“What the heck’s going on?” Hank demanded from Coil a little while later.
Agatha paced inside the small office. She thought she’d been angry earlier with Dot, but now she was boiling.
“Y’all need to simmer down,” Coil said, and made a time-out sign with his hands.
“Simmer my butt,” Agatha shouted. “That’s our scene and this is our town. The FBI has no right to sweep in and take over.”
“Well,” Coil said. “Actually, they do. And they have. There’s nothing much we can do about it.”
“That witch Dot Williams called them,” Agatha said. “That woman is a menace. You should lock her up.”
“As soon as she breaks the law, I’m happy to,” Coil said.
“Then I’m going over to Glamour Shots to give her a piece of my mind,” Agatha said.
“Then I’d have to lock you up,” Coil warned.
“Oh really?” she said, tears clouding her eyes. “You’re going to arrest me?”
“Agatha,” Hank said. “Baby, what’s going on? You really need to calm down. This isn’t like you at all.”
“And what’s wrong with the way I am?” she yelled. She couldn’t seem to control herself. She was just so…angry. Tears streamed down her face.
“There’s nothing wrong with the way you are. But it’s not even noon and you’ve tried to start a fight, tangle with an FBI agent, and now you’re daring Coil to throw you in jail.”
“At least I’m doing something,” she said. “You let Jakes send you off of the scene like a puppy with his tail between his legs.”
“Wow,” Hank said, brows raising almost to his hairline.
“That’s uncalled for,” Coil said, trying to restore the peace.
“I think it’s time I head home,” Hank said, heading for the door. “Call me if you need anything.”
Agatha regretted her words, but she had so much anger built up inside she couldn’t control what she was saying. She didn’t watch him walk out the door.
“That was a low blow,” Coil said. “There’s nothing that man did to deserve that.”
“He should’ve told that agent where to stick it,” she said, and then let out a defeated sigh and dropped into a chair. “It’s not fair.”
“You talking about the law or your life?” Coil asked.
Agatha just looked at him. The anger had left, and now she felt empty inside.
“I had a visit yesterday from a very nice lady,” Coil said. “She works for the office of child welfare.”
Big, fat tears dropped onto her lap. She’d bottled up all the feelings that had come after giving up her daughter for adoption. But recently, she’d struggled more with the idea of reconnecting with the daughter she’d never known, especially now that her attacker was dead. She thought it was time to close her life’s circle by uniting the pieces that had been shattered by violence.
“I made an inquiry for information a few weeks ago,” she confessed. “I wanted to see how the process worked and how to get it started. I didn’t realize they’d actually begin the background check.”
“Yes,” Coil said. “But it’ll be your final decision before the woman from child services reaches out to the adoptive parents. This is going to be a tough call, and you’ll need the people who love you most to be there for you. Pushing them away right now isn’t the best way to move forward.”
Agatha wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I know you’re right. I’ll call him later.”
“You should call him now,” Coil encouraged. “I know that man, and you cut him deep. His pride is grounded in his work.”
She had to get a handle on her emotions. They were both right. This wasn’t like her at all.
“Thanks for putting up with me,” Agatha said.
“We’re friends. It’s not about putting up with you. It’s about being there to support you and tell you the truths you may not want to hear.”
She got up from the chair and gave Coil a quick hug. “I’m going, I’m going,” she said.
When she left the sheriff’s office, she made sure to put on her sunglasses to cover her red eyes, and then ran across the street to the Taco and Waffle. It was packed.
“There never used to be a line in here,” Agatha said, looking toward the front of the line to see how many people were in front of her.
“Come on, people,” she snarled. She tucked the loose strands of hair beneath her ball cap.
“Would you like to go before me?” said the cultured, British voice of the man standing in front of her. “You seem to be in a hurry, and I don’t mind. Truly.”
Agatha had that deer in the headlights stare as she looked at him. He was her height and wore a tailored, pinstriped suit in dark navy, and she could see her reflection in the shine of his shoes. His hair was curly and dishwater blond, and he wore tortoiseshell glasses. She’d always hated those glasses.
“Agatha?” the man asked. “Agatha Harley? Is that you?”
She hesitated before taking off her sunglasses, but she knew she had to make sure it was him. Maybe she was having an out of body experience. Maybe she was dead, and this was some kind of purgatory.
Her mouth went dry as dust, but she managed to croak out, “Andrew?”
“In the flesh,” he said, his smile toothy.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Nope, nope, nope.”
Agatha spun around and bumped into an older couple behind her before rushing back out the door.