searched. “That’s a big negative, big guy,” he said glumly. “Guess no one is interested in what goes on in such a high crime area.”
“I detect a hint of sarcasm.”
“Sara’s dating this guy who just got tenure. For research into bioluminescence. I mean
really.
Hasn’t it all been done?”
“Except that you don’t care about Sara,” Vincent said, “because you’re with Tess.”
“Am I?” J.T. grabbed a gummy worm and bit off its head. Which maybe was its tail. “I never see her anymore. We don’t talk.”
“She’s under a lot of pressure because of her promotion,” Vincent reminded him. “And you know the one-twenty-fifth is under the microscope because of all the dirty laundry. Remember when your research wasn’t going well? After Dolly the sheep got cloned and then it all went south? There was a long stretch there when we barely spoke.”
“So you think I’m overreacting,” J.T. said. A little flicker of hope warmed his sad heart. “That Tess is just preoccupied and I’m… not.”
“Something like that. She’s got so much going on, you know?”
“And I… don’t.” He grabbed another gummy worm. Bit hard down on its gummy midsection, savoring its gummy guts.
“It’s like the old days,” Vincent offered. “Before all the insanity.”
Back to square one. Me lonely and you… not back to square one.
“Yeah, insanity,” J.T. said. “Who needs it?” His phone signaled another call. “Hey, hold on, someone’s on the other line,” he said, and switched over. “Star Command.”
That got a chuckle. “What if it hadn’t been me?” Tess asked.
“Well, Vincent’s on the other line and I don’t get a whole lot of calls. So the odds were good.”
“About that,” she began, and then she cleared her throat. “I envy you. My entire day has been phone calls and meetings. If I’d had two seconds to think I would have given this to you hours ago.”
“I’m listening.” Something to do. Yay.
“Cat and Vincent got a phone number this morning that we think may have belonged to a Muirfield whistle-blower. Private X. Apparently he was in Afghanistan and he wants to talk. Our IT is coming up empty but I know you can go where no geek has ever gone before.”
“Roger that, Jean-Luc,” he said.
“Now you’re getting obscure.” She gave him the number.
“I’ll run it,” he promised her. “Jean-Luc was on
Star Trek.
He was
Next Gen.
”
“Thanks. There’s too many
Star Trek
shows. I mean, aren’t they all pretty much the same? What has Vincent got?”
Pretty much the same?
A cold wind blew inside the gentlemen’s club.
“He can’t go in yet. The CSUs are still in there.”
“Will the trail go cold for him?” Tess asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
“Not this fast. As I’ve said before, Vincent can track prey across the Sahara for, like, a year. And that’s only a minor exaggeration.”
“I still find that creepy. Okay. Call my cell but only if you get something, okay? Cat and I are going to have coffee.”
“Nice gig,” he said tightly. How long had it been since they had gone out for coffee? Or for anything?
“Not really. We’re having it in my office. I have some groveling to do. It won’t be pretty. Luckily I’m so busy that I have to keep it short.”
He was intrigued. He wondered what was up. “So, will you have time for dinner tonight? I can go back through the history of
Star Trek
with you.” He tried for a light, casual tone.
“It’ll probably be Chinese at my desk. Right now there’s a very large angry crowd in front of the precinct demanding to know why we aren’t doing more to stop these homicides. I have to go out there and make a statement.” She grunted. “I might have to skip coffee with Cat.”
“That’s… too bad?” he guessed.
“No. That would be good. It might give her time to cool off.”
J.T. blinked. “What’s going on? Are you two—”
“Gotta go.” The call ended. J.T. grunted
“I detect a hint of sarcasm.”
“Sara’s dating this guy who just got tenure. For research into bioluminescence. I mean
really.
Hasn’t it all been done?”
“Except that you don’t care about Sara,” Vincent said, “because you’re with Tess.”
“Am I?” J.T. grabbed a gummy worm and bit off its head. Which maybe was its tail. “I never see her anymore. We don’t talk.”
“She’s under a lot of pressure because of her promotion,” Vincent reminded him. “And you know the one-twenty-fifth is under the microscope because of all the dirty laundry. Remember when your research wasn’t going well? After Dolly the sheep got cloned and then it all went south? There was a long stretch there when we barely spoke.”
“So you think I’m overreacting,” J.T. said. A little flicker of hope warmed his sad heart. “That Tess is just preoccupied and I’m… not.”
“Something like that. She’s got so much going on, you know?”
“And I… don’t.” He grabbed another gummy worm. Bit hard down on its gummy midsection, savoring its gummy guts.
“It’s like the old days,” Vincent offered. “Before all the insanity.”
Back to square one. Me lonely and you… not back to square one.
“Yeah, insanity,” J.T. said. “Who needs it?” His phone signaled another call. “Hey, hold on, someone’s on the other line,” he said, and switched over. “Star Command.”
That got a chuckle. “What if it hadn’t been me?” Tess asked.
“Well, Vincent’s on the other line and I don’t get a whole lot of calls. So the odds were good.”
“About that,” she began, and then she cleared her throat. “I envy you. My entire day has been phone calls and meetings. If I’d had two seconds to think I would have given this to you hours ago.”
“I’m listening.” Something to do. Yay.
“Cat and Vincent got a phone number this morning that we think may have belonged to a Muirfield whistle-blower. Private X. Apparently he was in Afghanistan and he wants to talk. Our IT is coming up empty but I know you can go where no geek has ever gone before.”
“Roger that, Jean-Luc,” he said.
“Now you’re getting obscure.” She gave him the number.
“I’ll run it,” he promised her. “Jean-Luc was on
Star Trek.
He was
Next Gen.
”
“Thanks. There’s too many
Star Trek
shows. I mean, aren’t they all pretty much the same? What has Vincent got?”
Pretty much the same?
A cold wind blew inside the gentlemen’s club.
“He can’t go in yet. The CSUs are still in there.”
“Will the trail go cold for him?” Tess asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
“Not this fast. As I’ve said before, Vincent can track prey across the Sahara for, like, a year. And that’s only a minor exaggeration.”
“I still find that creepy. Okay. Call my cell but only if you get something, okay? Cat and I are going to have coffee.”
“Nice gig,” he said tightly. How long had it been since they had gone out for coffee? Or for anything?
“Not really. We’re having it in my office. I have some groveling to do. It won’t be pretty. Luckily I’m so busy that I have to keep it short.”
He was intrigued. He wondered what was up. “So, will you have time for dinner tonight? I can go back through the history of
Star Trek
with you.” He tried for a light, casual tone.
“It’ll probably be Chinese at my desk. Right now there’s a very large angry crowd in front of the precinct demanding to know why we aren’t doing more to stop these homicides. I have to go out there and make a statement.” She grunted. “I might have to skip coffee with Cat.”
“That’s… too bad?” he guessed.
“No. That would be good. It might give her time to cool off.”
J.T. blinked. “What’s going on? Are you two—”
“Gotta go.” The call ended. J.T. grunted
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