squirming a bit, and admitting in a slightly higher-pitched voice, “And I’ll need a few things. A place to stay. Some food. A computer.”
Miller leaned back and laughed. “Old man, how are we supposed to sell our superiors on that?”
“Tell them you believe I have information that will help you explain what happened yesterday, and in numerous other unsolved embezzlement and bank fraud cases that have ended in mysterious disappearances over the last three decades.”
Agent Miller considered this, then said, “Yeah, they might cough up a few bucks if I said that. The problem is, I don’t think I will, because, like you said, I’d have to believe that you have the information you claim, and I haven’t seen anything to convince me of that.”
“Haven’t you?” Jimmy asked. “Didn’t you notice the big ugly lamp sitting on the table in front of you? Don’t you think it’s odd that the fluorescent lights have stopped working in only this room, or that they continued to not work after the janitor put in new bulbs? Did anybody mention that they had to keep me in an unused office because the electronic locks on the doors of the holding cell wouldn’t work? Or that they couldn’t take my mug shot because the digital camera died?” Jimmy paused for effect, then asked, “Say, have you checked your cell phone messages?”
Agent Murphy pulled his phone from his pocket, looked at it, pressed a button, then showed the phone to Agent Miller, who said, “Turn it on.”
Agent Murphy said, “I can’t.”
Miller and Murphy excused themselves and left the room. Jimmy looked at his reflection in the large mirror that took up most of the interrogation room’s far wall.
On the other side of the one-way glass, Agent Murphy checked the video camera they had set to record just before having Jimmy brought into the interrogation room.
“I’ll be darned. It’s dead,” Murphy said.
“You don’t have to sound so excited about it,” Agent Miller grumbled.
“Yeah, I kinda do,” Murphy said. “This could be the break we’ve been waiting for. If he can explain how the Banks kid got all that money then disappeared into thin air twice, he might be able to help us figure out all the other stuff we can’t explain.”
Miller sighed. “Murph, just ’cause we can’t explain why your camera isn’t working—”
“Or Seattle PD’s camera,” Murphy interrupted.
Miller said, “Yeah—”
“Or their electronic locks.”
“Okay—”
“Or my phone.”
“Whatever, that—”
“Or the lights.”
“Shuddup!” Miller barked, loud enough that Jimmy jumped in the next room. “Just ’cause we can’t explain him doesn’t mean he can explain all the other stuff we can’t.”
That was the real heart of Agent Miller and Agent Murphy’s problem. There was far too much that they could not explain. When they had officially been made a two-man investigative task force, they had thought it was a promotion, until they came to fully understand their assignment.
Miller and Murphy were tasked with investigating obvious cases of embezzlement where there was no actual evidence of embezzlement. Any time anyone in the United States turned up with a large sum of cash and the local authorities couldn’t figure out where it came from, Miller and Murphy would be brought in. It was like trying to catch murderers without ever finding a body.
They had spent the last several years receiving random calls (from detectives who always sounded delighted to get the case off of their hands), then dropping everything and flying (which cost the Department of the Treasury nothing, because the airlines could deduct the ticket cost from their taxes) coach (because airlines could give free fliers their worst seats and upgrade two paying customers) to wherever there was a lack of evidence for them to collect.
Miller and Murphy desperately wanted out of the task force, but leaving it would look terrible on their records and would
Miller leaned back and laughed. “Old man, how are we supposed to sell our superiors on that?”
“Tell them you believe I have information that will help you explain what happened yesterday, and in numerous other unsolved embezzlement and bank fraud cases that have ended in mysterious disappearances over the last three decades.”
Agent Miller considered this, then said, “Yeah, they might cough up a few bucks if I said that. The problem is, I don’t think I will, because, like you said, I’d have to believe that you have the information you claim, and I haven’t seen anything to convince me of that.”
“Haven’t you?” Jimmy asked. “Didn’t you notice the big ugly lamp sitting on the table in front of you? Don’t you think it’s odd that the fluorescent lights have stopped working in only this room, or that they continued to not work after the janitor put in new bulbs? Did anybody mention that they had to keep me in an unused office because the electronic locks on the doors of the holding cell wouldn’t work? Or that they couldn’t take my mug shot because the digital camera died?” Jimmy paused for effect, then asked, “Say, have you checked your cell phone messages?”
Agent Murphy pulled his phone from his pocket, looked at it, pressed a button, then showed the phone to Agent Miller, who said, “Turn it on.”
Agent Murphy said, “I can’t.”
Miller and Murphy excused themselves and left the room. Jimmy looked at his reflection in the large mirror that took up most of the interrogation room’s far wall.
On the other side of the one-way glass, Agent Murphy checked the video camera they had set to record just before having Jimmy brought into the interrogation room.
“I’ll be darned. It’s dead,” Murphy said.
“You don’t have to sound so excited about it,” Agent Miller grumbled.
“Yeah, I kinda do,” Murphy said. “This could be the break we’ve been waiting for. If he can explain how the Banks kid got all that money then disappeared into thin air twice, he might be able to help us figure out all the other stuff we can’t explain.”
Miller sighed. “Murph, just ’cause we can’t explain why your camera isn’t working—”
“Or Seattle PD’s camera,” Murphy interrupted.
Miller said, “Yeah—”
“Or their electronic locks.”
“Okay—”
“Or my phone.”
“Whatever, that—”
“Or the lights.”
“Shuddup!” Miller barked, loud enough that Jimmy jumped in the next room. “Just ’cause we can’t explain him doesn’t mean he can explain all the other stuff we can’t.”
That was the real heart of Agent Miller and Agent Murphy’s problem. There was far too much that they could not explain. When they had officially been made a two-man investigative task force, they had thought it was a promotion, until they came to fully understand their assignment.
Miller and Murphy were tasked with investigating obvious cases of embezzlement where there was no actual evidence of embezzlement. Any time anyone in the United States turned up with a large sum of cash and the local authorities couldn’t figure out where it came from, Miller and Murphy would be brought in. It was like trying to catch murderers without ever finding a body.
They had spent the last several years receiving random calls (from detectives who always sounded delighted to get the case off of their hands), then dropping everything and flying (which cost the Department of the Treasury nothing, because the airlines could deduct the ticket cost from their taxes) coach (because airlines could give free fliers their worst seats and upgrade two paying customers) to wherever there was a lack of evidence for them to collect.
Miller and Murphy desperately wanted out of the task force, but leaving it would look terrible on their records and would
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