Case Files
Teasers & Deleted Scenes
WARNING! This scene contains spoilers for "Dexterity"!
Chicago, IL, January, 2008
"Yeahwhat?" Dice is still half-asleep, but he's got panic-adrenaline to make up for it. It only takes one to teach the body that phone calls at weird times are bad news. And he's had more than one the past few months. Being a serial killer's next-of-kin isn't a fun job.
"Mr. Cieslewicz? This is Special Agent Char--"
"Charles Villette with the FBI, yeah, I recognize your voice." Christ, manners much? But all that adrenaline is surging around and there's nothing he can do with it. "What is it? Something wrong with Eddie?" But why would the FBI be calling and not the hospital, unless--"Oh shit he hasn't escaped has he? He promised me he wouldn't, but I don't--"
"Mr. Cieslewicz!"
"Sorry," Dice says in a small voice.
"No, it's not--as far as I know, your brother's fine."
As fine as he ever is, Dice thinks, but he lets out a breath so tight it hurts and says, "Okay. This is my clue to shut up and let you talk."
And he hears the fed take a breath as well, and say, "I'm calling to inform you that there's been a case in Idaho that bears some similarities to Eddie's."
"Oh." Dice blinks, knuckles his eyes, swings his legs over the edge of the battered couch. Oh, God, it's just afternoon. Winter light pushes around the edges of his blackout curtains. "Is anybody--"
"There's no suspicion of homicide," the fed says, big words to soften the edges of We don't think anybody's dead.
This time.
"We're investigating. I just--" When he hesitates, he sounds as creepy-young as Dice remembers him looking. And then he finishes in an unprofessional rush. "I wanted you to hear it from me before you heard it on the news."
Silence. Waiting.
Dice says, "Oh."
The fed says, "Sorry."
And Dice says, "No. Thank you."
Numbly, he hangs up the phone.
