“Great,” I said with all the enthusiasm I could muster—which wasn’t much.
At the morning meeting more than a few eyebrows were raised when Harrison announced that the audit forms were being abandoned, and from now on, all cases would be run through me first and assigned if I found they had merit.
Harrison then handed everyone their case files with the notes inside before saying, “Last on my agenda is to tell you that Ms. Cooper will be conducting some lectures on enhancing your powers of perception, especially when it comes to the investigative process. Now, I’m not going to make attendance to her lectures mandatory”—Harrison paused to lock eyes with each member of the squad individually before he added—“yet. But make no mistake: Agent Rivers and I consider her an invaluable member of this squad and the only person we could not easily replace. So consider that before you dismiss her abilities and her willingness to make you better investigators. Clear?”
There were a few mumbled Yes, sirs from the group, but I could tell that even after that strong endorsement from the boss man, these guys weren’t going to beat a path to my classroom’s door.
Shortly after the meeting I attempted to get back to work. This was made all the more difficult for two reasons: First, I was acutely aware of the train of agents who one by one went in to talk to Harrison and Dutch. And while I couldn’t hear what they were saying, given the amount of finger-pointing in my direction, I had little doubt that there were more than a few protests to this dramatic change in standard operating procedures.
The second reason was that, for some odd reason, I had a phrase swirling around in my brain that wouldn’t allow me to concentrate. All the rest of the morning I kept hearing the phrase Duck and cover in my head. “You’re not kidding,” I said to my crew as the third agent got up and headed to Harrison’s office.
Still, it was all most annoying and I was incredibly relieved when noon finally arrived. “Feel like grabbing some grub?” Dutch asked as I stood up and reached for my purse.
Oops. I’d forgotten to tell him I was having lunch with Candice. “Can I take a rain check? I promised Miss Fusco that I’d meet her for some girl talk.”
“Sure,” he said. “I bet she wants to show off her ring.”
With a gasp I blurted out, “Harrison proposed?”
Several heads snapped in our direction and Dutch’s eyes grew wide and I immediately felt bad.
“Sorry,” I whispered. “I forget to use my inside voice sometimes. But did he?” I asked again. I couldn’t believe Dutch would know before I would. I mean, I fully expected Candice to call me immediately to share the good news.
“I don’t know,” Dutch said. “I just assumed that he would have already popped the question, given your conversation with him the other day.”
There was something odd reflected in Dutch’s eyes, but now that he’d mentioned it, I was too anxious to get to Candice and see if she had a big honkin’ diamond on her ring finger. “I’ll let you know after lunch,” I said to him, and leaned in to give him a kiss when we heard someone make a loud throat- clearing sound from behind him.
I peeked over Dutch’s shoulder and saw Rodriguez giving us the evil eye. “Right,” I whispered to Dutch when he looked uncomfortable. “No smooching at the office.”
“And inside voices,” he whispered with a wink, before squeezing my hand warmly. “Say hi to Candice for me, and give her my congratulations if the situation warrants.”
The situation did not warrant. Candice appeared looking radiant and more relaxed than I’d ever seen her, but had no big diamond on her hand to show off. “Being rich agrees with you,” I told her as she motioned me down the street.
Candice laughed. “Abby, I gotta tell you, being wealthy does not suck.”
I chuckled too. “So my sister tells me.” For the record, my sister, Cat, is the wealthiest person I’ve ever met. She’s worth bajillions.
“And probably Dutch and Milo too, huh?”
I cocked my head at her. Now that she mentioned it, I realized I was surrounded by people who were very well-off. “Odd, isn’t it? How many people I personally know who are worth some major bucks.”
Candice nudged me with her shoulder. “I think you’re our lucky charm.”
That made me grin. “Yeah, and it would be my luck that I’d have that effect on everyone else but me.”
“Government not paying what it used to?”
“No. And I think it’s always paid on the low end.”
We arrived at the restaurant and Candice held the door for me as we entered. “How goes it, by the way? Have you astounded any of your coworkers yet?”
“Oh, they’re astounded all right,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “If I had any expectations that I’d have an easier go of it here in Austin, I was dead wrong. Pretty much my crew’s been telling me to duck and cover all morning.”
Candice held up two fingers when the hostess asked her how many. “Is Brice standing up for you at least?”
“He is. I pinkie swear,” I added when she looked at me skeptically.
We were shown to a table and given menus and it was a moment before Candice picked up the conversation again. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Has Brice seemed a little . . . off, lately?”
That surprised me. “Off?”
Candice’s radiant glow seemed to dim a little and she squirmed in her seat. “I think he might be having some regrets,” she admitted, and to my astonishment she also began to tear up. “I think he’s about to break it off with me.”
“Oh, Candice,” I said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “Sometimes you can really be an idiot—you know that?”
Candice’s jaw dropped and she half laughed and half sobbed in reply.
“Are you two ready to order?” asked a waitress who’d suddenly appeared at our table.
Without letting go of Candice’s hand, I said, “Can you bring us both some water with lemon and give us a minute?”
The waitress appeared to notice Candice’s rather fragile appearance then and she hastily moved off.
Once she’d departed, my friend dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “So you don’t think he’s having second thoughts about us?”
“No.”
“But he’s been acting all weird lately,” she insisted. “Every time he’s around me, he gets fidgety and uncomfortable. I swear to God I think he’s reconsidering our relationship.”
I smiled. If she only knew just how much he was reconsidering it and thinking about taking it in a whole new direction. “So you want to know what my radar has to say?”
Candice reached for the glass of water that a busboy set down for us. “Yes,” she said softly. “And please tell me the truth. I can take it.”
“I think there might be a few changes ahead for you guys. And at first those changes may cause some issues between you, but eventually it feels more like you’ll end up moving forward as a team, not as individuals going in your separate directions.”
Candice’s eyes watered again. “Really?” she asked in a squeaky whisper.
“If there is one thing I know with absolute certainty, Candice, it’s that Brice Harrison is head over heels in love with you.”
Candice took another sip of water and worked to collect herself. Our waitress came back then and we rushed to look at our menus and order just so she’d leave us alone for five seconds. After she’d gone away again, Candice said, “I trust you, but I swear to God there’s been a shift in his demeanor.”
We were starting to get into dicey territory here. If she kept probing, I had no doubt that I’d probably slip and tell her what Brice was up to, so I worked to put an end to her insecurities. “I know you like him more than you’ve ever liked any guy,” I began.
“No, Abby,” she said quickly. “I love him! I mean, I know that sounds crazy. I’ve only known Brice for what? Four months? But I love him. I mean, it’s like there’s this deep connection we have, and I
don’t know what I’d do if he left me.”
I looked her dead in the eyes. “He’s not leaving you.”
Candice closed her lids and another set of fresh tears leaked its way down her cheeks. “God, I hope you’re right.”
The moment I got back to the office, I marched straight into Harrison’s office and shut the door. “What are you waiting for?” I demanded.
“Please come in, Ms. Cooper,” he said drolly.
“I’m serious,” I said, crossing my arms and tapping my toe impatiently. “Do you know that I just spent the last hour with my heartsick friend, trying to reassure her that you aren’t as dumb as you look?”
Harrison’s brow furrowed. “Have you been drinking?”
I sat angrily down in a chair. “Ha-ha,” I said drily, and was shocked to see he didn’t seem to be kidding. “I’m completely sober!”
Harrison just stared at me and blinked. He looked like he might be on the verge of calling Dutch in for backup.
“I’m not joking,” I said evenly. “You have to do something!”
Harrison tossed his hands in the air. “I have no idea what or whom you’re talking about.”
I took a deep breath and tried again. “Candice has noticed a change in your demeanor. She thinks you’re having second thoughts about the two of you and she’s really worried that you might be getting ready to break up with her.”
“She what?”
“You need to pop the question, and you need to do it pronto, because the last guy Candice suspected was about to break it off with her was dumped before he ever had a chance to say, ‘I think we should talk.’ ”
The color drained out of Harrison’s face. “She’s going to break up with me? Just because she thinks I might be ready to break up with her?”
“Yep.”
“But . . . but . . . ,” he stammered. “I’ve just been waiting for the right time!”
I made a big show of tapping my wristwatch. “I’d say that time is riiiight about now, sir.”
Harrison sat back in his chair and stared at his desk. Finally, looking up at me, he said, “Okay.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Okay?”
He nodded. “I’ll do it tonight.”
“You look a little pale,” I remarked. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, I’ve never asked anyone before.”
“You haven’t?” That surprised me. Harrison was in his late thirties. I was sure he’d had at least one proposal in his life, if not a walk down that aisle. “Really? No one?”
Harrison shook his head and let out an uncomfortable laugh. “I don’t even know what to say,” he admitted. “Should I put the ring in some champagne? Or take her out to dinner? Maybe I should rent a sailboat and take her out on the lake?”
I made a face. “Dude,” I said. “Candice doesn’t need any of that. She’s pretty simple. Just sit her down, tell her she’s the one, and show her the ring.” I then had another thought. “You do have a ring, right?”
The color returned to Harrison’s cheeks and he blushed. “Yes.”
I sat forward eagerly. “Can I see it?”
Harrison considered that for a second before he reached into his drawer and pulled out a small black box. With great care he opened the lid and held it out for me to see, and at that moment, Rodriguez opened the door and stuck his head in. “Oh!” he said, seeing Harrison and me with the ring between us. “I . . . uh . . . I didn’t mean to interrupt. I can see you’re busy.”
He quickly closed the door and I fell into a fit of giggles. “Ahh,” I said as Harrison put the ring quickly away with a mortified look on his face. “I can’t wait to hear what rumors start swirling around the office after that!”
Chapter Four
It turned out that the reason Rodriguez had come into Harrison’s office was that our boss had told him to. What Harrison hadn’t had a chance to tell me was that because there had been such a stink raised about using me to determine which cases to reopen, Harrison had decided to send me with Rodriguez to help locate the car that had hit the census worker.
“It’s the only way to prove to these guys that they should take you seriously,” Harrison argued after telling me his decision. “If you lead Rodriguez right to that car, then there’s no way he or anyone else on the squad can doubt you. Especially since the previous investigators did such a thorough search of the area.”
“You want us to go today?” I asked, looking again at my watch. It was already one thirty, and I needed to collect my thoughts before the lecture I was planning on giving to the agents later that afternoon.
“That’s for the two of you to work out,” Harrison said. “But you’re right. It is a little late to make the trip up to Waco. If you want to wait until tomorrow morning, that’s fine with me.”
I brightened. Here I’d thought I’d be stuck in the office for the next month doing the taxing work of sorting through case files all day. “Okay,” I agreed. “I’d love a chance to play bloodhound.”
“Excellent. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, clearing his throat, “I have a speech to prepare.”
I shook my head and got up to leave. “Keep it simple, Brice. Just stick to those four little words and you’ll be good to go.”
I opened the door then, but Brice stopped me. “What four words?”
I turned back to him and smiled before answering. “Will you marry me?”
“Excuse me?” said a deep baritone right behind me.
I think I jumped a foot. “Dutch!” I gasped, glancing over my shoulder to see his rather stunned expression. Lowering my voice, I explained, “I was just helping Brice for an important discussion he’s having later.”
Dutch crossed his arms and that something that I’d noticed earlier flashed again in his eyes. “Uh-huh,” he said, and I was surprised to see him looking irritated.
I forced a smile and pointed to my desk. “Better get back to work.” I bolted then for the other end of the room.
An hour and a half later I was in the conference room waiting nervously for my class. I’d sent a general e- mail out to the group that we’d be meeting at three o’clock and the lecture wouldn’t go longer than an hour. Dutch and Brice had already let me know that they wouldn’t be able to attend this first lecture because of a conference call they had with D.C., but that if their call ended early, they’d pop in.
I watched the clock on the wall and kept telling myself that it was okay if the agents showed up late, as long as they showed up. But by three ten, when no one came through the door, I knew I’d been stood up. “Crap,” I said after sticking my head out of the conference room and seeing all the empty desks.
Katie walked by at that moment carrying several shopping bags filled with office supplies. “Hi, Abby,” she said as she passed.
“Do you know where everyone is?”
Katie set one of her bundles down and turned to look at the empty room. “Out working the cases you gave them, I believe.”
My eyes bugged. “All of them?”
“Except Rodriguez,” she said. “He stepped outside to take a personal call.”
I sighed heavily. “Great. Just great.”
Katie gave me a sympathetic smile. “Don’t let them get to you. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about your abilities, and I’m sure you’re every bit as gifted as they say.”
I eyed her skeptically. “You’ve heard about me?”
Katie smiled. “I was Bill Gaston’s administrative assistant when he first came to the bureau, before my husband was later relocated to Round Rock. We’ve kept in touch over the years, and when he heard that the CCS was going to be located here in Austin, and that you’d agreed to join the team, he contacted me directly and made me apply for the office- management position. He raves about you, you know.”
Hearing about Bill Gaston’s faith in me lifted my spirits and I was able to put the fact that I’d been summarily dissed by the other agents in perspective. “I’m a big fan of Gasto
n’s,” I told her.
“He’s a good man,” Katie agreed. “And when he says someone’s the real deal, I tend to believe it. Give it time, Abby. These guys’ll come around.”
I hoped Katie was right, but it felt like a kick in the gut as I packed up all my supplies and notes from the conference room and headed back to my desk. By now I was really tired and I didn’t know how I was going to get through the last hour of the day having to tune in on files. My radar felt weak and thready, and that headache had never really gone away even though I’d popped a few Excedrin.
As it happened, I was saved when Dutch stuck his head out of Harrison’s office and asked, “Is the lecture over?”
“It never started.”
Dutch eyed the room and sighed. “Give them time, Abs,” he said, coming fully out of the office to walk to my desk.
I nodded but didn’t say anything else. Dutch looked down at me with sympathy. “Why don’t you head home?”
I eyed the clock. “But it’s only three thirty.”
“Weren’t you here at six?”
“Umm . . . more or less.”
“That’s still a full day,” he said, moving a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Go. You look beat. I’ll be home by six and I’ll bring some dinner.”
I glanced around at the empty room and its lack of prying eyes and ears and kissed him. “Have I told you lately that I rilly, rilly love you?”
Dutch smiled. “No. You rilly haven’t.”
“Well, then, consider your cute butt notified.”
Someone cleared his throat from behind me again.
“Oh, sheep!” I whispered. “We’ve been caught again, haven’t we?” I sneaked a look over my shoulder and Rodriguez was standing there with a disapproving look on his face. I knew he wouldn’t say anything directly to Dutch—who was his superior—but I could only imagine the earful Harrison was going to get the moment I left.
“Good night, Ms. Cooper,” Dutch said formally as I backed quickly away. “Drive safe.”
The next morning when I walked into the office, I found Harrison snoring on the small leather couch in his office. I knocked loudly on his door and he sat up with a start. “Morning,” I said as he blinked blearily.