Nevertheless, I decided to brush it off for now and accompanied Fiona into the break room. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was nearly twice as big as the previous one had been, with a long bay window across the entirety of one wall.
“Wow,” Fiona sighed wistfully. “It’s so nice in here. And we got new couches, too.”
She was right. Gone were the old leather couches, and in their place was a set of spongy cloth couches in a deep blue color.
“Nelson got those,” Junior called from where he was organizing something in a cupboard a few feet away. “He said the old ones were ugly, and we wanted something new since we were making a fresh start.”
The kitchen area looked more or less the same, except we now had more counter space, so we wouldn’t need to use a spare table for our coffee machine. I froze for a moment as I remembered the last time I had seen that table, covered in blood, as Miranda’s life quickly slipped away. I shook the thought away. It wouldn’t help in any way to recall bad memories.
“He wasn’t wrong,” I remarked. “Those were ugly couches.”
“Oh, look what I got you, Fiona,” Junior suddenly said as he reached for something inside the cabinet. He pulled out what looked like a glass container with an odd-looking contraption on the top. “It’s a puzzle jar. It’ll stay locked until you can figure out and input the correct solution to the puzzle displayed on the screen. That way, certain people won’t be able to steal your snacks anymore.” He shot a look at me as he said this, and I rolled my eyes.
“I am offended, truly,” I remarked sarcastically. “That you would even think I’d do a thing like stealing. Or that you apparently think I’m not smart enough to figure out a simple puzzle.”
“Well then, it shouldn’t be a problem, then,” Fiona smiled teasingly. “Thanks, Junior. I love it.” She smiled and placed a hand on his forearm.
For the second time that day, I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Why was everyone acting so strangely today? Had this happened overnight, or had I just missed the signs up until now? To be honest, I loved gossip, and I was itching to pry, but that would have to wait until later.
I was just leaving the break room when I ran into Wallace.
“Agent Patel, there you are,” he called, and for a moment, I worried I was about to get scolded for my tardiness. “Good. Could you please join me in my office? Agent Hills and Agent Chapman, you too.” I blinked in surprise. This clearly wasn’t about me being late if he was calling Charlie and Junior into the office as well. I followed him into the office, and we were joined by Charlie and Junior a moment later.
“We have a potential new case,” Wallace began as soon as Charlie and I were both seated in front of him. “Yesterday, an eight-year-old girl called nine-one-one after killing a married couple in a town about an hour north of here. The police officers who responded were unable to communicate well with her because she could only speak some English and didn’t seem to understand a lot of what they were asking her. After a while, they were able to determine that she could speak Jamaican Patois, a language common around the Caribbean Islands. Once they had a police translator come in, they discovered that the little girl had been brought to the United States from Jamaica and that she had been held captive by the couple for at least six months.”
“Oh, my word,” I gasped, horrified by what I was hearing.
Wallace only nodded gravely.
“That’s not all,” he continued. “The girl mentioned that there were other children with her on the airplane, so it’s likely that there are more out there we need to find. I’d like Agent Hills and Agent Chapman to take the case on since Agent Patel and Agent Castillo just finished an international mission. Agent Patel, I know you just got back from Italy last night, but I’d like you to accompany them for the time being. If I recall correctly, you indicated on your resume that you were fluent in that dialect.”
“Yes, that’s right,” I nodded. Most of my childhood was split between India and the Caribbean, where a lot of my family lived. As a result, I was fluent in a lot of the dialects of the region.
“Good,” Wallace nodded. “Since she’s more comfortable with that language, I’d like to make sure someone is there who can communicate to her as effectively as possible so we can get as much information as we can. ”
“Of course, sir,” I responded. “Though, I have to say that is a strange situation. Most people who speak Patois can speak English as well. It’s taught in most Caribbean nations.”
“You’re right,” he nodded. “All the more reason for us to get to the bottom of this. The police are waiting for you now. Here’s the address. Since there’s a child involved, I don’t have to remind you how important it is that we take special care in this case. That’s all.”
We filed out of his office after that. I couldn’t speak for Charlie or Junior, but by the looks on their faces, I could guess that they were just as unsettled as I was. All crimes were bad, of course, but it was always worse when children were involved. We headed out the main doors of the office and down the elevator before heading out into the parking lot. We’d parked the company cars in a shady corner at the edge of the lot. Since there were three of us, we decided to take the van. I’d never ridden in it since it had only ever been me and Miranda, and a couple of times me and Junior.
After what felt like an incredibly long drive, we finally made it to our
