A day in the life of FBI Special Agent Cesar Mayas, Boston Bureau by Martha Reed

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do . . .

It’s hard to that believe kidnapping wasn’t a national offense until 1932, when President Hoover signed it into law. Until then, authority was held at the state level, which is why these Baby Alice Spenser case notes are so sketchy.

Sit down. Take a load off. I’ve got a few minutes before I need to catch the Island Air shuttle. Boston traffic’s not too bad this time of day.

I’ve got the report analyzing the ransom note, only nowadays, because of the new technology the scum bags text messaged it. Go figure. I emailed the text to a friend of mine who’s a profiler at Quantico. I can’t wait to share what she had to say. Sometimes, it’s like voodoo science, the things she comes up with, but she’s always so right on. It’s spooky.

Of course, I heard about Nantucket, as soon as I transferred to Boston. I knew it was an island thirty miles off the coast, down near Martha’s Vineyard and the Cape. I’ve also heard it was quite a playground for the rich and famous back in the day, filled with shingled summer homes and great shops and restaurants. From what I’ve heard, the foodies are still eating those up. Pun intended. I just never had a reason to visit Nantucket before, until those two state archaeologists dug up the steamer trunk in the dump, and all hell broke loose.

Anetta Nunn called me in to support the investigation. Anetta is Nantucket’s new Chief of Police. She and I go way back, to New Orleans, when Katrina ripped the roof off the Bureau’s office on Simon Boulevard, and all of us first responders had to scramble for cover. It’s a real tragedy what happened to her husband, and her young son. You’ll never meet anyone more passionate about law enforcement than Anetta is. She’s the real deal. That Nantucket Council sure grabbed a tiger by the tail when they hired her.

Me? I’m the CARD team leader for the Boston Bureau. CARD is FBI shorthand for Child Abduction Rapid Deployment. My job is to facilitate access to the Bureau’s in-house behavioral analysts, but my special focus is DNA analysis. I love DNA, because DNA doesn’t lie. Good thing, because from what I’ve seen so far with this crazy cold case, figuring out just who the players are is going to be the real challenge.

Anetta has assigned two detectives to the case. I’m having some fun with one of them. CJ Allamand is purely local talent. I don’t think CJ’s been off that island for more than six months in her whole life. CJ’s their CSI contact, and she’s very intelligent. I think CJ’s smarter than she thinks she is. CJ seems to have a real nose for following the evidence trail, and for logical thought. We may have to find room for her here, with the Boston team.

The other detective, the lead, is this guy named John Jarad. Anetta is having some trouble with him. Jarad seems to be having an issue following orders. I don’t know if that’s because Anetta’s a woman, or if it’s because this Jarad guy was demoted and Anetta got his job. Either way, it makes for a prickly situation, because Jarad knows Nantucket inside and out. That gives him a solid advantage when it comes to interviewing local witnesses, especially since it seems like he’s related to nearly every one of them. It’s not fair, but the truth is that family members will tell him something they’d never share with a mainland law dog like me.

What? Uber’s here? Great. I’ll be right out. Hand me my hat, will you? You’ll be hearing plenty more about the Baby Alice Spenser kidnapping. This one has media frenzy written all over it. Catch you later.

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You can read more about Cesar in No Rest For The Wicked, the third book in the award-winning “Nantucket” mystery series.

When state archaeologists lift the lid on a suspicious steamer trunk buried in Nantucket’s landfill, Detective John Jarad’s world explodes. The trunk’s contents reactivate intense interest in the island’s most notorious cold case crime, the Baby Alice Spenser kidnapping in 1921.

Sarah Jarad has a slightly different life focus. Halfway through a twin pregnancy, Sarah is convinced that she is losing her mind. She can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. She’d like to blame her paranoia on raging hormones, but that doesn’t ring true. Sarah fears that her control freak ex-fiancée Mason has finally tracked her down, and that Mason is on Nantucket, plotting revenge.

As John pursues the Baby Alice investigation, myriad family scandals emerge from the Spenser’s privileged and gilded past. Events flare white-hot when a copycat criminal snatches a second child. John and Sarah must race against the clock to unmask the kidnapper and expose these modern day threats.

Offering an array of colorful island characters and an intricate plot filled with surprising twists and reveals, No Rest For The Wicked promises to be the perfect summer beach read.

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Meet the author
Martha Reed is an award-winning, independently published Pittsburgh-based crime and mystery fiction author. Book one in her Nantucket Mystery series, The Choking Game, was a 2015 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion nominee for Best Traditional Mystery. Book two, The Nature Of The Grave, won an Independent Publisher IPPY Honorable Mention for Mid-Atlantic Best Regional Fiction.

Martha recently completed a four-year term as the National Chapter Liaison for Sisters in Crime, Inc. She loves travel, big jewelry, and simply great coffee. She delights in the never-ending antics of her family, fans, and friends, who she lovingly calls The Mutinous Crew. You can follow Martha online at reedmenow.com or on Twitter @ReedMartha.

All comments are welcomed.

The Nantucket Mystery Series is available in trade paperback and e-book formats from Amazon and other retailers. Support your local bookstores!

Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a signed copy of No Rest For The Wicked. US entries only, please. The giveaway ends March 23, 2017. Good luck everyone!