Molly gulped as she let that sink in. She turned to Agent Tolliver, who had been silent thus far.
Erasmus addressed Sean. “She can’t tell you anything that might lead to revealing his secret identity, Detective.”
“I’m not asking that. Not even a little. I just want to talk to him and try and convince him to bring Damselfly in so we can have a chat with her. I’m pretty sure his number is in Molly’s cell phone.”
Erasmus shook his head. “That kind of involvement in this investigation is not acceptable I’m afraid. She could dial the cell phone for you, cover the screen with tape so you couldn’t read the phone number, and hand it over to you, but only if you got a warrant for it. Otherwise, even that much information would be covered by the VAA’s protection of identities clauses. And to be honest, Detective, a judge who reads the statutes won’t give you a warrant unless he’s very bad at his job.”
Molly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Wait, even if I wanted to help, I’m not allowed to?”
“That’s correct,” Erasmus replied. “You are a civilian. If you provide this kind of assistance without a warrant, it would be a violation. The fact that the police are asking you to do so doesn’t change that.”
Molly looked to Sandra, who nodded. “The secret identity protections in the law are written to the point of paranoia. I’ve never seen a statute like it, Molly.” She turned to Sean and Tim. “I’m sorry, gentlemen. You know my client has done everything possible to aid in investigations in the past, but I don’t believe she can help here.”
Sean had a thoughtful gleam in his eye. It made Molly’s hackles rise. “I understand. She’s a civilian, and she can’t be expected to provide that kind of assistance.” He turned to Erasmus. “But what if she wasn’t a civilian?”
Molly’s jaw dropped open. “What?!”
Sean didn’t look at her. “Would it be possible for the department to deputize her?”
Chapter Nine
“Absolutely not,” said Sandra.
“I don’t think we can do that, sir,” opined Tim.
Sean didn’t look at either of them. He especially didn’t look at Molly.
Some of the tension left the room when Erasmus shook his head. “Deputizing civilians is strictly limited to emergency situations in most localities. As the imminent danger has passed, I don’t see that as an option here.”
Molly had just exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding when Sean tried again. “What about a consultant position?”
Erasmus quirked an eyebrow. “Interesting.”
Aside from the fact that Molly had never seen Erasmus Tolliver express so much emotion, she was utterly flabbergasted. What was happening, and how was it occurring so quickly?
“I don’t know if there is any precedent for that. I’ll have to talk to my supervisors.”
“Okay, we need to slow down.” Sandra spoke authoritatively as she kept an eye on Molly’s increasingly whitening face. “My client hasn’t agreed to this, and I don’t know if it would even be advisable.”
“Miss Brown,” Sean began patiently, “you can’t blame me for wanting to do everything possible to make sure we bring Matt Nelson’s killer to justice. I’m not going to force Molly into working with us, but I don’t feel I’m out of line exploring whether her help is even an option.”
“So if I’m not willing to help you, you’ll let this drop?” Molly somehow managed to keep her voice neutral.
Sean turned his gaze to her for the first time. So much was written behind his eyes that she could read none of it. “If you won’t help me, I’ll have to try to look for different options. If I may be frank, I’d rather work with you.”
There was the most subtle of emphases on the word “frank.” Molly’s heart went cold.
Sandra took a long breath in through her flared nostrils. “This is a bad idea.”
Sean shook his head. “I’m sorry, Miss Brown, I ran out of good ideas about twenty minutes ago.”
The pressure behind Molly’s eyes was building steadily, and she recognized it as barely contained rage. She managed to keep a calm voice as she said to her handler, “Agent Tolliver, why don’t you go find out if this is a workable alternative? We’re just talking in circles here otherwise.”
Everyone except Sean cocked their heads in surprise at her. Sean met her gaze impassively. “Tim, go with him. Make sure he has everything he needs, but leave that file I asked for, please.”
Tim nodded and placed a manila folder on the table before escorting Tolliver out.
Sandra could sense a coming storm, and she tried to forestall it. “Can we please back up for a moment?”
Sean didn’t break eye contact with Molly. “Ms. Brown, listen to your client.”
Molly turned to Sandra, whose eyes widened. She could see the daggers behind Molly’s eyes.
“Unless I’m about to do something illegal, I need you to stay out of this.”
“Molly—” Sandra said in a warning tone.
She ignored her lawyer and stood, whipping her head around at Sean. “You manipulative snake!”
He showed no emotion on his face, but his knuckles went white where he was leaning against a chair. “I don’t think that’s exactly fair, but let’s have it out.”
“You’re blackmailing me with Hustle’s identity!”
“Stop.” Sandra almost threw herself across the table between them. “Molly, discussing Hustle’s identity is off the table. You can’t – ”
“Ms. Brown,” Sean said with a tired, but insistent voice. “I think you have misunderstood. I am not trying to get Molly to tell me Hustle’s identity. All I have done is point out to Molly the fact that I have every opportunity to discover it for myself.” He slid the manila folder across the table but left it closed. “The names and addresses of every practicing dentist within ten miles of the city that share a common first name. It’s a list of twenty names, more than I expected.”
Sandra seemed confused, but she spoke quickly. Handling herself on unexpected grounds was a useful skill in a lawyer. “Detective, if you’ve managed to learn some information about Hustle’s occupation as a result of your relationship with my client, then we’ll need to examine just how you came by that information. Given Molly’s status in the VAA, there are procedural concerns.”
“There certainly would be, but none of this information came from Molly. It came from Brianna Duncan, who is not participating in the VAA.”
Molly took a step to her side so that Sandra was no longer blocking her view of Sean. “You cannot go after Hustle, Sean. If you out his identity, a lot of people are going to get hurt. He has family and friends in the city, and he’s made a lot of enemies.”
Sean raised his voice for the first time. “I’m trying to avoid that, if you’ll notice.”
“Don’t give me that. You’d love to end his career. You despise Hustle.”
“Yes I do, and what does that tell you, Molly? As much as I would love to bring him in for years of illegal activity, he’s not the crime I’m investigating at the moment. I need to find him so I can talk to Damselfly.” He pointed to the envelope. “This is the slow route. Eventually, it will lead me to Hustle, but it could take days — days I don’t have. I am trying to get your assistance here for two reasons. You can get in touch with Hustle or maybe even Damselfly in a matter of minutes.”
“And what’s the other reason?” Molly asked when he didn’t continue.
Sean took a deep breath before responding. “It hurts me that you have to ask that question.”
“Don’t make this about us, Sean.”
“If I wasn’t making this about us, I’d already be on the phone to the DMV asking for age, height, and weight of the men on this list. It’s a legitimate line of investigation, and one I should be following up on. I have not done so yet because I know how close you are to Hustle, and I’m not sure you’d ever forgive me if I arrested him.”
“Let me erase any doubt on that point.”
“You don’t need to,” he snapped back. “I think we’re both very clear on where we stand right now.”
He picked up the folder and started to leave, but Molly dashed around the table and cut him off. “We are not finished here.”
“I have a murder investigation to run. There are literally hundreds of details I need to deal with.” He stepped around her. “When Tolliver gets back, have Tim call me. I’ll need to know his answer, and yours.”
Sean was a huge man, but his absence made the room feel emptier than it should have. Molly turned to face Sandra silently begging for support.
“You aren’t going to want to hear what I have to say,” Sandra said after a brief silence.
“You don’t think I should do the consultation work even if Erasmus says it’s ok?”
Sandra rolled her eyes. “I already said that’s a bad idea. I’m pretty sure you’re not going to pay attention, especially given that list of names. No, I’m talking about Detective Cedar.”
“Don’t take his side.”
“I’m on your side, Molly, but you should be on his.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, for one thing, he’s obviously in love with you.”
Molly just about had a stroke. She was wound pretty tightly anyway, and this, coming from Sandra no less, was too much. She couldn’t respond, couldn’t do more than stare at her lawyer with mouth agape. Sandra took full advantage and plowed right ahead.
“You’re trying to protect Hustle. I get that. He’s your friend. But aside from the fact that he’s a grownup who shouldn’t need your protection, Hustle did a really stupid thing. He abducted a suspect from a murder scene. Sean is absolutely right that he needs to bring Hustle and Damselfly in for questioning. As a police officer, failing to follow up on that list is grounds for a disciplinary hearing at a minimum. He is putting his job on the line for a man he doesn’t like. He’s doing it for you, Molly. There’s no other reason.”
Molly tried to accept Sandra’s words, but she shook her head. “He was using the list like a gun to my head.”
“I admit he came across as kind of heavy handed, but I don’t really blame him. He tried to show you how his hands were tied, how he was trying to game the system so you wouldn’t be unhappy, and you started laying into him. So he got defensive. I said he was in love with you, Molly, I didn’t say he wasn’t a guy.”
Sandra stood and crossed to Molly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “As your lawyer, my advice is that you hand in the statement we’re preparing, go home, have a bubble bath, and let Hustle dangle in the wind. He and Damselfly have questions that need to be answered, and I think this consulting position has a high potential to bite you in the posterior. On the other hand, there’s no denying that if you do decide to work as a consultant, you can be a lot of help to the police. I know letting Matt Nelson’s murder go unsolved isn’t going to sit well with you. So, if that’s what you decide to do, I’ll back that choice to the best of my ability.”
She guided Molly back to her chair. “That’s as your lawyer. As your friend, and I hope it’s okay that I call you that, but as your friend, I have a different set of suggestions. Do everything you can to bring this investigation to a speedy close. Then you pack a bag, grab Sean, and drive up to the mountains. You cuddle up to him in an old cabin, and you do everything possible to get him to propose to you.”
“Sandra!” Molly chided.
“He loves you, Molly. He is stupid in love with you, and I do mean stupid. I’ve never had a man take this kind of a risk for me, and I honestly think you’ll regret it if you let a man who wants you that badly slip away.” Sandra shrugged. “Maybe don’t listen to me. My love life probably doesn’t give me a whole lot of room to talk, but I have to call this one like I see it.”
Molly did a facepalm. Emotional rollercoasters were exhausting, and she only now realized how many she’d been on today. She wasn’t sure Sandra’s take on what had just happened was entirely accurate – and the whole mountain cabin thing was going to have to wait for another time – but she admitted her anger at Sean had been out of proportion. Now she was a little guilty, a lot worried, and oh so very tired.
So, naturally, Tim and Erasmus, came back in at that moment.
“It’s a feasible option.” Erasmus said without preamble. “And it’s not without precedent as I had thought. Coldsnap did some consultation on a robbery case a few years back.”
Sandra looked at Molly. “That answers that. What’s your next step?”
Molly shook her head. She didn’t really have a choice. “I have to.”
“Before you say that, Ms. Martin,” replied Erasmus, “you should know there will be some pretty specific guidelines on how we’ll have to proceed.”
✽✽✽
“Just how ‘independent’ are we talking, Agent?”
It had taken Molly and Erasmus twenty minutes to go through the rules at the police station, and by then, Sean had needed to get over to the county hospital. Molly wanted to check on Fathi anyway, so she, her lawyer, and her handler had bundled into Sandra’s coupe.
In the hospital, they’d made a beeline for Sean and ended up in a conference room on the second floor. Sean nodded a few times as Erasmus explained the set up, and he only balked at the phrase “independent investigation.”
“Think of the worst possible answer to that question, Detective,” Erasmus responded adroitly. “If you really want Ms. Martin’s help on this, it has to be with virtually no police supervision.”
“That seems… fraught with problems,” Sean replied with a dark look at the VAA agent. “Given the number of capes involved here, won’t this gravitate toward endangering Molly’s VAA status?”
“You are not alone in asking such a question.” Erasmus gave Molly a glance. She had taken a seat in the corner of the room, figuring if people were going to be talking about her while she was in the room with them, she might as well be comfortable. “Since Ms. Brown is Molly’s attorney, I can appoint her to a supervisory position with understanding that she is under obligation to ensure Miss Martin’s compliance with the VAA under penalty of perjury.”
Sean looked over at Molly. “Is this all right with you?”
She responded with the most sullen thumbs up in the history of mankind.
“Standard department consulting fees acceptable?”
“Whatever.” She held her cell phone up and waved it at him. “Do I have the green light?”
Sean nodded, and Molly hit the send button on the number she had already dialed. She was not altogether surprised to get Hustle’s voicemail, but she growled anyway. “Call me. Now. Not when it’s convenient; not when you’ve had a chance to get everything squared away. Call me now. I need to talk to you.”
Her call to Damselfly gave even less satisfaction. The phone rang a dozen times with no option to leave a message. She looked up at the room at large and shook her head.
“So much for the easy way.” Sean shook his head and then gestured with his head for the rest of them to follow. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m trying to foster the free exchange of information. I’ve got three potential witnesses here. Let’s go talk to the conscious one.”
✽✽✽
Wulfric sat on a bench outside of Fathi’s room. Two policemen stood outside the door, looking uneasy. The Hospitaller had removed his chainmail and sat patiently in a black wool turtleneck and dark trousers. His head was bowed over the rosary in his hands as he muttered in German.
“Mr. Weiss?” Sean kept his tone respectful. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”
Wulfric stood. He was built much like Sean with a barrel chest and massive arms, but Sean seemed to be the next size up in whatever mold they had been made from. “Not at all.”
“I had a few questions as a follow up to Mr. Faizan’s statement. Is he well enough to answer them?”
“How is your sign language?”
“Rusty, but I
do know some ASL.”
Molly wasn’t sure why that surprised her. It seemed like a helpful skill for a policeman.
Wulfric nodded. “Fathi learned it many years ago. His vocabulary is a little dated.”
“We still have that computer for him to write on, I assume?”
“Yes, but English is his ninth language. He types slowly. ASL may be faster, unless you speak Egyptian.” Wulfric smiled his avuncular smile. “Or, if you’d like, I can translate his writing.”
“What is your relationship with this man, exactly?”
“That is a long story that I doubt you’d believe.”
“Does it have to do with events that took place more than a hundred years ago?”
“Substantially more.”
Sean grunted. “Then you’re right. I wouldn’t believe it.”
“I do understand.” Wulfric nodded. “I chose not to keep my identity secret as it leads to too many deceptions. Unfortunately, sometimes the truth is even less believable.”
“It’s true, Sean.” Molly couldn’t help but stick up for her friend. Given that The Hospitaller could bench press a city bus, and other friends of hers could perform feats even more impossible, she didn’t understand why people could not accept his claim to be over nine hundred years old.
He turned to her with a skeptical look on his face. “So I am to believe that both Mr. Weiss and Mr. Faizan are several hundred years old.”
“Yes.”
“Were you there to confirm this?”
Molly smiled bitterly. “On one memorable occasion, yes. It was during the siege of Malta in 1798.”
“1799 by that point,” Wulfric corrected gently.
“I went back in time with the Defender Squad because the Chaos Allegiance was supplying weapons to Napoleon. I met Wulfric in his younger days.”
Sean blinked several times. “So now I’m supposed to believe in time travel?”
“You wanted to foster the free exchange of information, remember?” She smiled up at him insincerely.
Wulfric held up a hand forestalling any argument. “The important thing is that Mr. Faizan and I are very old comrades, and counterparts of a sort.”
Ex-Cape | Book 2 | Ex-Cape From A Small Town Page 12