Chapter 1 #4
“What do you know?” Ethan stepped off the curb and turned to Adam.
“Not here. Let’s get that coffee.” Adam headed for the storefront with the dark-blue awning.
The rich aroma of roasted coffee beans greeted Ethan as he stepped across the threshold of the Beanery coffeehouse.
Rich wood floors, small café tables, and wide picture windows added to the charm of the old building.
Ethan inhaled and closed his eyes, willing the caffeine into his bloodstream, the fatigue and stress from the past few weeks weighing on him.
“Can I help you?” A barista with pink hair and a nose ring greeted him.
“Hey, Chloe.” Ethan resisted the urge to ask for his usual drink. “I’ll have a large black coffee with two shots of espresso, and my friend here will have…”
Adam stared at the petite woman, mesmerized. “Uh…” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
Ethan poked him in his ribs. “Speak up, man.”
Adam leaned closer to Chloe. “I hope you won’t think less of me, but I’ll have one of those white chocolate mint iced coffees.” He grinned.
Chloe shook her head. “Coming right up, gentlemen.”
The whir of the machines made conversation impractical while they waited, but a few minutes later, Ethan paid for their coffees and pointed to a table in the far corner of the shop. “Let’s sit and you can fill me in.”
Adam grabbed the drinks from the far end of the counter and joined him. “While you were suspended, a tech team came into the offices and were supposedly upgrading the Wi-Fi, some of the phones, you know, that sort of thing.”
“Go on.” The jolt of coffee soured as it hit Ethan’s stomach.
“But the thing is, they were only in your office.”
All the customer chatter and noise faded into the background. “And that’s your basis for thinking my office is bugged?”
“They replaced the Wi-Fi access point in your office and out front. That’s it.”
Son of a gun.
Ethan glanced around the shop. Nothing seemed out of place—just the normal, everyday activity of customers needing their coffee fix.
Think, man. “Okay, thanks for letting me know.” Ethan leaned his forearms on the table, gaze focused on his colleague.
“Did you mention anything to Supervisor Howard about surveillance?”
Adam shook his head.
“Good.” He wrapped his hands around the paper cup, the heat seeping through and almost burning his palms. “Did Aubrey know they were coming?”
“No. She was a little suspicious. Stalled them until Howard got into the office.”
“Makes no sense.”
Adam shrugged. “I’m just telling you what happened.”
“But why bug my office?”
“And the entryway. Someone is fishing for info.” Adam sipped his drink. “I had lunch with a Renegade PD detective friend of mine. He heard some gossip around town that Roger Rousseau might be involved in some shady stuff.”
Ethan tried to play it off. “Like the syndicate people are talking about?” Seemed a bit coincidental that his coworker wanted to talk about the very thing Ethan was secretly working on. “What do you know about it?”
Adam sipped the last of his drink and tossed the cup into the trashcan by their table.
“Nothing, really. It’s just word-on-the-street type of chatter.
But come on, it’s the most interesting thing that’s happened around town recently.
Some shadow syndicate in Renegade, and witnesses like Torres getting murdered.
” Adam shrugged. “Your office was bugged for a reason. Is Rousseau really involved?”
“To determine that, I need evidence.” Ethan paused a moment, considering his limited options.
He didn’t want to wonder if Adam was the dirty agent in the office.
He’d never have believed that before now and wasn’t inclined to think it just because the guy was astute enough to put some of the pieces together, but right now, everyone was a suspect.
“I can’t tear apart the life of a guy like Roger Rousseau without cause,” Ethan said. Judge Mullinax would never give him a warrant for wiretaps and surveillance without proof something was going on. “So let me know if you hear anything else, because I could definitely use the help.”
“I know you were on a special assignment the last two weeks and not really suspended.”
Ethan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. This is bad. “How did you find out?”
“Come on, man. You’re a rule follower, and I’ve never seen you lose control.
Word around the office is that it was misuse of a firearm.
That’s baloney.” Adam shook his head. “Besides, it makes sense. I think you’re onto something.
There are too many inconsistencies in what’s happening in town, witnesses and suspects like Torres and old Ralph Rousseau dying, and evidence disappearing.
There’s more to Roger than meets the eye.
If he’s a small player, maybe we can flip him for info on the big boss—whoever is in charge of the syndicate. ”
“I agree.” Ethan stood, tossed his half-empty cup in the trash. “Come on, let’s get back to the office.” He’d need to do a sweep of his room for the bug, but with Adam on board, it felt like a fresh injection of energy into this case.
Adam nodded. “You got it. Thanks for the coffee.”
“Anytime.”
He paused in front of the three-story federal courthouse that housed multiple departments.
Built in the neo-classical style of the early 1900s, the light-gray sandstone created an air of sophistication, while the dormer windows reflected the morning sun, almost blinding him.
The old-fashioned globe lights at the entrance were yellowed with age, and an American flag fluttered in the breeze.
Adam stood off to the side, his gaze watchful. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.” He opened the reinforced glass door, and a blast of cold air washed out. “I have courtroom duty today.” Adam slid his sunglasses onto the top of his head.
Ethan grinned. “Lucky you.”
Adam’s tall form passed through the metal detectors and then disappeared down the long hallway. Ethan rubbed the two-day stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave before he came in this morning.
Even though Adam was a good guy and wanted to help Ethan with this case, there was no way he would let him. If life had taught him anything, it was that the fewer people involved, the better.
Otherwise, someone else was going to get hurt because of him.