Entering the diner, Jacob and Rachel were surprised to see Felix in a booth near the rear of the restaurant. He was leaning forward, chatting and laughing with a woman. As they moved toward the booth, they could see that the woman was in the uniform of the local police department. Felix broke off his conversation and jumped to his feet as he noticed them approach.
"Hey, Doc, Agent Young," he greeted them. Nodding to the woman seated, "I'd like you to meet Deputy Lisa Jackson. She's been giving me the run-down on all the locals." Felix then smoothly slid into the booth to sit beside her. "Lisa, this is Dr. Hood and Agent Young."
Rachel bit back a smile as she shoved Hood into the booth and slipped in beside him. "Glad to meet you. So, you've been filling Felix in on all the local gossip?"
"We've actually been swapping gossip." The woman smiled broadly at their look of confusion. "It might have been late when you checked in last night, but trust me, the news that the FBI had blown into town to investigate Rico's dead cows was all over town by morning. Felix here has been filling me in on your reason for being here."
"Shit!" Rachel exclaimed. She looked at Felix in consternation. "Did you get in touch with the local office before …?"
"Don't worry, it's all good." Felix reassured her. "I got a hold of the head of the local field office right after breakfast. He already knew we were here, but he calmed down quick. Let him know that we're here at the behest of the USDA. He's cool."
Rachel visibly relaxed. The last thing she needed or wanted was a turf war with the local office. She was relieved to know that she wouldn't have to worry about them trying to assert their rights, interfering with the investigation.
"Well, what have you got for us?"
Before Felix could answer, the waitress bustled up to take their orders. She greeted Lisa avidly and hovered a bit longer than needed after taking their orders. When it became apparent that none of the occupants of the booth were going to talk in front of her, she left to place their order.
"So," Rachel continued, "what are people saying about the dead cows? About the people involved?"
"Mostly they're saying that it's a damn shame." Lisa answered promptly. "Rico Cipriani is well liked around here. He's an old-timer, built that dairy from the ground up. He's one of the leading citizens of the valley. You can always count on him for a substantial donation to any local charity."
"So there'd be no out to ruin him?" Rachel wanted to know. "Kill off the cows hoping to drive him into bankruptcy?"
"Not likely." Felix snorted. When Rachel raised her eyebrows in surprise, Lisa supplied an explanation.
"Look, you met Rico this morning, right?" Jacob and Rachel nodded.
"I'll bet you pegged him as a real salt-of-the-earth, old fashioned farmer. Loves the land, the animals, lives for his dairy, right?" Her eyes danced with amusement. "And you'd be right. But that's only one part of Rico. The other part is the shrewd financial manager."
Lisa explained to them that while Rico Cipriani had begun life as a humble dairy farmer, he hadn't stayed that way. When his dairy had begun to make a profit, he had used the money to diversify. He had invested in land in the valley, in vineyards in Sonoma, and various business schemes. Rumor had it that Rico had invested heavily in Silicon Valley and had the good fortune to sell out his shares before the bubble burst. He was still the CEO of Cipriani International Investments, although he now left the main work of managing the company to his children.
"But Gina, Wyatt," Jacob sputtered. "They both assured us that the loss would most likely wipe Rico out. That it was a financial disaster for him."
"Those two?" Lisa snorted. "Dr. Dawkins and Dr. Payne? Nice kids, both of them, but what they don't know about the real world would amaze you."
Rachel and Felix exchanged a quick grin. It was a complaint they were very familiar with.
Lisa was interrupted by the return of the waitress with their food. She waited patiently until they were once again alone. "Losing half his herd? That hurt Rico in the heart, not the pocketbook. He loves that dairy; it's where he began, where he and his wife were happiest. Hell, he'll most likely come out ahead financially, probably get to write the whole thing off on his taxes."
Lisa's radio suddenly crackled to life, she grimaced as she answered the call. "Damn, got to go out to an accident."
Felix slid out the booth and held out a hand to her. "It was good meeting, talking to you Lisa, thanks for all the help."
Lisa smiled as she shook his hand. "Pleasure was all mine Felix. Give me a call if you need anything else, need someone to show you around."
Felix sat down and frowned at the smirk on Rachel's face. "What? I was just showing the woman some professional courtesy, that's all." He raised his eyebrows. "It's not like I was flirting with her just to piss…"
"Yes, well," Rachel interrupted, a blush starting to appear on her cheeks. "How much did you manage to find out this morning?
It turned out that Felix had learned quite a lot. Between his contacts at the Bureau and his long gossipy talk with Lisa, Felix had just about all the pertinent information on the various actors in their case. Both Wyatt and Gina had come up clean on the financial check. They were both living well within their incomes and the only significant debts they had were school loans. Their bank accounts showed only normal activity; in the past year they had not had any unexplained deposits.
The local gossip was just as favorable. Both of the young academics were well liked by the farmers. They, and their students, had been working in the area for the past two years. Gina was generally held to be a "bit touchy" while Wyatt was universally considered one of them. Partially because of his outgoing personality; partiall because he had come from a farming background.
Simon Robinson wasn't so straightforward. He lived extravagantly and was regularly overdrawn at his bank. Felix had had a moment of excitement when he discovered a deposit of $100,000 in the man's bank account two months ago. A quick check with the IRS revealed that Dr. Robinson had declared the income as gambling winnings from a trip to Los Vegas.
Felix's research had confirmed what Lisa had said about Rico Cipriani's finances. The man was extremely wealthy. The dairy may have been the start of his empire, but now it was more a hobby. An expensive hobby to be sure, but the loss of the cows wouldn't affect his net worth at all.
"Especially," Felix said ominously, "since he's not really the owner."
In conducting his background check on Rico Cipriani, Felix had discovered an unexpected fact. It seemed that there were two Federico Anthony Ciprianis with a financial interest in Orchard Hill Dairy. Rico had signed over 49% of the dairy to his grandson, Federico Anthony Cipriani, III a year before.
"That jerk Freddie owns half the dairy!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Not half, 49%, the old man kept the controlling interest. But yeah, the grandson owns half." Felix explained. His eyes narrowed in dislike.
"Lisa had a lot to say about him. Seems he's not a chip off the old block. When he was a kid, his parents would ship him down here to stay with his grandparents. He's been in and out of trouble since he was a teenager. Nothing major, a few DWIs, a bar fight or two, vandalism. The kind of stuff his grandfather could buy his way out of."
"How are his financials? Could he have a motive to sabotage Gina's work?" Rachel asked sharply.
Felix shook his head. "Nah, he's a trust fund baby. Gets an allowance from the family every quarter. It's not a fortune and he blows it all. But he doesn't have any real expenses. Lives either with his parents in San Francisco or with his grandfather here. Drives a company car. He's smart enough to stay out of real trouble; he gets into any kind of debt, his grandfather bails him out."
'Why in the world would Rico sign over half the dairy to his grandson?" Jacob wondered. "He obviously loves the place, takes great pride in it." He looked at Felix and Rachel disapprovingly. "Freddie hardly seems like a worthy successor to his grandfather."
"Yeah," Felix agreed. "Lisa said people around here were real surprised when that happened. The old man said he was trying to give the kid a sense of ownership, responsibility." He cocked his head. "She also said that rumor has it that old Rico is starting to pull the reins in a bit, not so quick to come to the rescue."
"Well, this is all very interesting, but it isn't getting us any closer to the answer." Jacob announced. "I think it's time we headed over to the university. I'd like to get a start on reviewing the work already done, test our samples."
"What would you like me to do this afternoon, ma'am?" Felix looked at Rachel.
Before she could answer, Jacob spoke up. "I'd like you to accompany us Felix."
"Why?" Rachel objected. "Felix can hardly run the tests you need done. I'd rather he…"
"No," Jacob cut her off firmly. "We need to know more about Robinson. We only have Wyatt's word that he was harassing Gina, trying to get her fired. I'd like some independent confirmation of that." He tilted his head. "And that very convenient gambling win, I wonder if he's known for that kind of activity, or is it a cover for something else, a payoff, maybe?"
"But Doc, how am I gonna find out any of that by coming with you? It's the semester break; there won't be anyone for me to talk to."
Jacob looked at Felix with raised eyebrows. "Hardly, Felix. Trust me, you'll find the perfect source for all of this information at the university and they'll be dying to talk to you."
Jacob's lips twitched at the puzzled expressions on Rachel and Felix's faces. "The secretaries will be there and they know all of the dirt in the department. Since its break they don't have that much work to do, but they still have to show up. They're most likely bored to death." He shrugged. "They'll be happy to see a new face."
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A short drive brought them the university. As they made their way through the deserted hallways, Rachel and Felix realized the truth of Jacob's statement. The few people they encountered, rather than being wary of strangers, seemed overjoyed at the break in the tedium of their day. Felix discovered a clutch of secretaries having a late afternoon break; with a wink he peeled off to join them.
As Jacob and Rachel made their way to the lab, they could hear raised voices. Gina and Wyatt were arguing. Jacob paused at the door of the lab and motioned for Rachel to wait. They listened carefully; Gina seemed to be berating Wyatt for not sharing information with her. Rachel's eyebrows rose and she pushed open the door hurriedly as the sound of a hand hitting flesh could be clearly heard. Wyatt was looking at Gina with surprise, his hand held to his cheek.
"What seems to be the problem?" Jacob asked.
"The problem," Gina glared at Wyatt, "is that Dr. Payne-in-the-ass here has been running tests on the samples Dr. Robinson collected and he won't share his conclusions with me."
"I can't share them with you, I'm not sure what they mean and I'm not going public until I have some backup." Wyatt turned to Jacob for support. "I'm sure you understand Dr. Hood. I've found something, that, well, that's unusual. But I'm not sure what it means, or if I'm even right. It would be irresponsible of me to tell anyone until I have some confirmation."
Jacob looked thoughtful. "As much as it distresses you Gina, I'm afraid that I have to agree with Wyatt. But," he looked at the younger man, "what kind of confirmation are you looking for?"
"I did some tests on the samples, and the results are," Wyatt paused, "like I said, unusual. But I don't have the experience Dr. Robinson has, maybe I've missed something."
"Unusual in what way?" Jacob wanted to know.
Wyatt shook his head stubbornly. "I'd rather not say. Just do your own tests and then we can compare notes."
Jacob titled his head to one side and considered the man for a few moments. "Fine," he said abruptly. "Let me get to work then."
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Jacob spent the next few hours working steadily with Wyatt's assistance. First, he reviewed the findings of Dr. Robinson's tests and the reports on the necropsies on the cows. Then he carefully tested the remaining samples, comparing his findings to what had been previously discovered.
Finally Jacob began running tests on the samples they had collected from the dairy that morning. Rachel and Gina were sent to collect specimens of the alfalfa that Gina was growing in the college's greenhouses. Even Rachel, who had no scientific background, could tell from Hood's frowns that something was wrong.
Felix had briefly joined them in the lab. The secretaries were gone for the day but they had given him several interesting tidbits. He had briefly conferred with Rachel, before retiring to Gina's office to use her phone. He needed to make a few calls to confirm what he had learned.
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"I just don't understand this," Jacob mused. "I mean, he's not wrong, but he's not right …"
Rachel blew out her breath in exasperation. "What do you mean? He's either right or he's wrong. He can't be both."
Jacob shook his head briefly and flashed Rachel a small smile. "I'm having trouble with Dr. Robinson's findings. Overall, he's not wrong, but he's made several leaps of logic to come to his conclusions." He cocked his head at Wyatt. "Is that what was troubling you Wyatt?"
Wyatt shrugged noncommittally. "What exactly is troubling you Dr. Hood."
Jacob's mouth twisted in amusement. "Please Wyatt, its Jacob. And well, several things are troubling me." He fell silent.
"Like what?" Rachel nudged him.
"Well, the cause of death for example."
"It wasn't that tro-whatever stuff in their hearts?" Rachel asked.
"Troponin," Jacob corrected her with a smile. "The necropsy clearly showed an excess of troponin in the heart muscles, it was undoubtedly a major factor in the cows' deaths."
"Which is where we started, right?" Rachel screwed up her face in confusion.
"Not exactly. The troponin was a by-product, a result of the fact that the cows were in renal failure. While it wasn't exactly wrong to say that the cows died of heart disease, it wasn't exactly right either."
At Rachel's further look of confusion, Jacob elaborated. "Think of a patient with, I don't know, lung cancer. Due to chemotherapy, their kidneys are damaged; they shut down. Now once your kidneys shut down, you die fairly quickly. So, what killed the patient?" He looked at Rachel expectantly.
"Renal failure?"
Jacob nodded. "Absolutely. You could say that patient died of renal failure. And that is correct, but not the complete story, the real cause of death is the cancer. The same thing with the cows."
"But what's the difference? The cows are dead, just like the patient with cancer. Does it really matter?"
"Of course it matters!" Gina burst out.
"Well, why?" Rachel asked patiently. "Dead is dead. Why does it matter?"
"It matters," Jacob put in, "because if the cause of death is renal failure, than we need to take a closer look at the kidneys." He raised his eyebrows, "which I just did." He looked over at Wyatt. "I take it this is what you were talking about earlier.?"
"Yeah," Wyatt nodded grimly. "I meant what I said before. I don't have the experience Dr. Robinson has, I thought maybe I just missed something, didn't get the connections he made. But if you're seeing the same thing I'm seeing, then, yeah. Dr. Robinson screwed up."
"Why?" Rachel persisted. "Why does it matter? The alfalfa damaged the cows' kidneys instead of the hearts, what's the difference?"
"The difference," Jacob explained "is that the alfalfa had nothing to do with the damage to the cows kidneys. The alfalfa was only postulated as the cause since, absent the kidney damage, nothing else could satisfactorily explain the troponin in the heart tissue."
"I knew it!" Gina exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew my alfalfa wasn't to blame."
Rachel shot her a skeptical look. "Why can you be so sure Hood? Why couldn't the alfalfa have caused the kidney damage?"
"Because of this." Jacob tapped the mass spectrometer in front of him. "The kidney sample showed traces of a chemical residue. I've run it through the mass spec; it's a combination of sodium fluoride and copper naphthenate. Furthermore, I found traces of this same chemical in the manure and feed samples we collected this morning, but none in the alfalfa."
Jacob pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I can't put my finger on it, but those two substances in combination sound familiar." He shook his head. "Maybe a search in the patent database will yield some results."
"No need." Wyatt looked slightly sick. "I know exactly what that compound is, furthermore, so should Dr. Robinson. It's the formulation for a product known as Cop-R-Plastic."
At Jacob and Rachel's look of confusion, Wyatt explained. "It's a wood preservative. Farmers use it on their fences. But you have to be real careful with it. If it gets on the grass or hay, it can cause renal failure in the cattle."
"Was it was an accident?" Rachel looked doubtful. "Or do you think someone did this on purpose?"
"I don't know and I don't care," snapped Gina. "All I know is that bastard Robinson had to have known it wasn't my alfalfa. He was out to ruin me, that son of a bitch." She involuntarily flexed her fingers. "Just wait until I get my hands on him."
"It may not be that simple," Rachel said slowly.
"What are you talking about?" Gina asked.
"Rachel's correct," Jacob said. "We discovered that Robinson recently deposited a great deal of money into his bank account. It is possible that someone paid him to come to the conclusion he did. Ruining your career may not have been the main point."
"Who would do that?" Gina was bewildered. "It's not as if my work would hurt any corporate interests, who would pay to ruin my career?"
"Maybe they didn't want to hurt you," Rachel said. "Maybe you're just collateral damage. Rico Cipriani might have been the target all along." She looked at Hood. "We need to question Robinson."
This kicked off an argument. Gina wanted to accompany them, she wanted to confront Robinson with what they had discovered. Wyatt supported her. He was equally angry with the man. It appalled him to think that the man would abuse his position, take a bribe, to ruin Gina's career.
Rachel vetoed any involvement by the two. She argued that their presence would be counter-productive. That their attacking Robinson would immediately put the man on the defensive, lessen her chance of conducting a fruitful interrogation. Jacob listened to the bickering with increasing irritation.
"Enough!" he exploded. "Neither one of you is accompanying us and that's final. You have to understand, this has gone beyond a simple matter of academic integrity. When the time comes, I'll be more than happy to deal with Dr. Robinson's transgressions. But right now, we're dealing with what may be a serious crime. You have to let us deal with it."
"Deal with what Doc?" Felix strolled back into the lab.
"Robinson." Jacob answered shortly. "It seems he falsified his report to the USDA."
"Not surprising," Felix said. "According to the secretaries there's not much they'd put past him. Not a popular man."
Jacob's eyebrows rose. "Do tell."
Felix settled himself comfortably against a desk. "Well, first off, it seems that Wyatt here was telling the nothing but the truth when he told you that Robinson was a ladies' man."
"You told them!" Gina snapped at Wyatt furiously. Wyatt colored up, but Felix cut him off before he could justify his action.
"Of course he did, it was important. Like I said, the secretaries all confirmed that Robinson has a bad rep when it comes to women. But there's never been a whisper of any quid pro quo. Doesn't hold a grudge if he gets turned down, just moves on to ah, more welcoming pastures. And none of the women have ever complained about his behavior, until Gina here."
Felix cocked his head and regarded Gina with amusement. "They're divided on you. Half of them think you're a hero for standing up to the bastard. The other half thinks you're an idiot to have put your career on the line to put him in his place."
"What about the gambling? Did they know anything about that?" Rachel asked.
Felix nodded, his face grim. "Yep, they sure did. Seems that Robinson has a real down on gambling. Makes fun of them for buying lottery tickets, made 'em quit their office football pool. They said that Vegas would be the last place in the world he'd go."
"Gambling? Vegas?" Wyatt asked. "You said before that Robinson had a big deposit at the bank. You think he won it gambling in Vegas."
"It's what he told the IRS about the money." Rachel shrugged.
"When was this supposed to have happened."
Felix pulled out his notebook. "Two months ago, beginning of November."
Gina and Wyatt exchanged looks. "Robinson was supposed to be at a symposium in early November," Wyatt said. "He made a big deal out of it."
"Ok," Rachel announced. "Here's the plan. Hood and I will go and tackle Robinson." She overrode Wyatt and Gina's objections. "You three head back to the hotel. You two," she pointed to Gina and Wyatt, "will brainstorm to think of anyone, any company that might want to sabotage Gina's work. Felix, you can run down the names they come up with."
"But you said they might be doing this to hurt Mr. Cipriani." Gina objected.
"Right," Rachel agreed. She turned to Felix with a grin. "So, Agent Lee, know anyone who might be able to help you with local color? Who might know who has it out for Cipriani?"
Felix returned her grin. "I think I just might Agent Young."
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Jacob and Rachel drove in silence toward Robinson's house. Rachel glanced over at him, saw he was starring pensively out the window.
"You ok?"
Jacob collected his thoughts. "Actually, no, I'm not." He looked over at Rachel, saw the concern on her face. He shook his head sadly. "I loved teaching, being an academic, as much as I loved the science. The satisfaction of mentoring students, the freedom to conduct my research as I saw fit, even the writing.
To think of that bastard Robinson abusing his position with those women, undermining a colleague's work, frankly it makes me sick." He shook his head. "I don't understand him."
Rachel looked at him curiously. "You sound like you miss it. Do you ever think of going back?"
Jacob smiled, reached out to touch Rachel's cheek gently. "No, I'm perfectly satisfied with my life right now."
Rachel returned his smile. They finished the journey in silence.
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Robinson blustered when they confronted him. He claimed that he had a scientific basis for his conclusions. That his reputation was as impeccable as Jacob's and that there was no reason for anyone to doubt his abilities. But he collapsed quickly when Jacob confronted him with the results of the mass spec analysis of the kidney and feed samples. He denied forcefully, however, that he had been paid for his report to the USDA. He insisted that the money he had deposited in his bank account was indeed from a big gambling win in Las Vegas.
Rachel gave the man a skeptical look. "Really, you won it in Vegas? Funny thing is, everyone we talked to said that Vegas isn't your style at all."
"Well, there's a first time for everything," he snapped. "You can check with the IRS. The casino had me file papers about my winnings."
"It wouldn't be the first time a casino was used to launder money." Rachel shot back.
Robinson's mouth fell open. "Christ, you think I'm doing business with the mob or something?"
"According to your colleagues," Jacob put in, "you were at a symposium the weekend of this supposed windfall. Can you explain the discrepancy?"
Robinson collapsed back onto his sofa. Rubbing his hands over his face he sat and thought for a few moments. Finally he looked up at them, a defeated look on his face.
"Ok, it's like this. That symposium? It was run by an old friend of mine. I submitted my paper and he agreed to present it for me. I spent the weekend in Vegas, with a, uh, friend. I really did win a hundred thousand playing black-jack. I swear, that's what happened."
"This friend can corroborate your story?" Rachel asked coolly. "We'll need to talk to her."
Robinson sighed and got to his feet. Going to the bottom of the stairs, he called out. "Tiffy, can you come down here?"
Jacob and Rachel exchanged glances as a young woman came down the stairs. She looked very young. She was wearing a skimpy t-shirt and tight jeans.
"This is Tiffy." Robinson said. "She can tell you what happened."
Rachel regarded the young woman with some amusement. "We need you to tell us about a trip you took with your father here last November." Jacob gave a small snort of amusement. Tiffy and Robinson both glared at her with dislike.
"Simon isn't my father," Tiffy began angrily. "He's…"
Robinson quickly interrupted her. "Just tell them about the trip Tiffy."
"Fine." She looked at Rachel sullenly. "It was for my birthday, ok?. Simon promised to take me, like somewhere nice? I always wanted to go to Vegas, so that's what we did. To see some shows?"
"No gambling?" Rachel asked.
"Uh, yeah, since it was my 21st birthday, Simon decided to play black-jack, you know? 21? He won all kinds of money."
Robinson shifted uncomfortably, aware of the looks of disgust on the faces of his visitors. "Tiffy, why don't you go back upstairs." The girl opened her mouth to protest, but ducked her head in agreement after one look at his face.
Robinson sank back down on the sofa at Tiffy's departure. He looked up at Jacob, "what next? I assume tomorrow you'll be reporting me to the University's administration? To the USDA?"
Jacob raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly. "I won't be doing anything." Robinson's look of relief was short-lived as Jacob continued. "You on the other hand, will be filing a new report with the USDA, completely clearing Gina's work. Then you will be resigning your position as chair of the Biological Sciences Department.
And if I ever hear a whisper that you're serving on a hiring, tenure or research committee, or as a dissertation advisor, I will personally rain down hell on you. Am I perfectly clear?"
Startled, Robinson could only nod his agreement. With a final look of contempt, Jacob stalked from the room, Rachel following behind.
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It was late by the time they reached the hotel. Rachel and Jacob stopped, surprised by the noise coming from behind the closed door of Hood's room. With a frown, Rachel opened the door and they stepped inside.
Rachel stopped short a few paces into the room. She planted her hands on her hips and began to scowl. The room seemed overflowing with people. Felix, Deputy Jackson, Wyatt and Gina were sprawled in the chairs and on the bed, eating pizza, laughing, and talking. They were also, with the exception of Gina, drinking beer.
"Agent Lee," Rachel barked. "I assume you've finished running down the leads," she jerked her head toward the others, "they were supposed to be supplying you with?"
"Ah, yeah, kind of, ma'am." Felix looked guilty as he sat up in his chair.
Rachel burst out laughing at the expression on his face. "Don't worry Felix. I'm still pissed off from dealing with Robinson." She snagged a piece of pizza from the box on the table and nudged Gina to make room for her on the bed. "Find out anything interesting?"
"What did you do to Robinson?" Gina asked eagerly. "Did he admit what he did? Is he going to clear my name?"
Jacob filled them in on what happened with Robinson. Although the cops in the room thought Hood had let Robinson off way to easy, it was apparent to them that the academics approved his actions. At Lisa and Felix's skeptical looks, Jacob explained that what he had done was the professorial equivalent of a death sentence.
"So what have you guys been working on?" Rachel asked as she finished her pizza. She cocked an eyebrow at Felix. "Assuming you have been working?"
Felix straightened up and reported on the evenings activities. Wyatt and Gina hadn't been able to think of anyone or any company that might be threatened by Gina's work. Her alfalfa wasn't designed to replace anything, it was meant to supplement the feed usually given to the cows. Her research was unique, no one else in the country was trying anything like it, so a competitor was unlikely.
They had similar result on their inquiries about an enemy of Rico Cipriani. Since Rico had been hurt personally rather than financially by the cows' deaths, they figured it had to be someone local, someone with a grudge. And Lisa was firm in her contention that Rico simply did not have any enemies like that in the valley.
Felix was the one to come up their best lead. He had re-checked the financial information he had retrieved on Freddie Cipriani. A month ago, Freddie had made a payment to a local insurance company. Felix and Lisa hadn't been able to reach the insurance agent to see exactly what it was that Freddie had insured.
"Good work, Felix," Rachel said approvingly. "We'll follow up on that first thing tomorrow. Right now," she turned to the others. "I suggest you clean up this mess and take off."
"Actually, ma'am, Lisa, ah, Deputy Jackson and I thought we might see if we can run down that insurance agent tonight." Felix looked at Rachel earnestly. "Hit a few of the local hot spots."
"Excellent initiative Agent Lee," Rachel replied with a straight face. "I really have to commend you for your dedication to duty."
Felix grinned in response. "I hoped you see it that way. I'll say goodnight now." He quickly escorted Lisa from the room.
Gina and Wyatt showed a tendency to want to linger and gossip. But Rachel loaded them down with the left-over pizza and beer and firmly escorted them from the room.
Rachel leaned back against the door with a sigh of relief. It had been a long day and she was looking forward to a chance to rest.
"Finally," she looked at Hood with a grin. "Alone at last."
"Humph, for all the good it does."
"Oh, don't be so grumpy Hood. Look on the bright side."
Jacob tilted his head. "And that would be what, exactly?"
Rachel paused in the connecting doorway. "If this lead pans out, by this time tomorrow we may be back home in DC." She smiled at him seductively. "Not in the field."