Case Files
Teasers & Deleted Scenes
J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington, D.C. March 2008
Solomon Todd was surveying his desk with such satisfaction that Reyes had to go over and look.
He recognized everything: the paperclip sculptures; the stacks of steno pads, each filled with what Sol claimed was shorthand; the little brass Buddha, his stomach shiny from rubbing. Except--something new. 5x9, sleek modernist picture frame, sharply moody black and white photo of a polka-dotted, whiskered, underwater shape.
"What the hell is that?"
"That's Pleco," Sol said smugly.
"The who with the which now?" said Lau, leaning across her desk.
"Hypostomus plecostomus," said Sol. "Pleco for short. A fish."
"We've met," Chaz said, raising his eyebrows. "I see you got his good side."
"You have a picture of a fish on your desk," Reyes said, frowning. "Not that it's not a nice picture--"
Brady twiddled a pencil across the backs of his fingers, the quirk of his mouth alerting Reyes in advance. "They're long-time companions," Brady said. "Don't tell me you discriminate."
Reyes raised his hands in surrender. "Your fish, Todd. Your rules." He backed away, making a break for his office, but not before Sol got the last word in.
"I rest my case," said Sol. "This is Pleco, and he is my fish."
