A Face to Die For (Forensic Instincts 6)

CHAPTER 16

Offices of Forensic Instincts

Two days later

“I’m bored,” Emma muttered aloud.

She’d just vetted the last of the new potential cases on her desk, written up her recommendations, and slapped the paperwork on her pile. She had to bring these in to Casey and the team to evaluate. She knew Casey wouldn’t be inspired by any of them. They’d already accepted and solved one case on the original pile. The president of a staffing firm had convinced them that his company’s database was being hacked and money being siphoned out of its accounts. It turned out—no surprise—to be an internal crime, conducted by a disgruntled and computer-savvy employee. Some discreet questioning by Casey and some techno-magic by Ryan, and FI had cracked the case in one business day.

Other than that, the only case of interest had been a request for Casey’s consultation services from the NYPD. They were interrogating an assault-and-battery suspect and asked for Casey’s expertise in body language analysis to help determine the suspect’s guilt and to move toward getting a confession. She’d helped. They’d gotten their confession. Case closed.

No other cases had whetted their appetites.

These new ones wouldn’t, either.

“Boring, boring, boring,” Emma repeated, flipping through the paperwork and talking to no one in particular.

Someone in particular answered her.

“Your assessment reflects judgment, which is an inappropriate response, Emma,” Yoda announced. “The full team must review the potential cases. Decisions will be based on the cumulative responses.”

“Yes, Yoda, I know the drill.” Emma rolled her eyes. “But I also know Casey. None of these cases is going to make the cut.” She pushed back her chair. “But fear not. I’m following the rules. I’m bringing the paperwork upstairs right now for group evaluation.” She leaned forward and pressed the all-call intercom button. “Time to gather in the main conference room for full review of potential cases.”

The team was filing into the conference room when Emma walked in. Casey was seated at the head of the table, flanked by two familiar faces that Emma had missed.

“Marc! Patrick! When did you get back? How did you slip by my desk?” she asked in excitement. These two men were very special to her. Each had saved her life in different ways. She wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for their skill and loyalty. And she’d never forget it. Never.

“Hey, Emma.” Marc’s fingers were linked behind his head, and he looked tan, well-rested, and very much at peace. “We came in at the crack of dawn. Casey’s been bringing us up to speed.”

“You look awesome,” Emma told him. “Marriage agrees with you.”

“Yup.” For an instant, Casey’s hard-core right-hand man softened. “I’m one happy camper.” The softness vanished, and Marc’s usual hard-core presence returned. “It seems that Patrick and I missed a great case. I’m ready for another one.”

“Well, I doubt you’re about to get it from this sludge,” Emma replied, placing the paperwork on the table in front of Casey and turning to the distinguished man with salt-and-pepper hair sitting to her right. “Patrick, welcome home.” She gave him a big hug. “How were the graduation and the vacation?”

Patrick Lynch—retired FBI agent and FI’s security expert—gave Emma a fond smile. “My daughter has become a young woman. Watching her, I realize she’s almost your age. I can’t believe it. But Adele and I were bursting with pride when she went up and accepted her diploma. And the family vacation was just what we all needed. But it’s good to be back. I missed the action—not to mention the security lapse that allowed that psychopath to get into Brianna’s apartment. You can be sure something like that will never happen again.”

“We missed you, too.” Claire was already settling herself at the table, armed with a cup of herbal tea. “By the way, Marc, you and Maddy took off before I could tell you how beautiful the wedding was.”

“Thanks, but I can’t take any credit for that. Maddy and her mother did all the initial planning, and that lifesaver of a wedding planner pulled it all together.”

“Well, it was awesome,” Emma said.

“Not as awesome as the honeymoon, I bet.” Ryan grinned as he brought over his coffee and pulled out his chair.

Marc arched a brow. “I obviously wasn’t away that long, Ryan. You haven’t aged a day.”

“And so it resumes.” Casey gave an exaggerated sigh. “It’s official. You’re home. How did we survive without you and Ryan busting each other’s chops?”

“My guess? Very nicely.” Patrick chuckled.

“Yeah, but this is much less boring—unlike those potential cases.” Emma gestured at the paperwork sitting in front of Casey. “I could barely keep my eyes open reading through those. I took Hero on two runs in the park just to wake up my brain.”

Casey reached for the pile. “I got it, Emma. Loud and clear. You don’t like any of them. Please give the rest of us a chance to weigh in.”

“Oh, Marc?” Before they got started, Claire had something to say. She was a woman with a mission. “You should know that Casey’s lock-picking skills are amazing. She’s quicker and with a lighter touch than you.”

“Oh, snap.” Emma brightened.