He wrote the order down, ripped it from the pad and put it on the hatch to the kitchen.
“Special for Andy, Beth!” he shouted through to the kitchen, then turned back to the detectives. “So, any news on our dead suspect yet?”
Maria put her head in her hands, then swept her hair back while taking in a deep breath. “It’s a complete clusterfuck, old man.” She sighed. “The guy wasn’t in the system. I spotted his photo on the wall of the kids unit, found out his name. Then I got a call last night from forensics telling me it wasn’t suicide. He was murdered.”
“You have got to be shitting me?” Coop stared, open-mouthed. “In the holding cells?”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Andy said in a disbelieving tone.
“How could that happen?” He looked genuinely flabbergasted.
“We’re trying to find out,” she said despondently. “Second examination is getting underway soon, and Regan has people reviewing the CCTV footage now.” She shook her head. “Someone must have seen something.”
“You’d think.” He grabbed a mug and filled it for himself.
“Anyway, how did you get on with the tech geeks?” She turned to Andy.
“Oh, yeah, they examined logs and databases and found the whole system had been breached from a remote IP address.” He looked at his father and then back to her. “The thing is, it was so clever that we would have never detected it unless we did a search for the individuals.” He took a sip of coffee. “Luckily you did, and found there was a serious problem. They suspect that other files were deleted too, so they’re trying to weave their magic and restore it somehow.”
“Can they find out who hacked in?” she asked.
“They doubt it. It was bounced about from server to server. If they can catch the hacker in the act they might have a chance.” He shrugged. “But after-the-fact tracing is going to be nearly impossible. There’s also a possibility that whoever is doing this is setting it on a timer. Now that’s some smart shit.”
“Jeez, get you with the computer talk,” she scoffed, and winked at Coop.
“Hey, don’t let my son kid you. He knows more than he lets on.” He smiled, then shook his head. “I can’t believe it. How can a prisoner get murdered in a cell?”
“Don’t know, but I’ll tell you, this case is getting stranger by the day,” she said.
“Tell me, who was on the booking desk?” he asked.
“Your old amigo, Percival.” She took another gulp of her coffee.
“Percy?” He looked startled then glanced at Andy, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
She glanced from one to the other, waiting for an explanation to the sudden change in their manner. The elder began to drum his fingers on the counter in obvious agitation while the younger avoided making eye contact with either of them.
“Am I missing something here?” Maria asked.
“As you know, Percy was my partner for a while.” Coop paused and cleared his throat. He looked around and then leaned forward and lowered his voice. “We got a call out one night to a domestic disturbance. A drunk guy had gone a few rounds with his wife, who was six months pregnant.” He paused again. Telling this story obviously vexed him.
“They also had a four-year-old boy. The boy had woken up when he heard the screams from his mum. He started shouting at the guy to stop. He slapped the kid to shut him up; quite a few times. When we arrived the woman and kid were outside waiting in the front yard. They were pretty badly beaten. The husband was asleep in a chair in front of the TV.” He took a deep breath and rubbed his face.
“Go on!” encouraged Maria.
“Well, we surveyed the scene, and Percy told me to watch the woman and kid outside while he secured the suspect. I can’t be sure what happened inside the house that night. What I do know is that guy was in intensive care for five weeks. He had severe brain damage and ended up having some kind of seizure that finished him off,” he concluded, and stared at the counter.
“Shit!” she exclaimed. “I’m not saying the guy didn’t deserve a beating, but . . . ” She huffed and shook her head. “It would have been better if he’d been put away and suffered inside. Now that would have been justice served. What happened after that?”
“Percy was cleared by internal affairs for lack of evidence. He claimed the guy woke up as he tried to cuff him and all hell broke loose.” He looked her straight in the eye and tapped his index finger on the counter to emphasis what he was saying. “Something wasn’t right about his story. You think you know someone, but… I never rode with him again after that night.”
“So let me get this straight.” She sat upright. “Are you saying Percy could have done this?”
Coop shrugged and looked at Andy, who was still avoiding eye contact.
“It would explain how someone could have done this without being detected,” she started to convince herself.
“Hey.” He stood back and held his hands up. “I’m only saying.”
“Yeah, well, you ‘only saying’ may give us a starting point on this.” She tapped Andy on the arm. “What do you think?”
“I can see where you’re going with this, and I agree with both of you, but…” He turned to face his partner. “You’re going to have to be very careful with this. If you start making accusations against a cop of Percy’s status, you’d better be ready for some serious backlash if you’re proven wrong.”
“I hear you, partner.” She turned to him as if readying for a confrontation. “But this is now a murder case. I know what Seaton was, but we needed to get to the bottom of this Genesis thing before that happened to him. There are kids’ lives at stake here.”
“I know,” he said, holding his hands up to calm her down. “We just need to tread very carefully here.”
“I have to agree with him on this, Maria,” Coop said calmly. “If you want my advice, go to Regan first, and let him know what your thoughts are. Hey, if you don’t want to take the heat for this, tell him you got it from me.”
She sat back in her seat and looked from father to son, thinking of her plan of action.
“Okay,” she said finally. “Thanks for the advice, old timer. Andy, you’re lead detective here. I’ll go with what you think is right.”
“Good.” He sighed. “We’ll go and see Regan after roll call and let him know our thoughts.”
“I can go with that,” she agreed.
“Now, Dad, can I have my breakfast?” Andy pleaded.
“Coming right up, son,” he said, as he disappeared into the kitchen.
The Genesis Chamber
Chapter 23
“As you are all aware, the entire floor around the holding cells is off limits due to the ongoing forensic investigation.” Sergeant Percival peered over his thick-rimmed glasses at the occupants of the squad room.
There was an unusually strange tense but somber atmosphere in the entire station. The word had rapidly spread about the murder of a prisoner, which left small groups of officers whispering among themselves, all trying to draw conclusions as to what had happened, and who had perpetrated the crime.
“What do you think?” Maria nudged Andy, who was busy studying the report sheets he had been handed on the way in to roll call.
“What?” he said, looking up from the documents and scanning the room to see what she was talking about.
“Percy.” She nodded towards the sergeant. “Do you think he did it?”
“Hey.” He leaned in to lower his voice. “Keep your voice down. If you start throwing accusations around like that you could ostracize yourself before you know it.”
“I want to get to the bottom of this!” she snapped back in a harsh whisper. “Do I have to remind you, someone went into that cell and murdered a suspect?”
“I know! But we need to get some facts first, and not jump to a conclusion because of what Dad said.” He quickly looked around to see if anyone was listening. “Let’s talk to Regan first.”
“Okay.” She stared at
him. “But if he agrees, I want first crack at Percy.”
He looked at her for a moment before nodding his head.
“So, until either Lieutenant Regan or I give you the all-clear, no one is permitted in that area,” Percival continued. “All suspects brought in for holding will be processed here, then transported to the nearest available holding facility.” He picked his notes up and placed them in a folder. “Any questions?” He looked across the room waiting for a query. “No? In that case roll call is over. Have a good day and stay safe, people.”
A low hum of muttering voices filled the room as everyone started filing out to proceed with their duties.
“Cooper and Hernandez!” Percival shouted. Everyone stopped and turned their attention to the detectives, who looked at the sergeant. “Lieutenant Regan wants you in his office immediately.”
“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Andy started to push his way past some of the officers, and Maria followed.
***
When they got to the lieutenant’s office, Andy hesitated before knocking. He took a breath and rapped on the door with the knuckle of his index finger.
“Come!” Regan barked from inside.
He opened the door and stepped aside, allowing his partner to enter. She glared at him as she passed. Regan was pacing in an agitated manner back and forth behind his desk. His hands were perched on his hips, holding his jacket open. He stopped and pointed at the seats in front of his desk, signaling for them to sit. They had hardly settled into their chosen seats before he began his tirade.
“What the fuck is going on?” he bawled as he walked over to the door and slammed it shut, before undoing the top button of his shirt and loosening his tie. “How the hell can someone be murdered in a allegedly secure unit? My secure unit!” he emphasized, and continued pacing back and forth.
“Sir—” Maria tried to make a statement.
Regan marched around his desk and stood over her with a menacing scowl, his hands still on his hips. “I haven’t finished yet, Hernandez.”
“Sir,” she said apologetically.
“Internal Affairs is going to be crawling all over this within a couple of hours, and once the press gets wind of it, all hell is going to break loose!” He dropped his hands off his waist, walked back behind his desk, and flopped into his chair. He then retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead.
“Sir,” she said with some hesitation. “We may have a person of interest that we want to talk to.” Maria shifted in her chair.
“Who?” he asked, as he sat forward with interest.
“It’s…” she started, but was cut off by Andy.
“It’s someone we want to eliminate from our inquiries first, sir,” he said, as he looked at her with a frown.
“We, er…” She stalled for a moment and took a breath before blurting out, “We want your permission to question Sergeant Percival, sir.”
“Percival?” Regan exclaimed. “What the hell has he got to do with this?”
Maria shot a quick look at her partner, hoping he would help her out, but he stared at the lieutenant. She turned back to her superior.
“Taking into account that Sergeant Percival was on duty when the suspect was murdered, and…” She glanced at Andy again. “I have reason to believe that he has assaulted a suspect on a previous occasion, which may have resulted in the death of said suspect.”
Regan looked outraged as he looked at the senior detective. “What is she talking about?”
“Sir.” He cleared his throat. “Coop told her about the incident when Percy was investigated by IA.”
His eyes closed, and a look of realization came over his face.
“I knew it.” He was exasperated. “I told him one day this would come back and bite him in the ass.” He sat forward and pointed his finger straight at her. “He was cleared of any wrongdoing. Internal Affairs concluded that the guy resisted arrest, and Percy did what he needed to do.”
“We just need to talk to him, sir,” she said in a pleading tone. “You must see that he needs to be interviewed.”
Regan sat back in his chair and clasped his hands together in front of his mouth in a prayer fashion. He tapped his index fingers together as he appeared to be in deep thought.
“Okay, you can talk to him.” He pointed at Andy. “You, and you alone,” he emphasized, then shifted his attention to her. “You—you have until the end of the day to bring me something that will give me a reason not to hand this back to missing persons—”
“Sir,” she interrupted, and sat forward to lean on the front of his desk. “This is about kids—”
“I know,” he cut her off. “But if no other bodies turn up then it’s not our problem, so hand it off.” He paused as she huffed and threw herself back in her seat. “Look, Hernandez, I’ve got a murder scene on my doorstep here. IA is going to be here any second and, like I said, when the press get wind of this, we’re most certainly going to get shut down.
“Lieutenant, this isn’t kids absconding from home,” she insisted. “This is something big. I know it.”
“That’s why you need to get me some results on this.” His tone had changed to a more calm one. “I’m as intrigued as you are. But our workload is stacking up here, and the last thing we need is to be down a detective.” He slowly eased himself back into his chair and took another moment to think. “If Percy didn’t do this—and we are working on the assumption that he didn’t—then we direct all our attention to finding out who did before IA gets here, upsetting everyone. So, Andy, talk to him. Clarify the situation for your partner, because I’ll tell you now, Maria.” He glared at her. “Percy is a good cop, not a vigilante killer.” Regan pointed to the door as a signal for the detectives to leave. “Now go, and don’t come back until you can make me smile with some positive information.”
They left the office and walked through the squad room towards the elevator.
“Let me know how you get on with Percy,” Maria said.
“Will do.” Andy pressed the call button for the elevator. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to go grab Travis and head to AppTech,” she said, as the elevator doors opened and they both stepped in. She pressed the button for the ground floor and lower ground floor. “I’m taking him in case I need to talk to the kid again afterwards.”
“Regan is right, you know,” he said. “Percy is a good cop, not a killer.”
“Well, we’ll see if he pops up on the CCTV,” she said in a sharp tone.
Ding. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened to mayhem. The entire reception area was flooded with people bustling and shouting at Sargent Percival.
“What the…?” Maria exclaimed.
“There’s Hernandez!” someone shouted from the melee.
“Shit,” Andy said under his breath. “Press!”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the two detectives who were still standing in the elevator. The crowd shifted towards them and they were blinded by a wall of camera flashes. Before they could react they had microphones and digital recorders thrust in their faces.
“Detective Hernandez!” A suited male edged further forward, getting his microphone as close to her as possible. “Can you confirm that a suspect you brought in has been murdered while in police custody?”
“How the…?” She was stunned by the sudden appearance of the press and that they knew what had happened.
“No comment,” Andy said, as he pushed the recording device away from her and started to push the advancing crowd back.
“Do you have any suspects, Detective Cooper?” the reporter persisted.
“I have nothing to say,” he replied, as he pushed harder to get the entrance to the elevator clear so he could shut the door. He reached over and pushed the button and stood in front of Maria until the doors had closed.
“How the fuck did they get wind of this?” She glared at him.
“I have no idea,
but you need to get out of here before they find you.” He leaned back against the wall of the elevator. “Listen, go and do what you need to do and get back as soon as you can.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’ll go back up and get rid of them for now,” he said. “Then I’ll talk to Percy and get some answers from either him or from the CCTV. I’ll call you when I’ve got something.”
Ding. The elevator came to a halt again and the doors slid open to relative silence.
“Thanks, partner,” she said as she exited.
“Hey!” he shouted after her. She turned to face him. “Make sure you come back with something that can sort of justify bringing that guy in, or we’re fucked.”
She didn’t speak; instead she just looked at him for a moment, then nodded and walked on to the CACU.
***
“Hey, Travis, you want to come do some more real police work?” Maria shouted across the office as she approached him.
“And a very good morning to you, too,” he said, looking up from his computer. “What’s happening?”
“We’ve got to go to AppTech to ask Chris Cooper about this app Ronaldo mentioned,” she replied. “And I’ve got to get out of here. The press are crawling all over the place upstairs, asking about Seaton’s death.”
“What?” he said with genuine surprise. “How the hell did they find out so quick?”
“That is what I would like to know,” she said. “Someone must have leaked it from here.”
“What makes you say that?” he inquired.
“Come on.” She gave him a disbelieving look. “It’s not rocket science. The people at the station are the only ones who know about it. Probably some dirty cop trying to earn a few extra bucks.”
“I hope you don’t think it was me,” he said, looking straight at her.
“Nah, you’re a desk jockey. You haven’t got the balls for that sort of thing.” She smiled.
“Gee, thanks.” He looked around the office. “Give me ten minutes to finish this off, then I’m pretty much done here,” he added.
“Okay, I’ll just have another look at your wall of shame here,” she said, and wandered over to the wall to inspect the photos.
The Genesis Chamber Page 18