Chapter 19 - The Proposal
Detective Harris studied my face for a long, silent moment. I didn't flinch, nor did I break eye contact. The coastal breeze ruffled the edges of the newspaper on the table between us.
Finally, a slow, knowing smile spread across Harris's face. He leaned back in his chair and nodded slowly.
"You are absolutely right, Maya," he said softly. "Sometimes the poison just runs its course. Officially, the bureau has ruled his condition a result of self-administered chemical exposure during a panic-induced breakdown. The case is permanently sealed."
I allowed myself a small, genuine smile of relief. "I am glad to hear that. Richard Vance belongs exactly where he is."
Harris reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek, black business card. He slid it across the table toward me. There was no logo on the card, just a secure phone number embossed in silver lettering.
"The reason I came to find you isn't to rehash the past," Harris explained, his tone shifting to something far more professional and serious. "It is about the future."
I picked up the card, turning it over in my fingers. "I am retired from the corporate world, Detective. I run a small antique bookstore down the street now. It is quiet, and nobody tries to assassinate me. I highly recommend it."
"You are a brilliant strategist, Maya," Harris countered. "You infiltrated a billion-dollar empire, outsmarted a highly trained sociopath, acquired encrypted corporate espionage data, and managed to hand us the biggest pharmaceutical bust in history on a silver platter without leaving a single fingerprint of your own."
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for his pitch.
"The bureau has a specialized, off-the-books task force," Harris continued, leaning closer. "We deal with white-collar criminals who consider themselves untouchable. Corporate warlords, corrupt politicians, people who hide behind armies of lawyers and billions of dollars. We need operatives who know how to operate on the inside. People who can think like a monster without actually becoming one."
I stared at the black card in my hand. The quiet life of running a bookstore by the ocean was exactly what I had fought for. It was safe. It was peaceful.
But as I looked out at the crashing waves, I realized the fire that Richard and his family had ignited inside me hadn't fully burned out. There were other predators out there, hiding in glass towers, ruining innocent lives.
May you like
"I don't carry a badge," I said evenly. "And I don't follow standard protocol."
"We don't want you to," Harris smiled, standing up from the table. "Think about it, Maya. You have a very unique set of skills. It would be a shame to waste them on dusting old novels."
