A Neighbor’s Lie

She headed back down to her little workspace—a glorified cubicle was really all it was—with her mind reeling. She wondered if there had ever been a new agent who had been called into the Director’s office twice in less than forty-eight hours. It made her feel both elated and somehow closely scrutinized all at the same time.

As she waited for the elevator, she saw another agent coming around the corner. Chloe vaguely recognized his face from the small group of agents who had been included in the ViCAP group the day before.

“You’re Agent Fine, right?” he said with a smile.

“I am,” she answered, unclear of where the conversation was headed.

“I’m Michael Riggins. I just heard about the case you and Rhodes were assigned to. Gang-related family murder. Word has it that there’s an arrest in progress already. That’s got to be some kind of record, right?”

“I have no idea,” she said, though she did feel that it had all happened very fast.

“Hey, you know, not all first-day agents got to go out into the field today,” Riggins said. “Some were mired in research or paperwork. There’s already murmurs of a few of us heading out to grab a drink after work today. You should come by. It’s the place two blocks over, Reed’s Bar. We could use a legit success story to lift our spirits. But maybe don’t invite Rhodes. Everyone…well, no one seems to really care for her.”

Chloe knew it was mean-spirited but she couldn’t help but smile at the comment. “I might show up,” she said. It was the best answer she could give…much better than explaining that she was very much an introvert and wasn’t the type to just hang out at a bar with people she didn’t know.

The elevator arrived, its doors sliding open. Chloe stepped on and Riggins waved goodbye to her. It was bizarre to have someone envious of her situation, especially after the conversation she’d just had with Johnson. It was a feeling that sort of made her want to go out to the bar, even if it was only for a single drink and a half an hour of her time. The alternative was heading back to her apartment and continuing to unpack. And that was not something that particularly lifted her spirits.

The elevator took her up to the third floor, where her workspace sat alongside similar spaces shared by other agents. As she made her way down the hall, she passed Rhodes in the hallway. She thought about saying hello or to sarcastically thank her for the out-of-nowhere meeting with Johnson. But in the end, she decided to take the high road. She wasn’t going to fall for Rhodes’s little games.

Still, even passing the woman in the hall and exchanging nasty stares was enough to make the decision for Chloe: yes, she would go to the bar tonight. And unless her day drastically changed, she’d likely have much more than just one drink.

That seems to be happening a lot lately, she told herself.

It was a thought that haunted her throughout the rest of the day, but, much like recurring thoughts of her father, she managed to push it back into the darker corners of her mind.

CHAPTER FIVE

When she arrived at the bar at 6:45, it was about what she had expected. She saw several faces that were familiar, but none that she knew well. And that was because she did not know any of them well at all. Another downside of having her department switched by Johnson at the last minute was that there were very few people in the ViCAP group who had taken the same courses or training modules as she did.

The two faces she recognized the most were both male. First, there was Riggins. He was sitting with another male agent, talking animatedly about something. And then there was Kyle Moulton, the good-looking agent who had offered to take her to lunch after the first stage of orientation—the man who had somehow stuck out to her because he had asked her if she’d ever had any violent tendencies. She was a bit discouraged to see that he was speaking with two other women. No surprise there, though. Moulton was drop-dead gorgeous. He looked a bit like Brad Pitt from his earlier years.

She elected not to interrupt him and instead to go sit with Riggins. As conceited as it might seem, she liked the idea of hanging out with someone who had seen her accomplishment from the morning as something to marvel at.

“This stool taken?” she asked as she plopped down on the seat beside him.

“Not at all,” Riggins said. He seemed genuinely happy to see her, his slightly chubby cheeks widening with his smile. “I’m glad you decided to come. Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure. Just a beer. For now.”

Riggins waved the bartender over and had him add Chloe’s first drink to his tab. Riggins himself was drinking rum and Coke, of which he ordered a second when he ordered Chloe’s drink.

“How was your first day?” Chloe asked.

“It was okay. Most of my day was research for a case involving an interstate drug runner. It sounds boring but I actually enjoyed it a lot. So how was a full day with Rhodes by your side?” Riggins asked. “Sure, wrapping that case must have been great but she already has a reputation for being hard to handle.”

“It was pretty tense. She’s a great agent but…”

“Say it,” Riggins said. “I can’t call her a bitch because I don’t like calling a woman a bitch in front of another woman.”

“She’s not a bitch,” Chloe said. “She’s just very direct and thorough.”

Their conversation went on for a bit longer and it was all very casual. Chloe snuck a few peeks over in the direction of Agent Moulton. One of the women had left, leaving him to speak with only one. He was leaning in close and smiling. Chloe tended to be a little naive when it came to relationships, but she was pretty sure Moulton was enamored with the woman.

This disappointed her in a way she had not been expecting. It had only been two months since she and Steven had called things off. She assumed she was only interested in Moulton because he’d been the first friendly face that had bothered speaking to her after Johnson had pulled the rug out from under her feet. That, plus the idea of heading back to her new apartment all alone was not appealing. The fact that he was incredibly good-looking also played a part as well.

Yeah, it was a mistake to come out. I can drink for much cheaper at home.

“You okay?” Riggins asked.

“Yeah, I think so. It’s just been a long day. And tomorrow is shaping up to be just as long.”

“You driving or walking home?”

“Driving.”

“Eh…I better not offer to buy you another drink, huh?”

Chloe smiled in spite of herself. “That’s very responsible of you.”

She stole a glance back over toward Moulton and the woman he had been speaking to. They were currently both getting to their feet. As they made their way toward the door, Moulton gently placed his hand along the woman’s lower back.

“Can I ask what got you started down a road that led to a career like this?” Riggins asked.

She smiled nervously and finished off her beer. “Family issues,” she answered. “Thanks for inviting me out, Riggins. But I need to get back home.”

He nodded as if he understood. She also noted that he slowly looked around the bar and saw that he was the only one that would be remaining. It made her think that maybe Riggins had some ghosts of his own that he was wrestling with.

“Take care, Agent Fine. May tomorrow be as successful as today.”

She made her exit, already making plans for how to finish out her night. She still had boxes to unpack, a bedframe to put together, and an assortment of laundry and kitchen odds and ends to put away.

Not quite the exciting life I was expecting, she thought with a bit of sarcasm.

As she made her way to her car, still parked in the parking garage beneath FBI headquarters, her phone rang. When she saw the name on the display, rage flushed through her and she almost ignored it completely.

Steven. She had no idea why he would even be calling. And that’s why she decided to answer. She knew that if she didn’t, the mystery of it all would drive her crazy.

She answered the call, not liking how nervous she instantly felt. “Hello, Steven.”

“Chloe. Hey.”

She waited, hoping he’d just dive into whatever he had called for. But it had never been like Steven to get right to the point.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, everything is fine. Sorry…I didn’t even think about how me calling you might make you think…”

He trailed off here, reminding Chloe of one of the many little annoying traits he had never realized about himself.