The Aftermath

by Iris Bolling

  “Yes, however…” Detective Vaughan began.

  “However, my ass,” Skylar shot back at the man. You have interfered twice in federally controlled investigations. Who in the hell made you a detective?”

  “I’ve been asking that question for three months,” Nate murmured.

  Cory glared at Nate, then turned back to Skylar. “If you would allow me to get a word in edgewise, I have a point to make.”

  “Is the point that you are a menace to law enforcement and will be placing your resignation on the Chief’s desk? Because that’s the only thing I want to hear from you.”

  “What do you have to say, Vaughan?” Chief Williams calmly asked.

  “Chief, all I can say is the man must be involved in some way,” Cory stated. “Why else would he be dead?”

  Skylar stared at Vaughan then threw her hands up in exasperation.

  “There are many ways we could approach this, Detective Vaughan,” Chief Williams spoke. “The carelessness of your attitude towards a death in custody is a concern for me. The fact that you disobeyed a direct order from Captain Daniels to follow your own theory on the case is also a concern. Not to mention the consequences of your actions will have a negative impact on the department. We will deal with that in private.”

  “Chief,” Nate cleared his throat. “As much as I am enjoying you reprimanding Detective Vaughan, it pains me to say this but, he may have a point.”

  Nate was leaning against the wall by the door. Until now, he had not offered any analysis because he could not get over his gut reaction to Cory. It was a split second, but one that cut through him. He had seen that look before in the eyes of Bret Dolt. That night, when Dolt was sitting in the back of the police cruiser, he looked right into the man’s eyes. It was as if he was saying, “yes, I did it and I’m going to get away with it.” That was the look he saw in Cory’s eyes. He could not shake the feeling that Cory was purposely leading them down this path of DeFazio’s involvement. What he could not get was… why? Was Cory involved in Alex’s death; so, he was steering them in a different direction? Could it be that Cory was so anxious to make a name for himself that he was being careless? For the first time in the months since Cory had been assigned as his partner, Nate was beginning to look at him in a different light.

  “Finally, a voice of reason,” Cory exhaled. “Nate, tell them you are with me on this.”

  “I’m not going to tell them that.” Nate snapped. “I will say Kavanagh’s death does raise concerns as well as questions. Why is he dead? He had not spoken to anyone, except for Cory.” He looked at him. “Did he say anything to you when you brought him in that connected him to the case?”

  “Nothing significant,” Cory replied.

  “Did you question him before bringing him in?” Nate asked.

  “Not really.”

  “Did you mirandize him? Did he volunteer to come in? Did you have reasonable cause to question him? No to all of that, right?”

  Cory narrowed his eyes at him.

  “See, Chief, I think you have a bigger problem than just Kavanagh’s death. You have unlawful detainment, and unlawful search and seizure, because I am certain you searched him before placing him in the holding room; then there is, of course, the possible wrongful death while in custody, and you can be certain an ACLU complaint is coming your way. All courtesy of Detective Vaughan. I really have to ask again, who made you a detective?”

  “While all of what Detective Reigns just laid out is valid, there is a bigger issue on the table,” Skylar interjected. “Kavanagh was a target in an investigation. He is now officially missing which may cause suspicion. I’m going to have to move on this case before I planned. I want this officer out of my hair until we complete this portion of the plan. Put him on leave, put him at a desk, hell, put him in a cell for all I care. If you do not and he interferes in my investigation again, I am going to rain the fury of hell on this department.”

  Chief Williams nodded. “I understand your frustration, Prosecutor Burrell, however, threats are not the way to get me to see your point.”

  “It is not a threat, Chief Williams. I promise you the investigation Alex Burnett was doing on this department will appear to be child’s play compared to what I will do.”

  “That may be.” Chief Williams nodded. “All I will say to that is bring it on. What you find is what you will find. As for you Detective Vaughan, you are ordered to desk duty until further notice. Captain Daniels, everything concerning the Burnett case will be run through my office. Detectives Reigns and Harper will report directly to me until this case is resolved. In the meantime, you are to handle an in-depth investigation into the in-custody death of Liam Kavanagh. I expect your preliminary report on my desk by 8 am.”

  Nate and Tony glanced at each other. That was a slap in Daniels’ face for sure, Nate thought.

  “I believe I have a right to a union rep,” Cory stated. “I do not see where assigning me to desk duty is appropriate here.”

  “You’d rather a suspension and an Internal Investigation?” Chief Williams asked. “I have calls from the media and the Mayor’s office because of this. Make my life easier and request a suspension.”

  “No, sir.” Cory lowered his head.

  “Good, everyone out of my office. Reigns, a word please.”

  Chief Williams waited until the door closed then turned to him. “What in the hell is happening? No officer is that careless.” He walked back around his desk to his seat. “He is your partner. What’s your take?”

  Nate exhaled. “Chief, until this incident I took Cory as an eager, name dropping detective trying to move up the ranks.”

  “And now?”

  “Now?” Nate shook his head. “I think there is more to him than meets the eye.”

  “Is he a bad officer?”

  Nate hesitated before shaking his head. “I think he is a cop with a plan. Whether that plan is good or bad, I can’t say. But my gut is churning out of control when it comes to him.”

  “Does your gut tell you he is involved in Burnett’s death?”

  “My reading is off on this one, Chief. It’s damn near midnight. I’m running off three hours of sleep and dealing with a friend’s death. I may be reading it wrong.”

  “Fair enough.” Chief Williams nodded. “I hate to put this on you; however, this mess has to be cleaned up with the feds. Do you think you can get Prosecutor Burrell to roll back some of her threat? I’m going to be honest; I don’t believe the department could clear a federal investigation right now.”

  “I will do what I can, Chief. Do you think you can keep Cory out of the way while I work on Burnett’s case?”

  Chief Williams nodded. “I’ll keep him busy. You find me some answers.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  27

  “What the hell was that?” Skylar’s words smacked him in the face before the door to the Chief’s office closed.

  “Hey, hey, back up.” Tony walked up. “Let the man breathe.”

  “Outside this building. Your car. Now,” Skylar ordered before walking out the exit.

  “Have you noticed how pretty she is?” Tony asked.

  Nate glanced at Tony as he followed the angry woman out the door. “No more than I noticed how damn bossy she is.”

  Skylar was impatiently waiting for him to unlock his car. She jumped inside slamming the door behind her the moment Nate unlocked the door with his fob. Nate cleared his throat as he slid into the driver’s seat.

  “You can scream at me, demand things of me, but you will not disrespect my ride. Do we understand each other?”

  “Are you serious, right now? Liam Kavanagh was my lead to possibly exploited girls and your first thought is about your car? I believe your priorities are misguided. And don’t start me on your partner, there is something off about him. Is there a reason your partner wanted Kavanagh eliminated? Do I have to remind you that these girls might be a lead for you too? You do remember the two Jane Does, right? Remember the c
hips, both the girls and the chips are leads. It seems to me your partner is deliberately disrupting the investigation, Reigns. What in the hell is going on here?”

  Nate heard everything she said and questioned. But there had to be some boundaries put in place first.

  “Do we understand each other?” he asked the question between clinched teeth.

  “About what?” she yelled back with an incredulous look.

  “The ride. Do not disrespect the ride.”

  “Fine, I apologize for,” she stopped to think, “what did I do to the ride?”

  “You slammed the door.”

  She gave him a look of frustration, then sighed. “All right. I am sorry I slammed your car door.”

  “Thank you, don’t do it again.” Nate pushed the button then waited until the blue light flashed. He turned to her. “Which question do you want me to answer first?”

  “Every single one.”

  The look in Skylar’s eyes indicated she was dead serious.

  “That is an impossibility. I can only answer one at a time,” Nate started. “I have no idea why or if Cory wanted Kavanagh eliminated. Yes, I know the girls and the chips are a lead to Alex’s death. I have no clue as to why Cory is trying to disrupt the investigation.” Nate sighed. “I have a few questions of my own about him at the moment that I have no answers to. However, I have been tasked with making this right with you. How do I accomplish that?”

  “Make it right? I don’t think you can make this right. There is a reason Alex was handling most of this case out of his home. I also think it’s the reason he was killed at home and not at the office. I think whoever killed him knew he was working from there. How could they know that unless someone from the Commonwealth Attorney’s office told them? There is also a reason why he was meeting Chief Williams outside of his office. Alex believed both offices have been compromised.”

  “That I get, but by who and to what end?” Nate asked.

  Skylar stared out the window as she shook her head. “I don’t know. What I can tell you is you cannot share anything we discover or plan to do with people in your office. Especially not Vaughan. And one more question,” she asked, calmer and a little conflicted. “How did he get Kavanagh’s name? The only other person who knew Kavanagh was under surveillance was Alex and I don’t think he is telling anyone. Did you mention it to your Captain?”

  “I did, but not until after Cory brought him in. I distinctly remember Cory stating he got the name off a file on Alex’s desk.”

  “This morning when I caught him in there?”

  “I would assume,” Nate nodded.

  “Not possible,” Skylar stated. “Kavanagh’s information was at Alex’s house. It wasn’t at the office.”

  “So, he lied to the Captain on how he got the information.”

  “We kept all of Kavanagh’s info under wraps. He was our lead; we would not leave any information with his name written anywhere.”

  “He got the information from somewhere. If the information is not written anywhere someone had to give him that name. Who?”

  “I say let’s go ask him,” Skylar suggested.

  Nate started to open the car door when his cell phone buzzed.

  “Reigns,” he answered.

  “Nate, its Tess. I need you to get over here.”

  “Are you home?”

  “No, I’m at the morgue.”

  “The morgue?” Nate checked his watch. “It’s after midnight. Why are you at the morgue?”

  “The bodies are gone.”

  “What bodies?”

  “The women.”

  Nate could hear the frustration in her voice. “Okay, Tess, slow down. What happened?”

  “The women that we determined were connected to the woman we found in Alex’s bed are gone. All three bodies have been removed.”

  “Get back in the car,” he shouted to Skylar. “Have you called it in, yet?”

  “Yes, investigators will be here shortly.”

  “Do you still have the chip and the photos of the women?”

  “Yes.”

  “Make duplicate copies.”

  “Nate, I can’t.”

  “Tess, Internal Affairs is going to be all over this. They are going to take everything you have. Make copies of the pictures. Slide them under Alex’s body. I’m on my way.”

  “What’s going on?” Skylar asked.

  Nate took off. “The women’s bodies are missing from the morgue.”

  “The woman we found at Alex’s place?” Skylar questioned as Nate hit the gas pedal.

  He nodded. “In addition to the other two. The one we found the second chip in and the other woman who had the mark on her heel. Tess said they are all gone.”

  “What about Alex’s body?”

  “She didn’t mention he was missing,” Nate replied.

  “Who would want to take bodies from the morgue?”

  “Anyone who did not want us to identify them,” Nate suggested as he raced to get to the morgue. “I hope you have some big balls under that cute little pink coat. I am going to need you to make this a federal case.”

  28

  Sleep was not coming for Regan. Even with the sedative her doctor suggested, thoughts of her and Alex filled her mind. When he was a patrol officer and she was a prosecuting attorney, they had to sneak around to be with each other. The conflict-of-interest allegations hit them the first time they were seen out together. It caused issues for her that threatened to impact her career. Alex was the one to make the decision to stop seeing her until she had reached her dream of becoming a judge. He loved her enough to step away. When he called to say he was going to law school, they celebrated by sneaking away for a weekend in a reclusive get-a-way. There was no fear in being spotted because they never left the room. Once he graduated, she spent hours helping him study for the bar. He passed it on the first sitting. The day he was elected Commonwealth Attorney, she congratulated him with a big kiss. The next day a picture of them appeared in the local paper with the words “Next Power Couple?” with a question mark at the end. Not long after that, Regan had been placed on the judicial list for a judgeship. That’s when they began making plans to be together. Now all of that was gone.

  Regan climbed out of bed then walked over to the window. The outline of the city came into view. Alex loved this city. He walked the streets of Northside until he was assigned to the downtown area. He loved the people and the people loved him.

  “How dare someone take you from us,” she cried. “How dare they?”

  “Regan.”

  She wiped the tears away as her sisters walked in the room. “Yeah.”

  “We were sitting outside your door,” Rachel explained.

  “Are you okay?” Riley asked as they sat on the bed.

  “No,” Regan shook her head. “I’m not okay. My life is shattered. I don’t know what my future is without Alex.”

  “Your future is what you have always wanted it to be,” Rachel stated. “You are a judge in the city. It’s what you wanted and what Alex gave you the space to become.”

  “The last thing Alex would want is for you to stop following your dreams,” Riley added. “He’s gone, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t watching.”

  Rachel took Regan’s hand and pulled her down to sit on the bed between them. “Riley is right. He may not physically be here, but he is here in spirit, you know that.”

  “I feel like we wasted so much time. We could have been together, having babies, living the life we wanted.”

  “I know for sure Alex would not want you sitting around thinking you were wasting time with him!” Rachel exclaimed. “If anything, he would probably tell you to get off your ass and find out who took him away from you.”

  Regan stared at her little sister. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, then exhaled. “You know what?” she swallowed. “You are right.”

  “No, she’s not,” Riley hissed as she gaped at Rachel. “Alex would not want you to do any such th
ing because he would not want you in danger. Right, Rachel?” she looked past Regan with a frown at her little sister.

  “I don’t think so.” Rachel replied. “Alex loved Regan’s kick-ass attitude. He told me that several times. And frankly, I think it would make you feel better helping Nate to find who did this. Let’s be honest, Nate is devastated about Alex’s death, but he is working the case to bring the person or persons to justice.”

  “Rachel, stop!” Riley demanded.

  “No, listen. Grief is something that is going to take time to work through. Use that time to your advantage. All those emotions you are feeling can be handled later. They are not going anywhere. But right now, use that energy for something positive. You have a brilliant mind. And great instincts. You said earlier that you believe the investigation you and Alex were doing into the judges is connected to his death. Well, so do I. Judge Reid was the one who started this case. I say have a heart to heart with her.”

  Regan stood. “You’re right. Alex would not want me feeling sorry for myself. There is plenty of time for that. I’m going to talk to the heifer to see what she knows.”

  Regan stomped into her closet.

  “Look at what you did.” Riley turned to Rachel. “Now, she’s pissed off.”

  “Better pissed off then pissed on,” Rachel replied as she walked to the door. “I’m changing clothes so I can ride with her. You coming?”

  “I don’t like it, but y’all are not riding without me.” Riley huffed.

  Forty-five minutes later they were sitting at the private entrance to the secure home the DOJ had provided to keep Judge Paula Reid safe.

  “Hey Rex,” Regan spoke to the guard at the gate. “I’m here to check on Mrs. Reid. I’m sure you heard the news.”

  “I did. My condolences on the loss of your friend,” Rex nodded. “I don’t mind letting you up Judge Fontaine, but I don’t know these ladies.”

  “Oh, these are my sisters Riley and Rachel. They did not want me to take the ride alone because it’s so late. They rode along to keep me company.”