Incisions

by Barbara Winkes

  “I’m not sure I made that clear to her. I don’t know…maybe I’m just…” She laughed, as the thought struck her as absurd. “Jealous? A few weeks ago, a baby at a crime scene puked on me. No, I’m definitely not jealous of that.”

  “Would you want a child? You never mentioned it.”

  “No…maybe, I don’t know. My life is not exactly child-friendly, and I’d worry I’d screw it up just as much. Right now it’s impossible to even think of it. Ellie put up with so much, I don’t want to scare her away.”

  “Well, maybe she won’t be scared after all. As for Kathryn, you have to figure out what it is you want, what would make you feel better. I agree that you don’t owe her anything, but you could have that talk and find out there’s nothing to worry about. You’re nothing like her as a person, and you’d be a great mother.”

  Jordan shrugged. “I’m not too sure about that, but it doesn’t matter right now. Kathryn is trying, I have to give her that, even it’s a bit too late.”

  “Nothing from Jim.”

  “No. No surprise here either. He didn’t care before he knew about Kathryn’s affair, obviously he doesn’t now. I gave up on them a long time ago. I just wish Kathryn would see that and leave me alone. I have enough on my plate right now.”

  “Oh, honey, I know.”

  Jordan hated crying in front of other people regardless, but if it had to happen, she imagined the only woman she felt comfortable calling her mother, qualified.

  * * * *

  He was starting to believe that every single cop and criminal in the city was beyond incompetent. While that was helpful to Danny at the moment, his frustration was growing. They should welcome him with open arms—the cops, not the criminals, though the encounter had been interesting as well—when he was so much smarter than all of them.

  He should be spending his evening chasing after bad guys like Troy Haynes instead of handing out drinks and washing glasses.

  His time would come, no matter how much others had tried to prevent it.

  Danny couldn’t help the unsettling feeling that Josh Ward was mocking him even from the grave—or was it those cops that were mocking him, seeing him as nothing but the guy who provided their drinks night after night? They would learn, all of them.

  The big day was approaching fast, and he decided that he didn’t need the two idiots who had agreed to meet with him because of his connection with Ward. He didn’t get all of the merchandise, and they were going to cheat him on the price as well, but he had enough of the explosives to move on. He could do it all by himself, thanks to the excellent resources on the internet.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ellie managed to catch up with a tired looking Jordan at the end of her shift. Given the subject she felt she had to bring up as soon as possible, she suggested going home right away. Home, it was a precarious term. Was tonight the right moment? If she chose to wait, when would be the right time?

  “My car or yours?” she asked. Practical things first.

  “Mine. I can give you a ride tomorrow.”

  “I spoke to Kate today,” Ellie said. “Some of the guys are giving her a hard time because…you know.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Jordan seemed to ponder this for a moment before she asked, “Did you ever get any of that crap because of us?”

  “Not really. It’s a different situation. Not that it makes it right,” Ellie hurried to say. “I mean, it’s not fair. It’s bullying. They don’t know her.”

  “I agree, but they’ll stop eventually, as soon as they find someone new to pick on.”

  “True, that’s what I said. She’s looking for a place to rent right now, which made me think…I have to make a decision about my apartment as well.” Ellie took a deep breath. A moment of bravery, and she’d be done with it. “I was thinking of moving in with her. I need to make a decision sooner or later, and I can’t exploit your generosity forever. I mean…You know what I mean. This was meant to be temporary, right? Not us…The living arrangements. So we have time to figure it all out.” She wasn’t sure if that made any sense to Jordan, as she had trouble finding sense in her ramblings. Fortunately, Jordan let her off the hook easily.

  “That sounds like a good idea,” she said.

  “You’ll be okay with this?” It was almost too easy. Ellie admitted to herself that she might have hoped for an offer, and they would decide together that it was too early for that. She couldn’t blame Jordan though. After everything that happened, she couldn’t allow herself to make mistakes, with her future, with theirs.

  “Sure. I think it’s good for the two of you.”

  Ellie wanted it to be good for Jordan too, so the patience that was so hard to muster would mean something for both of them in the end.

  “Okay,” she said. “We just came up with the idea, but I guess we’ll be looking at apartments soon.”

  At the red light, Jordan took her hand. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “If that’s what you need right now, that’s what we’re going to do.”

  Need, want, not always the same thing. Ellie wanted to hide out at Jordan’s as long as she possibly could, but she was aware that it wouldn’t do their relationship any good. They were both handling difficult subjects at the moment. Jordan needed space to do so. Ellie needed not to be alone, so under the circumstances, it would be best to go along with the idea.

  “We’ll try to find something that’s not too far from your place, and of course you can still stay over. Okay…how was your day?”

  Jordan made a non-committal sound. “First of all, you might have heard Bethany and a colleague are going to join us tomorrow for a meeting. They might have new information on scrawny guy too—you know how they can pull that out of the hat sometimes.”

  That wasn’t the whole story, Ellie understood quickly. Of course, every once in a while Bethany might be around in a professional capacity, and if she sensed an opportunity otherwise, she’d go for it. They were over that. After those recent confrontations with violent, deluded men, Jordan’s ex was the least of their problems.

  “Did you have time to see Darla? You never said.”

  “I did.” Jordan sighed. “God, when did I turn into that nasty, judgmental bitch? Sure, it’s going to be tough for her, and she could have made better choices, but I was too hard on her.”

  “You care,” Ellie offered. “Talk to her. Apologize. I’m sure she understands. She knows the past months haven’t been easy for you either.” Jordan’s expression told her she was walking a fine line. Nightmares, difficult adjustments, Jordan didn’t like to be reminded of how traumatic the recent past had been. Ellie could sympathize. She had worked hard getting over the attack, coming to a point where she’d thought she succeeded after Darby was put behind bars—only to realize the man who’d attacked her had been out there all this time, and his accomplice still was. A kidnapper. Someone possibly planting bombs. Sometimes she wondered why she hadn’t become an accountant instead.

  “I will. By the way, Pauline asked when we’ll be coming for dinner the next time. Would next weekend be okay with you?”

  “It’s perfect.”

  Everything would go back to some sort of order. They deserved it. If nothing else, it was that attitude that had brought Ellie here, surviving her captivity, being with the woman she loved. In her opinion, it was worth holding on to. Maybe she didn’t have to approach any heavier subjects yet.

  * * * *

  Ellie was still asleep when Jordan reluctantly disengaged herself from the warm embrace and bed to head for the shower. She wasn’t looking forward to her day for many reasons, her apology to Darla the least of it. Talking to Pauline and Ellie had driven the message home—she had overreacted, and she knew it. The upcoming meeting—maybe not pleasant, but they had to move forward with the case. Bethany had been polite and civil when she had come to see Ellie. If she could help them with Haynes, if they got to uncover some information about the other suspect in Ellie’s case, they’d go with it.

&
nbsp; Kathryn was another subject—she couldn’t keep ignoring her and hope she’d just go away. Maybe she had to talk to her, make it clear beyond a doubt that she didn’t care for her or Jim in her life. It wasn’t a matter of petty payback. It was simply too late to change the habits of a lifetime.

  Jordan had dressed and nearly dried her hair when her musings came to a place where she couldn’t find clarity so easily. A couple of days ago she’d been worried about feeling crowded. Now that Ellie had come to some conclusions on her own, she should be relieved. Jordan was still waiting for the feeling, and so far, it hadn’t come. She was disappointed, not in Ellie, but herself, for not making Ellie feel more welcome, for fearing what happened with Bethany might happen again, simply because Jordan was destined to screw up a relationship no matter what.

  Damn, she needed that vacation.

  When she came out of the bathroom, coffee was brewing and Ellie was setting the table. Would it be too much to say she’d miss this?

  “Don’t worry,” Ellie said, as if reading her thoughts. “I’ll still make sure that you eat on a regular basis. We’ll make this permanent someday, when we’re ready.” She poured coffee for the both of them and sat down. “We both did this, moving in with someone too quickly, right? We know better now.”

  Let’s hope so.

  They didn’t continue the subject on the way to the station. Jordan let Ellie drive, lost in her own thoughts.

  The pieces coming together were apparently directly related to Ellie’s abduction, in a puzzling way. There had been no ransom or attempt at blackmailing. Fortunately, the kidnapper didn’t seem to have the same sick obsession with Ellie as Darby had with her—but there were still the text messages. A diversion? Why? At this point, she hoped Bethany and her colleagues would come up with one of their magic tricks, no matter who ended up collecting the laurels. She wanted that kidnapper off the streets, so they could move on with their lives.

  In different homes, as Jordan had probably made it clear without even trying.

  At the station, she and Ellie went separate ways. A few minutes later, Jordan caught up with Sergeant Bristol in the hallway, and they walked into the already slightly crowded conference room, the lieutenant, Bethany and a colleague, a couple of uniforms. Maria and Derek sat on opposite ends of the table. Ellie came rushing in just before Bristol almost closed the door in her face. She cast Jordan a quick smile before she sat with Casey.

  “I think everyone’s here now,” Bethany said. “Most of you already know what this is about. Troy Haynes is in federal custody now, as his little local deal is likely to have wider implications.”

  Jordan shared a look with Derek, and he shrugged. This wasn’t common knowledge then.

  “Thanks to Haynes, we now know that the man we’re looking for was related to your guy Ward.”

  Ellie shivered.

  “Now we don’t have to worry about Ward anymore, but he acted as a middle man to many deals, drugs, guns and, lately, explosives. Troy tells us that the C4 you found at the scene wasn’t all. Obviously he didn’t get paid for it, but the guy Ward sent him got away with some of the merchandise anyway, and it looks like he’s got some plans with it. It’s enough to bring down a building or two. Let’s find him first.”

  “So Josh made this deal while he worked with Ellie’s kidnapper, and he arranged for them to come here. What was his plan? More insurance fraud?” Jordan asked.

  “That’s where the timeline doesn’t seem to add up,” Bethany said. “There wasn’t enough time. Ward was a contact of Haynes’s boss, but he made the order for someone else. The man who wanted the C4 probably hasn’t given up on his plans, so we need to be extra vigilant, especially during the holiday celebrations.”

  Her words let an uncomfortable silence settle over the group, as the possible worst case scenario registered with each of them.

  “Ward ordered the C4 for someone, but when he got himself killed, that person showed up to finalize the deal,” Jordan finally said. “No hint at all as to who he could be? No chatter?”

  Bethany shook her head. “We have this one interesting cross-reference, and that’s the guy who hired Ward to kidnap Officer Harding. Ward was known for boasting about his ‘accomplishment’ as we saw him do in the transcripts…If he was involved in something big, he’d be likely to tell—and this other guy was someone he was working with at the same time. So we’re very interested in finding the second man in the abduction.”

  Ellie sounded frustrated when she spoke. “I’ve been wracking my brain ever since the day I got out. His voice sounded somewhat familiar, but I still can’t put my finger on it. The apartment—it was pretty modest, not a lot of furniture, as if he did rent it for a temporary purpose only. I’ve been going over every place I went in the past weeks since the texts started. I didn’t meet anyone new, I didn’t notice anything different. I wish I could help more.”

  “You already did.” Bethany’s voice was unusually soft, reminding Jordan why she hadn’t always resented her. She appreciated her being professional, genuinely sympathetic when dealing with Ellie. There was hope for the future after all.

  “Most importantly, I want all of you to be careful with what information you share outside the meeting. What we do know is that the kidnapper must have been watching Harding for some time, got close to her. Officially, we’re looking for Haynes’ contact now, the ‘scrawny guy,’ that is all. No mention of the C4 that got lost. I’ll be working closely with Officer Harding.”

  You will?

  Jordan wasn’t sure if she appreciated this turn of events. Ellie looked uncertain too.

  “I’ll do whatever I can to help, but like I said, there’s nothing much. I went to the same places, hung out with the same people…”

  “Exactly. If no one noticed anything or anyone new, there has to be a reason.”

  “Wait a minute,” Derek interjected. “Dr. Roberts, you’re not saying that Harding was abducted by a cop?”

  “At this point, this would be speculation,” Bethany said coolly. “This guy chose her for a reason, and I think her profession is a likely one. He’s close to cops, has a beef with them for whatever reason—he could be one. This is the reason why I want you to keep quiet about what we’re talking about here. I’ll be in direct contact with your supervisors. You’ll be in the loop—until we find Haynes’ buyer, we need to be careful. That would be all for now. Do you have any other questions?”

  Of course, when Bethany was involved, nothing could ever be easy, though this time it wasn’t her fault.

  “I have a few phone calls to make,” Jordan said. “I’d like to talk to Mercer again and see if he can tell us anything else about Ward. Maybe some of those contacts go way back, from the time Ward had the fallout with his parents.” She’d be the first to know about how early experiences would come back to haunt a person, the people you crossed paths with, the damage they could do even much later on. Ward, however, had made his own choices, and one of them was the alliance with Ellie’s stalker. Mercer who had successfully painted himself as the only innocent party, might have more answers if she managed to jog his memory.

  Meanwhile, Bethany was planning to do the same with Ellie.

  “Sure, you do that,” Bethany said. Jordan caught the lieutenant frown behind her back, wondering if the men in the room were actually still cautious on her behalf, or Ellie’s, or if they simply had trouble seeing a woman taking charge like this. Many men had, no matter how well-meaning and informed.

  “Okay. See you later.”

  There was no reason for her to stay behind, though she felt slightly uncomfortable wondering how Bethany would want to work with Ellie. She was a seasoned psychiatrist, but she was also goal oriented, and Jordan knew Ellie was vulnerable still even though she chose to act as if her abduction had been no big deal. She hoped Bethany would carefully weigh the risks against the benefits. Then she had no more excuse. Darla didn’t answer her cell phone, possibly, hopefully in class right now. Jordan called
Sophia, the social worker, next. She caught her in her office.

  “Jordan, hi, what can I do for you?”

  “I saw Darla earlier.”

  There was a brief moment of silence on the other end of the line. Jordan hoped that this would not spell trouble for Darla.

  “Yes, she told me you two talked. Listen, Jordan—I know you worry, but she’s handling the situation pretty well.” The awkward pause made her wonder how much Darla had told about their argument.

  “When will she be coming in? There’s something I need to tell her.”

  “Tomorrow afternoon,” Sophia said. “I know this is a surprise, but I can assure you, Darla has done exceptionally well.”

  “You think she’s capable of raising a child?”

  There was another pause, before Sophia said, “I know where you’re coming from, but unless this is relevant to any police business, I’d like to stop it here. If she doesn’t want to go into details with you, I shouldn’t. She’s doing everything right.”

  It certainly wasn’t meant to sound like a reproach, though to Jordan, it did. For the way she’d handled the news, and to a more irrational part of hers, for the way she was currently handling her life.

  Thank God Ellie was patient.

  The same couldn’t be said of Derek who was making signs that she interpreted as “time to leave.” Just as well. She’d see Darla tomorrow and postpone that conversation with Kathryn indefinitely.

  * * * *

  Ellie regarded Bethany dubiously. Having a polite conversation with Jordan’s ex was one thing, and of course, they all wanted the same thing—catch “scrawny guy”—but this latest suggestion caught her off guard.

  “I’m not sure about that,” she said.

  “Why not give it a try? Let’s face it, everyone’s watching you right now, wondering if you’re okay to do the job.”

  “I am more than—”

  “Relax. I don’t doubt that.” It wasn’t until that moment Ellie realized she’d jumped to her feet.

  “You know how it is,” Bethany continued. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, but you can’t deny there’s some scrutiny, and it’s true, you came back to work very quickly. With what I’m suggesting, you can help the case, and that will be good for your career. Everyone will move on eventually.”