Chapter 5
Rated "M"
V - Languishing College Drop-Out
"The lab studied the ink and traced it back to a city not a hundred miles from that small town in Michigan Miss Winston said one of the stores were located. The problem is that there have only been two of those Devor... whatever its called, typewriters that have been stolen.""And what's the problem?" I asked, staring at Zak like everything was completely obvious.
"The problem is that the typewriters were no where close to Michigan at all."
"Where were the typewriters stolen from?" Roxanne jumped in, her arms folded professionally. I almost rolled my eyes just by looking at her, but I knew it wasn't in my best interest to piss off someone with her power in the government. If Roxanne hadn't respected at the least the NYPD, I could almost guarantee that Summer wouldn't be going home that night. Not for a little while, that was.
"Alaska and Washington state." Zak said as cool as he possibly could. Either Roxanne was blind to Zak's teen-like, head-over-heels crush on her, or she was pretty damn good at pretending it. Either way, I doubted highly that Zak would even get to first base with her, if anything. Ever.
"The west coast." Roxanne mumbled like she was digging through files in her head. I sighed and checked my phone, like I usually did after lunch, and noting that I had thirty new emails. "Find me the lists of packages that were sent from Juneau to Detroit in the last six months."
"Why Juneau? And why only Alaska?" Zak asked. Roxanne didn't move an inch as she spoke harshly.
"Just do it. Questioning isn't your forte, anyway."
Zak walked away reluctantly and I turned to Roxanne. She had already gone to her desk and was shuffling through papers, picking random ones out and placing them in a card-board box on the chair. I rose my brow, but per usual, she didn't take notice of me. Or so I thought.
"What do you want, Sempers?" Her tone wasn't the thing that made me keep my eyebrow up, though honestly, I didn't think I'd ever get used to her cold, unusual tone - the one she only used when talking to me. It was my name. Mr. Sempers was pretty formal, which suited her in some means, and others not so much, but Sempers, in itself, was different. Colder it seemed. Which might've sounded impossible if it weren't for the fact that she was basically a human ice cube.
"What's with the whole 'Juneau' thing? You seem so confident with your choice of city, and yet we haven't even started to put together each state and their puzzle pieces." I spoke. She stopped going through her papers for almost a second as she hesitated to answer.
"Just a... hunch." She said, not making any eye contact. Not making eye contact was her in a nut shell, especially while multi-tasking during a case. And while talking to me. But it seemed a little different this time. Like she was covering up a lie or something. And there was no way in hell I'd let her just walk away when she lied to me like that.
"You're not used to lying, are you?" That one statement got her attention. She looked at me with her cold, dark eyes and a straight face.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but you're not in any position to be going around making accusations when you obviously know nothing." She picked up the box and started walking to the meeting room - the one we had been in when we officially met. I got up and followed her, tailing behind her almost like a puppy. Which was an embarrassing analogy to say the least.
"I know nothing? Seriously? That's your comeback. That I'm completely out of the loop or something?" She set the box down on the table, next to the files we had gone through literally less than forty-eight hours ago. It seemed like so much time had passed since our meeting, but in reality, well, it had been barely over a day.
"If it weren't for my intellect, you'd still be stuck on the 'no fingerprints, no matches' thing."
"That's a lie. Zak would've found something. He just needed more time." She sighed in a way that showed me how much she thought my actions were ill-witted, which was crazy in itself.
"I can't believe you have so much faith in languishing college drop-out."
"How do you know he's a college drop-out?" She didn't answer. "I asked you a question."
"The question isn't how, really. Anyone can deduce it. Mr. Hall never got to the success point. Graduating. Which might not be a problem for his career, as he is a computer genius, but it does tone down his level of confidence and feeling of success. Everything, Mr. Sempers, is physiological. Even if you don't realize it."
"Fine. Then can I ask you another thing?"
"Shoot. Still doesn't mean your going to score."
"Why do you call Zak a 'languishing college drop-out,' and not, you know, lovesick or something of the sorts?" She looked at me with a smirk plastered on her face.
"Why do you call me 'Roxanne,' and not Ms. Winston?"
"How do you know that I do that?" Her smirk didn't fade as she continue to work.
"Summer's a... sweet girl, but her affection for you makes her vulnerable."
"What the hell did you do?"
"Nothing really. Well, with the exception of me persuading her to ask you out to lunch, grabbing the letter and giving it to me. I could've swapped it out of your jacket anytime, but that would've required touching you, and I really was not in the mood to do that. Oh, that reminds me. Here's your letter back."
She handed me a folded up paper and as soon as I opened it, I understood everything. She wanted to see the note I had gotten in the mail. She knew I didn't want her to be part of this private investigation so she took different measures. Which pissed me off more by the second.
"You've got to be kidding me. You stole my note? For what reason? It had one name on it. I could've told you it."
"Even if I had asked, you would've denied me access to it. Simple. I know you better than you think."
"And you have to steal something of mine to tell me that? If you weren't an agent for the FBI, I'd drag you to the police."
"It isn't theft if you give it back. But aside from that, you wouldn't have gut to drag me to the police. And that is because if I wasn't an FBI agent, I'd be the one shooting you."
"Thanks. Appreciate the kindness." There was not much I could do then anyway, so why make a huge fight of it. Even though I knew for a fact that I could probably win an argument against Roxanne, I knew better than to waist time on such childish games. And plus, what was the point anyway? To get back at Roxanne for something that it, in itself, was nothing but a game? No. Forget it. I wouldn't let her feel the success of pissing me off. Not anymore than she was already getting just by being present.
"Anytime... Sempers."
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