Breath of Malice Read Online Free PDF Page B

went over the finer points. Sam was preparing for a case that was going to trial, which explained the mountains of paper she’d seen on his desk at their first meeting.
    But the bulk of her time was spent out of the office, as Sam had mentioned. Among other cases, he was overseeing an investigation into drug trafficking in Kirk County. He was coordinating with other state agencies, and he’d taken her with him to a series of meetings. She and Sam were driving back to the office now from a meeting at the central office in Columbia.
    On the interstate, traffic whooshed by. From Sam’s truck, Paige could see the cars below in a blur. Sam took an exit in Kirk County, and shortly after, the contrast between big city and rural county struck her. They drove past miles of open land before coming across another vehicle. It was longer still until they reached a populated area.
    As with everywhere, there were the affluent, the middle class, and the poor. Paige had glimpsed pockets of all three as they’d left Kirk and now again, as they returned.
    At this moment, they were passing a creek. Two elderly men sat beneath the shade of a live oak, dangling fishing poles in the murky water. Taking in the scene, it was hard for Paige to envision crime of any kind in this idyllic setting.
    “The traffickers have been crossing state lines, and so far we haven’t been able to stop them. We’ll make sure they don’t get away this time,” Sam said.
    Paige wondered if Sam could have been thinking the same thing she was. She could all but feel his anger and frustration that the drug problem in the county, and in the country as a whole, was growing despite efforts to combat it.
    “I was just thinking how this looks like the last place there should be any crime.” Paige shook her head. “A naïve statement, I realize.”
    Sam’s lips thinned. “Drugs aren’t just a big-city crime.”
    No, drug trafficking had made its way into small-town America as well. Sam’s anger about that, and his determination to apprehend these traffickers, was genuine. From observing him in meetings and judging by his interactions with state and county officials and politicians, Paige believed if anyone could stop drug trafficking in their area, it would be Sam. In just five days, she’d seen for herself that he was a natural leader and had a self-assuredness Paige respected. She would have liked to know more about her boss, but she didn’t want to invite questions about herself, and she held back her interest.
    On Main Street, Sam slowed to the speed limit. “Looks like people are knocking off early for the weekend.”
    Paige turned her head in the direction he indicated. It was late afternoon. A man placed a bicycle in a rack in front of a diner, then made his way inside. A couple of people had taken refuge from the sun beneath the awning of that same diner and stood speaking on cell phones. Farther down the same road, women pushed children in strollers, some stopping to browse the racks and bins on the sidewalk in front of several shops. Main Street vendors were having a sidewalk sale.
    “Looks like it,” Paige said.
    Sam left Main behind and drove to the Bureau office, pulling into the parking lot a short time later.
    “Nunez and Wingate are back,” Sam said. “That pickup and sedan belong to them.”
    Paige had heard that there were two more agents in the office, but this was the first time all week they would all be in the same place at the same time.
    Sam parked, then waited for her to lead the way. A soft breeze kicked up, and the pink, purple, and red flowers that grew along the walkway of the Bureau building swayed.
    Inside, Mrs. Hendershot looked up from her desk and said to Sam, “I placed your messages on your desk, sir, and Agents Nunez and Wingate are in the break room.”
    “Thank you, Marian,” Sam said. He looked to Paige. “I’ll introduce you.”
    Paige followed him. Mrs. Hendershot made sure there was always fresh coffee brewing.