Eleven (Brandon Fisher FBI Series)

Chapter 23 & 24

Chapter 23

THE FRONT DRAPES WERE PULLED back as the officer had advised they were last night. I studied the porch, the potted ferns to the side of the front door. Nothing stood out as unusual. Both looked to be in need of water, but that was normal for Debbie to leave her plants begging for a drink. She said God would take care of the outdoor ones but when they died it was still His fault. What she didn't realize is sometimes even God appreciates a little help.

I looked inside the front window. Everything seemed mostly the same as it had when I left three days ago. Debbie's magazines were spread on the square glass coffee table and the television remote sat on top of them. Debbie had watched TV at some point since I had left.

A car door slammed behind me. I jumped and pivoted around.

"Sorry, Agent, I never meant to scare you." An officer, who I guessed to be in his mid-forties, came around from the driver side of a cruiser. His hair was crop-cut which told me he was trying to hold onto his youth.

Another officer, who came from the passenger side stood beside him. He was younger than the driver by at least twenty years, and likely a rookie.

"It's Officer Spalding." The older officer splayed a hand over his chest. "I believe we spoke on the phone last night. And this is Officer Hamilton."

"Special Agent Brandon Fisher."

Jack came around from the side of my house.

"And that is Supervisory Special Agent Jack Harper."

"Ooh, supervisory special agent. We need to get ourselves some fancier titles." Spalding glanced to the younger officer before speaking to me, "Have you been able to reach your wife yet?"

I shook my head and looked back at the house. Somehow even though external evidence didn't make it appear that strangers had violated my home, it felt as if they had.

"It's hard to control a woman sometimes. They get a mind of their own and off they go."

I came down the few stairs of the deck to within a foot of Spalding. I would have pressed my nose against his if it weren't for Jack's extended arm. "You have no idea what we're dealing with here. You take a quick look around. No sign of this, no sign of that, and assume what you want. You have no idea."

Spalding's eyes went to Jack as if seeking some sort of explanation for my attitude.

"Let's get inside," Jack said. He applied muscle behind his arm and gestured me back toward the house.

"Just so ya know we drove by a few times to see if the missus had come back." Officer Spalding spoke to my back now. "Maybe she was too comfortable in her boyfriend's bed to venture home."

My fist balled, and I turned around ready to match it with his jaw, but Jack had aligned himself in front of the officer. "It's time for you boys to go."

Spalding looked around Jack. "You wonder why we guys don't like you feds? You think you're all that. But you're no better than we are."

"Nobody said we were. Go." Jack seconded his directive with an extended arm and a pointed finger to the cruiser.

"Fine, we'll leave." Spalding and his partner reached their doors about the same time. "But we're not coming back."

The cruiser's engine rumbled as Spalding gunned the accelerator.

"Guess we have some enemies on the PD now." I said the words although I didn't really care about the consequence.

Jack waved a hand. "What do we need them for anyway?" A smile cracked his lips.