The Fog of Dreams

by Justin Bell

  ********

  By the time Louisa arrived back at the station just outside downtown Norwood, that familiar dark sedan already sat in one of the narrow visitor parking spaces. She smiled and shook her head from behind the steering wheel as she guided the vehicle into one of the reserved spots and cut the engine.

  Chief Gutierrez slid in the front door, and was surprised to see the lobby inside empty, however, Deputy Buck was seated at his desk just beyond the vacant entryway to the small office.

  "Chief," he said, nodding slightly. His desk smelled off fresh bacon and melted cheese, likely the fat riddled breakfast sandwich he'd eagerly shoved down his gullet after his three cups of cream and sugar with a dash of coffee mixed in. "You've got a visitor," he said, gesturing back towards her office.

  She continued past, not even looking at him. "You always let visitors camp in my office when I'm not there?"

  Buck didn't reply, or at least she didn't hear him reply as she strode across the floor and opened her office door.

  "Mr. Grace, I believe, right?"

  The well-dressed man was seated in a small chair against the wall, one leg crossed over the other. He wore another expensive suit, slightly different than the one he was wearing at the crime scene, and his blonde hair was expertly groomed, just wavy enough to look like he didn't spend hours in the mirror prepping himself.

  "Chief Gutierrez," he replied with a warm smile.

  She glanced at her watch. "You got here quick. I guess you guys really are watching the Strickland place, huh?" Pushing past her desk, she curled around it and dropped down into the cloth swivel chair. Leaning back slightly, she lifted her legs and dropped them on the surface of her old, ratty, wooden desk.

  Grace's smile didn't falter. "I'm afraid that's classified, Ms. Gutierrez."

  "Of course it is," she replied. "Look, Mr. Grace, I don't know what game you're playing here, but I've got a police department to run."

  Grace didn't reply. He stood quietly from the chair and crossed the office, then slowly pushed her door shut. It slid neatly closed with a very distinct and final click.

  "There are things at play here far larger and more important than your precious police department or your precious town, Ms. Gutierrez. We need to be on the same page."

  Louisa dragged her feet of her desk and leaned forward, pressing her palms down right where her feet had been. She pushed herself up from her chair and leaned in towards where Grace stood on the other side of the desk.

  "Mr. Grace I don't even know what God damned book you're reading much less what page you're on. I'm happy to talk about playing ball, but I need to know what game it is first."

  Silence was her reply. Grace looked to be considering her words carefully and what words he was planning to respond with.

  "That's it?" she asked, standing up and lifting her palms upward. "You got nothing?"

  "Chief Gutierrez. As I told you, my name is Richard Grace. I am with the Department of Homeland Security. William Strickland is on a watch list and that's all you need to know. He is under our surveillance as a matter of national security."

  Louisa considered these words. "Is he dangerous?"

  Grace simply nodded.

  "Did he kill those two guys outside his house?"

  Grace made no indication that he had any intention of replying to that line of questioning.

  "What about his wife and kids? School records say they're out of the country, but he says that's bullshit."

  "He's right. That's bullshit. His family is under our protection. That's all I can say."

  Louisa looked at him, tilting her head and half closing one eye. Everything about Richard Grace indicated he was a smarmy government agent who only told the truth when in front of a Senate committee, and maybe not even then. She wasn't buying the Homeland Security bit, but it was starting to dawn on her that there may not be much she could do about it.

  "So what do you need from me?" she finally asked.

  "Just to agree to stay away from William Strickland. Don't offer any assistance, and let us do what we need to do."

  "Which is watch? Just watch?"

  "Just do me a favor and steer clear of the Strickland residence. Give us a wide berth. Let us all do our jobs."

  "I can't promise that, Mr. Grace. My first priority is to the residents of this town, if there's a potential dangerous individual here, I need to know, and I need to take all proper precautions."

  Grace drew in a deep breath. "I understand." He reached his hand deep inside his neatly pressed suit coat and slowly retrieved an 8.5 x 11 manila envelope, sealed with a small, bent metal pin.

  "What the hell is that?" Gutierrez asked, suddenly on the defensive. She had been waiting for this. Anticipating this. Her predecessor had been escorted off the job for backroom deals, and something told her this guy was one of his unwritten partners. "I'm not for sale like the last guy was."

  Grace smirked and extended the hand that clutched the envelope. "Don't be so crass. I wouldn't try to buy your trust. This is simply?a favor in exchange for a favor."

  Hesitantly, slowly, Louisa Gutierrez reached out her hand and took the envelope. It was far too thin to be stuffed with cash. So what was it stuffed with? She carefully peeled back the metal tabs of the clasp that held it closed and opened the top, sliding a small group of stapled papers out. She cast a wary glance at Grace for a moment, then finished pulling the papers out and held them in front of her. Her eyes widened as she read through it.

  "Is this real?"

  Grace smiled. "It could be."

  "I don't understand."

  "What you're holding in your hand is an official recommendation from the Director of the FBI. They're opening a Northern New England field office next year. It will be a 60 mile commute from where you live. There's a job there for you."

  She lowered the papers and looked at Grace dubiously. "You don't go straight from trainee status to a field office job. It doesn't work that way."

  "It could."

  It was her dream. For her entire life she'd wanted to be an FBI agent, but she'd given that up, temporarily she always told herself, while Julietta finished her residency. Was it really possible that she could have both?

  "We only ask one thing. Just your cooperation. Nothing illegal, nothing under the cover of darkness. I assure you everything I'm doing here is in the black."

  "This can't be true."

  "The Director's office phone number is on that recommendation. I encourage you to give them a call and ask."

  Louisa sat hard in her chair. She fell more than sat into it, still holding the papers in front of her, still just staring at them in disbelief.

  "Us government agencies have to work together, Ms. Gutierrez. You look out for us, and we'll look out for you. Simple as that. No other strings attached."

  Louisa didn't speak. She couldn't speak. Her fingers remained clutched around the papers.

  "I'll let you mull this over. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions." Grace took a step towards the desk and pressed his business card onto the wooden surface. "Good afternoon." Grace swung open the door and disappeared out into the larger office beyond, leaving Chief Gutierrez stunned and silent, sitting at her desk.