Chapter 4

• Seth smiled again. “Listen, speaking of making it special, I have an idea of something new I’d like to try tonight while you are feeling more sexy.”
• Eva felt cold inside. This was it. He was going to put her on the spot for ass sex.
• The doorbell rang and someone followed immediately with a deep, heavy knock. It almost shook the frame of the house. Eva pictured the person using the heel of his hand in a closed fist for that knock. It was the way soldiers knocked before kicking the door down. For a brief moment, Eva was transported back to the old country where doors were kicked open often.
• The deep knock came again rattling the house above them. “We should get that,” she said.
• He patted her butt and she stood up. He took a moment to try to adjust his boner in his sweatpants so that it laid down along one leg instead of standing out straight.
• The knocker pounded against the door a third time. “I can get it,” Eva offered.
• Seth waved her off as he waddled toward the steps. “I got it. Hold this thought. I want to come back to our conversation once I get rid of this guy.”
• Eva did show her teeth as she followed behind Seth. She was hoping they would move on from the discussion of sticking it in her ass for one more night.
• They walked past the overflowing boxes on the dinning room table and made their way to the front door.
• Seth pulled the door open with the broad-shouldered man outside raising his fist for another knock. The man was more than a head taller than Seth. His muscles tested the limits of his steel gray suit. The man had dark hair cropped short and a gristle of beard forming on his face. His eyes were a shade of green that popped out at Eva.
• Seth cleared his throat and his voice sounded small and weak as he said, “What do you want?”
• The bigger man tilted his head. He pulled a black leather wallet out of his inside coat pocket. As the jacket flipped back, Eva caught a glimpse of a handgun in a holster on his hip. He opened the wallet showing an ID.
• The man said, “My name is Agent Cain Bell. I’m with the local office of the FBI. I’d like to take a moment to come in and clear up a few questions we have.”
• “What sort of questions?” Seth asked.
• “The sort that makes us all feel better so that we can move on with our lives,” Agent Bell said.
• Seth glanced back over his shoulder at Eva and then back at the agent. “I don’t think I want to do that.”
• The agent stared back for a moment. He looked over Seth’s head at Eva and back down at Seth. “I kind of think you do, Mr. and Mrs. Glavin. I do.”
• “Do you have a warrant?” Seth asked.
• Agent Bell laughed. “No, but I could get one if that would make you feel better. Warrants let us dump out drawers and confiscate computers.
• That would probably play hell with your perfectly legal perfectly compliant business, Mr. Glavin. I can go get a warrant and a few of my friends to do all that. Or you can invite me in for a nice, friendly conversation to be sure we can clear everything up.”
• “Maybe I should get a lawyer first,” Seth said.
• “That’s perfectly within your rights,” Agent Bell said. “If I have to talk through a lawyer, I prefer to do it in a dark interrogation room down at the headquarters. If we are doing things formally, I like to be all official, you understand.”
• “Why are you harassing me? I haven’t done anything wrong.” “Then, you have nothing to hide, Seth. May I come in to talk?” “Are you trying to trump up charges for some reason? What’s your game?”
• Agent Bell shook his head. “If I was looking to charge you or harass you, I would get the warrant and I would take you in to scare you into confessing something in my dark interrogation room. I would be here with a partner instead of alone. So, do you care to talk to me informally or do we just get on with more formal interactions?”
• “Just let him in, Seth,” Eva said.
• Agent Bell looked at her and smiled. His green eyes struck her again. He said, “Your wife, Eva, has the right idea, Mr. Glavin. What do you say?”
• Seth stepped aside. “Come in for a talk, but that’s it. Don’t try to strong arm me into anything, Agent Bell.”
• “You got it,” Agent Bell said as he stepped into the house. “Nice place you got here.”
• Eva looked around at the clutter around the room and sighed. She thought the agent must be making fun of them.
• “Thank you,” Seth said. “So, what do you want?”
• “I need to talk with you about a few individuals that you aided in entering the United States,” Agent Bell said.
• Seth swallowed and blinked a few times. Eva saw sweat beading around his face. He was looking splotchy too. The sweat made him look greasy to her. He said, “All my paperwork is in order.”
• “You mind if I look through for what I need then?”
• Seth rubbed his sleeve over his lip and then across his forehead. “You will need a warrant for that.”
• “You’ve already invited me in,” Agent Bell said. “I can pretty much look at what I like if I see it out in plain sight and it looks suspicious.”
• Cain Bell and Seth both looked past Eva at the boxes in the dining room table.