Choirboy Caffrey

Chapter 6 - The Case of the Magi

St. Louis hotel room. Sunday afternoon, December 7, 2003

When the email arrived from the FBI at 2pm, Neal was on a coffee run. Peter called Michael Darling to let him know they had information to discuss with him. And as soon as Neal returned, Peter shared what the techs had found.

"I told you so," said Neal. "I knew it was Michael's wife pretending to be Ty."

"No, you didn't know it," Peter countered. "You deduced it. Our FBI tech team proved it. They found the evidence that the threatening emails came from her, meaning they get the credit."

"But that's not fair. We solved it."

"Welcome to the Bureau, where evidence is our currency. Everyone has a very low credit rating when they start, and you'll have to provide overwhelming evidence to get credit for a win, especially the first time. Otherwise, you just get mentioned for an assist. But there's no shame in being part of a team effort. We're in this to stop bad guys, not for personal glory."

"Tara Darling doesn't seem like a bad guy. I almost wish we hadn't solved it. Do we have to arrest her?"

"There doesn't have to be an arrest to close a case. In something like this, it depends on whether Michael wants to press charges. Let's go. I arranged to meet at his house." Peter picked up his badge and gun.

"Wait, you're taking your gun? But they have a three-year-old child."

"Michael said she's with her grandparents this afternoon. Anyway, I take my gun virtually everywhere."

"Will you expect me to carry one? As a consultant?"

"I hadn't really thought about it. Do you want one?"

"God, no."

"You may want to think that over. I get the impression you'll want to spend more time in the field than in the office. Sometimes you may want to carry a weapon to protect yourself."

"I'm really not a gun guy."

Not wanting to be late, Peter led the way out to the car, but he couldn't let the subject drop. Once they were on the highway he said, "Often when someone is that adamant about disliking guns, they've had an experience with someone being shot."

"You learn that at Quantico?"

"Yeah, I did. But it's common sense. You spend enough time around crimes and criminals, chances are you'll witness some violence. Less so in white collar crimes, but it still happens. I've been shot at, and had to shoot a suspect once before he could kill an agent. What about you?"

"Are you asking for a preview to my confession?"

"That's one of the things I'm asking. If you've killed someone, even accidentally, that could be deal breaker for immunity."

"That's not going to be an issue."

"Good."

Peter waited for Neal's curiosity to get the best of him. Finally Neal asked, "What's the other reason you were asking?"

Peter maintained a poker face, but he would smile over this later. He deserved to bask in the pride of learning how to anticipate Neal. "When an agent is shot or shoots someone, there are mandated sessions with a therapist. I'm wondering if you need to talk to a someone before we place you on active duty."

"That won't be necessary."

"So you haven't witnessed a shooting or other violent acts?"

"I'm fine, Peter. I don't need a therapist."