpet, and two hairs clinging to the bottom of the bedroom window.
They presented their findings to Assistant Director Garcia, huddled around a tiny conference room table in the back of his office. When Chloe showed him what she had found on the phone, she saw him trying to bite back a smile of satisfaction. He also seemed pleased with how professionally and by-the-book Rhodes had bagged and catalogued all of the evidence they had found.
Maybe she should switch departments, too, Chloe thought with a bit of venom.
“This is some incredible work,” Garcia said, standing up from the table and regarding them as if they were prized students. “You worked quickly, thoroughly, and I don’t see why we won’t be able to get a solid arrest off of this.”
Both agents gave their thanks. It made Chloe feel a little bit better to see that Rhodes was just as uneasy with accepting compliments as she was.
“Now, Agent Fine, I got a call from Director Johnson just before you came in here. He wants to meet with you in about fifteen minutes. Agent Rhodes, why don’t you head down to the lab to see what happens to all of the evidence when it’s brought in?”
Rhodes nodded, still playing the part of the good student. As for Chloe, she felt herself panicking again. When she’d visited Johnson yesterday, he’d thrown her one hell of a curveball. What did he have planned now?
Keeping her questions to herself, she walked down the hall toward his office. When she entered the small reception area, she saw that his door was closed. His secretary gestured to one of the chairs along the wall while she spoke to someone on the phone. Chloe took the chair and finally took a moment to reflect back on what today had meant to her and for her career.
On the one hand, she had discovered a significant piece of evidence that would likely lead to the arrest of a gang member who had killed an entire family. But at the same time, she’d made a very rookie mistake by potentially damaging what had been a fairly decent print. She figured in the long run, the print would not matter thanks to the Snapchat evidence. Still, she was embarrassed as hell by being called out by Rhodes in such a way. She figured the best she could hope for was to come out even—her amazing find balancing out her bone-headed mistake.
When the door to Johnson’s office opened, her thoughts broke apart. She looked to the door and saw Johnson poke his head out. He saw her and didn’t even say anything. He just beckoned her toward him, into his office. It was impossible to tell if this was a show of simple hurriedness or anger.
She entered his office and when he closed the door behind her, he gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk—a spot that was becoming more and more familiar to Chloe. When he sat down behind his desk, Chloe thought she could finally read his expression. She was pretty sure he was irritated about something.
“You should know,” he said, “that I just got off the phone with Agent Rhodes. She told me about how you basically trampled a footprint at the crime scene.”
“That’s accurate.”
He nodded, disappointed. “I’m torn, because on the one hand, she’s just as new as you are. And by her calling to essentially tattle on you pisses me off. But at the same time, I’m glad she told me. Because even though this is your first day, it’s important to keep tabs on this sort of thing. You understand, of course, that I don’t call every agent that makes a mistake into my office to ask them about it. But for you, I thought I should check in with you since I did sort of throw you a curve ball at the last minute. Do you feel it threw you off your game?”
“No. I simply overlooked it. I was hyper-focused on looking at the window and didn’t even see the print.”
“That’s understandable, if not a little clumsy. But Assistant Director Garcia tells me you found evidence that should lead directly to an arrest—a cellphone with a Snapchat window open. Correct?”
“Yes sir.” And for reasons she did not understand, she felt herself wanting to add: But anyone could have found it, really. It was sort of just dumb luck.
“I consider myself to be a fairly forgiving man,” he said. “But do know that many more mistakes like the one with the footprint might result in some fairly serious consequences. For now, though, I want you and Rhodes on another case. Do you see a problem working with her?”
The word yes was on her lips but she did not want to seem petty. “No, I think I can manage it.”
“I had a look at her files. Her instructors say she’s incredibly sharp but has a tendency to try doing things on her own. So my advice to you would be not to let her take full control over a case.”
Yeah, I’ve already seen some of that, Chloe thought.
“And to be fair, I have warned her against this,” he went on. “I also told her I didn’t appreciate it when brand new agents tried to throw others under the bus. So I expect her to shape up on the next case. Director Johnson and I will be overseeing it from here on out, just to make sure everything is done by the book.”
“Okay. I appreciate that.”
“Other than potentially ruining a print, I think you did a great job today. I’d like for you to spend the rest of the day writing up a report on the scene and your interactions with Agent Rhodes.”
“Yes sir. Anything else?”
“That’s all for now. Just…as I said…if you start to feel that my last-minute change to your plans is affecting you work, let me know.”
She nodded as she got up. As she exited the office, she felt like she had just dodged a bullet—like a kid who had been called to the principal’s office but had been let off with only a small slap on the wrist. Still, having Johnson commend most of the work she’d done earlier in the day set her mind at ease.
She headed back down to her little workspace—a glorified cubicle was really all it was—with her mind reeling. She wondered if there had ever been a new agent who had been called into the Director’s office twice in less than forty-eight hours. It made her feel both elated and somehow closely scrutinized all at the same time.
As she waited for the elevator, she saw another agent coming around the corner. Chloe vaguely recognized his face from the small group of agents who had been included in the ViCAP group the day before.
“You’re Agent Fine, right?” he said with a smile.
“I am,” she answered, unclear of where the conversation was headed.
“I’m Michael Riggins. I just heard about the case you and Rhodes were assigned to. Gang-related family murder. Word has it that there’s an arrest in progress already. That’s got to be some kind of record, right?”
“I have no idea,” she said, though she did feel that it had all happened very fast.
“Hey, you know, not all first-day agents got to go out into the field today,” Riggins said. “Some were mired in research or paperwork. There’s already murmurs of a few of us heading out to grab a drink after work today. You should come by. It’s the place two blocks over, Reed’s Bar. We could use a legit success story to lift our spirits. But maybe don’t invite Rhodes. Everyone…well, no one seems to really care for her.”
Chloe knew it was mean-spirited but she couldn’t help but smile at the comment. “I might show up,” she said. It was the best answer she could give…much better than explaining that she was very much an introvert and wasn’t the type to just hang out at a bar with people she didn’t know.
The elevator arrived, its doors sliding open. Chloe stepped on and Riggins waved goodbye to her. It was bizarre to have someone envious of her situation, especially after the conversation she’d just had with Johnson. It was a feeling that sort of made her want to go out to the bar, even if it was only for a single drink and a half an hour of her time. The alternative was heading back to her apartment and continuing to unpack. And that was not something that particularly lifted her spirits.
The elevator took her up to the third floor, where her workspace sat alongside similar spaces shared by other agents. As she made her way down the hall, she passed Rhodes in the hallway. She thought about saying hello or to sarcastically thank her for the out-of-nowhere meeting with Johnson. But in the end, she decided to take the high road. She wasn’t going to fall for Rhodes’s little games.
Still, even passing the woman in the hall and exchanging nasty stares was enough to make the decision for Chloe: yes, she would go to the bar tonight. And unless her day drastically changed, she’d likely have much more than just one drink.
That seems to be happening a lot lately, she told herself.
It was a thought that haunted her throughout the rest of the day, but, much like recurring thoughts of her father, she managed to push it back into the darker corners of her mind.
CHAPTER FIVE
When she arrived at the bar at 6:45, it was about what she had expected. She saw several faces that were familiar, but none that she knew well. And that was because she did not know any of them well at all. Another downside of having her department switched by Johnson at the last minute was that there were very few people in the ViCAP group who had taken the same courses or training modules as she did.
The two faces she recognized the most were both male. First, there was Riggins. He was sitting with another male agent, talking animatedly about something. And then there was Kyle Moulton, the good-looking agent who had offered to take her to lunch after the first stage of orientation—the man who had somehow stuck out to her because he had asked her if she’d ever had any violent tendencies. She was a bit discouraged to see that he was speaking with two other women. No surprise there, though. Moulton was drop-dead gorgeous. He looked a bit like Brad Pitt from his earlier years.
She elected not to interrupt him and instead to go sit with Riggins. As conceited as it might seem, she liked the idea of hanging out with someone who had seen her accomplishment from the morning as something to marvel at.
“This stool taken?” she asked as she plopped down on the seat beside him.
“Not at all,” Riggins said. He seemed genuinely happy to see her, his slightly chubby cheeks widening with his smile. “I’m glad you decided to come. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Sure. Just a beer. For now.”
Riggins waved the bartender over and had him add Chloe’s first drink to his tab. Riggins himself was drinking rum and Coke, of which he ordered a second when he ordered Chloe’s drink.
“How was your first day?” Chloe asked.
“It was okay. Most of my day was research for a case involving an interstate drug runner. It sounds boring but I actually enjoyed it a lot. So how was a full day with Rhodes by your side?” Riggins asked. “Sure, wrapping that case must have been great but she already has a reputation for being hard to handle.”
“It was pretty tense. She’s a great agent but…”
“Say it,” Riggins said. “I can’t call her a bitch because I don’t like calling a woman a bitch in front of another woman.”
“She’s not a bitch,” Chloe said. “She’s just very direct and thorough.”
Their conversation went on for a bit longer and it was all very casual. Chloe snuck a few peeks over in the direction of Agent Moulton. One of the women had left, leaving him to speak with only one. He was leaning in close and smiling. Chloe tended to be a little naive when it came to relationships, but she was pretty sure Moulton was enamored with the woman.
This disappointed her in a way she had not been expecting. It had only been two months since she and Steven had called things off. She assumed she was only interested in Moulton because he’d been the first friendly face that had bothered speaking to her after Johnson had pulled the rug out from under her feet. That, plus the idea of heading back to her new apartment all alone was not appealing. The fact that he was incredibly good-looking also played a part as well.
Yeah, it was a mistake to come out. I can drink for much cheaper at home.
“You okay?” Riggins asked.
“Yeah, I think so. It’s just been a long day. And tomorrow is shaping up to be just as long.”
“You driving or walking home?”
“Driving.”
“Eh…I better not offer to buy you another drink, huh?”
Chloe smiled in spite of herself. “That’s very responsible of you.”
She stole a glance back over toward Moulton and the woman he had been speaking to. They were currently both getting to their feet. As they made their way toward the door, Moulton gently placed his hand along the woman’s lower back.
“Can I ask what got you started down a road that led to a career like this?” Riggins asked.
She smiled nervously and finished off her beer. “Family issues,” she answered. “Thanks for inviting me out, Riggins. But I need to get back home.”
He nodded as if he understood. She also noted that he slowly looked around the bar and saw that he was the only one that would be remaining. It made her think that maybe Riggins had some ghosts of his own that he was wrestling with.
“Take care, Agent Fine. May tomorrow be as successful as today.”
She made her exit, already making plans for how to finish out her night. She still had boxes to unpack, a bedframe to put together, and an assortment of laundry and kitchen odds and ends to put away.
Not quite the exciting life I was expecting, she thought with a bit of sarcasm.
As she made her way to her car, still parked in the parking garage beneath FBI headquarters, her phone rang. When she saw the name on the display, rage flushed through her and she almost ignored it completely.
Steven. She had no idea why he would even be calling. And that’s why she decided to answer. She knew that if she didn’t, the mystery of it all would drive her crazy.
She answered the call, not liking how nervous she instantly felt. “Hello, Steven.”
“Chloe. Hey.”
She waited, hoping he’d just dive into whatever he had called for. But it had never been like Steven to get right to the point.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, everything is fine. Sorry…I didn’t even think about how me calling you might make you think…”
He trailed off here, reminding Chloe of one of the many little annoying traits he had never realized about himself.
“What do you need, Steven?”
“I want to get together to talk,” he said. “Just to sort of reconnect and check in on each other, you know?”
“I don’t think so. That wouldn’t be the best idea.”
“There’s no ulterior motives here,” he said. “I promise. I just…I feel like there are things I need to apologize for. And I need…well, I think we need closure, you know?”
“Speak for yourself. Things are pretty much closed for me. No closure needed.”
“Fine. Then consider it a favor. I just want like half an hour. There are some things I’d like to get off my chest. And if I’m being honest…I’d just like to see you one more time.”
“Steven…I’m busy. My life is crazy right now, and…”
She stopped, not even sure where to go from there. And really, it wasn’t like she had this massive social calendar that would prevent her from seeing him. She knew that for Steven to make such a call was huge. He was having to humble himself, which was not something he had ever done well.
“Chloe…”
“Fine. Half an hour. But I’m not coming to you. If you want to see me, you’ll have to come to DC. Things are crazy here right now and I can’t—”
“I can do that. When’s a good time for you?”
“Saturday. Lunchtime. I’ll text you a place for lunch.”
“Sounds good. Thanks so much, Chloe.”
“You’re welcome.” She felt that there was more she should say, anything to ease the tension. But in the end, all she said was “Bye, Steven.”
She ended the call and pocketed her phone. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d only caved because she was in a rather lonely position. She thought of Agent Moulton and wondered where he and his lady friend had gone off to. More than that, she wondered why she was so hung up on it.
She reached her car and drove home as the streets of DC began to darken toward night. It was a remarkable city; despite the congestion and weird blend of history and commerce, it was somehow beautiful all the same. It set her into a melancholy state as she headed to her apartment—an empty new apartment in a location she had felt fortunate to find but that now felt like some isolated island calling her home.
***When her phone stirred her awake the following morning, it pulled her out of the haze of a dream. She tried snatching at the tendrils of it as it escaped but then stopped, wondering if it was even worth it. The only dreams she’d had as of late involved her father, stranded and alone in prison.
She thought she could even hear his voice humming some old Johnny Cash tune he’d often sung around their apartment when she’d been a little girl. “A Boy Named Sue,” she thought. Or maybe not. All of those songs started to sound the same.
Still, “A Boy Named Sue” was in her head when she slapped at her nightstand for her phone. As she yanked her phone from its charger, she saw that her clock read 6:05—just twenty-five minutes before she had set her alarm to go off.
“This is Agent Fine,” she answered.
“Agent Fine, it’s Assistant Director Garcia. I need you in my office right away. Shoot for within the hour. I’ve got a case I need you and Agent Rhodes on as soon as possible this morning.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, sitting up. “I’ll be there right away.”
In the moment, she didn’t care that it was another day with Rhodes. All she cared about was that so far, she was 1-0 as far as cases went and she was eager to improve upon that record.
CHAPTER SIX
Chloe arrived in Assistant Director Garcia’s office three minutes later. He was sitting at the small conference table in the back, looking through a few papers. She saw that he had already set out two cups of coffee for them, steaming and black, on either side of the table.
“Good morning, Agent Fine,” he said as she entered. “Have you seen or spoken with Agent Rhodes?”
“She was pulling in just as I got on the elevator.”
Garcia seemed to think about this for a moment, maybe confused as to why she had not simply waited at the elevator if she’d seen Rhodes. She then wondered just how much Johnson had told him about the little power struggle that was at play in their partnership.
Having finished her own coffee in her car on the way, Chloe sat down in front of one of the cups and sipped from it. She preferred a splash of cream and some sugar but didn’t want to appear high maintenance. Just as she started sipping, Rhodes entered the room. The first thing she did was shoot Chloe a look of annoyance. She then took the seat in front of the other cup of coffee.
Garcia eyed them both, apparently sensing the tension, but then shrugged. “We’ve got a murder in Landover, Maryland. It’s a case that appeared pretty normal at first. Maryland PD is running it right now but they’ve asked for our help. It’s also worth mentioning that Jacob Ketterman of White House Public Affairs knows the victim. He used to work with her back in the day. He has requested we look into it as well, as a favor. And when it comes from the White House, we try to keep it quiet. That should be simple with this case. It’s a pretty simple homicide from the looks of it. It’s one of the reasons we’re putting new agents on it. It’ll be a good test and there seems to be so pressing time table, although of course we’d like it solved as soon as possible.”