The Agent

by C Paradee

  "Sounds like an interesting friend." Ashley smiled over at Megan.

  "Well, I'm not sure you could really call us friends. It's more like business acquaintances. Megan answered seriously.

  Ashley smiled to herself and thought, not if you have anything to say about it, dear sister of mine. I know ya.

  As they parted ways, both promised to try to get together more often.

  Dwayne Hudson glanced at his reflection in the mirror as he finished shaving. He ran a comb through his dark brown hair studying his face. His chin could be a little stronger and his brown eyes could be a little bigger, but overall not bad. He looked at his muscular body and knew that it was his strongest suite. Posing before the mirror, he combed his hair straight back. Studying his reflection, he smiled and then combed it toward the side. Oh yeah, much better. Dwayne did not consider himself vain, merely accurate.

  Looking over at his rumpled bed, he was glad he had insisted on separate bedrooms. It was so much simpler that way.

  He listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen and smiled affectionately. Gloria was making his breakfast. He knew it would be a perfect meal. After all he had taught her well just like his father had taught his mother. Granted, the first couple of years had been rough. But that was before she had learned the Rules. She hadn't understood that a wife's place is to serve her husband. But she had finally learned. Now her whole purpose in life was to please him, just like it was supposed to be.

  Putting on blue pants and a striped sports shirt he went downstairs. He knew he could wear jeans and a T-shirt since he just changed into scrubs at work anyway, but his ego would not allow him to go to work dressed in jeans. Smiling, he said, "Smells good Honey."

  "I hope you like it," came the quiet reply from the small woman who knew if he found anything wrong at all she would pay dearly.

  Gloria knew how to play by the rules and continued, "You look really nice Dwayne," knowing that if she played on his vanity he was less likely to find something wrong. She knew he had been preoccupied lately. This did not bode well for her. Perhaps if she could find out what was bothering him, she would be able to avoid a confrontation later. So feeling braver now that she had a plan, she asked, "How's work."

  Dwayne stopped eating and stared at his wife. She had unerringly gone straight to the source of the problem. His thoughts turned toward work, and his face darkened with rage when an image of Megan flickered through his mind. How dare she enter the world of forensic pathology in the first place. Any decent woman knew that it was a man's field. That was why he was in it. He was sick of all the hussy's who thought they were as good as men, and took their jobs. But what really infuriated him was that she had been promoted to Assistant Coroner over his friend Jerry Calhoun. Although it had taken him a long time to decide what to do about that, lately everything had fallen into place. Thinking about his plans for her, he smiled a cruel smile.

  Shuddering, Gloria watched her husband's face change first to rage and then to a cruel smile. She had only wanted to ward off any action against her. She hadn't meant to make him mad. All she had done was ask him about work, what was wrong with that? But she knew she was not allowed to make him mad, it was one of the Rules.

  "Looking at his wife coldly, he said, "I'll talk to you when I get home." He stood and walked out the door.

  Gloria, noticing his unfinished breakfast, knew just what a "talk" entailed and she put her head down on the table crying.

  When Gloria's despair reached the bottom of her soul, her instinct for survival forged a tiny crack in it allowing a tendril of courage to course to the front of her brain. She only took her purse and the small amount of money she had been able to scavenge each week from that allotted for groceries, and headed to where she knew the women's shelter was. She had taken the first small step. There would be no turning back now.

  Detective Sergeant Brian Davies was an imposing figure crossing the squad room to his desk. Measuring in at 6'7", he had the body of a linebacker and the weight to go with it at nearly 275 pounds. When a beat cop his appearance alone had often thwarted crime about to be committed as petty criminals regarded the wisdom of their acts. Having nearly 18 years on the force, he was a cop's cop. Brian Davies refused to kiss ass. He was not willing to play politics and would never be promoted any higher because of it. He protected his officers from the day to day power plays while following the age-old adage of working right along the side of your subordinates. The few officers that had chosen to invoke Brian's wrath had quickly learned that while he would protect them from the upper echelon if he could, it saved them only from dealing directly with him. Most wisely chose not to do that. His willingness to go out on a limb and protect his officers had inspired a fierce loyalty among those under his command.

  Brian hated task forces. He felt that at best they were just political attempts to appease the public. The "task force" still consisted of the same members that had been working on the case all along while allowing outside interference from the FBI and the addition of some of the upper echelon as figure heads.

  Right now he was going to have to deal with one of the products of this particular task force and he wasn't looking forward to it. He had been informed the FBI agent assigned to the case was here to see him. Brian, along with many of his fellow police officers had no use for the FBI since the Fielding case two years ago.

  Watching the FBI agent approach his desk, he noticed several sets of eyes cut toward the woman. Word traveled fast through the precinct and most of the officers were aware this was the FBI agent assigned to the task force. Brian had been a cop long enough to have seen it all. But even he was surprised at the FBI agent's appearance and deportment although it did not show on the countenance of his face. Arriving and standing in front of his desk she exuded confidence and poise.

  "Sgt. Davies?" she asked while appraising the man.

  He stood to greet her. "Yes, and it's Brian. Have a seat," he responded simply, letting her have the lead in the conversation, his senses scrutinizing the woman, knowing instinctively this would be a powerful foe.

  Sitting, she replied, "Tony Viglioni," feeling the latent hostility directed her way throughout the squad room. "I have a problem with the file you sent me," she continued. "It is not complete. There are no copies of any interviews with the family members of the victims. The Administrative Worksheet and Narrative Description of each crime scene was not included. The Evidence Recovery Log was not included either. Those are the apparent things that are missing. I have no way of knowing what else may have been left out."

  Brian thought to himself, shit, I should have checked the file before it was sent over . . . deliberately leaving out part of the case file was serious... well, I'll deal with that later. "I'm sorry that happened. I'll see that you get a complete file. Anything else I can do for you?"

  "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is. As a member of this task force I intend to be included in the task force meetings. It's quite obvious," she said glancing around, "there is some hostility toward the agency. At least I suspect it's against the agency since none of you know me personally. Since it does affect me, I want to know what the problem is. The air needs to be cleared if we are going to work together to solve this case. We don't have to like each other, but our goal is the same here."

  Brian studied the agent's expressionless face knowing it spoke volumes about the woman behind it. He recognized the wisdom of the words and although they had been delivered in a cool, even tone he did not underestimate the intent behind them. He also sensed the alternative was that she would attempt to solve the case herself and that did not bode well for the police department. She was challenging him as a law enforcement official and he knew he had to rise to the bait.

  "I'm not going to try to justify the hostility directed toward you. Whether or not I feel it is warranted isn't the issue here. As you astutely pointed out, it's not personal. Simply put, there is bad blood between the police department and FBI. It stems from a kidnapping case a cou
ple of years ago. A tip from one of our informants came through the squad room. The FBI agent assigned to the task force answered the phone. He didn't bother informing the task force that the phone call had revealed the location of the child. He chose to call on a few of his fellow agents and effect the rescue. The upside was that the child was rescued successfully. The downside was the betrayal of the task force." He paused, trying unsuccessfully to gauge her reaction to this words before continuing. "So if you're expecting to be welcomed with open arms, it ain't gonna happen; however, I can assure you that there will be no repeat performance of what happened with the file."

  "The task force meetings?" she countered absorbing the information he had delivered. Tony knew there were FBI agents who liked to hot dog for their day of glory, and gave no thought to the consequences of their actions.

  Brian always paid attention to his gut and it was telling him that this was not a woman who could be easily intimidated. Most people he met for the first time were cowed solely because of his size. Many would have been surprised at how gentle the man normally was. Brian felt like the agent had seen right through his veneer. Answering he said, "The entire group meets every Monday and any other time something major breaks. Informally, I meet with the officers each morning to direct their part of the investigation."

  Tony studied the behemoth of a man sitting at the desk. His short cropped brown hair was combed straight back. His grizzled face was offset by a pair of steely gray eyes and a heavy mustache. The small lines around his eyes indicated this face could erupt quickly into humor or ire. He could be a worthwhile ally or an awesome foe. She sensed his strength of conviction but felt he was no threat. While Tony noted the last thought, she also knew she could handle him if it became necessary. It was his choice really. All she was doing was the job she had been assigned. The sooner it was done the better. She still had her *agenda* to deal with and she wouldn't be able to give it any attention until this case was solved. It never occurred to Tony that there are many serial killer cases that never get solved. The killers move onto another place and start over.

  "Have you met yet this morning?" Tony countered, watching Brian carefully for any sign of reluctance at having her attend.

  "No. Everyone is waiting for me now. Let's go. I'll introduce you," raising from his chair he headed toward the conference room, Tony following behind him.

  Brian informally called the meeting to order, "All right, listen up. This is Tony Viglioni the FBI agent assigned to the task force." Sighs and rolled eyes greeted the announcement. Brian continued, "We are going to bring her up to date on the case. I expect everyone to cooperate fully with her. I know quite a few of us have hard-ons for the FBI. Get over it. You can't judge everyone by the actions of a few. Now I know I sound like I'm preaching, and I am, because I know I'm guilty of this too. So I ain't asking you to do anything I ain't going to do too. So set it aside and let’s focus on solving this case."

  Tony noticed the respect all the officers showed toward Brian. He was obviously a very effective leader. She knew she would have to prove herself, it went with the territory, but she was used to it from her covert days.

  "Dr. Donnovan faxed over the autopsy report yesterday afternoon. It didn't show anything that can help us out."

  Tony drew out of her quiet appraisal of the task force members when she heard the words, "Dr. Donnovan," pondering her reaction to the name.

  "The victim's family does not know of any reason why anyone would want to harm their daughter. To the best of their knowledge she was not dating anyone on a regular basis. As you all know this doesn't mean shit. Since when do 24 year olds tell their parents what they are doing in the first place." Laughter spread around the room as the officers agreed.

  "We are still trying to locate one of her neighbors to determine if they can tell us if she had a regular boyfriend other the casual friends we've uncovered so far. There are a couple more people in the building we've been unable to locate and we're still trying to recreate her movements from the time she left her apartment in the morning. You all know since the press dubbed the serial killer the Shadow, the phone has not stopped ringing with people calling in tips. The calls have included everything from confessions to offers of psychic help. Each and every one needs to be checked out. "So today we are going to focus on finding the missing neighbors, looking for a steady boyfriend, and the phone tips."

  "Jack, you and Chuck get the apartment building again. Kris, you and Dave get the neighborhood. Mike, you get to check out some of the phone tips." Casting his eyes toward Tony he said, "Mike could really use some help with the phone calls," almost sighing with relief when she nodded her head, recognizing his silent message.

  PART 2

  MEGAN WOKE UP in an extremely good mood. Since she usually always wore a suit to work, she set aside a pair of casual beige slacks, a white blouse and a comfortable pair of Sass loafers to take with her. She knew she wouldn't have time to go home to change before meeting Tony

  Once she arrived at her office, she checked for messages and then went looking for David to find out what cases they had for today. Walking into the autopsy suite she saw Dwayne first. "Hi, Dwayne," greeting him like she always did. She was not prepared for the fleeting look of rage that crossed his face at her words. Looking around for David, she felt a faint tremor of fear run through her body and she found herself wishing someone else were in the suite with them

  Just then David came barging through the doors saying, "Sorry I'm late. Traffic's a bitch."

  Megan smiled, "I know what you mean. I'll go see what came in overnight," relieved that he had arrived when he did. She didn't think Dwayne would ever physically harm her, but that look was pure hatred and it still unnerved her

  There were only a couple of cases that came in overnight and only one was assigned to Megan. After they finished, Megan went to her office to catch up on work that had sat far too long already

  Megan discovered she had no interest in paperwork. She was looking forward to the trip to the Flats with Tony too much. She was glad for the distraction when David came in and sat down. "So how's Mike doing? Does he like his new job?"

  "Yeah, he really does. The boss seems to really like him and he's off to a great start."

  Megan and David continued to chat until it was time for Megan to change and leave.

  "Where are you going so early?"

  "I'm meeting the FBI agent assigned to the Shadow case and am going to show her where the victims were found." Megan answered

  "What are you going to do that for? I'm sure someone else can do it," a puzzled David inquired.

  "Because I WANT to. Is that ok with you?" Megan shot back surprising herself with the sharpness of her retort

  "Ok, ok, sorry," David answered with a wide-eyed look

  "Look, David, I'm sorry. This case is just getting to me," she said not understanding why she had become so upset at him for suggesting someone else show Tony around

  Tony had returned to the hotel to change into clothes better suited for walking and donned a pair of Dockers, a long shirt and her Asics. She ran a brush through her hair, checking her appearance more carefully than usual and went down to the hotel entrance.

  Megan arrived at the Marriott, parked the car and then went looking for Tony. Finding her out front, she said, "Come on."

  "We're walking?" asked Tony

  "Just to the Tower. Then we'll catch the Water Front Line. It's part of the transit system. We'll get off at the stop in the East Bank." Megan was thoroughly into what she perceived as her job of a tour guide

  Entering the Terminal Tower, Megan led them to the escalators going down to the lower level giving a running commentary on how a city once on the verge of bankruptcy had now developed the downtown area into a major shopping area where businesses once again thrived, including a new mall called the Avenue which extended through four buildings and featured many of the big store chains and a 6-movie cinema. She paused her commentary long enough to tell Tony the
fare was $1.50 pulling the fare out of her purse explaining the pass was good for four hours. Looking up at Tony for the first time since they entered the Tower, she noticed a small smile on her face and wondered what she had said that was funny

  Tony was content just to let Megan talk. She was enjoying the lilting tone of her voice and when she became animated about something the way her hands would move in supporting gestures. She also found it somewhat amazing that anyone could talk nonstop for so long

  Sitting together on the train as it departed, Megan turned to look at Tony and asked her, "I'm not boring you, am I? I just thought you might like to know a little about Cleveland."

  Tony responded, "No, please continue," not bored at all. However, she was much more occupied with the nearness of Megan than the conversation

  Megan began again with renewed vigor giving the history of how apartments and condos had just recently come to the downtown area pointing out the first set as they passed them, then launching into the story of how the track for the River Front Line was built. Arriving at the stop in the East Bank, they exited the train

  Tony let Megan lead the way to Old River Road which was the main thoroughfare in the Flats. Walking along the sidewalk, Megan turned to Tony asking, "I'd like to give you an overview of the area before we go to the crime scenes if that's ok with you." Megan was enjoying herself and wanted to delay the gruesome part of the trip

  "Sure, that's fine." Tony didn't mind a short delay as long as she saw the crime scenes before they left

  Megan began pointing out various nightclubs, restaurants, and bars. She gave a short history of each one, what type of entertainment or dining each specialized in and what sort of clientele frequented them.

  Tony kept a small part of her attention on Megan's commentary, but concentrated on her surroundings evoking her predatory instincts