Page 56 of Off the Hook

Redirecting to look for a solution, I asked, “Okay, who do we need to call for clearance?”

Oscar slammed the car in park and swung the door open. “I’m not sure. I’ve got a call into the Feds in Miami. It might take some time, if they’ll even talk to us. I’m just keeping you in the loop, because that’s what partners do.”

He just had to get that last dig in. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

After we sat at a weathered picnic table in the shade, I perused the menu. It was pointless to look because I got the daily special every time, no matter what it was. It was always excellent and reminded me of my mother’s cooking.

“A hit in the system means there is a match, right?” That sounded like good news to me, since it might get Oscar to drop Coulter as a suspect.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t know what any of it means. But it sure seems like there’s a major cover up here. And we’re left in the dark,” Oscar said bitterly.

I didn’t want to let him pull me down any conspiracy theory rabbit holes. Oscar seemed like the kind of guy who spent way too much time on Reddit filling his head with outlandish explanations of ordinary things. “Let’s focus on what we do know. There must have been a match, or you wouldn’t have gotten any results at all.”

“Fat lot of good that does us if they’re hiding the results,” Oscar said far louder than he should have, then finished with an even louder, “This is bullshit!”

The waitress startled behind him, giving me a concerned look. “Are you ready to order?”

I nodded, my face flushing with embarrassment. “What’s the special today?”

“Cochonwithmoros y cristianos.”

I chuckled at the Spanglish I’d grown up with. “I’ll have that,por favor.” Oscar ordered a mundane Cuban sandwich and fries and waited until she was well out of earshot.

“I’m telling you, there’s something fishy going on here.”

“Well, I think this is good news. It means thatsomeoneknows whose DNA was under Kylie’s fingernails.” That DNA belonged to the killer. I knew it in my bones. But somebody way above my pay grade was trying to keep it a secret.

“There’s no news at all,” Oscar countered, “except that someone is obstructing our investigation.”

I tried to imagine what dark alley his paranoid mind was wandering down. “You can’t possibly think the Sheriff is involved with this?”

“I can’t rule anything out until we know what the hell is going on.”

“But if there’s DNA evidence that would clear Coulter, Waylan would be the last person that would want to cover it up.”

“Unless it belongs to someone else he wants to protect.”

“Oscar,” I said with a measured tone to avoid sounding confrontational, because that’s what partnersshoulddo. “No one from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department could alter results in the federal CODIS system.”Give me a fucking break.

“We don’t know what kind of contacts he has. Or what he’s involved in. Don’t be too trusting, Faith,” he said, assuming his default condescending tone, “Or you’ll sound naive.”

It was tempting to tell him not to be too distrusting or he'd sound paranoid. Instead, I said, “I’m just trying to be objective.”

We ate our lunch in virtual silence. Oscar looked miserable while he shoved his sandwich down his throat. I savored the daily special that was seasoned with the hope that we were one step closer to finding Kylie’s killer and clearing Coulter’s name.

In the car heading back to station, Oscar grumbled, “We have to keep this under wraps for now. Not a word of it to anyone.”

“That makes sense.” I didn’t buy into the conspiracy theory but there was no point in sharing the inconclusive results until we had more information.

We were almost back to the station when Oscar’s phone rang. He glared at it before he answered through the car speakers, “Detective Ramirez.”

“Good afternoon, Detective. This is Agent James Flannigan with the FBI. I got your message.”

Oscar’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh. Thanks for calling me back so soon. I have you on speaker with my partner Detective Pierce. What can you tell us about the locked profile in CODIS?”

“Not much I’m afraid. The match you hit is part of an ongoing federal investigation so I can’t share any details.”

“The perp is implicated in a murder investigation here. We need answers,” Oscar said, sounding more annoyed than I thought he should have.

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