Read No Master Plan Here (Madness Runs in the Family) for Free Online Page A

bit out of place. He was dark for someone of Mexican heritage, probably from the time he spent in the sun on his off time. He was nursing a coffee, and the bags under his eyes indicated how little sleep he had gotten in the past few days.
                  “You can go to bed, if you like. The video will still be there,” Denise said, knowing full well he wouldn't take her up on the offer. He preferred actual people to video. Said they told him more. She understood the sentiment, as she shared the opinion. Lopez shrugged and took another long pull from his thermos.
                  “Why aren't you in there?” he said, nodding his head towards the glass that separated them from where Agent Ruthers was speaking with Anansi. Denise glanced back to the glass and brushed a lock of black hair from her face. The same thought had passed through her mind, the same question posed by Ruthers before she started the session. Denise usually led interrogations. It had a lot to do with her ability as a natural polygraph. She could hear the deceit in people's voices when they spoke it, and always had a sense of the right questions to ask to bring out the truth.
                  “Anansi and I have history. I worked for him for a bit, feeding information on his activities to the FBI. It led to a few of his plots getting foiled. He figured out I was doing it, so he rightly doesn't trust me.” Denise felt the detachment in her voice as she spoke. She saw Anansi put the pieces together and figure out that there was a game afoot that had little to do with his criminal past.
                  “Okay, but that doesn't mean you can't run the session. You can look like anyone. He doesn't need to know it's you.” Lopez wasn't interested in the interrogation anymore. His eyes were on Denise, and she could feel it. He didn't have any psychic powers, but he had a presence about him that made him hard to ignore. The fact that he was several inches taller than her and more than twice her weight in a way that had nothing to do with body fat did nothing but increase his presence, especially in the close confines of the room.
                  “He always knows it's me. I have no idea how he does it, but he does, and if he knows I'm running this, he might refuse simply to spite me. I've seen him do that before.” Lopez did not look satisfied with the answer, but he accepted it, for now. Denise knew he would be bringing it up again later. He nodded and finished his coffee, tipping the ceramic thermos up until the last drop was gone. He eyed the empty mug and sighed.
                  “I'm gonna catch a nap. Let me know if he acts up.” Denise nodded, and he walked out the door, mumbling to himself as he went. Denise turned back on the audio feed from the room, allowing her to hear the conversation as it continued inside.
     
    -~-~-
     
                  “What “game” do you think is afoot, Anansi?” the woman said, her eyes boring into him, inspecting him like one might a dangerous animal. Or a bomb. The look fit more with the situation than the impassive stare she had been giving before, which confirmed to Anansi that something was going on.
                  “So we're going to play it this way? Fine, I'll play your game. You have me here. You know who I am and a bit of what I've done, which would be enough to put me away for a long, long time. You have enough evidence to prove that I did those things, too, especially that bit with Lowe, which you probably think he deserved but won't say so because your job would be at stake if you did. And yet here we are, with you waving my crimes in front of me like some sort of television detective who still can't put the bad guy away without a confession, like you're trying to guilt me into something.” Anansi smiled and spread his arms as wide as he could, the chain rattling against the bar holding them to the table.