“Leave Thorsson out of it. You don’t need Thorsson.” He planted himself at his old desk. Sitting in front of him was a dusty computer screen that hadn’t seen any action for months. “What do you want me to do?”

She thought hard before answering. When she’d first arrived at the St. Paul office, Agent Creed was gone on a scuba-diving trip. He’d come back from the Cayman Islands in a body bag. Even though they’d never partnered together while he was alive, could they work together now without killing each other? Garcia said Creed loved St. Paul and had been happily doing his work in the cellar for years. Before she could give him something to do, she had to ask a delicate question. “What can you do?”

“I beg your pardon.”

She got up and walked over to him. “Not to be insulting, but considering your current state …”

“My current state?” He reached over and punched on his monitor.

“You can use a computer?”

“I am not a caveman, missy.”

She stood at his elbow and watched him log on. “Your password still works.”

“I’ve been online since my untimely and utterly tragic demise.”

“What do you do? Play solitaire?” “Is that what you do with government equipment, Agent Saint Clare?”

“No. I look for deals on eBay.”

He looked over his shoulder at her. “I sincerely hope you’re pulling my leg.”

She put her hand on the back of his chair. “I’d like to keep going on with my cockamamie housekeeping. While I’m doing that, how about you do some poking around online?”

“What am I looking for?”

“Fetish Web sites. Fetish clubs, especially local ones.”

“Disgusting,” he said. “I’m going to need a bath myself when I’m finished.”

She went back to her own desk and sat down. “Dirty work, but somebody’s got to do it, and I’d rather that somebody be you instead of me.”

WHEN THEIR ASAC landed in the cellar with the files, Bernadette’s partner vanished from his chair. Garcia deposited the armload of paperwork on Creed’s desk and dropped down into the dead agent’s seat. Bernadette stared at her boss.

“What?” asked Garcia, glaring back.

“Nothing,” said Bernadette.

“Bullshit,” he said. “You’re looking at me like I have a juicy zit on the middle of my forehead.”

“I am not,” she said.

Garcia realized where he was sitting and jumped out of the chair. “Was he just here?”

“Who? What are you talking about?”

He walked over to her desk. “Has Ruben been around lately?”

She wasn’t sure which Garcia would find more distasteful: that she’d tapped a dead dude for assistance, or that the research she was asking Creed to conduct involved porn. Both were rather unsavory, so she decided it was best to keep mum about the whole thing. “Agent Creed’s been keeping a low profile,” she said.

Garcia shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “Have you ever thought about, uh … getting rid of him permanently? I mean, having him hanging around here must creep you out.”

She thought Garcia was the one who was spooked. “How would you suggest I send him into the light? An exorcism?”

“I don’t think the bureau would appreciate a religious ceremony of that nature being conducted in a federal building.” He glanced around the room. “Besides, I suppose we still need the strange bastard. There’re some cases he left hanging. Have you ever asked him about those, by the way?”

She decided to bait her boss. “He said he won’t help with dick until you pay him for the vacation time he still has on the books.”

“He’s dead. Why does he need vacation pay? Tell him to file a complaint with the ghost grievance committee.”

“Maybe we should get back to matters of the recently deceased,” she said. “Have you got the scarf?”

“I couldn’t put my hands on it this morning. How about I drop it off at your place tonight?”

She wondered if he was fishing for a dinner invitation, even though the previous night had ended on a tense note. “I’ve got a couple of steaks in the fridge. We could cook them up and go over the files together.”

He studied the stack he’d dumped on Creed’s desk. “You might need an extra set of eyes to get through that mountain.” His attention shifted to her face. “On the other hand, maybe you and I need to avoid after-hours—”

“A working dinner,” she said quickly. “Strictly a working dinner.”

He paused, then said slowly, “I’ll get back to you on that. Depends on how the day goes for me.”

“Let me know,” she said, and got up to transfer the files over to her desk.

Garcia headed for the door. “I’ll call you.”

She gathered the folders in her arms. “The scarf?”

“Whatever else happens, I’ll get the scarf to you,” he said, and walked out of the office.

She set the files down on her desk and lowered herself back into her chair. “Whatever else happens,” she grumbled.

“Strange bastard? Ghost grievance committee? Exorcism? Is that how you two talk about me when I’m not around, missy?” asked Creed, who’d reappeared at his computer.

“We didn’t mean anything by it.”

“What’s this about a steak at your place tonight?”

“You heard what I told Tony. A working dinner.”

“So now it’s Tony.” He peered at her over the top of his computer screen. “Be careful, Agent Saint Clare. Fraternization between supervisors and those under them is most definitely—”

She held up her hand to stop him. “I don’t need a lecture, Ruben.”

“And that nonsense about my wanting vacation pay! I never said that.”

She plucked the top file off the pile and set it down in front of her. “I was having a little fun with Tony … Garcia.”

“Make sure that’s the only fun you have with him.”

She flipped open the file. “Are you my partner or my dad?”

In place of an answer, he started typing furiously.

“Don’t break the computer,” she said without looking up from her reading. “That’s government equipment, you know.”

“Hilarious,” he snarled from behind his screen, and continued banging on the keyboard.

The cellar was starting to feel crowded. She stood up and pulled on her coat. Started stacking the files. “You know what, Ruben—Agent Creed—I’m going to take this stuff home with me. If Garcia comes by my place—”

“I’m betting he won’t.”

“When Garcia comes by place, we can go over these together.”

“Don’t hold your breath, missy.”

Behind his back, she flipped him the bird and took off for the day.

HE WAS RIGHT. Garcia didn’t show. She fell asleep with the files.

Chapter 6

JUGGLING HER PURSE, An armload of books, A can of diet pop, and the mangled remains of a Slim-Fast bar, the reed-thin woman hustled up two flights of stairs and down a narrow hallway with high ceilings. Just before she entered the classroom, she polished off her drink, spotted a trash can, and tossed the empty into the receptacle. The clatter made her wince. The classroom door was wide open, propped by an ancient copy of The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language. The old building was stuffy, and the prof kept the door open to prevent everyone from suffocating.

She slipped inside, zeroed in on an empty desk in the last row, and dropped into it. She ran a hand through her short spiky hair, dyed to match the color of black licorice, and checked her watch. As soon as she was done with this class, she had to bolt for another appointment.

While she shrugged off her vest, she watched the professor scribbling on the board. In an attempt to blend in with their students, some instructors wore jeans and T-shirts or the occasional flannel shirt with the requisite frayed collar and cuffs. Some had beards or other facial hair, and a few of the arty ones had long hair. This guy looked the way college professors were portrayed in movies: Dress slacks. Dress shirt. Necktie. Blazer. Loafers or wing tips. His belt always matched his shoes, a miracle for a single man who wasn’t gay. Clean-shaven face. Short blond hair with a bit of curl on top and a smudge of gray on the sideburns.