CHAPTER 2: SMALL TOWN

M ARIEL POTIDEAN SAT nervously at the table, twirling her fork absentmindedly. She had arrived at the Italian Village an hour earlier and had been sitting in the dark, cozy restaurant anxiously waiting. She was seated in the downstairs section of the restaurant in a booth surrounded by Italian murals and fake green plants. The waitress had kept coming back to refill her water glass and each time the young graduate had surreptiously looked at her watch and made some comment about how her party would be arriving any time now.

This was essentially Mariel's first time in this part of the city on her own and she was afraid she would have trouble finding the place. When she first moved here a few weeks ago, it took her almost all day as it was to figure out the elevated train system that would take her from Evanston where she lived down to the city where she worked. She had only chosen Evanston because an old friend used to live there and she sort of knew that section of town.

Once in the city, she had to take a cab to the restaurant. The young woman was fresh out of her graduate work at Purdue University and had taken her first training job as a young forensic psychologist at the FBI field office in Chicago after several months of intensive intro courses at the headquarters in Quantico. She, of course, was younger than most Ph.D.'s but she had excelled in high school and finished her undergraduate work at Wisconsin a few years ahead of her classmates. And, even though she had grown up in Indiana, she completed her graduate work at Purdue in record time, quickly realizing that there simply wasn't much to do in, or like about, West Lafayette.

"Can I get you some more bread, miss?"

Mariel turned her reddish-blond head in the direction of the waitress and smiled at her.

"Yes, please. Thanks. I'm sure my friends will be here any minute and so it's probably a good idea to have the bread waiting. Yeah."

The slightly built, but well-toned young woman looked back at her watch and sighed. She was nervous on this, her first official case. It was a bit unconventional too. Agent Ephran had called Mariel into her office last week before the young scientist even had a chance to find out where the copier and supply room of their office building was. Their conversation had been a bit unconventional as well.

* * *

"Dr. Potidean, here's your case. Read everything in these files. Search the Web. Familiarize yourself with the material, meet with me tomorrow and be ready to start next week."

Mariel barely had time to blink before she was given a box of files and sent back out the door. If it was trial by fire that Agent Ephran was going for, it certainly felt that way to the young woman. Luckily, she was a voracious reader and note taker, loved the Web, and had an almost unnatural ability to memorize details. She spent all night going over police reports, eyewitness accounts, a myriad of newspaper clippings and some rather interesting pamphlets and magazines. When morning came, the tired researcher had come to the conclusion that this case was going to involve some rather questionable characters in some questionable settings; she wasn't in Kansas anymore.

"So, did you get a chance to look over the files?"

Agent Ephran handed her a cup of coffee the next morning and sat at her desk, propping her feet up. The curly blond haired woman was about 5 years older than Mariel and had made her way through the Academy with flying colors. So adept at leadership was she that Agent Amy Ephran had been promoted to section chief of the sex crimes unit after three years of field service. While she was a skilled investigator, Ephran's strength lay in her ability to manage others and plan strategy.

Taking a sip of her coffee, Mariel made a slight face at the taste and nodded her head. She still wasn't a big fan of the bean and preferred her caffeine in the form of Diet Pepsi, but, alas, it seemed no one could escape Starbucks' plan to take over the known world. Sorting through some of the papers and files in her lap, the young researcher shook her head at some of the things she glanced over.

"Yes, I did...I was up all night looking over this case. Some of the details were a bit..shocking, I must say."

Agent Ephran narrowed her eyes and assessed the young woman's response. She could see that Mariel Potidean, while having received a couple of extra letters at the end of her name, was still just a babe in the woods. Perhaps this wasn't the case for her after all.

"And which parts did you find "shocking", Dr. Potidean. The sex? The drugs? Or the rock and roll?"

Mariel looked up at the semi-mocking tone of voice the section chief was using with her and frowned. She could see that she would have to prove herself all over again, just as she had been doing all her life. Steeling her gaze, the forensic psychologist responded.

"Actually, I find it shocking that Chicago's finest and the F.B.I. itself can't seem to crack this case. If I were leading the investigation, I'd know that in order to find out why all of these young people are disappearing, I'd have to know a little bit more about the way these kids live."

Mariel paused as her own green eyes held the brown of the agent's and then continued.

"It's not surprising that the..older..members of this force aren't able to infiltrate their world. Kids today are smarter than we give them credit for and are less likely to trust a stodgy old F.B.I. agent who knows nothing about them or their lives and doesn't even want to know. Wouldn't you agree, Agent Ephran?"

The section chief's jaw clenched and hardened her gaze on the young scientist. She could see that Mariel obviously possessed the self-confidence and determination that would make her a terrific forensic psychologist; the ability to stand up to a challenge and defend one's beliefs were key to this job. Despite receiving what she thought was a disguised insult, Amy Ephran relaxed and smiled back at the woman across the desk from her.

"Dr. Potidean, indeed, I agree and now I see you know your profession. I just wanted to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. This case isn't pretty and the people involved aren't saints.

Ephran sighed as she sipped her coffee, her eyes meeting the green of Mariel's with quite compassion.

"We've been trying for months now to find an in with this crowd and we've come up empty handed each time."

The agent stood up and moved over to the window, the high rise buildings of the city loomed around them as the sun rose over Lake Michigan, white and blue stretching forever. With her eyes glued to the sparkling water, Ephran spoke in a low voice.

"I'm worried about this case. It seems every weekend this city loses another kid. They're so young too..most only 15 or 16. Boys, girls. And the sad thing is that there are probably even more that we lose and we just don't know about it. Kids who barely exist in the eyes of everyone. Lost from their families, alone."

Mariel quietly came over and stood next to the blond agent, briefly looking at her face before turning to look out over the city herself. She used to think it was so much safer living in the country, living in small town America, but even there, things somehow started turning, just like everywhere.

"I'm afraid we're dealing with some very cruel people, Dr. Potidean, and if we don't get to the bottom of this, those kids will stop existing, period. People won't miss them when they're gone and the life they're living will make them feel like they're dead. No one cares anymore it seems."

The softness and concern of the agent's voice spoke to the young scientist's own natural compassion and Mariel put her hand on Ephran's shoulder and smiled up at her.

"I'm going to do everything I can to not let that happen. And I care. Very much."

Agent Ephran turned and looked into Mariel's soft sea-green eyes and realized that this young woman's strength and compassion ran deep and strong. She smiled back at the newest member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and believed every word she said. Breaking the quiet moment, the section chief turned and went to her desk and picked up a blue folder and handed it to Mariel.

"One last thing, Dr. Potidean.."

The young scientist held up her hand and smiled.

"Please, call me Mariel. "Doctor" seems so stuffy and pretentious."

Agent Ephran smiled back at her and shrugged her shoulders, chuckling slightly. Despite being section chief, there was something personable about Mariel that Ephran responded to in kind.

"So much for formal protocol. And you can call me, Eph. I never go by my first name."

Mariel nodded her head and looked at the folder. It was labeled "T. Amphipoli". Thumbing through the brief contents, the researcher looked up back at Ephran.

"What's this?"

The agent sat back down in her chair and sipped at her coffee, closing her eyes at it's rich taste, a double mocha latte every morning pretty much kept her going all day. Opening her eyes, Agent Ephran raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"That, my friend, is your new partner on this case. You'll meet her next week."

Mariel's eyebrows creased together as she looked at the agent.

"A partner? Is she Bureau?"

Amy Ephran laughed and nearly spilled her latte down her shirt and blazer.

"Oh, God, that's funny. Tina Amphipoli..FBI!"

Mariel smiled politely while still looking clueless as the agent's laughs subsided.

"I'm sorry, Mariel. It's just that..well..as much as the FBI is governed by rules and regulations, Tina Amphipoli has her own set of rules she lives by." Ephran chuckled and continued, "No, Ms. Amphipoli used to be a Chicago cop and then..well..let's just say she didn't get along with those in command. Now, she's the best there is. Period."

Dr. Potidean looked back at the file in her hand and then to Agent Ephran.

"The best at what?"

Ephran brought both hands to the cup of coffee and held it at her lips as she gave a slight nod to Mariel.

"Everything."

* * *

"Would you like a glass of wine, Miss?"

The waitress looked imploringly at Mariel, her voice bringing the researcher out of her revery. Blinking up, the young woman looked at the waitress and then down at the menu.

"Uh..yeah...I'll have.."

"She'll have a glass of merlot... And I'll have Guiness.."

A deep, rich voice spoke behind the waitress as both she and Mariel looked to see a tall, dark woman come from behind the waitress and slide into the booth across from Mariel. Her movements were catlike and smooth and her gaze was steady, almost smoky. Everything about her spoke of animal grace and a strength just below the surface. She took in the young scientist in one glance and then looked up at the stunned waitress, raising an eyebrow at her. Nodding, the waitress awkwardly moved off to fill the order. Then deep blue eyes fell on green and Mariel was speechless.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 462