High Risk

by G. K. Parks

  “Yeah,” Brad said. “But we didn’t know enough at the time. Liv might need to hear their voices. She could ID the ringleader that way.”

  “Do you want me to come in?” I asked.

  “No,” Voletek said, “I’ll make sure something gets recorded. Right now, just focus on getting better. The LT authorized us to stay on this, so I won’t be dropping by tonight. But I will call if something pops.”

  “You better.” Brad disconnected and let out a frustrated growl. “I can’t believe Voletek’s not doing more to get Carter.”

  “Wasn’t that a movie?”

  Brad stopped what he was doing and eyed me over the laptop lid. “Not the time, DeMarco.” He put my computer down. “They should be combing the streets.”

  “They will.”

  “Fuck.” His outburst scared Gunnie, who crawled beneath the coffee table. “If they’ve gone to ground, we might not find them.”

  “They can’t leave. They haven’t made a big enough score.” Even though I said it, I didn’t know if it was true.

  “Yeah, well, if Voletek can’t find them, I will.”

  I didn’t want to know what he meant by that. “Let’s get back to building a profile. There might be something in Diego’s history that would indicate where he’d go.”

  “He’s got a sheet. Two counts of armed robbery. But there’s a notation about a stint in juvie. His juvenile record was probably sealed since I’m not seeing many details. The first time he got tried as an adult, he pled and got some kind of sweetheart deal. The last time he did this, he served time. But he’s been out a year and a half. As far as we know, he’s been keeping his nose clean. He’s holding down a job in a mattress factory. So what changed?”

  I ran through the usual possibilities, but as far as we could tell, none of them applied to Diego. “And he’s never been violent before?”

  “Just threatened violence, but never resorted to it.” Brad read the details on Diego’s previous convictions. “He never had a crew before either. It was just him.” He snorted. “Turns out he knocked over a liquor store.”

  “24/7 Spirits?” I asked.

  “No.”

  I went to the map. “So what’s Diego’s deal with 24/7 Spirits?”

  “If he takes the bus home from work, he would pass 24/7 Spirits,” Brad said.

  “So that could be his liquor store of choice, depending on the nearest bus stop.”

  “There’s one half a block from that liquor store to the northeast.” Brad read off the cross streets.

  Just as I moved closer to the door to mark it, a knock sounded from the other side. I jumped back, a yelp escaping from my lips.

  “Liv, get back.” Brad came up beside me. He palmed his gun and approached the side of the door. The knock sounded again. “Who is it?” Brad gestured for me to get into cover.

  “It’s Logan.” The ADA waited a moment. “C’mon, Fennel, open the damn door. We have an appointment. You can’t skip out on me again.”

  Cautiously, Brad opened the door. Logan Winters stood on the other side with his messenger bag slung across his chest, the files practically spilling out. The officer in the hallway gave Brad a nod. “All right, counselor, I guess I can let you inside.”

  Logan entered, spotting me immediately. “Hey, I’m sorry to barge in on you. How are you feeling? You look good.”

  “I look bruised and tired.”

  “But you still look good.” Logan pointed to the gift basket. “I’m glad you got it.”

  “I meant to call and thank you.”

  “Don’t even worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He turned, seeing the mess Brad and I had made out of my living room. “What’s going on? Did I interrupt something?”

  “Nothing,” I said.

  Gunnie snuck up behind Logan and let out a high-pitched bark, causing the ADA to jump. It served him right for startling me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. The puppy had my back.

  Logan knelt down. “Who’s this guy?”

  “That’s Gunnie. I’m dogsitting until my parents get back from vacation.”

  Logan ruffled the dog’s ears and stood up. “Captain DeMarco doesn’t know what happened yet?”

  “No,” I glanced at Brad, who busied himself with clearing off the coffee table, “I don’t think they have cell service, and once they get it, I hate to think how he and my mom are going to react.”

  “Parents will be parents.” Logan shrugged. “At least you’re okay.”

  “Yeah.”

  He watched my partner push the board into the corner of the room. “Where should we set up?”

  “Right here’s fine.” Brad pointed to the coffee table.

  Logan put his bag on the floor and took out the files. While he did that, I returned to the map. Based on the bus schedule, Diego could have gotten off the bus, bought whatever, and caught the next bus when it arrived twenty minutes later.

  “I’m gonna call Voletek and have him pass along a few questions to ask the liquor store owner. If Diego was a regular, the owner might know him,” I said.

  “That’s assuming he feels like cooperating,” Brad said.

  I bit my lip and stared at the map. “Even if he doesn’t, Lisco and Voletek are running Diego’s financials. If he ever paid with plastic, we’ll find the charges and place him inside.”

  “We don’t need to place him at the liquor store, Liv,” Brad reminded me. “We already have DNA evidence. He was there. He attacked you. He can refute it all he wants, but we got him. We just have to find him and ID the third guy.”

  Thirty-four

  “Hold still, Liv.” Emma disinfected the area around my stitches, causing me to hiss, then she taped the plastic over them. “There.” She made sure the plastic on my shoulder was in place and gave the exposed cuts on my hands and arms a cursory look. “Those aren’t severe enough to worry about. Just make sure you keep them clean. We should probably bandage them up again once you’re dry, just so your clothes or sheets don’t rub off the scabs.”

  “Yeah, okay. Whatever.” Now everything stung and throbbed.

  “Hey, are you all right?”

  “Not really.” I saw the concerned look on my friend’s face. “We’re getting close, but not close enough.”

  “Does that have anything to do with why the assistant district attorney is in your living room?”

  “No, that’s for a different case. I was supposed to be testifying in court this week.”

  “Don’t tell me you still have to go?” Emma turned around to face the door, and I slipped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower.

  Once I pulled the curtain closed, I said, “No, but Brad does.”

  “And soldier boy couldn’t have gone over these details somewhere else?”

  “He’s staying close.”

  “Why?”

  I didn’t say anything, hoping she’d think I didn’t hear her question over the running water. After much pain and cursing that came with trying to shampoo my hair with only one hand, I rinsed off as best I could, wrapped a towel around me, and stepped out of the shower. She checked my stitches to make sure nothing got wet that wasn’t supposed to and then took the hairdryer into my bedroom. Once I was dressed, I joined her.

  “So that’s Logan?” She patted a spot on the bed, and I eased onto it. “He’s not what I pictured.”

  “What did you picture?”

  She turned the hairdryer on low and took the brush from my hand. “I’m not sure. Maybe one of those ambulance chasers we see on the backs of buses or doing those cheesy TV commercials late at night. You know the ones with the bald guys wearing ill-fitting suits or young, thin, pimply guys with oversized glasses and bad hair.”

  “Em, I never described him like that.”

  “You never described his looks at all.” She pulled the brush through my hair, and I gasped when it came in contact with my injured shoulder. The constant stinging turned into white-hot pain. She cringed. “Sorry.” She shifted the wa
y she brushed from straight down to sweeping my hair toward the left.

  “Stop, Em.” Even that slight motion pulled at my neck, and my eyes watered. It felt like I’d just been stabbed, and for a moment, I was back in the liquor store, on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, choking on my own blood, and struggling to breathe.

  Immediately, she turned off the hairdryer and dropped the brush. “Liv?” She checked the wounds, but the stitches remained intact. I trembled, and she gently ran a hand up and down my spine. “Talk to me. Are you okay? Can you breathe?”

  I swallowed, nodding.

  “You’re shaking.”

  “I’m okay.” I took a few deep breaths. “It just pulled, and that didn’t feel so good.” But I could see it in Emma’s eyes that she didn’t believe that was the entire story. “By the way, you’re fired as my hairdresser.”

  “I never wanted the job anyway.”

  “Good.”

  “Do I still get a tip?” she teased as she grabbed her bag from my dresser and came back with fresh bandages and medical tape.

  “Nope, and I’m not paying for the service either. If this was any other establishment, I’d ask to speak to the manager.” I winked at her, hiding my discomfort behind a few jokes.

  “You should come back to the house tonight. Brad and Logan have turned this place into a man-cave. Have you seen the whiteboard they put in the living room or the stuff they taped on the door?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do they really need all of that for court?”

  “I guess they’re practicing going over the exhibits,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t realize I was lying. I’d spent years perfecting the skill undercover, but Emma was practically my sister. We’d been inseparable since age sixteen. But my answer satisfied her. “Plus, I have two patrol units monitoring the apartment. They already did a perimeter check. They’re used to my neighbors. I don’t want to complicate matters for them.”

  “Then why don’t you tell Brad to go home and I’ll stay here with the guard pup?” She jerked her chin toward Gunnie, who’d fallen asleep in my laundry basket after his dinner and walk.

  “Brad can go home anytime he wants. I didn’t ask him to stay.”

  “But he’s staying anyway.”

  “He’s my partner.”

  “Right.” Emma looked skeptical. “What does his girlfriend think about this?”

  “Carrie’s not his girlfriend.”

  “Well, what does his friend with benefits think about this?”

  “There’s nothing to think about. He’s watching my back.”

  “From where I’m sitting, he needs to do a better job.”

  I sighed, and Emma gave me a hug. “Don’t forget to take your antibiotics before bed. I brought over another bottle of OTC painkillers in case you’re running low. Just try to take it easy on them. They come with risks too.”

  “I know.”

  “Have you heard from your parents?”

  “Not yet. At first, I was relieved, but now I’m a little worried. Is that weird?”

  “I’ll admit it’s strange not talking to your mom every day. But I don’t think you have reason to worry. They’re across the world on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.”

  “Those sound like reasons to worry.”

  “Don’t. I’m sure you’re right about their cell phones. You know they’d have knocked down your door by now if they’d heard what had happened. And if something happened on the cruise, it’d be all over the news. They’re fine. Just out of cell range. Enjoy the reprieve while it lasts.”

  “Yeah, I’ll try.”

  She scooted Gunnie out of the laundry basket and clipped on his leash, making an exaggerated grunt as she pulled him toward the door. She poked her head into the living room. “Good night, Mr. Assistant District Attorney.”

  Logan turned to her. “It’s Logan. And it was nice meeting you.”

  She nodded at him before turning the evil eye on my partner. “The emergency contacts are on the fridge. You know what to do in case of anything.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Brad said. “You’re off tomorrow, right? So you can stay with Liv.”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay,” Brad said. “Night, Emma.”

  “Night.”

  I opened the door and waved goodbye to Emma and Gunnie while one of the two officers out front offered to help her to her car. She turned back to me. “Now that’s what I call serving and protecting.”

  Returning to the living room, I took a seat on the end of the sofa and leaned against the stacked pillows. “All right, what did you want me to go over with you?” I asked.

  Logan handed me a copy of my sworn statement. “Since I can’t exactly ask you about any of this in front of the jury, I’ll be asking your partner about it. So I just want to make sure I have everything down.” He glanced at Fennel. “Would you mind giving us a few minutes? I don’t want to risk tainting your testimony.”

  “Not a problem. I need to make some calls anyway.” Brad went into my bedroom and closed the door.

  “Do I want to know what’s going on?” Logan pointed the end of his pen at the whiteboard hidden in the corner. “The police department has certain policies for a reason. Since you’re the daughter of a decorated police captain, you’re well aware what those reasons are.”

  “We’re not doing anything.”

  Logan snorted. “I don’t blame you. These guys killed six people. They attacked another cop. They hurt you. I get it. Believe me, I do. And as soon as the police department brings my office a strong case, we will file every charge that’ll stick and make sure these guys pay for what they’ve done. That being said, whatever you and Fennel are doing is only going to hurt that.”

  “We’re not doing anything.”

  “Who took over the case?”

  “Lisco and Voletek.”

  Logan thought for a few moments. “It’ll be airtight. They do good work. Trust them to handle this.”

  I held up my palms. “Yeah, no problem.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Logan finished asking me the same things we’d gone over Friday night. Then he packed up his belongings, wished me well, and told Brad he’d see him at the courthouse tomorrow at ten. After he drove away, I went into the kitchen and reached for the prescription pill bottles.

  “What did Voletek say?” I asked.

  Brad took a seat at the table. “They’re still looking.”

  “We need to ID the man with the gravelly voice.” I swallowed the antibiotics and peeled a banana while eyeing the prescription painkillers. Whatever Emma had done to clean my wounds made me want to crawl out of my skin, and the incident with the brush hadn’t helped matters. But I left the pills on the counter and reached for the alternative instead. I swallowed two of those, ignoring the concern in Brad’s eyes. He always knew when something was wrong with me. “Before Logan showed up, I thought we were on to something.”

  “Then let’s retrace our steps and figure out what that was.”

  Thirty-five

  “We need access to prison records,” I said. “Diego and the third man might have served time together.”

  “Well, we’re not going to find out tonight.” Brad rubbed his eyes. “It’s late. You need to sleep. And so do I. After court tomorrow, I’ll drop by the precinct and see what kind of progress has been made.” He blew out a breath. “Surveillance vans are sitting on every known location we have for Diego and Carter, but neither has surfaced. Voletek thinks they must be together, probably with their third.”

  “Unless they disappeared. Did their photos and identities go out?”

  “They haven’t been made public yet. The brass thinks that will force them to act. Voletek didn’t go into the details, but he and Lisco tore apart our suspects’ apartments. I’m guessing they found something related to their next target. The units outside told me officers were called back to work to guard the metro plazas. It looks like our assumption was correct.”

  “Do we k
now the timetable for their next strike?”

  “Not that I’m aware. Voletek said he’d keep us looped in, but he’s doing a crappy job. But that will be tomorrow’s problem. You have enough to deal with tonight.” Brad held out a hand to help me off the couch. “Do you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing a little sleep can’t fix.” I turned in the doorway to the bedroom, watching Brad make his bed and position his firearm. “You are allowed to go home, you know.”

  He snorted, settling onto his makeshift bed. “Really, Liv? You want me to drive home at this time of night when there are all sorts of lunatics and drunks out there? That doesn’t seem particularly safe.”

  “I think you’ll be okay.”

  “I can’t take any chances. I’m key to Logan’s case. Without me, it might fall apart. It’s best I stay here where you can protect me.”

  “Wiseass. And for the record, I don’t need protecting.”

  “I never said you did. But I might.”

  For the next few hours I twisted and turned, hoping to find a position that didn’t result in sharp, stabbing pain. Eventually, I gave up and tried to ignore it. But that didn’t work either. When I realized my teeth were clenched and my muscles were tensed, I shifted again, letting out a frustrated whine. I wondered if this was why babies cried when they couldn’t sleep, minus the stitches.

  I forced my jaw to go slack. But I couldn’t get my body to relax. I turned again, going back to three pillows instead of two, but that only made it worse. I slid the third pillow beneath my shoulder, but that didn’t help. I got rid of all but one pillow and tried to lie on my stomach, but that hurt almost as much as lying on my back.

  “Liv,” Brad stood in the doorway with my pill bottle and a glass of water, “I don’t care what Emma says. You’re on sick leave, you have a prescription, and if it causes some kind of problem at work, I’m sure your dad knows a good FOP rep you can talk to. But you’re going to take one of these, or I’m gonna end up downing the entire bottle. I can’t take seeing you in pain.”