Irish Throwdown (What Happens In Vegas Book 4) by Matt Lincoln (short books for teens .TXT) 📕

“Director Wallace!” Miranda called as she stormed into the office with Naomi hot on her heels. “We might have found something.”

She reached into her work bag and pulled out a clear, plastic evidence bag. Inside was a single red bottle of what looked like medicine.

“What is that?” Fiona asked as she stepped forward to examine the bag.

“Cough syrup,” Miranda replied as she handed the bag over to her. “We spoke to the only surviving perpetrator. She was in bad shape, but she managed to tell us that she’d had some of this right before she attacked her kids and husband.”

“There was a bottle just like that at the Evans house,” Junior remarked as he took the bag from Fiona. “When I was searching the house, I remember there being a bunch of tissues and painkillers and a bottle just like this on the coffee table. Mrs. Evans told me she was feeling under the weather right before she attacked me, so I figured either she or Dominick must have been sick recently.”

“No,” Fiona groaned. “There’s no way. Please tell me somebody isn’t spiking medicine with amphetamines and opioids. Kids take this stuff!”

“Let’s have Howard analyze it,” I said as I took the bag from Junior. “Before we get all worked up over it.”

“He’s right,” Wallace nodded. “We need to have all the facts before we jump to any conclusions.”

I could hear my fellow agents chattering behind me as I walked toward Howard’s office. The bottle didn’t look unusual. Nothing about the label or the plastic bottle itself seemed to indicate that it was a fake. I was pretty sure I had an identical one in my own medicine cabinet. The thought sent shivers down my spine as I entered Howard’s office.

“Hey, Agent Howard!” I called as I moved toward him. “We have a substance we need you to analyze.”

I stopped dead in my tracks as Howard slammed his fist down hard against the table in front of him. His back was turned to me, and his hunched form looked disconcerting in the low light of the room.

“Please,” he gritted out as she slowly turned to look at me. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. It startles me when people barge into my office like that.”

“Sorry,” I apologized as I looked him over. There was a vein throbbing on the side of his head, and the tips of his knuckles were white as he clenched his fists tightly. “You doing okay, man?”

It seemed Howard suddenly realized I was observing him because all at once, he relaxed and an unsettling smile broke out across his face.

“I’m fine,” he replied, all the earlier strain from his voice gone. “Agent Castillo came in here earlier this morning, and I guess I was already a little annoyed. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you, though. I’d just really appreciate it if people would knock in the future.”

“Of course,” I replied stiltedly. His demeanor had changed so suddenly and drastically that I was a little more concerned now than I had been when he was acting angrily. He sounded perfectly calm and composed, but that in itself was unsettling. It wasn’t normal for someone to swing so easily between moods like that.

“Did you need something, Agent Hills?” Howard prompted.

“Yeah,” I replied. “We need an analysis of the contents of this bottle ASAP. We think whatever’s inside is what’s causing people to become violent.”

“I see,” he responded as he took the evidence bag from me gingerly. He was scrutinizing it, and despite his earlier outburst, he seemed to be conducting himself professionally now. “I’ll have it ready as soon as I can.”

“Great,” I replied as I turned to leave the dark office. I’d never minded the dark, but something about that interaction had left me wanting to return to the brightly lit and open bullpen as soon as possible.

Wallace had returned to his office by the time I got back, and Fiona and Miranda were having some kind of disagreement about sandwiches and hot dogs.

“I’m just saying,” Miranda smirked. “They both involve a meat filling inside two pieces of bread. They’re technically the same thing.”

“Hey,” I interrupted before Fiona would retort. “Have you guys noticed Howard acting weird?”

“Doesn’t he always act weird?” Miranda countered.

“I mean more than usual,” I clarified. It was true that Agent Howard had been reclusive and unfriendly the entire time I’d been working there. I went most days without ever seeing him, and he’d never hung out with any of the agents outside of work, or even at work for that matter.

“Not really,” Miranda shrugged. “The guy’s a weirdo. That’s just how he is.”

“That isn’t very nice,” Fiona frowned reproachfully at her.

Miranda grimaced guiltily. I knew that Fiona had been bullied when she was younger, and as her friend, I assumed Miranda must know more about it than I did.

“You’re right,” Miranda sighed. “That was crappy of me. I didn’t mean it in a bad way, though. I just meant that he’s not a social person, and we shouldn’t bother him about it. If he wants to stay cooped up in his lair all the time, that’s his business.”

“I guess that’s true,” Fiona conceded. “I do sometimes feel bad for him, though.”

I didn’t really share Fiona’s sentiments. As long as he did his job well, I agreed with Miranda that we should just let him be. If he didn’t want to socialize, we shouldn’t harass him about it. If it hadn’t been for Junior’s needling when I first started here, I probably would have ended up the same way. I didn’t regret making friends with all my coworkers, but I could understand Howard’s perspective too. Still, I couldn’t brush off the uncomfortable feeling I had that something wasn’t quite right with him lately.

8

Junior

“Alright, everyone,” Nelson announced at a little past three. “Agent Howard said that the results should be ready in a few hours. Instead of just waiting around, though, I think it’d be better if