Blake Pierce - Tinted Windows

They settled up the bill and headed back to the Colin Police Department. On their way back into Colin, they drove directly past the curb where Viktor Bjurman had been murdered. With no patrol cars or crime scene tape to section the area off, it looked like any normal corner on any city in America. Something about that unnerved Chloe, knowing there were answers on that corner that may never be found—answers that, as of now, would forever remain out of Chloe’s reach.

Danielle was balancing on the very thin line between buzzed and totally drunk when someone knocked on her door. She had been drinking to put a nail in this chapter of her life, to keep it closed like a treasure chest buried at the bottom of the ocean. Her work had not allowed her to come in last night, or tonight for that matter. But she started back tomorrow, pulling both the afternoon and night shifts. She never thought she’d be happy to see the strip club again, or to smell the scents of spilled liquor and cheap cologne of the men around the bars.

But she could not wait to get back. First, though, a small bender of sorts. It had been a while since she had gotten drunk by herself. She was sure some people saw it as sad and pathetic, but she had always found it liberating in a way she could not quite grasp.

When the knock came to her door, she had already knocked back three margaritas she had made in her blender—a perfect concoction she had learned at work. Walking to the door, she wondered if it might be Chloe, come to rehash everything face-to-face. Danielle almost hoped this was the case. With enough tequila in her, she’d freely say things that a sober-minded Danielle would think better of.

When she answered the door, though, she did not find Chloe on the other side. A man stood there, dressed in what Danielle had always thought of as a “goon suit.” Because her sister was in the FBI, she recognized the get-up and the man’s too-serious expression at once. He was a federal agent. He looked to be of Asian descent and when he smiled at her, it seemed far too fake for her.

“Danielle Fine, correct?” the man said.

“That’s me. And you are…?”

“Agent Shin, FBI.” He flashed his badge, allowing her to study it for a moment before folding it back up and slipping it back into his inner jacket pocket. “Would you mind if I came in for a moment?”

“With all due respect, what for?” Danielle asked.

“Well, while I don’t know your sister personally, I did hear about the ordeal you went through down in Texas. It’s a story that is sort of making the rounds at the bureau. I’ve been asked to come out to check in on you.”

“By whom?”

“By my supervisor. There are some loose ends regarding what happened down there and we’re just trying to tie them up. Of course, with your sister, those ends can be tied up internally. But we need to get just a few assurances and answers from you as well.”

She looked oddly at him but opened the door to let him in. She recalled Chloe telling her on the phone that there was an internal investigation and if anyone came asking her questions, she needed to play it cool. Refusing to allow a federal agent into her apartment would likely be considered the opposite of playing it cool.

She stepped aside and opened the door wider, allowing Agent Shin inside. Danielle sat down at the kitchen table, making it clear in a polite way that she did not intend to let him walk any deeper into the apartment. Shin relented and propped himself up against her kitchen counter.

“First and foremost,” he said, “how are you doing? I know you suffered a few injuries during everything that happened.”

“Thanks for asking,” she said, doing her best to pour on the charm. “But it seems that I’m good. I head back to work tomorrow and—might as well go ahead and admit it—I’ve sort of been celebrating today.” She nodded toward the blender and the pale green drink inside.

Shin smiled and said, “Glad to hear it. Now, I sort of have to ask this, and I’m sorry if it’s too personal, but do you plan on pushing hard for a case to find your father?”

“No,” she said right away. “Fuck him. The only time I’m going to give a damn about him is if he shows up in DC, coming after me and Chloe again.”

“Well, as you know, his description has been handed out to several field offices. But we can’t make it a priority unless you want.”

Danielle shrugged and sipped from her latest margarita. “Chloe and I can talk it over a bit more, but I think we’re done with him.”

Shin nodded, as if he understood perfectly. As he nodded, a little spike of fear made its way through Danielle. She recalled digging the hole in a mad dash, shoving their father’s body into it, and then covering it back up. Had they dug deep enough? Had some scavenging little fox already come along and found their father as a morsel?

“Fair enough,” Shin said. “I do have a few more questions about what happened, if you don’t mind.”

“Again? Really?”

“I know. But with your sister being a federal agent, we really need to make sure we fully understand everything.”

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