by Kelly Shade
“What if he had an accomplice?”
“I was the first he tried to recruit,” Jane said.
“You sure?” Ryan couldn’t believe that.
“Positive.” Jane nodded.
They stayed an hour more discussing the creepy psychotherapist. Jane had to explain how she knew he was a killer. Ryan was like a little kid listening to a bedtime story. He was amazed at some moments, sad at others. Jane’s stories were like fiction. Ryan couldn’t believe anyone was capable of the things she did. It was hard to understand how Blake knew so much about people’s behavior without proper training. Yeah, he was a self-taught hacker, but computers could be learned far easier than people, he said to her at one point. Of course, he suggested she was a psychic which lead to a loud laugh. Jane looked at her phone and with terror saw it was almost three in the morning. She cut off the talk and prepared to go home. Ryan wasn’t ready; he could listen to her all night, but Blake wanted her sleep.
On the way out, Jason Carter almost bumped into Ryan.
“Watch out!” Ryan shouted.
“Sorry, man!” apologized Jason. “Jane, what are you still doing here?” He turned to her.
“We had a case. Work. You know how it is,” she answered icily. “You?”
“Me, too. Robbery downtown. We just caught a crew we were after for years. Big night for our team,” Jason said happily.
“Congratulations!” Jane clapped.
“Thanks. Look if you want . . .” Jason started but saw Ryan was at the door. “Can you excuse us for a minute?”
Ryan glanced at Jane for approval and stepped aside with a grim face.
“If you want, you can wait ten minutes until I finish and we can go together . . . maybe to my place?” he whispered.
“Nope, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.” Jane was whispering too.
“Why? Don’t tell me you don’t like the . . .”
“Because I need to sleep. Call me tomorrow and, please, don’t do it in the office! We have an agreement, I believe.” Jane was irritated.
“Oh, he doesn’t know, does he?” Jason got annoyed too, “And I don’t really want to refer to what we have as an agreement!”
“Do we have an understanding?” Jane insisted, her eyes blazing.
“Yes,” he answered with obvious reluctance. “Bye.”
Jane turned around to see Ryan’s red face and clenched fists. She walked to him and gestured that they needed to go.
“We are okay, right?” Ryan asked as he sent her to get her car.
“You mean?” Jane rolled her eyes. She was tired and wanted to go home.
“Well, I asked you out, and you said no, and that’s okay but we are still friends, right?” he said nervously.
“Ryan, of course, it is okay. But we are colleagues. I don’t have friends. Friends are the ones who betray you,” Jane answered.
“Not the real ones, Blake. But you will get that later,” smiled Gray. “Good night!”
Jane smiled back and drove off.
Chapter 9
Mike’s boy
Jane arrived in the homicide office with a headache. Her eyes were swollen, and she had a tired look. Still yawning, without even saying good morning to the team, her first question was what is happening with the serial killer case. Blake was disappointed to hear they didn’t even crack the files. Her eyes refused to open, so she ran to get her third coffee of the morning.
Jason Carter was in front of the coffee machine looking as exhausted as Jane. He nodded, frowning at her because of yesterday’s talk. Jane ignored him. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would be interested in the childish behavior he was showing. Jane got her cup from the shelf and sat down to wait her turn for the coffee machine. Jason cleared his throat trying unsuccessfully to get her attention. He did it again. And again. Nothing happened. After he got his coffee from the coffee maker, he changed places with Jane. He sat there, staring at her sleepy movements.
“Hard night?” Jason couldn’t take it anymore.
“Yep.” She yawned again. “You too, I believe.”
“Yes.” He hesitated for a minute “Are we still?”
“Still what?” Jane asked casually.
“Well, I don’t know what we are,” Jason said.
“We are two adults having sex. That’s it. I thought you knew what you were getting in to,” Jane explained calmly while drinking small sips of the hot coffee.
“So nothing more, huh?” Jason said sadly. “You are one very mysterious woman. It’s funny. This is the first time I feel used.”
“There is a first time for everything,” Jane smiled and added, “And if you want, we can stop anytime. I told you, I’m not searching for a relationship or love or whatever idea you have of what we can be.”
“No, it’s okay. I think in time you will let me get closer. Maybe it is too early,” Jason said with sadness. “Bye for now. I’ll call you tonight.”
Jane waved and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ryan standing at the entrance of the kitchen.
“Hey! You know it is not polite to listen to people’s conversations, right?” Jane said.
“I couldn’t help it.” Ryan tried to hide the anger “So you and that idiot?”
“Huh, idiot?”
Blake didn’t wait for an answer. She returned to her desk and snuggled in her comfy chair. She leaned back and closed her eyes for few minutes. She couldn’t sleep the night before. Not only because they stayed late, but because this case was driving her mad. She couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that the killer gave her a clue, and she couldn’t understand what it was.
Jane knew they didn’t have time; he would kill again. And the next murder would be on her. That sick person took over her thoughts so much that she forgot about her agenda. She hadn’t tried to find something about her biological parents or about herself for ages. This person was driving her crazy. She rubbed her eyes and, with enormous effort, opened them. She took a sip and started to turn over the pages of H.G. Rewera’s file.
Hunt entered the office extremely mad. He saw what Jane was holding and said, “Blake, this is an ongoing investigation, but since we don’t have any clues, why don’t you be more useful and help Valdez with writing the reports.”
Jane lifted her eyebrows in astonishment and said in irritated tone “Calm down!” But before she could say anything else, Hunt turned to Nick.
“This is not a restaurant, Lee. The whole station smells like . . . God knows what’s the shit you’re eating,” yelled Hunt and closed his office door behind him.
Nick didn’t argue which was weird for him. Jane was curious. Hunt was always very professional and strict; this behavior wasn’t usual for him.
“What’s with him?” she asked the team.
“On this date, five years ago, his wife was murdered,” Ryan whispered.
“Oh,” was the only thing Jane could say. She thought for a while and asked again, “Did they catch the killer?”
“Well, yes, but there are circumstances. Let’s say it is weird,” Ian said quietly.
“Maybe you should ask Hunt. I don’t think we are the people to tell his story,” Nick advised her.
“I agree.” Jane stood up and headed to Hunt’s office.
“Not now! He is too emotional today.” Ryan grabbed her hand, but she pulled away from his grip.
“That’s exactly why I’ll go now,” she said. “When people are emotional, they can’t lie, and I need to know the truth in order to help him.”
Ryan stepped back. After all, that was the main reason he was after Jane in the first place. Gray was chasing her for years because of her abilities. He had to let her go and do her thing.
Jane opened the door of Hunt’s office. She didn’t expect the image in front of her eyes. Connor was sitting on his desk with a photo in his hand. He was just staring at it with tears in his eyes. Hunt didn’t even see that Jane was in front of him. She looked at him for few more seconds before she spoke.
“Tell me about her.”
Hunt almost fell off his chair. He wiped away the tears as quickly as he could.
“What do you want, Blake?” he cleared his throat. “It’s not a good time.”
“I want to know what she was like,” Jane said softly.
“Please, Blake, don’t. I really don’t feel like talking.” Hunt was struggling not to cry.
“You want to find the real killer, right? I can help you with that,” Blake continued “You know I can.”
Hunt put his head in his hands and stayed like this for some time. He was deciding if he wanted Jane involved. It took him a while, but finally, he started speaking.
“What do you need to know?”
“First, tell me about her. What kind of person was she?”
“And how is that going to help you?”
“You have no idea how important it is. So?” Jane insisted.
“Rose was one incredible woman.” He took a deep breath “She was kind with a good heart, but at her work she was tough. A great cook. Always found time to make my favorite food. And beautiful. Amazing woman. Smiling and full of life. Always wanted to make a change. She said that every time when she put a drug dealer in prison, she had the feeling she was saving a few more kids.” Hunt was staring at the old photo again.
“What was your marriage like?” Jane asked.
“Great. We worked a lot, but we always found time for each other. She was in the narcotics department, so we had lunch together every day.”
Hunt was grieving. No matter how many years had passed he couldn’t get over Rose’s death. His hands were shivering; his eyes were sad. Usually, he looked like a strong and capable man, but now he was weak. Jane could see the wrinkles on his face were deeper than before. It wasn’t even a year ago when they met, but today she noticed how old he looked. He had more gray hair than before. His dark blue eyes were dreamy, as if he just went to an alternate reality where his wife was alive. Jane didn’t want to take him out of his cloud-castle, but she needed to know more. Maybe the change in his appearance was a result of empty hope; perhaps he was waiting for Jane to offer her help. Connor Hunt wasn’t the type that would beg, or even ask for a favor. And Ryan Gray did promise him, if they hired Jane, she would help catch the person responsible for Rose’s and Amber’s deaths.
“Connor, I know it’s hard. I will try any trick that I know to catch the bastard who did this to you, okay?” Blake wanted him to trust her, and as hard as it was for him, he wanted to believe in her, too. Jane was his only hope.
“Point is, we had a good marriage.” He started where he left off. “The last case she had was difficult. They assigned her and her team because the others couldn’t catch anyone for years. It was about a drug lord trafficking drugs in and out of the country, but his main business was in LA. That’s why Rose and her team were helping the Feds. Anyway, like I said a difficult case, but that wasn’t the weird part. Usually, Rose shared everything with me. This time, she didn’t want to talk at all. And I mean nothing.” Hunt breathed deeply.
“Did she act weird all the time, or just for the case?” Jane asked.
“Well, mostly it was the job; she was secretive. I trusted my wife, so I gave her the space she needed. But one night, her phone rang; it was like two in the morning. Rose picked up and left the room. She may have thought I was asleep because she stayed in the front of the bedroom. I heard part of the talk, and I’m sure that wasn’t any of her colleagues. As far I can tell, it was a woman on the other side and that woman had information about the drug lord. She didn’t want to share over the phone, so she asked Rose to meet. My wife agreed. In the morning she was happy, and she told me they had a break. Unfortunately, the mysterious woman didn’t show up. I guessed when I saw Rose after work. She started to act weird again. Later I found out Amber Gray was the woman who helped my wife, the one who was murdered. That’s why I wanted to help Ryan.” Hunt stopped for a moment. “The next seven months Rose was sad about her friend and hopeless for the case. Until one morning she was happy again. This time she told me, "I’m getting close" and she left. On that day, it was lunchtime, she decided to use the break to talk to the Feds in person. She started her car in front of the station, and it exploded.” Hunt started to cry again. Jane put her hand gently on his shoulder.
She waited a few moments for him to calm down and she asked. “Do you think the person you got is the one that planted the bomb?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Fergus O’Finn was the one who killed my wife. But who ordered him to do it? I don’t know. He has been in prison for five years now. I visit him every week. I tried to make him talk, but he wouldn’t.” Hunt looked devastated.
“Can we look at the files. Of Rose’s murder and the drug lord?” Jane wanted to get as much info as she could.
“Yeah, I think I can get them.” A sign of hope appeared in Hunt’s eyes.
Jane nodded and left Connor’s office. The team was waiting for her. She explained, “Hunt is going to be okay, but he needs some space. Today, make sure not to bother him.” She took Ryan out, and Jane shared the conversation she had with Hunt. Gray couldn’t believe that Connor opened up to her. It meant a lot; it meant he trusted her and that was an excellent beginning.
Ryan checked on Fergus O’Finn and sent Blake to see him. Jane wanted to go alone, but Ryan insisted on going with her. They drove to the Twin Towers Jail. It was weird that a cop killer wasn’t in supermax. That was the first sign O’Finn was valuable for his boss and that the "employer" was powerful and well-connected.
They had to wait about twenty minutes because the visiting hours hadn’t started yet. Ryan used that time to try to convince Jane to tell him about her relationship with Jason Carter. Blake, as an ex-con artist and excellent poker player, found it pretty easy to keep a straight face and to turn the conversation in another direction. Jane shared her thoughts about Hunt‘s condition. She pointed out that he wasn’t doing well and this affected his work. Ryan agreed, and both were of the same opinion. Hunt was losing his touch. By the time they were discussing different ways to help him, well, except giving him closure, the visiting hours had started.
The visiting area was already crowded. Jane and Ryan asked for a meeting with him in private, so they walked to a room next to the visiting area. They waited for the convict to appear.
Moments later he showed up. The man looked like a rat. His front teeth protruded in front of his lips; greasy gray hair was covering his almost closed brown-yellowish eyes; his thin, bony nose had been broken at least twice. When Fergus saw them, he made a toothy arrogant smile and sat down.
“When I heard cops were waiting for me, I thought Connor Hunt had a friend.” He laughed “What happened, did he give up?”
Ryan got frustrated after that sentence. He was ready to yell that Hunt wouldn’t give up, but Jane kicked him under the table.
“I saw a picture when you were arrested. Jail hasn‘t been very good for you, huh?” Jane teased him.
“It‘s been rough, but it is totally worth it!” he answered with a nasty smile “She was sexy. It was a big waste to blow up like this. I didn‘t even have the chance to try her.”
Ryan‘s face was red, and his jaw muscles were pulsating. Jane, calm as usual, smiled back.
“Well, it’s too late now, isn‘t it?” Blake was looking straight into his watery eyes. “You know why we are here. Tell me who ordered the murder of Rose Hunt?”
“Why should I do that? I have four more years left, and when I‘m out, I will be welcomed like a king,” Fergus bragged.
“You are a pathetic little boy, playing with the big sharks. You think they will welcome you? No, honey, they will send you to kill someone else and to jail again. I can see you were beaten by your father as a kid; mother was probably a druggy and, hmm, a bigger sister left you alone when you needed her. When you kill, you probably imagine you‘re killing your father so you won‘t feel the guilt. You‘re not a psychopath, just a sick person with a bad childhood.
You are nothing special for your boss, maybe less than you were for your daddy.” Jane spoke quietly.
“Shut up!” interrupted O’Finn. Now he was redder than Ryan and sweating. “I don‘t know how you know that stuff, but you‘re wrong about my boss. I‘m respected and beloved by my boss! I‘m like his son!”
“Are you? Why you are here, then? Yeah, it isn‘t a very long sentence, but nine years? I‘m not sure your boss would put his own son in prison at all! And he has the needed connections to make it go away, so why didn‘t he do it for you?” Jane had a wide smile on her face and glowing eyes. She knew she would crack him, at least for some information. “Because you are nothing for him!” she almost shouted.
“Bullshit!” he stood up ”I‘m the right hand! I‘m Mike’s boy! He calls me that and I would never betray his trust!” Fergus lost it.
“Okay, Mike it is. We are getting somewhere,” Jane said satisfactorily.
Fergus O‘Finn dropped down on his chair with his hands on his face. He just realized he had spilled information about his boss he shouldn‘t have.
Pure horror was written on his face. What if the boss heard he said his name? Fergus knew he was done. He looked at Jane with hate and threatened her. “You will regret this! I‘ll go out and I promise I will try you first, pretty cop!”
“No need for big words.” Jane spoke slowly, just to annoy him more. “But if you insist, I will make your life miserable for the next three years and eleven months, and the last month will be unbearable. Then you will go out in a body bag! I have many friends who will do everything I say, and the only way to stop it is to tell me who you work for.”
“You are a cop! You can‘t do it, and you know it! I‘m telling you nothing!” Fergus burst into laughter.
“And Amber, you killed her too?” Jane asked out of nowhere. Ryan looked at her stunned. He didn’t know Hunt told her the connection.
“This beauty wasn’t my responsibility,” he said grinning.
“Okay. Wait for night visits at your cell, Fergus!” laughed Jane.