by D. A. Brown
Jess walked around the corner and leaned up against the cubicle wall. “Did he hang up on you?”
“Yep.” Sophia leaned back in her chair. “God I hate men like that.”
“Now, as much as you hate me right now, I’d never do that to you.” Stinson had an impish grin on his face.
“As much as an asshole as you can be Stinson, I’ll give you that one.” Sophia stood up and rubbed her lower back. “That guy sounds like a real peach. No wonder his wife acted like such a broken bird. But hey, here’s the best part.” She tapped her pen on the cubicle wall. “He told me that if I talked to his kids again, he’s going to call Marcus Burton.’
“As in Assistant Chief Marcus Burton?” Stinson’s eyes widened.
“Isn’t that a fun fact?”
Jess grabbed a chair and scooted it over to Tommy and Sophia’s cubicle space. “This case just became a royal pain in the ass for you two. I’m surprised he hasn’t been down here sniffing around.”
“Now that’s the kind of guy I like to fuck with,” Stinson said.
“Who, Burton or the nice doctor?” Jess smiled and clasped her hands behind her neck and leaned back in the chair.
Stinson stroked his chin. “Now that you mention it, both.”
Sophia liked the sound of the challenge. “He’s a condescending prick.”
But something about Stewart Halifax rubbed her the wrong way. It wasn’t just his arrogance. He was a controlling bastard who was going to try and direct her investigation and she was going to have none of it.
Tommy spent the rest of the day quietly typing at his desk. He left for an hour and then returned, smelling like cigarette smoke and french fries.
“Where did you disappear to, partner?”
“I ran down to Burger King and then ate in the car and smoked. I felt like flaunting all of the rules today. Even left a french fry under the seat.” He smiled and leaned back in this chair.
“You’re really turning into a rebel at the end of your career.”
Stinson grunted. “I’ve got a doctor’s appointment later, so I’m going to take the last two off.”
“I’m going to type up my notes on our interview with Barrett. You were so busy lecturing me on the way back, I didn’t get a chance to ask you what you thought of the kid,” Sophia asked.
“He’s an equal mixture of good kid and turd. I just don’t know which one we’re dealing with yet. Seemed to me he was being straight with us. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around all that digital avatar shit.”
“Then we’re on the same page.”
“For now.” Stinson locked his computer, grabbed his bag and headed out. “See you in the morning.”
The rest of the squad filtered out as the day drew to a close. As she finished up the last of her supplemental of Barrett’s interview, Sophia remembered the thumb drive in her pocket. Stinson had turned it over to her after they left her house.
She slid the nail end of the drive back until the connector was exposed and plugged it into the USB port on her computer. Double clicking on the computer icon, she looked for the device and found something named ‘hitchhiker’ come up on the E: drive. She paused, realizing that she was about to embark on a fishing expedition that might or might not have something to do with her case. This really called for someone far more versed in computer forensics. Since she was certain David had left it behind, for all she knew, it contained personal information about her or about their marriage. That was something she didn’t want floating around the department.
Her mouse hovered over the device drive. She right clicked and pressed ‘open.’
The only item on the drive was a single Word document which she opened. It read: If you’ve found this, I’m dead. David.
She grabbed her phone and dialed David’s number. The phone rang once and went to voicemail.
“David, it’s Sophia. I found the thumb drive under my table and I read the message. Meet me at the Uptown on Queen Anne in the morning at ten. Don’t call me. Just be there.” She paused. “This better be good, David. By the way, if you don’t show up, I will send patrol to your place and have them hook you up. I’m serious.”
Grabbing her bag and gun, she headed to her car.
CHAPTER TEN
The following morning, Sophia dropped Bodhi off with her neighbor Candy, who spent three days a week using the dog to try and meet eligible men in the Junction. It worked perfectly for both women - Bodhi got some badly needed attention, and if she was lucky, so did Candy. Her home sat across from the park at the end of the street. It always smelled of garlic and tomato sauce, a poignant reminder of Sophia’s own mother’s kitchen.
“I should be home at the end of shift unless something comes up. I’ll call you.”
“I’m home all day. We’ll hang out. Have a good one.” Candy held Bodhi by the collar and stood on the porch, as the dog wagged her tail furiously.
The West Seattle bridge was a mess of red brake lights, as far as she could see. Blue and red emergency lights flashed a half-mile east. There was only one way off the bridge now and everyone was attempting to get on Highway 99 northbound.
Sophia dialed the main office line but it went to voicemail. She tried Sgt. Pierson’s cell. He answered after three rings.
“Hey sarge. There’s an accident on the bridge. I’m going to be late.” It was a formality that she followed from patrol. Pierson didn’t care one way or another. He was three years from retirement, and all he wanted was to be left alone.
“Your partner called and left a message at four AM saying he wasn’t coming in, so you’re on your own today. You can take Vance with you if you have to go out.”
“Sure. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
Sophia looked for any missed calls from Tommy. Her screen was clear. She called Robin.
“Calling to schedule a date for general debauchery?”
“No. That’ll have to wait. I’m up to my ass in alligators at the moment.”
“Sounds like fun. More work for me, then?”
“I need tell you something…” Sophia hesitated.
“What?”
“David showed up a couple of nights ago.”
There was silence except for the sound of typing on a keyboard.
“Wait, what did you say?” The typing stopped. “David Montero?”
“He called me, and after I hung up on him, he showed up at the house. Scared the shit out of me. I almost shot him.”
“Well, that wouldn’t have necessarily been a bad thing.”
“Funny.”
“What did he want?”
“I’m not sure, exactly. He wants to talk to me about a case I’m working.”
“Ok, that’s pretty weird. I don’t like the sound of that at all.” Robin had resumed typing.
“What are you working on that’s more important than giving me your undivided attention?”
“I’m just reading some email. I’m backlogged from that stupid conference they sent me to last week.”
“How was that boondoggle in Las Vegas anyway? Get smarter?”
“Whoa.”
“What?” Sophia tapped the brakes to get the jerk behind her to back off.
“I’ve got an email from David.”
“Seriously?”
“Where are you right now?” Robin asked Sophia.
“I’m driving. What’s the matter?”
“Call me when you get to work,” Robin said and hung up.
Sophia hit re-dial but her calls went directly to Robin’s voicemail.
She tossed her phone onto the passenger seat and started straight ahead. It was going to be at least an hour until she made it to the office.
By the time she got into the squad room, she was anxious and pissed. Pissed at Robin for hanging up on her and then not picking up her phone, and at Stinson for not answering his. She dialed Robin again so she could scold her.
“Are you at work yet?”
“What the hell, Robin? Why
didn’t you answer your phone?”
“I didn’t want you to be driving when I read you the email.”
Sophia’s stomach dropped.
“It says, ‘Please ensure that Sophia gets the copy of my will.’” Robin paused. “And then it says, ‘If you are reading this, I’m dead.’”
Sophia walked out into the hall. Scuff marks marred the off-white walls from years of officers bumping their leather gear into them.
“Are you there, Soph?”
“Yes.”
“Well?”
“I can’t really talk to you about this. I think it’s about this case I’m working.”
“Ok, well I may be just a dumb defense lawyer but it seems to me that David’s about to end up, well…”
“Dead.”
“Yep.”
“I’m going to have to call you back. I’m supposed to meet him today. He’s just probably being a drama queen.”
“Maybe so. And Soph?“
“Yes”
“Please be careful.”
Jess, Jimmy Paulson and Anthony Grover were already in. It was nice to hear the sound of other voices, the tapping of computer keyboards and the shuffling of pages. It’d been too quiet in the office yesterday.
“Hey, nice of you to show up to work.” Jimmy Paulson leaned back in his chair and took a break from his keyboard.
Ignoring Jimmy, Sophia headed to her desk.
“Someone’s in a good mood.” Jimmy looked around his cubicle wall as though he was afraid Sophia was going to punch him.
“Shut up, Paulson. You’re way too perky for this early in the day.” Sophia dropped her bag and looked at her phone. The message light was illuminated. Maybe Stinson had left a message for her.
Paulson continued. “I met my future wife last night,” he said. “I think I finally know what love is.”
Anthony snorted.
“That line is just as bad coming out of your mouth as it was coming over the radio,” Jess said.
“Getting a happy ending at a skanky rub joint does not constitute love, Jimmy.” Sophia stood and peered over her cubicle at the young detective. He was impeccably dressed as always, a pressed shirt tightly woven to his impressive upper body.
“Oh snap, Beni,” Jimmy laughed. “You kiss your mama with that mouth?”
“I do. And my dog.” She paused. “On the lips.” Sophia called her voicemail. There was a message from Stinson and the sounds of a party in the background.
“Hey Beni, it’s Tommy. I’m taking tomorrow off. See you Friday. Bye.”
Tommy had called Sophia’s desk phone because he knew no one would answer. If he’d called her cell phone, he would have felt compelled to explain. He was probably with the girlfriend; the twenty something legal assistant he’d met during a deposition last July. Tommy was a notorious philanderer but he generally kept his affairs on the down low, not forcing Sophia into lying for him to his wife Evelyn. His children were grown, married and on their own. Evelyn had a good job – she was a comptroller for a large telecommunications company, and certainly didn’t keep Tommy around for his money. Their relationship made no sense to Sophia. It seemed as though Tommy was cutting off his nose to spite his face. But she wasn’t naïve enough to think that there weren’t issues in that marriage that she wasn’t privy to, or that Evelyn had always been a saint. The fact of the matter was that Tommy and Evelyn seemed to genuinely love each other. They just couldn’t love each other exclusively.
Sophia looked at her watch.
“Hey, I’ve got to go meet up with a witness. Who’s coming with me? Stinson’s poking the pooch today.” Sophia waited for a response, hoping Jimmy would speak up. David wouldn’t probably pull any of his usual crap knowing Jimmy was within earshot.
Jess piped up from around the corner. “I’ll go. I need to get out of this cubicle farm for a while.”
Sophia walked over to Jess’ desk. “I need to go up to Queen Anne and meet this guy. The problem is, I don’t think he’s going to talk to me if you’re there, so I need you to just hang back in the car. You OK with that?”
“Sure. Who are you meeting?” She threw on her jacket and pulled her gun from the top drawer of her desk.
“I’ll tell you in the car.”
“See you girls later,” Jimmy cooed. “Hey Vance, sounds like Benedetti is making you her wingman today. Make sure you take notes.”
“Whatever.” Jess looked at Sophia and rolled her eyes.
Sophia checked out a car from motor pool, the only way detectives could get to interviews. Unmarked cars were shared by all of the detectives in Headquarters and were always in high demand. She snagged a three year-old Impala with lights in the grill and a police radio.
Sophia headed down James St. to 4th Avenue. “Ok, so here’s the deal, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to the guys about this.”
“Okay.” Jess glanced at Sophia as though she was going tell her something that would prove Jimmy right.
“I’m meeting up with my ex, David. You know the story, right?”
Jess nodded. “I’ve heard the department version.”
“He’s been calling me incessantly. Even showed up at my house the other night…”
“That’s kinda creepy.”
“And yes, there’s a protection order in force so I’m not only in violation of policy but of the law by meeting him. You didn’t hear that from me, though.”
Jess looked out the window, and absentmindedly wiped a smudge off.
Sophia stopped for a light and surveyed the intersection. A bike messenger screamed through the red light. “Asshole.”
“We can go get him,” Jess said, smiling.
“We could, but the last time Tommy and I did that, we got a big, fat complaint out of IIS.”
The light turned green and Sophia gunned it, hoping to catch up to the biker. She slowed the car down.
“Forget it. I don’t give a shit if he gets flattened into mist.” The biker was long gone, replaced by another two-wheeled menace, darting in and out of traffic.
“Anyway, he showed up at my house, scared the shit out of me and apparently left a thumb drive glued to the bottom of my kitchen table.” Sophia was suddenly struck by the absurdity of the story she was telling.
Sophia shifted in her seat. Jess poked her in the arm.
“Hello? Where did you just go?”
“Sorry. I just sort of had a bit of a moment there…”
“Did you hear my question?”
“No, sorry.”
“Did you look at the thumb drive?” Jess looked out at the road ahead of them.
“Yes.” Sophia slid her hand down the steering wheel to the bottom and rested it there.
“And?”
Sophia pulled into a parking spot, two stores down from Uptown Espresso. She threw up an official police business placard in the window.
“I’ll call you if I need you.”
“What’s this meeting about, Beni?”
“David says he has information on this case that Tommy and I are working.
Sophia stepped out of the car and leaned down. “I’ll be quick.”
Slamming the door before Jess could protest any more, Sophia scanned the street for David. The sidewalks were full of people on their way to work and moms pushing Bugaboo strollers.
The coffee shop smelled like warm chocolate and dark roasted beans. It was empty except for a couple near the back, studiously ignoring each other but practically making out with their smart phones. Sophia stood at the door to let her eyes adjust to the dim light. She glanced at her watch. It was ten on the dot.
He’d get fifteen minutes and then she’d leave. She dialed Jess and told her he wasn’t there yet and to just sit tight. Ten minutes passed and she heard the barista pick up a call on the business phone.
“Is there a David Montero here?” the barista asked.
Sophia stood up. “I’m supposed to be meeting him here. Who’s asking?” The barista looked at Sophi
a and shrugged.
“I don’t know. Some woman. Do you want to talk to her?” The barista held out the receiver.
Sophia took the phone. She could make out the faint sound of a TV.
“Hello?” said a woman’s voice.
“Who’s this?” Sophia asked.
“I called for David. Who the hell are you?”
“I’m a detective with the Seattle Police Department. And you are?”
“I’m looking for David. Is he with you? He said he was meeting someone named Sophia at Uptown on Queen Anne. He didn’t say he was meeting a detective. Are you the detective or Sophia?”
“Both.”
“Oh.”
There was silence at the other end.
“I’m sorry to be so rude. This is Melissa Walker. I’m David’s landlady.”
The barista pulled shots for a new customer. Between the espresso machine and the milk steamer, Sophia strained to hear.
“Why are you calling?”
“I’m pretty sure I heard him leave the house, like really early this morning. I heard the door slam. But I just tried to call him and I can hear his cell phone ringing in his room. He’s not answering when I knock on his door.”
“Are you sure he’s not there?”
“Well, I don’t go in his room when he’s not home.”
“Where are you calling from?” Sophia realized that she had no idea where David lived.
“I’m in the valley at 6710 Rainer Avenue South. Hang on and let me look and make sure he’s not down there.”
Sophia took a breath. She knew the area well from working patrol. It wasn’t generally a good place for someone with mental health and substance abuse issues to hang his hat. Sophia could hear the woman calling David’s name.
And then came the most blood curdling scream she’d ever heard in her life.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
David’s room was in a daylight basement with two doors - one to the house and the other to the outside. Someone could have gotten to him without going through the house.