Picked(12)

I watched Marti get up and take her things. Something happened in me that day, right in that moment. My blood started pumping at a rapid pace through my veins. Feeling the rush of adrenaline, I knew this was the high my dad spoke of when investigating a case. This just wasn’t the case I was supposed to be investigating.

I waited an extra thirty minutes, wanting Matt to leave, too. He was already suspicious and I hadn’t even done anything yet. My hands were clammy, my heart raced, and my fingers trembled, trying to open the filing cabinet. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. It was locked. Now what the hell was I supposed to do?





Chapter 4





Looking around the office, observing who was still there, I hesitated. My father couldn’t see me from his office, Kevin was on the phone, and two of the older agents were talking and leaving together. Walking around the office to the fountain, I peeked in on my dad. He was busy on the phone, pointing to some papers on his desk. I hunched my shoulders and walked away, hearing him raise his voice and feeling bad for whoever was on the other end.

Keeping one eye on Kevin, I ran my fingers under Marti’s desk in search of a key. Finding nothing, I moved to behind the cabinet. Nothing. Pouting, I figured she had them with her. Not one person in this office locked their filing cabinets. Why the hell did the locked one have to be the one I wanted in? I knew there were keys on the inside closet door of my dad’s office. Surely he kept a spare. I mean, it was his business and all. Wouldn’t he want access to the files?

I should have let it go. I should have just wandered over to my fat guy’s house and worked my own case. The stubborn streak my father says I also inherited from my mother wouldn’t let me.

“Hmmm, what’d you do?” my father asked.

“I didn’t do anything. I was hungry, so I ordered you something, too. Kevin’s still here. I could give it to him if you don’t want it.”

“No. No. I’ll eat it. Sit down. Let’s talk.”

Great. That’s not what I wanted to do. Sitting at the desk in front of my dad, I unwrapped my lunch with a deep sigh.

“How you like living alone? Ready to come home yet?”

“No, Dad. I’m twenty-two. I shouldn’t be living with my dad. I’m supposed to be out on my own.”

“Says who? You’d still be there if your meddling grandmother kept her nose out of my business.”

“I’m her business, too, and she didn’t do anything but leave me her house. I was planning on moving out anyway. You should be happy I am in the neighborhood that I’m in.”

“I like having you where I can keep an eye on you.”

“Dad. I’m not a kid anymore. Really? Do we have to do this again?” I asked, annoyed. Why couldn’t he be like any other father? He was so frustrating sometimes.

“I’m just saying you tend to wander in the wrong direction without guidance.”

Taking a deep breath, I calmed my brewing temper. “I’m doing fine on my own.”

“You should get a dog. Let’s go over to the pound this week and pick out a nice watch-dog.”

“I have a cat. I don’t want a dog.”

“What the hell’s a cat going to do? You really got a cat? Why?”

“I’ve always wanted a cat. You would never let me, remember?”

“That’s because they’re good for nothing. Name one thing a cat does besides leave hair all over the place.”

“He doesn’t shed, just a little. I love him. He keeps me company.”

“Most girls your age have guys to do that.”

“I’m done.” I stood. I wasn’t going there again, either.

“Sit down. I’m just saying. I’ll shut up. Eat your lunch. I can’t help it. I worry about you. You’re my daughter. I’m supposed to worry.”

I plopped back to my seat. It was times like this when I wanted to bring up my profession. If he were so worried about me, he wouldn’t allow me to follow in his footsteps. Most of the time he was safe, but I knew for a fact there were times he was in danger. We all were to a certain point. My dad didn’t take the dangerous cases after my mom left us. I guess he figured I needed at least one parent to look after me. He mostly did local, mild cases like insurance fraud where he wasn’t in any real danger. I presume that was his plan for me as well. I couldn’t see him putting me on a drug or prostitution case. He’d keep giving me cases like the one I was on and I would continue to be bored out of my mind. I would never dress up like a hooker anyway.

Felisha did that once. She ended up leaving the firm and Philadelphia. She brought down Mayor Fore, had him on camera and all. She ended up leaving the state because of the controversy. Nothing ever came of it after that. I was only like nine when that happened, but I remembered it. I just knew that Fore continued to be mayor and Felisha disappeared. I heard talk that he paid her off. I assumed that’s what happened, too. When she left, so did all the evidence.