Page 27 of Ride the Lightning
“It’s possible, I guess,” Jonah said. “I think his attitude is because he doesn’t respect my skills, and he resents that Malcolm hired me because my aunt encouraged him to do so. I don’t even know if Trexler is aware of my sexual orientation.”
“Under the Georgia Open Record Act, I can request a copy of Bo Cahill’s case file, and they have to provide it. I also have contacts at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department who might be able to get me what I need quicker. I could run an exposé piece for my column, or we could do a podcast on it. Either way, the shit will hit the fan, and you won’t avoid the splatter.”
“Gross,” Rocky grumbled.
Felix shrugged. “I’m a writer. I paint a vivid picture with my words.”
Rocky shook his head, then said, “Your aunt Ellen will get caught up in the crossfire too.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m not too worried about myself, but I don’t want to drag anyone else down with me,” Jonah said. “What if the dates were entered into the system incorrectly? What if Cahill had been granted bail and committed another murder while waiting to go to trial? I don’t want to jeopardize your careers or my aunt’s without more facts.”
Rocky winked. “Trouble is my middle name. I can take care of myself.”
“Minerva will have my back,” Felix said, his fondness for his editor showing in his voice. “Let’s get a copy of Cahill’s file,” Felix said. “Once we confirm dates, we’ll talk about which route to take next. You could turn this over to Ellen, or we could pursue the investigation ourselves.”
“Fair enough,” Jonah said. “What do you think, Rocky?”
“I’m in. Trexler can come for me all he wants,” Rocky said.
“I’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” Felix told them. “In the meantime, let’s plan to produce our next podcast episode about Tess Hamilton. Maybe we end up bumping Tess for Earl, but let’s be prepared either way.”
“I agree,” Jonah said.
Rocky nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Can we just make sure our podcast doesn’t become the how-toguide for a new generation of spouse killers?”
Felix and Jonah laughed.
“Let’s avoid lawsuits if at all possible,” Felix said. “Rocky, you dig up everything you can about Tess Hamilton. Let’s form a concise picture of Tess for our listeners. I want to know her education, her hobbies, and what her childhood was like. Let’s assume her family are innocent victims in all this.”
“Will do,” Rocky said as he scribbled notes.
Felix looked at Jonah. “I want you to approach this as a profiler. Talk about the psychological aspects of how Tess was able to fool law enforcement.”
Jonah nodded. “Sounds great.”
Pointing his pen at his chest, Felix said, “I’ll start requesting official documents like autopsy reports from medical examiners and death certificates. I’ll also place a call to Jennifer Blossom, who was the insurance adjuster who connected all the dots.”
Rocky rubbed his hands together. “I think this has the potential to be a fascinating episode.”
“I agree,” Jonah said. “We’ll need to add a bunch of visuals to our official website so people can compare and contrast Tess’s wholesomeness to her evil deeds.”
“Excellent,” Felix said, continuing to write in his notebook. “I think that’s a wrap on this planning session.” Felix dropped his pen, then glanced up at Jonah. “So, you were telling us about the hours and hours you spent locked in a room with Avery.”
Jonah shook his head. “No, I wasn’t.”
Rocky waggled his brows playfully at Jonah. “Be honest. On a scale of one to ten, with one being only a little and ten being the guy has you by the balls, how fucked are you?”
Jonah heaved a deep sigh and said, “One hundred.”
On Friday, Jonah kept his head down at work to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. Trexler was moderately impressed with the program he and Avery designed, as well as the initial trial runs. The microchip would need to undergo strenuous testing before the agency would deploy it in real time, so that’s where Jonah focused his energy.
Avery stood up and stretched his arms up over his head before bending his upper body to the left and right, stretching his back and abdomen. His untucked dress shirt had risen in the process, giving Jonah a peek at pale flesh that would contrast so nicely against his darker, olive-toned skin. Was that a cinnamon-colored freckle above the waistband of Avery’s pants? Where else did he have freckles? Jonah wanted to lick a path between each one. A grown-up version of connect the dots.
“You need to get up and stretch to get the blood flowing.”
Jonah’s blood was pumping fine and heading straight to his dick. Standing up would not be in his best interest. “I’m good,” he told Avery.
“We’ve been at this for hours, and your brain has been as busy as my fingers,” Avery said, interrupting Jonah’s thoughts before they could get too out of control.