Page 103 of The Newcomer
“Sorry for the intrusion, but we really need to get these photos sent off to Wingfield,” Joe said. He gestured at the box. “Want some?”
“No thanks. I’m just going to have some hot tea and toast.”
“How quaint,” Vikki said. “Like something from an Agatha Christie novel.”
Letty shrugged. “My grandmother used to fix me tea and cinnamon toast when I was upset or anxious. It calms me down.”
“I find Xanax calms me down,” Vikki said. “But I had to quit.”
Letty brought her mug of tea over to the table and stood, looking down at the screen of Vikki’s phone.
One glance at the gruesome images was enough. She sat at the opposite end of the table and nibbled at a slice of toast.
“This one,” Vikki said, passing the phone to Joe. “Good work. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d swear she was dead in this one. And I’ve seen a lot of murder scenes in my time.”
“Really? I thought the feds only investigated nice, tidy white-collar crimes.”
“Wrong. We get called in on homicides, especially organized crime. Remember, I work in New York,” Agent Hill said.
She scrolled through the photos again, bookmarking two more. “I like these two. The wide-angle shot, where you can see the tip of the boat, and her with the chains and anchor, and then that first close-up of her head, with the blood, and then the shark shot.”
“Your call,” Joe said. “I’m just the muscle.”
Vikki Hill typed the text message into the phone.
Mission accomplished.
Next, she texted the three photos.
Consider this your invoice.
Joe helped himself to a gooey slice of pizza, then sprinkled red pepper flakes on it. “Now what?”
“Now we wait,” the agent said.
He looked over at Letty. “Are you okay? You look pretty pale.”
She managed a wan smile. “I thought that was the idea. I’m supposed to be a corpse, right?”
“That part of the charade is over,” he said.
“You did great,” Vikki said. “A real trouper.”
“I might never eat seafood again,” Letty said. “I must have used half the bottle of shampoo, trying to get that smell out of my hair.”
“Sorry…” Joe started to say.
Vikki’s phone pinged. She grabbed it up and read the text message out loud.
Where’s Maya? Is she okay?”
Vikki typed a quick reply.
She’s fine.
Wingfield texted back immediately.
Proof?
