Page 20 of Ride the Lightning
His boss kept his eyes locked on Jonah’s instead of looking at the document in front of him. “You’re not a field agent,” Trexler said. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Yep. Just like Oscar. Trexler unknowingly catapulted Jonah back to the summer he’d fallen from the treehouse and broke his arm.
“Boys don’t cry, Jonah. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
He’d been seven. God, he fucking hated toxic masculinity.
“You’re supposed to be using your supercomputer to solve crimes.”
“I’m not experienced in the field, and I understand if you want to assign this investigation to another agent,” Jonah said.
“How big of you, St. John,” Trexler said snidely, shoving the document back across the desk to Jonah without looking at it. “You have two minutes to tell me why the case needs further scrutiny.” Trexler looked at his watch. “Starting now.”
Jonah quickly went through the facts he uncovered as succinctly as he could in the time allotted.
Trexler steepled his fingers at mid-chest. “I’m not willing to reopen a thirty-eight-year-old case on a whim.”
“With all due respect, sir, it’s not a whim. Bo Cahill couldn’t have killed Earl Ison if he was incarcerated in DeKalb County. Can I at least have your permission to request their official file?”
“People could’ve entered the wrong dates, St. John.”
“True,” Jonah agreed, “and a quick look at the file will resolve the issue once and for all.”
Trexler heaved a deep sigh. “You might be willing to stake your career on this, but I’m not willing to hinge the reputation of retired officers and prosecutors on your conjecture. I have faith in the system and trust that those involved practiced due diligence. As I see it, this is SPD’s problem.Ifa mistake was made, it’s their responsibility to investigate and correct their error. You may tell your aunt, the police commissioner, I said so. My answer is no, Agent St. John.”
Jonah knew he should accept the verdict and leave, but he couldn’t. He’d given Marla his word. “With all due respect, sir, the Ison file wouldn’t be in our database if the GBI wasn’t involved. We had either requested the information or SPD sent it to us when asking for our assistance.” Jonah thought the latter was unlikely.
Trexler’s nostrils flared as he jabbed the air with his finger. “All I’m hearing from you are assumptions, and I don’t appreciate you wasting my time. Send this information to your aunt and let her sort it out and be ostracized by the public if what you discovered is true.”
Trexler was on a roll and wasn’t finished. “We went over your shortcomings in detail during Monday’s meetings. Apparently, I need to reiterate a few key points.”
Jonah sat ramrod straight, unmoving except for the ticking in his jaw.
“I know how highly you think of your criminal analysis and profiling skills, and you’ve even convinced Director Malcolm of your merit. The key fact remains that your primary task at this agency is to detect and prevent cybercrimes. You don’t get to dust off your supercomputer and investigate crimes at whim, especially not cases that are already marked as solved. You are to wait until your assistance is requested and approvedby mebefore you start feeding facts into Starla.”
“Stella.”
“Whatever,” Trexler said dismissively. “What about this ‘game-changing software’ you’re developing?” Jonah briefly fantasized about dislocating the fingers Trexler used to form his obnoxious air quotes. “Do we need to discuss how to best allocate your energy and focus? Again.”
“It’s a cybersecurity microchip, sir,” Jonah said. He was impressed with how calm he sounded, especially since Trexler had been put in charge of a division he didn’t even appreciate or understand. Whose dick had he sucked to get this promotion? Maybe someday Jonah would find the nerve to ask. “Software is too easy to hack and manipulate. I plan to finish the mockup today, which is a week ahead of schedule.” He never missed a deadline and sure as fuck wouldn’t start now.
“Then I expect to see the results of your trial runs by the end of this week instead of next. I can see that having too much time on your hands is detrimental.”
“Yes, sir.” Not that the idiot would understand the data.
“I knew allowing you to participate with the Sinister in Savannah podcast was a mistake, and I wish Director Malcolm would’ve listened to my opinion on the matter. It’s obvious the success has gone to your head and made you think you’re an amateur sleuth.” Trexler took a deep breath. “It’s also apparent you don’t respect proper protocol since you went over my head and discussed reopening the case with Director Malcolm instead of coming to me first.” Trexler opened a desk drawer, pulled out a piece of paper, and slid it across the desk to Jonah. “I think the director’s friendship with your aunt has given you a false sense of security and importance around here. This,” Trexler said, nodding to the paper, “should help you put things in proper focus.”
Jonah glanced down at the document, and his gaze snagged on words like “insubordination” and “official warning.” He glanced up and met Trexler’s smug expression. No wonder the bastard had seemed happier this morning. Jonah had finally played into his hand and given Trexler a legitimate reason to write him up.
“I think you should be grateful it’s only a warning this time. I could’ve suspended you without pay, but I chose not to.”
Bullshit. Jonah’s offense wasn’t severe enough to warrant a suspension without prior written warnings. Was Trexler expecting Jonah to thank him? The supervisory agent’s smug grin morphed into a joyous smile. Trexler knew Jonah was choking on bitterness and was daring him to pop off. Jonah would not let this asshole make him “Hulk out” at work, no matter what everyone thought.
Nope. Jonah needed to focus his energy on where it was needed most: making the person who betrayed him pay.
Trexler’s phone rang, and he picked up. “Yes, Tabitha. Jonah was just leaving. Please send the call through once he steps out of my office. Thanks.” He returned the phone to its cradle and looked expectantly at Jonah. “Did you have anything else you wanted to discuss with me?”
“No,” Jonah said tersely.