“They sent pictures to my phone!!” Bonnie screamed. “Pictures of you and that whore leaving MY house!!”
Harris simply shook his head in disbelief.
“MY HOUSE!” She screamed again.
“Calm down, Bonnie. Nothing is going on. She’s just helping me with a case.”
“Oh, bullshit! You don’t even work with other cops! Fuck you!”
“Goddamn it, Bonnie! I know we’ve had our problems but have I ever given you a reason not to trust me? Have I ever fooled around on you?”
“I’m beginning to wonder! It would explain a lot of late nights!”
“Wow,” was all he could mutter.
Bonnie began to weep. The frustration of the past week came crashing down and she crumbled.
“H-How could you do this to me?” She cried as her body was wracked with sobs.
Harris walked to her quickly and wrapped her in his arms. She struggled to free herself but he was too strong and held her firmly.
“Shhhh,” he whispered. “Bonnie I love you. It isn’t true what you’re thinking. I swear it.”
Bonnie gave up and let herself go. She cried loudly, and despite not wanting to, enjoyed the feeling of his strong arms around her.
“Bonnie. There are people in the department who want to ruin me. You know that. I had Christi over here to show her two videos that a kidnapper sent to Sylvia Blumquist. I swear it.”
Bonnie sniffed and looked up at him. She studied his eyes, looking for anything that would give him away.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Bonnie, please sit,” Harris pleaded. “I will tell you everything that’s going on.”
Bonnie walked to the kitchen table and sat. Harris sat next to her and relayed the events of the past few days sparing no details. Bonnie sat in stunned silence as she learned of the torture and rape of Emily Blumquist. She allowed him to finish and when he did, she stared at him.
“But why, Jimmy? Why couldn’t you have shown her these videos at the station?”
“Because they’re here and quite frankly, nobody but the D.A. even knows I have them.”
“Why did you have to show them to her?”
“Because I needed her to know. If I just told her about what this monster is doing it wouldn’t have had the same impact. She had to see for herself what we were up against. I need her for her newspapers resources. ”
“So you’re just using her?”
“No. Fate kind of threw us together but she’s actually a really good kid. I need her help because I can’t go through the department.”
Bonnie stared at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and imploring.
“So you’re not sleeping with her?”
“Jesus Christ, no!” Harris laughed loudly. “Bonnie, I love you. I’m not ready to throw our marriage away.”
Bonnie stared into his eyes, searching for something, anything to show that he was lying. She almost wished it were true, it would give her the excuse to make a clean break, the justification to leave him and never look back. But, as she looked into his eyes, she knew that wasn’t what she really wanted. As much as she felt isolated and abandoned, she still loved him.
“Then I need you to do something for me,” she suddenly spoke.
“Anything.”
“Let’s get out of town,” Bonnie spoke with urgency. “Let’s drive down to Atlantic City and spend the weekend. Mom can watch Danny. Let’s leave right now.”
“Bonnie,” Harris replied somewhat confused. “Didn’t you just hear what I told you?”
“So?”
“So? So I have to find Emily and I’ve got maybe a day left to do it.”
“You told me that there are top men looking for her.”
“There are, but –“
“And the FBI!”
“Yeah, but none of them know what I know.”
“So tell them!”
“Bonnie, it’s not that simple. I told you that I can’t go through the chain. If it is Castillo he will be connected. He will find out.”
Bonnie’s mood worsened immediately. She stared at him and shook her head.
“It just never ends,” she finally said.
“Holy Christ, Bonnie!” Harris exclaimed. “This is a little different than chasing down a meth dealer or trying to bust some gang banger! This guy is going to kill her!”
“And only the great Jimmy Harris can save her, right? Nobody else is up to the task?!”
“Goddamn it, how can you possibly have sat there and listened to that entire story and think that I can just walk away? That I would just abandon Emily?”
“But abandoning your family is fine?”
“That is bullshit! You left me!”
Bonnie took a deep breath and released it. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Harris watched her and allowed her the time, remaining silent. Finally, she opened her eyes. She looked directly at her husband and spoke slowly. Her tone was ominous.
“Jimmy, we are at a crossroads. I came here today prepared to ask you for a divorce. Seeing pictures of you and that woman leaving our house was too much.”
Harris listened carefully, allowing her to finish.
“But I believe you, Jimmy. I believe that nothing is going on.”
“Thank you.”
“But the fact remains that our marriage is still hanging by a thread,” she continued. “I need you to show me that I matter, that Danny and I are more important to you than anything else.”
“Bonnie…” Harris began.
“Let me finish. I know this case is important. But all of your cases are important and I am sick of playing second fiddle. I need you to do this for me.”
Harris stared into her eyes and saw the pain. He knew that he’d let her down in the past and he desperately wanted to make up for it.
“Jimmy, go and pack an overnight bag,” she continued quietly. “I will pack one as well. We can be in a hotel room overlooking the ocean in two hours. If you love me, if you want to save this marriage, you will do it.”
“Bonnie, I do love you,” Harris spoke softly. He reached over and placed his right hand upon hers. “But you are asking me to let a young woman die. Whether you think I’m just being arrogant or not, I am the only real hope she has. We are close, so damn close to finding her.”
Tears welled up in Bonnie’s eyes as she listened. She pulled her hand from underneath his.
“Give me two days, Bonnie. Just two days and I promise I will take you anywhere you want to go. Please.”
Bonnie bit her lower lip and wiped away the tears that now rolled down her cheeks. She could taste their saltiness in the corners of her mouth. She shook her head softly and cocked her head to look at him.
“You really don’t get it, do you?”
“Bonnie, this isn’t an ordinary case. I promised a mother that I would move heaven and earth to find her child.”
Bonnie stood. She pushed her chair out of the way and walked to the edge of the kitchen.
“Damn it, Bonnie,” Harris spoke with desperation. “I’ll quit the goddamn force after this. I mean it.”
“Do you realize how many times I’ve heard your empty promises?”
“Bonnie, don’t do this.”
“I’m not doing this, you are.”
“Just two days. I’m begging you.”
“Goodbye, Jimmy.”
“Bonnie, don’t leave.”
She took another deep breath as she smoothed her hair back and attempted to regain her tough composure. She offered her husband a sad smile.
“I didn’t do the leaving, Jimmy. It was you.”
She turned and walked to the front door. Harris sat in a daze as he watched her walk away. It was an impossible situation. He wanted to run to her, to stop her. But he just couldn’t do it. He saw Emily’s face in his mind and knew that time was running out. He barely heard it as the door closed with a soft click. Bonnie was gone.
Good Cop Bad Cop
; 58
A soft snow fell as the sun began to dip and turn the sky a gentle orange. Large, lazy flakes floated down from the heavens. Those that fell on the water simply disappeared, returning to the liquid form from which they were born. The lush, green yard of spring and summer was a memory, now browning with the changing of seasons. The snow left a hazy white shimmer atop the brown stems of grass as it struggled to stick.
Sylvia sat wrapped in a large, woolen blanket on a Hampton styled chair on her back deck. She watched random flakes fall and die on the expansive, perfectly manicured lawn. Beyond that the bay stretched and the water mocked her with its tranquility. Next to her on a small, teak table sat a steaming cup of chamomile tea which a staff member had brought her just moments before. She turned to watch as the steam left the mug, strong and powerful, only to disperse and fade into nothing. Like my hope, she thought. Like my sanity.
Earlier, in the late morning, her longtime personal physician had arrived and, against her will, had given her a sedative to calm her nerves. Despite protests, the doctor had insisted. His caring for Sylvia went beyond professionalism, he was a friend. Now, the sedative had worn off but still she felt nothing, just detachment.
This morning’s revelation had shaken what was left of her world. Nothing mattered anymore. Not her marriage, not her job, not the mansion or the servants or the power or the budget meetings or anything else in the entire damn world. She was only a mother now, a mother who would die to protect her offspring. Only she couldn’t die. She couldn’t sacrifice herself for her child. She was left in a bizarre state of loneliness, completely isolated and left to the desperate, numbing panic of having to depend on a pair of virtual strangers to do the impossible and return her only child to her.
Sylvia let the blanket slip down her shoulders. She longed to feel the cold, to feel anything. She was literally impervious to sensation, her body removed completely from her shattered consciousness.
For the hundredth time that day, her thoughts drifted back to Sheldon. How was it possible that she could have been so wrong about a man she’d known and loved for close to thirty years? How was it humanly possible for a father to witness the absolute destruction of his child’s body and mind and not be willing to sacrifice anything to stop it? It was impossible to make sense of and although she tried desperately to think of anything else, she couldn’t help but torture herself by the fact that something meant more to Sheldon than his own dear, sweet Emily.
She couldn’t shake the memory of what had transpired earlier this morning. Although she had pledged to trust Harris, she had been seconds away from taking her husband’s side, from throwing herself at Harris to get him to stop. But he had been right. And he had been exactly the type of ruthless man that she knew he would be. He got the bastard to talk after all. It was horrific to watch but he had actually done it. But a name was just a name. It was no more than an improbable lead. Sylvia knew it would take a miracle.
As the last of the sunlight flickered through the trees and sent a million sparkling lights to dance atop the bay’s water, Sylvia wondered what they were doing now. What was Harris doing at this exact moment? Had he gotten any closer to locating her girl? Was he even remotely close? Had the name Salvador Castillo been just another dead end?
The image of Emily flashed before her and it was unbearable. She tried not to imagine what her daughter was experiencing at this moment or whether she was even still alive. It was simply too much to handle so instead she focused on the man who was her last hope. All she had left was hope although it flickered like a candle nearing the end of its wick.
Sylvia looked to her mug of tea. The heat had dissipated and the steam had faded. Everything was fading. The shadows were no more as the sun was down. The night had come bringing darkness with it.
Good Cop Bad Cop
59
“Wake up, Christi.”
A soft hand gripped held her shoulder and slowly rocked her.
“Christi….wake up.”
The young reporter came out of the deep sleep and snapped to, aware now of the conscious world around her. She looked into the face of Anne, one of the researchers. She squeezed her burning eyes tightly and blinked as the dream she had been having faded quickly into an unattainable memory. Christi looked around the dimly lit office and quickly sat upright on the couch she’d been napping on.
“What time is it?!” She asked in a panic.
“It’s four-thirty in the morning,” the researcher answered.
“Oh my God,” Christi said in a hush. “You didn’t have to come in this early.”
“I haven’t left.”
“What?”
“I haven’t left. We haven’t left. There was too much going on,” the woman said with an air of excitement in her voice. It did not go unnoticed.
“Oh my God!” Christi’s eyes widened. “You found something!?”
“I think so. That is, we think so.”
Christi jumped from the couch and made for the door without a further word. She dashed towards the conference room that had served as the research bunker for the past sixteen hours. Anne followed her closely.
As she entered she saw Paul, the other top researcher at The Gazette smiling from ear to ear. He waved her over frantically.
“You have to see this!” He spoke with jubilant excitement.
“What is it?!” Christi answered with exuberance, now fully awake.
“Read,” he answered as he stepped back allowing her complete access to the laptop.
Christi quickly scanned the screen and what she saw sent a chill down her back. She scrolled down with the mouse and took it all in as fast as she could.
“Holy shit,” she muttered.
“You think that’s something?” Anne spoke. “Click the tabs.”
Christi followed instructions and as she read her mouth dropped open. She hit another tab and then another as the two researchers stood silently behind her, beaming with pride.
“Then that would mean…” Christi’s voice trailed off as she put the pieces together. She flipped back and forth, tab after tab and slowly the entire picture shifted into focus.
“How is this possible?” She turned to look at the pair standing behind her.
“Oh, it’s possible,” Anne replied. “People hide under multiple corporations all the time. You just have to know where to dig.”
“This is incredible,” Christi said. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?!”
“Well,” Paul began. “First you needed the sleep. And second, we wanted to get it all before we bothered you.”
“Holy shit, how long have you guys been awake?”
“God, not even twenty-four hours yet,” Paul exclaimed. “This is nothing, in college we used to cram for three days straight to get ready for exams. You just need the right meds.”
The researchers laughed as Christi eyed them with humorous suspicion. “I don’t even want to know.”
“Oh, it’s all legal,” Anne explained hastily. “Just caffeine pills. You want one?”
“Uhhh, I think I’ll just get mine the old fashioned way. I’m going to go make a large pot of coffee and when I get back we need to sew this up into a neat little package. Jimmy is going to shit.”
“I started brewing a pot right before I woke you,” Anne stated, with a smile.
“Damn,” Christi smiled. “Whatever they’re paying you two, it’s not enough.”
“Trust me, we know,” Paul laughed.
“Not after this, I’m going to personally go to bat for you.”
“Thanks,” Anne replied. “But I’m not going to hold my breath.”
Christi stood from the seat and reached out her arms. She grabbed both of her colleagues and pulled them close in a tight hug.
“Guys, you are the best. You might have just saved a young woman’s life.”
“Thanks, but this is just information,” Paul spoke as his tone became serious. “I have no idea what can be done with it in such a short amoun
t of time.”
“Don’t you worry about that, we have a secret weapon on our side.”
“What?” the two asked in unison.
“Not what,” Christi laughed. “Who.”
With that she ran out of the office towards the break room and the liquid based caffeine.
Good Cop Bad Cop
60
After putting together as much information as she could, Christi placed a call to Harris. She continued to pore over every lead, analyzing every connection as she waited for him to arrive at the paper. He made it from his home in the Bronx in record time. Now, after being introduced to Anne and Paul, they sat in the conference room and Christi explained what they’d unearthed.
“I guess I don’t have to tell you what a huge drug dealer Castillo was,” Christi spoke. “That much you had to find on your own.”
“Probably still is,” Anne added.
“Probably, but he was smart enough to diversify. He’s got quite a few fronts.”
“What’s your source on this?” Harris asked.
“Multiple. We’re tied into Reuters, the A.P., The Wall Street Journal and believe it or not, the BBC has an incredible Latin American Division.”
“So what’s the connection to Blumquist?” Harris asked impatiently.
“Hang on, Jimmy,” Christi chided. “You have to have the whole picture for it to make sense.”
“Sorry, go ahead.”
“Well, one of Castillo’s legitimate enterprises is a real estate company known as Valle de Sol Holdings. They are licensed out of Bogotá. See this, right here?”
She slid him a paper that he snatched up and scanned quickly.
“The company acquires properties worldwide as investments,” she explained. “They actually have an impressive portfolio.”
“Yeah, well capital is not a problem when you’re moving six billion dollars worth of coke every year,” Paul piped in.
Harris ignored the comment as he read. He finally looked up and nodded for Christi to continue.
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