Tax Assassin by Claudia Hall Christian Page B

the
coordinates of where they were sitting,” Ava said. “Which he could
get from any of these devices?”
    “ He’d have to get awfully
close,” Seth said. “He probably knew the layout of the room which
would have narrowed his target.”
    “ We’ll pass this along,”
Fran said. “CSI can test it out tomorrow morning.”
    “ Just sent an email,”
Nelson said.
    “ Good,” Bob
said.
    “ Jasper? Kowalski?” Seth
looked at Bob and Leslie. “You have anything?”
    “ Immediate tox came back
negative,” Leslie said. “But I sent it on for further
testing.”
    “ Franny noticed a kind of
lisp . . .” Bob started.
    “ Slurring,” Fran said.
“Jasper slurs his words like he’s drunk.”
    “ No alcohol or usual
suspects in his blood,” Leslie said.
    “ Where were they?” Ava
asked.
    “ Hotel,” Bob said. “They
had an adjoining room to where . . .
uh . . . to their witness. They were filling out
paperwork. TV was on like they were watching the game. But CSI
wanted us to check if they were drugged.”
    “ And?”
    “ We agree,” Nelson turned
his laptop around to show a digital crime scene recreation. “But we
think Kowalski was out when he was shot.”
    “ You mean someone knocked
them out, came in the room, took Jasper’s weapon and shot Kowalski,
and then repeated with Jasper?” Ava asked. “Where was CSI? They
should have been in the other room all day.”
    “ Break,” Fran said. “They
were on a break or so they say.”
    “ We think it might be gas,”
Nelson said. “Put enough in both rooms; CSI gets tired and heads
out for caffeine. Knocks these guys out. Bang, bang; grab the gas
canisters from the ventilation system; and slip out before anyone
notices.”
    “ CSI was standing outside
holding Dazbog lattes when the paramedics arrived,” Bob said. “They
had no idea what was going on.”
    “ Did they test them?” Seth
asked.
    “ Blood and urine for every
CSI member,” Leslie said. “Clear again. I sent them off to the FBI
with the other samples.”
    “ Which brings us to why
we’re here,” Bob said.
    Fran, Leslie and Nelson looked up at Ava.
Bob cleared his throat.
    “ What you’re up against . .
.” Bob shook his head.
    “ They’re way ahead of us,”
Seth said.
    “ We want Ava to be safe,”
Nelson said. “We’ve interviewed like . . .”
    “ Forty-two,” Fran
said.
    “ Replacements for our Ava,”
Leslie said. “Some of them are all right, but most of them . .
.”
    “ We want you to come back,”
Bob said.
    “ Can’t,” Ava said. “They
took my badge and gun. I’m out.”
    “ The labs are all civilian
now,” Nelson said. “New chief. You would have had to choose between
being a cop or staying with us.”
    “ What do you mean?” Ava
asked. “Why?”
    “ Because the labs are all
civilian-run now,” Bob said.
    “ And it occurred to us that
you’re a civilian now,” Fran said.
    “ So, will you come back?”
Leslie asked.
    “ What about Bob?” Ava
asked. “I’m sure he’s doing a great job as your head.”
    “ I retired, Ava,” Bob said.
“I don’t want to deal with the paperwork and politics of running
this lab. Plus, the new chief wants us to build teams of people to
do backup work for everyone who needs it. Good for him, but my
heart’s just not there. I want to work on the house, explore blood
splatters, and hang out with the grandkids. I’m happy to share what
I know, but I don’t want to train people. It’s a young person’s
game.”
    “ So, will you take the
job?” Nelson asked.
    “ I’ll . . .” Ava’s eyes
shifted to Seth. He smiled at her. She’d been the head of this crew
when he met her. She’d loved her job, her team, and most of all the
clean, quiet space of her lab. Ava nodded. “Sure. When do I
start?”
    “ Tomorrow?” Leslie
asked.
    “ When this is settled,”
Seth’s voice was firm.
    “ But . . .”
Ava turned to look at him. Noting the concern on his face, she
nodded.
    “ I think Seth’s