Part 24 (1/2)
”I'd like you to take a look at some crime scene video.”
There was a little spurt of relief. Usually I could do that sort of thing from a distance. Distance was good right now. ”Be glad to. You want to email it to me, or give me an address and pa.s.sword for a site?”
”Got pen and paper?” he asked. Which meant it was going to be a pa.s.sword and one use of his site.
”Not on me. Hang on a minute.” I pantomimed writing in the air, and Nicky handed me his iPhone with the screen set to notebook. I kept forgetting it did that. I used my shoulder to hold my phone and had my fingers poised to hit the itty-bitty keyboard. ”Ready when you are.”
He gave me a web address and a pa.s.sword. ”This will let you view it for today. We'll change the pa.s.sword later today. Just standard protocol.”
”It's okay, Finnegan. I wouldn't want someone I didn't know personally having full access to my stuff, either.”
”Yeah, but I'm asking for your help, not the other way around.”
He had a point. ”Fine, I'll stop trying to play well with others.”
”Rumor has it that all you preternatural branch marshals aren't team players.”
”Being the Lone Ranger doesn't teach you good group skills,” I said.
”He was a Texas Ranger actually, not a U.S. Marshal,” he said.
”I know, just trying to make my point that being on our own didn't teach us to play well with others.”
”Point taken,” he said.
”When do you need me to get back to you?” I asked.
”ASAP,” he said.
”Look, Finnegan, everyone says that. I need some kind of time frame.”
”Watch the video, then you decide how quick you need to get back to me. I think you'll be calling ASAP.”
”That bad?” I asked.
”Yeah, actually.”
”I'll watch it and get back to you as soon as I can,” I said.
”Ben Carter says good things about you.”
”I only looked at some surveillance tapes for Marshal Carter.”
”Yeah, but he says that you saw things on it that none of their people caught.”
”Actually, I saw what everyone else saw; I just understood what it meant.”
”None of the rest of us knew enough about vampires to catch it.”
”But I'd suck on a forgery case. We all have our expertise.”
”You know, Blake, I think you play just fine with others.”
”Thanks, Finnegan, but you haven't told me what I'm supposed to be looking for.”
”We're looking for reasons, Blake.”
”Reasons? Reasons for what?” I asked.
”When you see the video you'll understand. We just want to know what the f.u.c.k happened, excuse my language.”
”It's okay, Finnegan, I cuss like a sailor.”
”I heard that about you, but my mother raised me that you don't curse in front of a lady.”
I was both flattered that he'd called me a lady, and wondering if it would make him treat me as less of a marshal because of it. You had problems if they thought women were ladies, or wh.o.r.es; it was just different problems. ”I appreciate that, but just wanted you to know it's not necessary.”
”I think it is, but I'll try not to apologize to you again.”
”Hey, I'm okay either way.” Then I had a thought, and something about the weirdness of the day made me say it out loud. ”You know, it's never occurred to me that my cussing could offend other women. Elderly women, yes, but, huh, I never thought about it.”
He laughed. ”I don't know if women are offended when other women cuss.”
”Me, either, but it's worth a thought.”
”That it is, Blake, that it is.”
”I'll look at the video and get back to you.”
”We'll be looking forward to any insights you can give us.”
”Finnegan, I just realized, I didn't ask where you were? I mean, what city did this crime happen in?”
”Sorry, Blake, I thought I said. Atlanta. Atlanta, Georgia.”
”Okay, I'll get to a computer and look at it.”
”I'm on a landline, but here's my cell. You'll get me any time.”
I wrote the number down on Nicky's iPhone. ”Got it.”
”I hope you come up with something.”
”Me, too.”
We hung up. I held the phone out to Nicky. ”Make those notes appear on my phone and delete them from your phone.”
He took it and began to do what I'd asked. Jean-Claude touched my arm, turned me to him and Damian. ”Are you truly going to take the time to look at this video, ma pet.i.te ma pet.i.te?”
”I am.”