It was a fair question, Ellie thought.
* * * *
Changes. Some of them were for the better. Some of them were just unavoidable, and you had to roll with the punches. After her shift that night, Jordan decided to get it over with and make that call. She would treat this like a doctor’s appointment—unpleasant but necessary for your health in the long run.
Still, Jordan sat in her car for about five minutes before she clicked the number.
Kathryn picked up on the second ring.
“Hey,” Jordan said, wishing she had developed more of a plan beforehand.
“It’s you! I’m so happy you decided to call. How are you? Does this mean we can meet?”
The jarring contrast of past and present was enough to get her back on track.
“I’m fine. I still can’t tell what you’re trying to achieve with this, but several people I trust have convinced me to give it a shot. Since it’s the only way I can get you to stop texting me.”
Kathryn was silent on the other end. This maybe meant that for the first time, she was actually listening. She had better.
“I will meet you, but not right away. You have to give me until the end of the month, and you will come to my house, on a Friday or Saturday evening. I’ll listen to what you have to say, and that’s it.”
“I was hoping we could…” Kathryn sighed. “There’s a lot you don’t know. Jim tells me to let it go, that we can’t undo the past, but…”
“He has a point there.”
“Would it be so bad if I was in your life now? I’ve seen what you’ve become, and sweetie, I’m so proud—”
“No.” Jordan took a deep breath. “That’s not how it works. You’ll come to my house, say what you have to say. I’ll give you an hour or even two. Make your case if you must. I have a family.”
“Is it that you’re ashamed of your real family?”
“What real family are you talking about? TJ? Jim? No, I’m not ashamed. Do you want to know why? It’s because I have nothing in common with any of you. I’m actually grateful. The fact that you never cared, never tried to find me—it was good for me. It was such a relief when I realized I’d never have to go back.”
“I don’t want that. I want to know you in the present. You’re still my daughter.”
“That’s convenient, isn’t it? I have to go. Let’s say Friday in two weeks, five o’clock. If you’re not there, I’ll assume you changed your mind.”
“I won’t. Thank you, Jordan. You’ll never know how much this means to me.”
I’m afraid you’re right.
* * * *
Intentionally or not, Kathryn knew how to choose words that hit too close to home, Jordan thought as she walked into the Night Shift. It was true that she firmly believed she was lucky to be very different from her blood relatives, or even Jim, the present but unengaged father she had known in her first twelve years. TJ Pratt—yes, she had harbored all kinds of negative feelings since finding out that he was her biological parent, and shame might have been one of them. After the Darby case, her focus had been on proving to her colleagues and supervisors that she still could do her job. The discovery had jeopardized that focus, and for sure she wasn’t proud of any of it.
She didn’t feel like hanging out at the Night Shift tonight, so instead she took Ellie aside and asked, “Could we go somewhere else?”
“Hello to you too. Tough day?”
They hadn’t seen each other since the morning. Jordan knew Ellie had been busy with one of Doss’s crime scenes. “I’m sure yours was tougher, but I’d like to be somewhere alone with you. Would that be okay?”
“Of course.” Ellie smiled, but the worried tone belied her initial reaction. “Did you call Kathryn?”
That was almost scary. “Yes.” Jordan sighed. “I guess it went okay. I made a date with her in two weeks.”
“Two weeks.” Ellie frowned.
“Well, yeah, I’m kind of busy right now.”
“I understand that, but…Okay. I guess you need some prep time for that conversation. Do you want me to be there?”
Jordan was tempted by the offer. She shook her head.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea. Like you said, I’ll brace myself, and it’ll be okay. I have a pretty good idea of what she’s going to say. I can’t do this with the Ashcroft case still open.”
Ellie nodded, but Jordan understood what she wasn’t saying. There was no guarantee the case would be closed a couple of weeks from now.
“I promise, I won’t change my mind. The sooner I do this, the sooner we can all move on. Let’s go?”
“Sure. Where to?”
“Oh, hi. I see this is the place to be these days. Can you recommend anything on the menu?” Valerie Esposito asked cheerfully.
“I’m sorry, we were just leaving,” Jordan said, taking Ellie’s hand in an unmistakable gesture. “Ellie?”
“I’m coming.” To Esposito, Ellie said, “I’m Ellie Harding, by the way. Welcome. We haven’t come here often, yet, but the veggie pizza is pretty good.”
“Great, I’ll give it a try. See you.”
Jordan was now even more in a hurry to leave. When they were out on the sidewalk, she asked, “What just happened?”
“Why?” Ellie’s question sounded completely innocent, and it probably was. “I saw her earlier at the department. Kate told me she’s the new A.D.A. Something I should know about her?”
“Not really.” Another time. Maybe. “Okay, where do we go?”
“I don’t mind, as long as they serve food. I’m starving.” They walked a bit further down the block until they reached a bistro/bar that had a small discreet rainbow flag in the window. Named after its owners Dan and Teddy, the D&T was new in town, and promised a happy hour until midnight.
“Let’s try this?”
Ellie studied the dishes written on the chalkboard sign critically and gave her okay.
The waitress led them to a table in the back and after a quick check of the menu, Ellie ordered a beer, Jordan a Long Island Ice Tea.
“Whoa. Are you going to tell me about that phone call?”
“It wasn’t all that bad,” Jordan assured her. “All I wanted was to be alone with you and have a drink in peace.” She sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I know what it’s going to be like. She’s going to want me to see sense in something that doesn’t make sense. She and Jim screwed up, big time. There were other options. They just bided their time and did whatever they wanted until child protective services knocked on their door. There is no other side to that story. That is the story.”
“The story isn’t going to change.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Ellie took a sip from Jordan’s cocktail. “Hm, that is good. We’re going to take a cab later?”
“You’re going to come with me?”
Ellie’s gaze softened. “Of course.”
No, the story wouldn’t change. It would always end with the two of them together. They had been through worse than an unwanted family reunion. This too shall pass.
* * * *
When they left, there was a younger couple coming in at the same time, obviously just starting their night. Ellie had the same thought.
“Doesn’t it make you cringe? I used to be like that in college. Now it’s a drink or two, and I can’t wait to curl up in bed.” She reconsidered and added, “On the other hand…I can curl up in bed with you. That’s better than anything.”
“You weren’t drinking in college while you were underage, right?” Jordan teased.
“Right. Let’s go home now.”
“Yeah.”
Jordan cast one last look at the couple who seemed to be fighting now, in low hushed tones. That made her cringe even more. She knew what it was like to be caught up in a bitter exchange like that—she’d been there with Bethany often enough, her attempts at escaping always bringing her back to the same place.
Not anymore. This time, she was the
lucky one.
She watched as Ellie put on her coat. A third woman had arrived out of nowhere, and now the argument was getting louder, voices raised. She pushed one of the others, getting pushed in return, and one of the barstools crashed to the floor, the two of them exchanging slurs.
“Really?” Ellie said, exasperated.
“Yes, really. Come on.” They had reached the fighting women within a few steps.
“Hey, take it easy,” Jordan said, earning glares from both of them.
“What’s it to you?” said one.
“She’s been trying to hook up with my girlfriend,” the other one accused.
The girlfriend sat on one of the stools at the counter, regarding the scenery with unease.
“Well maybe you should ask yourself why.”
They were a hair’s breadth away from throwing punches, but Jordan flashing her badge put the argument to a halt quickly.
“What the hell? Police? We were just talking.”
“Yeah, try to do it without damaging the furniture or yourselves, okay?” Ellie said.
“We don’t have to call it in if you stop it right here,” Jordan added. “We’re cool?”
The one accused of trying to steal the other one’s girlfriend gave her a long look. “I assume we are. I was going to leave anyway. Your loss,” she scoffed towards the woman on the barstool, nearly starting the fight again.
“Relax,” Jordan warned. “Let her go. You guys sort out what you need to sort out. Have a good night.”
“They don’t seem very grateful,” Ellie observed when they made their way to the exit once more, casting a look over her shoulder. “All of a sudden I’m not so jealous anymore.”
“Good.” Jordan laughed. “How about we go home and proceed as planned? Curling up in bed sounds really good right now. I hope no one starts taking the bar apart when we’re gone.”
“Yeah, having to look for another new place, that would suck. How about we go to my apartment?” Ellie suggested. “It’s easier to get to work tomorrow. We could carpool.”
“Oh yeah, sure.”
“Don’t laugh.”
“I’m not laughing. I never knew Henderson was so damn cheerful in the morning.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” Ellie said. “You know that.”
Jordan loved the insinuation in her words. All right then.
“I can’t wait,” she said.
Even a little tipsy, they managed to keep their hands to themselves in the cab nonetheless. In the elevator, however, all bets were off. From there until they finally closed the door of Ellie’s room, it was all a blur. Between them, they still had a fair amount of need for reassurance, in their relationship, in the aftermath of recent events.
Making love always worked for them.
In the morning, Jordan was almost disappointed to realize she wouldn’t be able to start the workday over breakfast. Kate joined them at the table, looking bleary-eyed, but Derek wasn’t there.
Jordan couldn’t help worrying she might have overlooked something at the scene, something that would make the M.O. clearer, that would bring them ahead in a way they desperately needed. As long as Mrs. Santos was in the house, she didn’t think it would be a problem—she just had to make sure Craig didn’t know about it.
“Derek stayed at his own place last night. Court today.” Kate yawned.
Jordan suppressed a sigh. So he would be out for most of the day.
“You’re going to need me for something today?” Ellie asked, making her think of various ways, none of which had to do with work.
Jordan cleared her throat. “Actually yes. I’d like to go over to the Ashcroft house one more time. I have a feeling.”
“I hear the new A.D.A. wants everyone to be extra careful,” Kate said. It wasn’t much of a question where she’d heard that.
“I will be. I’d like you to look over the sibling’s finances once more. There has to be something.”
“Sorry.” Kate shrugged. “I’ll be over in Missing Persons this morning. We’re still looking. No sign of her so far.”
“I’ll talk to Bristol. If the lieutenant wants this case solved so badly, he needs to have people on it.”
“Can’t Waters…”
“Detective Waters is busy otherwise, believe me.”
“Okay,” Ellie chimed in. “I guess breakfast is over. Let’s go.”
Chapter Nine
Ellie was relieved that the tone had stayed amiable. She knew Kate didn’t like Jordan making decisions like this, after she’d invested a lot in the case of the missing college student. She also knew Jordan was stressed, about the slow progress and many obstacles in the Ashcroft case, and about Kathryn. Hopefully, their friendship could remain intact. She was aware that living with Kate was some sort of limbo, until she had figured out if she wanted to be with Derek in the long run or not, until Jordan wasn’t too skittish anymore to let somebody else into her space, without the fear of another suffocating entanglement.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t a bad arrangement, biding time for all of them.
Only, sometimes, Ellie thought she was the one who needed that time least. She had made up her mind a long time ago.
She was distracted from her thoughts when they reached the driveway of the Ashcroft mansion.
“Wow. The things that money can buy.”
“Yeah. Happiness and a long life obviously aren’t some of them.”
“Well, I don’t have the money, but I certainly have the happiness. And I plan to be around for some time to come.”
“That’s good to know,” Jordan said. “Okay, let’s do this.”
A car with a distinct logo was parked in front of the building. Mrs. Santos opened the door to them on the first ring.
“Detective! Do you have any news? Have you found out who murdered Gerald?”
“Not yet, unfortunately.”
“Is the press bothering you again? You can send them away, you know?” they heard a voice from the kitchen. “Or I can do it for you. Oops. I guess you guys have a reason to be here. Officers.”
Ellie noticed that Jordan didn’t make an attempt to clarify rank. She noticed something else, too—the young woman was one half of the couple from the D&T.
“Detective Carpenter, this is my niece Aleja,” Mrs. Santos said. “She was helping me sort out my papers…I’m not sure if I can stay in this house. Sure, Gerald said I could, but his children are going to fight this, so…I could use the money to find me somewhere else to live. That poor man. I don’t think they’re going to use this place at all like he intended.”
“His will is binding,” Jordan reminded her.
“There are always loopholes. How can I help you?”
“I’d like to take a look at Mr. Ashcroft’s suite again,” Jordan said. “By the way, could you tell me who the car outside belongs to?”
So she had noticed the logo too.
“It’s mine,” Aleja said. Leaning against the doorway, she had watched the exchange with interest. “Well, not actually mine. I was about to go to work from here. I’m a pharma sales rep.”
“That’s interesting. You’re promoting new medications and treatments to clinics and practices? I imagine that’s tough.”
“Not harder than solving a murder, I think.” Aleja gave Ellie a cordial smile. “My firm sells a variety of medication for severe chronic conditions, the kind where there’s always lots of costs involved. Everyone’s looking for solutions.”
“You sell Digoxin too?”
“Among many others, yes.”
“You have samples with you right now?”
Aleja laughed. “What, Detective, are you thinking of changing careers?”
“It would really help if I could see the sample right now,” Jordan said, her tone level and polite.
Ellie could tell that the younger woman was about to argue, but thought otherwise. Probably she was worried they could tell her aunt about the fight she’d gotten into.
“Is a
nything wrong?” Mrs. Santos asked.
“Don’t worry,” Aleja said. “I’m sure the ladies here simply need my expertise. Right?”
“That’s absolutely right. Thank you.”
Back outside, Ellie watched as Aleja produced a sample of the drug.
“I assume this is not something to come by easily,” Jordan said, still making conversation.
“Oh, no. Like everything that can be quite dangerous in the wrong hands. Kind of like guns. No offense.”
“Would you mind if I keep this?”
“Normally I would say yes, but since it doesn’t seem like you’re going to rat me out to my aunt about the bar fight, sure, keep this. I assume you’re not going to tell me what for.”
“Did you know Mr. Ashcroft?” Jordan asked.
“Yes, sure, I saw him around when I came to visit my aunt. For a rich old white guy, he was pretty cool, I guess. You probably heard that he supported various organizations, including LGBT charities. He was always friendly to me.”
“And with your aunt?”
Aleja gave her a wry smile. “I assume you figured that out too, didn’t you?”
Ellie wondered where Jordan was going with this, and if she really believed Aleja could be involved in Ashcroft’s death. She waited, and eventually, Aleja continued.
“They’re adults, right, they can do whatever they want. I have no problem with that. His kids, however, they were often quite nasty with her. I guess now that he gave her money, that’s not going to end anytime soon.”
“Okay. Thank you, Aleja.”
Back in the car, Ellie said, “All right, I get part of your theory. If Ashcroft had been as bad to her as the siblings, or if he was involved with another woman, one of them could have gotten to these pills. He seemed to have been a good guy, to everyone. For Mrs. Santos, and, or Aleja, there’s still no motive.”
“I know,” Jordan said. “But there are plenty of people with a motive to frame them.”
* * * *
Searching Ashcroft’s suite didn’t turn up anything new, and besides, Jordan was eager to share their findings.
“That’s…a theory,” the lieutenant said when she stood in his office half an hour later. “Can we prove it? Anything?”
Jordan suppressed a sigh. She had already known that his reaction wouldn’t be quite as enthusiastic as Ellie’s, and the “we” was as much slack as he would cut her.
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