Nocturnal Revelations

by Amanda S Green

  “Do you know anything more about what happened, LT?” Sgt. Kelsey asked.

  Pat shook her head, her expression serious. “All we know for sure right now is that Mac and Jackson were upstairs getting ready for work when the doorbell rang. Mac went down to answer it. Because of the timing, both she and Jackson expected it to be Jael. She was supposed to drive Mac in this morning. What happened then, we don’t know for sure. Jackson heard three shots. By the time he got downstairs, Mac was down, unconscious. Jackson managed to catch sight of the shooter briefly before the bastard fled. He had the impression the shooter was male, medium height and build. Because he only saw the shooter from the back, he couldn’t be sure of race. The shooter drove off in a white van. That much has been verified by several of their neighbors.

  “Jackson called 911 and did what he could to help Mac. Jael arrived probably no more than three minutes after the shooting. Jael did an assessment and felt Mac was too badly injured to wait for the bus. Before that happened, Mac regained consciousness briefly. She told Jael the shooter was male. She couldn’t remember anything else and she lost consciousness again. Shortly after that, they took her to the hospital in Mac’s SUV.

  “Our captain took four shots, three of which missed her vest, hitting her in the neck, shoulder and side. I know I don’t have to explain how serious any of those could be alone, much less all together.”

  She paused, searching for the right words. “Tanaka and a team are on-scene now. We have Jackson’s signed consent to pull the security feeds from their alarm system. We’ll start with that and the door-to-door. Priority is to find anyone who might have seen something and to get copies of all security videos and pertinent cell phone videos along Mac’s street as well as the streets in the neighborhood leading to hers. Hopefully, we’ll get a break and make a quick arrest.”

  “LT, do we have anything else to go on right now?” Byron Timmons asked.

  For a moment, she looked at the man. Timmons retired almost a year and a half ago. It hadn’t taken long for him to realize he had too much free time on his hands. Less than three months later, he joined the Police Reserves. What strings he pulled to do so, she didn’t know and, just then, didn’t care. Timmons had an eye for detail and was one of the best she’d ever worked with when it came to following the money. If he wanted in on this investigation, she’d find a way to make it happen.

  “No.” She shook her head. “Are you here to help?”

  “Yep.” He gave one decisive nod. “If you’ll have me.”

  She nodded before continuing. “As I said earlier, Mac told Jael the shooter was male. We all know the problems with statements from a victim in similar circumstances. But Mac is a trained observer. She is a cop. So we are going to assume she remembered correctly. That means we need to tear into her cases and her life. Find out who wanted to hurt her.

  “Other than that, all we know for sure is what Jackson, Jael and others have said. The van was white panel van. Jackson saw the shooter leave in it as did several of their neighbors. It damned near hit Jael’s car as she pulled onto the street to pick up Mac. According to Jael, it didn’t have any plates. Add to that the fact it had heavily tinted windows. That’s all we’ve got to go on right now.

  “I know I don’t need to say this but I will. If one of us traded places with her, Mac would move Heaven and Earth to find out who shot us. We are going to do the same. We will discover who tried to kill our captain and why. Do any of you doubt that?”

  “No ma’am,” they answered in unison.

  “There will be those who will try to take the investigation away from us. They’ll say we’re too close to it. We won’t give up the case without a fight. What we will do is work the investigation like Mac would want us to. We will find the evidence and follow it to the bastard responsible and we will, by God, bring him in to face justice.

  “So listen up. We do this by the book. No crossing the line, no matter what. When we find the suspect, we make the collar and we haul his sorry ass in. We will do the perp walk with him and let the world see that the DPD, and this squad in particular, gets the job done. Then we will put him in the box and sweat him until we know why he attacked our captain. But I don’t want to see one bruise or cut, one bump or abrasion, on him that wasn’t necessary to subdue him just enough to get him into cuffs. That’s an order and it is one you and I know Mac would make under similar circumstances.”

  It was an order Mac had issued and more than once.

  “LT, what about guards for her?” Officer Murray asked.

  “Chief Culver has ordered uniforms outside her room at all times until the perp is caught.”

  “LT, I don’t mind giving up some of my off-duty time,” Detective Andre Freeman said. The others quickly offered to do the same.

  A slight smile lifted the corners of Pat’s mouth. She’d expected them to volunteer but it was still good to see them do so. “I can’t order it and it will be off the books.”

  “As you said, LT, she’s ours. We protect our own.” Timmons stood and looked around, waiting until everyone nodded in agreement. “I think we’re all willing to stand as many watches as we need to until the bastard who shot her is caught.”

  “Set it up then, Timmons.” She didn’t doubt for a moment he’d not only set up guards but backups for the guards. “I also want someone from the squad with the family as much as possible until we solve this. Timmons, you up to handling that as well?”

  “I’m on it, LT.”

  She nodded once in appreciation. “I’ll be returning to the hospital soon. If you have anything hot on your open cases, follow it up. If you have court, be there. But if you have time to help with the investigation, talk with Tanaka. She’ll give you your assignment. Let’s find the bastard responsible and bring him in.”

  Before she could say anything else, the doors to the squad room opened. Chief Culver stepped inside. His grim expression worried Pat and she swallowed hard. Then, remembering protocol, she called the squad to attention. Before the others could respond, Culver waved for them to remain where they were.

  “Lieutenant, status?” He moved further into the bullpen.

  “I was just updating the squad on Captain Santos’ condition and reiterating the fact that we will do whatever it takes to find the perp and bring him in.”

  Culver shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. “Lt. King is correct. We will do everything in our power to not only keep this case with the DPD but with this squad. Captain Santos, and Captain King before her, trained each of you well. You know what they would expect of you in this kind of case. Find the SOB responsible for shooting your captain and bring them in.” He paused a moment before continuing.

  “Lt. King, any and all reasonable overtime is approved. You have other cases on the board. They must be worked, but this takes priority. No one, absolutely no one, guns down one of our own, especially not in her own home. The perp will not get away with it. But we won’t shirk our other duties. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” Pat answered for the squad.

  He waited until everyone either answered or nodded in response. “Captain Santos will be in surgery another several hours at least. She suffered extensive injuries and the surgeons are doing all they can to save her. Serious as her injuries are, they could have been much worse. The one piece of luck on her side is that she had her vest on this morning. The vest stopped the bullet her assailant fired into her back and what amounts to pointblank range. It still caused injury but she will walk again—assuming she recovers from her other injuries.”

  “Sir, we’re still waiting for a copy of the security feed from this morning. Have the doctors been able to tell us anything that might help?” Pat asked.

  “A little. From the angle of her wounds, they believe Captain Santos had started to turn away from the shooter before the first bullet hit. They’re guessing that’s when she was hit in the shoulder. She was still turning when she took the neck wound. The third shot entered her side
just above her vest and traveled in a downward angle. It did a great deal of damage. If you are of the praying sort, do so. Your captain needs all the help she can get right now. Most of all, find the person responsible and bring them in.” He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. Then he turned his attention to Pat. “A moment of your time, lieutenant.”

  “Of course.” She motioned toward her office.

  “Close the door.” Culver leaned against the edge of her desk and waited as she complied. “I need you to be honest, Pat. Are you all right?” Concern filled his voice and she blinked against the tears that suddenly burned her eyes.

  “Yes, sir.” She knew why he asked. Not that long ago, he sat with her in this very office, discussing the murder of her husband and two other cops. What happened to Mac, especially because they were friends and partners, hit hard.

  “If you need to hand this off, no one will blame you.”

  “Understood, sir, but I’m fine.” She hesitated a moment and then gave a slight shake of her head. “No, I’m not fine. I’m pissed and I’m worried. But I can do my job and I can and will make sure the squad does theirs.”

  “Which is exactly what I expected but I had to ask.”

  She nodded in understanding.

  “Is there anything you need right now to help with the investigation?”

  Pat started to say no and then stopped. “Sir, Timmons retired from the squad a year and a half or so ago, before Mike died. He’s a member of the Reserves now. I’d like him assigned to the investigation. He’s already said he wants to help.”

  “I figured as much when I saw him with the bullpen. Consider it done.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Every additional investigator she could get meant one more chance of solving the case quickly, before anyone else was hurt.

  “You need to be prepared for IAB to come snooping, Pat.”

  “I know.” She frowned. Few cops had any use for IAB. She knew they had a purpose but, at least as far as her own experience went, too many assigned to the rat squad had their own agendas and they didn’t care who they brought down in order to get what they wanted. “I guess this is where I let you know Jackson knows to contact you and his attorney if they bother him at the hospital.”

  Culver smiled slightly. “I told him the same thing.”

  Relieved, Pat relaxed a little.

  “I have already instructed Captain Wysocki to leave the investigation to you,” he added.

  “I hear a but in there, sir.”

  “Because there is one.” He moved to stare out the window for a moment. When he turned back, frustration burned in his eyes. “When I spoke with her, Captain Wysocki reminded me of departmental policy that IAB has a role whenever an officer is injured or killed. She balked when I then reminded her that it wasn’t official policy. So watch yourself and make sure your people know she’s going to be watching everything you do, looking for anything to justify taking over the investigation.”

  “I will, sir.”

  And she would make sure they let her know the moment Wysocki or any of her squad showed up or tried poking their noses into the investigation.

  “Pat, there’s one more thing before I let you get back to work, something I didn’t tell the others. Mac flatlined during surgery. Her condition has been downgraded. She might not make it off the table.”

  Pat nodded even as she reached out and held onto the back of one of the guest chairs in front of her desk to keep her knees from buckling. She didn’t want to think about how the squad, much less the pride, would react if Mac died.

  The pride. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. The last year had been hard on the pride. Hell, who was she kidding? It had been hard on all their kind. They had discovered those who were supposed to be leading and protecting them had been doing anything but. They’d let greed and a thirst for power corrupt and civil war had almost broken out among the various shapeshifter clans, prides and packs. That would have led to the normal discovering their existence. That fight for power had been behind the attack that cost her husband his life. Now Jackson, as pride leader, and Mac, as a member of the Tribunal, worked to find a way to make their existence known without it resulting in a proverbial witch hunt.

  “She’s a fighter, sir.”

  “She is, and it’s the only reason she’s still alive.” He glanced at the closed door, as if making sure no one could overhear them. “Pat, if she could shift, would that help?”

  Culver, like Jael, was one of the relatively few humans who knew about shifters and helped keep them safe from discovery.

  “Honestly?”

  He nodded.

  “Her doctors could tell you better than I. But my guess is that, as badly injured as she is right now, the shift might kill her. Later, if she survives the surgery and begins healing, she should be able to shift. If she can, and if she can stay shifted for a while, she’ll heal faster.”

  Culver nodded again, and Pat had a feeling he was remembering her own long recovery after being kidnapped and tortured on the orders of those who’d been supposed to protect their kind.

  “Get your people working on this and close it out, Pat. That is the best way you can honor Mac and all she has done for the department and for this squad.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “If you think we need to form a taskforce to handle the investigation, let me know.”

  “I will but, for now at least, I’d like to keep it within the squad.” She paused, gnawing her lower lip as she thought. “Sir, I’d like to utilize Mrs. Duncan and her special talents. She knows what Mac’s been up to better than anyone and let’s be honest. She’s better than most of the cyber team.”

  “Agreed and already approved. Now get back to the hospital. You should be there when she comes out of surgery.”

  If she does.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Keep me in the loop.”

  She watched as he left her office. As she closed the door after him, she hoped that loop didn’t include having to tell him they’d lost Mac.

  7

  Three hours. Three of the longest hours of her life. That’s how long it had been since Jael sped away from Mac’s house. Then all she could think about was getting her friend medical help as quickly as possible. Now she sat in the sedan the motor pool assigned her, studying the scene before her. Mac’s neighbors were being interviewed by detectives and uniformed officers. Others moved carefully around the yard and, she knew, inside the house, photographing the scene. Forensic techs worked with single-minded determination to find even the smallest clue that could help identify the shooter. She expected that much.

  What she hadn’t expected and should have were the number of media vans parked at the end of the street. Reporters shouted questions at her when she drove up to the makeshift barricade the neighbors had erected. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the two uniformed officers stationed the barricade were three of Mac’s neighbors. One hurried to move the barricade so Jael could drive past. The others stepped forward, placing themselves between her sedan and the reporters. As soon as she’d driven through, the barricade was moved back into place and the uniforms and neighbors resumed their positions.

  “Sarge, how is she?” Officer Busco asked as jogged up the walk from where she’d parked two houses down from Mac’s.

  “Still in surgery.”

  “I’ll let the others know.”

  She nodded and watched as he moved off in the direction of the house. As he did, she scanned the area once again. A moment later, she spotted her target. For a split-second, anger and suspicion flared. She pushed them down, reminding herself she didn’t know anything—yet. But she would. If it was the last thing she did, she’d find out if he had anything to do with what happened to their captain. But she couldn’t let emotions rule her, not yet.

  However, if she found out he was involved, shifter or not, she would have his head and his balls and not necessarily in that order.

  Detec
tive Nate Norwood crouched just inside the front door. The coyote shifter originally came to town as part of General Flynn’s special unit. His assignment had been to keep an eye on Mac, making sure nothing happened to her or her family. Later, he swore allegiance to the pride. Over the last year or so, he had worked closely with both Mac and Jael. Now Jael had some very pointed questions for him, questions best asked in private. He might or might not return to the investigation. Depending on his answers, he’d either remain with the department or he’d find himself in custody and on his way to a secure facility faster than he thought possible.

  She stood there, knowing he’d scent her before long. A moment later, he looked up and spotted her. Before he could say anything, she shook her head. Then she turned her attention to Detective Tanaka as the woman exited the house.

  “Detective, I need to borrow Norwood for a few minutes.” she said. She doubted Tanaka would object. “I promise not to keep him long.”

  “No sweat, Sarge.” Tanaka looked over to where Norwood worked. “Nate, give your notes to Brannigan. He’ll take over for you.”

  He nodded and stood. Before he could say anything, Jael jerked her head in the direction of her black sedan. Without a word, concern reflected in his eyes, he made his way to the car. Jael watched, giving herself a moment to gather her thoughts and get her emotions under control.

  “Anything you can tell me?” she asked Tanaka.

  “Not yet. The techs have the security cam footage. It’s encoded, so they’re having to deal with that before we can have a look.”

  Jael frowned. That didn’t surprise her. “Let me know if you learn anything. I’ll check in later.”