Church of the Epistles
A Story of Guilt and Redemption
by Gareth Young
Nic sighed and tossed the phone onto the table, where it clattered and rolled to a rest against the TV remote. He took a sip of beer and, with a mischievous grin, picked it up again to make one last call. The phone was answered at the first ring.
“Forensic lab. This is Stephanie.”
“Hi Steph. What are you doing there at this time of night?”
“Nic?”
“Hi, babe.”
“I love my job, man. You should find something you enjoy doing.”
“Oh, I already have. Problem is they don’t pay me for it, and it’s illegal to do it at the office.”
“You’re too old for all that wild-living crap, Nic. Besides, you know it just makes you miserable. You need to break down and have a real, honest-to-goodness, mid-life crisis.”
“I would, but I need someone like you so I can have a good time while I do it, Steph.”
“Oh, you’re so full of shit, Nic. And besides, you probably have some hot chick on her way there right now. What are you calling me for?”
“I need a favor, babe. No paperwork just yet, this is a quickie.”
“That’s what they all say, honey.”
“Yeah? Well, I’ve got some fingerprints coming in from the sticks. I need you to check them against the current caseload. Just do the southern Appalachians. I don’t think these guys know their way out of the county, let alone the state.”
“Sure; what’s the deal?”
Nic heard a car pull into the driveway and its engine cut out. He needed to hurry up and finish the call.
“I’m not sure. It started as a favor for an old friend, but something doesn’t feel right with this one. My instincts… ”
He was interrupted by a laugh. “Your instincts couldn’t get you into a whore’s underwear.”
“They worked well enough with you. Will you do it?”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Please?” Nic regretted his comment, wondered if he’d overstepped the line.
“They’re coming in tonight, you say?”
Nic smiled. He could get into Steph’s underwear again tomorrow. He would have to catch up with her next time he was in Washington and see if they could recapture some of the old magic. “I’m going to email them to you within the hour, with love.”
“If you wonderful agents didn’t keep giving me late night work I might just have to leave this place and find something else to do. But since I love my work so much, and the only guys I meet are sleazeballs, I’ll look at them tonight for you.”
“Thanks, babe. Hey listen, do me a favor and don’t ask where the prints came from, alright? This is all off the record.”
“What’s going on, mystery man?”
There was a ring at the door. “I’ll tell you later, babe. I owe you one… another one.”
“Is that your latest conquest I hear?”
Nic laughed. “It’s the pizza guy. Talk to you.”
He skipped to the front door, dropping the phone off on the way. The thrill of a developing case was the best aphrodisiac he knew, and when he opened the door for the well-endowed twenty-something waiting outside, he didn’t intend to spend long on foreplay.