“Six.”
“No.” She closed her eyes again. “Wait. How about the news update?”
“What update?”
“Weren’t you talking to your sergeant just now?”
Sheesh. Feigning sleep…
“Yes, why?”
“The next door neighbor who reported the dog abuse case says Luke Masterson wasn’t the man he saw abusing the dog. He’s on TV saying it was Ludo who was beating the dog.”
“Did they find the dog?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s weird. The police say that Masterson put Ludo in restraints in self-defense.”
“What?”
“Yeah…nobody believes him. The talking heads are having a field day.”
“Any news on Ludo?”
She shifted in her chair. “Upgraded to guarded condition, whatever that means.” She gave him a thumbs-up. “The doctors are about to give a press conference. Are you going to visit him?”
He reached down and hugged her. “Yes, I will.”
“Will you be on TV?” She looked excited at the prospect.
He laughed. “No, Mom, sorry.”
“You’re so handsome, you should be on TV.”
He kissed her head again. “I’ll keep my phone on, in case you need me. You want me to pick up some groceries?”
She shook her head. “We have plenty.”
Plenty? He knew Dina would be coming by in a couple of hours. He’d call and ask her to get some staples in. It was weird. He’d made sure they had a fridge full of food the day before.
“Chelsea’s coming at eight,” she said, barely keeping the indignation from her tone. Chelsea was her physical therapist, or as his mother liked to call her, professional bully. “I think it’s really strange, Cavan.”
“What is? Chelsea?”
She shook her head. “This whole case. It makes no sense.”
She was right about that.
§ § § §
Cavan flew through his gym session at LA Fitness, showered, changed and walked into the station house at seven-thirty. He felt vaguely victorious when he snagged the last half cupcake left in a box in the duty kitchen. He greeted his co-workers and made his way to the locker room. Man, the cupcake was awesome. Just as his mouth got all excited about the unusual mix of salty and sweet, he’d finished the measly half.
“Hey, Ben,” he said when he noticed his partner lounging on the wooden bench in front of his open locker.
“Hey.” Ben’s frigid tone surprised him, but then he remembered that Felicity said he was sore that Cavan got so much attention for Ludo’s rescue.
“That was a wild night, wasn’t it?” Cavan asked. “Great teamwork.”
Ben didn’t respond. He stood, folding some papers in his hand, stuffing them into his backpack. He radiated pure venom, a physical force so strong it was almost frightening. He shoved the backpack into his locker, slammed the door shut, flipping the lock closed. He refused to make eye contact with Cavan.
“Everything okay?” Cavan asked.
“How the fuck did you know?”
Cavan stared at him. “Know…what?”
“Come on, Carmichael.” Ben shoved a finger in his face. “How the fuck did you know I tripped in the fucking garden and never went after our suspect last night?”
“I didn’t know.” Cavan frowned at him. “I was in that smelly shed. No windows…remember? How could I have seen you in the garden?”
Ben didn’t listen. Or couldn’t listen. A white rage bubbled to the surface and he screamed. “You get a commendation and I get…a fucking transfer?”
Cavan stared at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know about any transfer and I didn’t know you fell. Did you hurt yourself?”
“Oh, blow me.” Ben’s face contorted with anger. “You know what? Fuck you, man. Fucking fuck you.” He opened his locker again, took out his backpack and smacked the door, almost ripping it off its hinges.
“What do you mean you’re getting transferred?”
Ben shouldered the backpack. “Just that, super fuck. You reported me and—”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t see you!”
Veo walked into the locker room looking immaculate as always. Cavan stared at him. Was he wearing makeup?
“You still here?” Veo’s voice dripped disdain.
“Apparently.” Ben seemed to calm down a little.
“What’s the problem here?” Veo’s gaze flickered back and forth between them.
“No problem.” Ben looked at the ground, hand on hips. He toed the feet on the locker room bench as if he just didn’t know what to do with himself.
Cavan stared at the cupcake in Veo’s hand. Where was he keeping his stash?
“Sir,” Cavan said, “there is a problem.”
“Fuck,” Ben ground out.
Cavan talked quickly. “He seems to think I reported him tripping when he went after our suspect last night.”
Veo frowned. “Nobody reported you, Ortega. Masterson’s neighbor recorded the whole thing. You got up and instead of going after your guy, your cell phone rang. You got a message and texted back some chick!”
Ben’s face turned bright red. He shook his head as he looked away.
“That isn’t how it happened.”
“Yeah, it is. I subpoenaed your phone records this morning after I saw the footage. We got ’em pretty fast.”
Ben’s head jerked up. “The…er…footage?”
“Yeah. You’re lucky it’s not all over the Internet. You made your partner deal with a life-threatening situation alone so you could sext your girlfriend.”
“I didn’t—”
“You’ve sexted her seventeen hundred times since August. On a California state-issue cell phone. I’ve only read the messages from this week alone but I’d say you’re addicted and controlling.”
Ben didn’t respond. He looked desperate when he said, “I can change. Please give me a second chance. Please don’t make me go to the Rampart Division.”
Veo shrugged. “Too late. It’s out of my hands.” He looked at Cavan. “You and I have an appointment at Cedars-Sinai. The watch commander wants us there for the press conference.” Veo sank his perfect California teeth into his cupcake and walked out of the locker room.
“Shit,” Cavan said. “I’m so sorry this happened.”
“Oh, fuck you.” Ben walked out.
Cavan sat on the bench. The day had barely started and it already sucked. He took a deep breath. He called Dina, who answered on the second ring.
“Cav,” she asked, “how’d she sleep?”
“In her chair.”
“Ah, that explains the grumpiness this morning.”
“She was grumpy with you?”
“Yeah. She wouldn’t let Chelsea in the house. I’m going over there now. Chelsea’s sitting outside in her car. She says she’s scared of Mom.”
Cavan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “She’s scared of her? Geez…sis, I meant to ask if you’ll pick up some groceries. I don’t know how but the house is empty. There was enough cereal and milk for Mom to have breakfast—”
Dina cut him off. “What do you mean, empty? I filled the fridge yesterday.”
“You did? That’s weird. Because I filled it two days ago.”
“What in the world is she doing with all the food?” Dina let out an exasperated sound. “Don’t worry. I’ll deal with it.” Dina ended the call.
Cavan tried not to stress. He’d had these conversations with his sister before. When he was in Klamath Falls, he was too far away. Now he was here living with Mom it still wasn’t good enough. He had to work. Dina acted as if he lay about the house eating lime creams and not lifting a finger.
He pocketed his phone and buttoned up is shirt. He was wearing a black T-shirt underneath it. City regulations mandated that officers wear a white one during the day and black or midnight blue for night, but he worked a twelve-hour shift and he had no clean
white Ts handy. He hoped Veo wouldn’t notice and make a big deal of it. Cavan checked his uniform in the mirror on the opposite wall. Damn. He’d forgotten to take his dirty shirts and Ts to the cleaners. His only other uniform pants were now considered evidence. He had to get a replacement and get the rest of his stuff to the cleaners as soon as he could. Satisfied that his T-shirt was not visible under his shirt, he walked back into the main floor. He found Veo chatting up Felicity as she tacked a new poster to the wall by the entrance. Driving Buzzed is Driving Drunk. The guy in the photo was hot. Cavan felt the faint stirrings of…
Geez…I need to get laid. I’m fantasizing about poster boys.
Felicity fumbled a tack. It fell. She dropped and picked it up. She batted her eyelids as she looked over her shoulder to continue her conversation with Veo. Her lips moved into a smile. Cavan had never seen her smile.
He took it all in. Man…could whip-smart Felicity be falling for uber-buffoon Veo?
“Ready?” Veo asked him, a snap to his tone.
Felicity’s eyes sparkled as she winked at Veo. She must have noticed Cavan’s gaze because she bestowed a wink on him, too.
The two men walked out of the station.
“What are we supposed to be doing at this press conference?” Cavan asked as they walked outside. The street was calm, thank God. Butler Avenue was not the kind of place you would imagine housing a police station. Leafy, residential and surrounded by a prominence of condos, Cavan understood why Ben had described it as “condo city.”
Ben.
Cavan felt awful about the way things had ended between them. On the other hand, knowing that his partner had been texting instead of chasing down Masterson galled him. The sun shone…crazy warm again. Veo stood in his well-polished shoes with the kind of stance a king might take as he surveyed his domain.
“It’s just a meet and greet, job well done type of thing. We are not addressing the criminal aspects of the case at all. That comes later.”
Man, Veo’s white teeth were blinding.
“I don’t have to speak, do I?”
Veo’s head whipped around to him like Robo Cop. “You don’t want to speak?”
“Hell, no. It’s embarrassing enough that my partner hates me and that tape got leaked to the media.”
Veo flushed slightly. His cell phone rang and he took the call.
“Understood,” he said. He ended the call. “Well, Carmichael, I’m happy to represent. Chief Charlie Beck and the mayor will be there. I can speak for you. For the whole department. You just need to stand there and look handsome.” He chucked his fingers under Cavan’s chin.
They drove in one of the bomb squad’s SUVs, the driver congratulating him on the previous night’s case. Cavan wondered why they needed to be chauffeured by a unit that must have better things to do, but he kept his mouth shut and didn’t ask questions.
“Thanks.” Cavan felt nervous. He wanted to see Ludo. He didn’t give a shit about press conferences, but he dutifully trotted into the hospital’s conference room. It was packed to the rafters with media types. Cavan joined Police Chief Beck and a row of other officers he’d never met before on the dais, as Dr. Samada and another man in a white coat began speaking.
Before they got a chance to talk, the city mayor, Eric Garcetti, snatched the mic and began talking. Cavan knew all about the mayor and the running gag that he went wherever the cameras went. Cavan listened as the mayor and several other people took credit for busting open the case of the chained-up man.
Funny…I don’t remember any of them being there last night when I found Ludo.
Chief Beck praised Cavan. The doctors praised him and reported that Ludo was doing unusually well, responding to treatment.
“I’ve never seen a savage attack, but we are confident he will recover fully,” Samada said.
Veo longed to jump into the fray, Cavan could tell. A couple of reporters asked Cavan questions, but the mayor, who apparently now thought he was a cop, answered everything. Veo began to glower.
The press conference became less formal once the mayor disappeared and the news crews went off in search of other stories.
“Gotta take a leak,” Cavan whispered to Veo, who nodded, seizing the opportunity to share his wisdom with a radio crew from NPR.
Cavan wormed his way out of the conference room and onto the first floor wards. He approached a desk nurse and asked about Ludo. She pointed him through a set of glass doors.
He found his way to yet another nurse’s station. The nurse was a little unhelpful until Cavan said that Dr. Samada had indicated that Ludo wanted to see him.
“Just a minute.” She walked off on squeaky, crepe-soled shoes. He stared at them. They were odd shoes with the higher part at the top of the foot instead of the heel. He wondered if they were comfortable.
She quickly returned. “He wants to see you,” she said, a warm smile spreading across her face.
He followed her to a darkened room, curtains drawn against the sun. Ludo lay back against a mountain of pillows, his hands and feet bandaged. He lay on top of the covers, scratches and welts visible. Somebody had washed his hair. It looked curlier and cleaner. He didn’t smell anymore.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, and left them alone.
“Thank you,” Ludo said, his gaze on Cavan’s face. He had a TV remote by his side and he switched off the unit as he spoke.
“You look so much better.” Cavan found himself feeling very emotional. “I am so glad you’re going to be okay.”
“Thanks to you.” Ludo’s voice cracked. His head turned slightly. “You didn’t say anything at the press conference.”
Cavan shook his head. “Not my kind of thing. I wanted to come and see you. I came last night but you were in recovery.”
Ludo’s head turned a little more, his chin jutting toward the chest of drawers to his right. “I’ve got all kinds of IVs in my hands…it makes it…hard. Can you hand me that cup of crushed ice, please? They won’t give me liquids yet, but I am so thirsty.”
Cavan held the plastic cup to Ludo’s face. For the first time, he realized how handsome the man was. His eyes closed in ecstasy as he crunched the ice chips.
“Better?”
Ludo nodded and took some more chips.
“You have a strong will to survive,” Cavan said. “How are you feeling? Are you in a lot of pain?”
“Not as much as I was. I have a catheter right now. That’s not much fun but the pain in my gut is so much better. I’m really hungry. They’re promising me soup tonight, but what I really want is shrimp.”
“Shrimp?” Cavan was shocked by their entire conversation. Ludo seemed so…alive. He seemed robust and…he wanted shrimp?
“I love shrimp. I prefer langostino…” His face took on a dreamy look.
Cavan laughed. “If they let me, I’ll bring you some.”
Ludo smiled. It was a strange, but oddly beautiful smile, as if his face wasn’t used to it.
“Where are you from?” Cavan asked.
Ludo’s dreamy expression vanished. Wariness replaced it.
“Argentina,” he said, as if the admission cost him.
Ludo’s eyes closed. They said nothing for a moment. The nurse returned.
“He needs rest,” she whispered.
“Okay.” Cavan nodded.
“Bring me shrimp next time, okay?” Ludo’s dark eyes opened and seemed to hold Cavan to a promise.
“I’ll do that.”
They smiled at each other. Cavan longed to tell Ludo that it wasn’t he who leaked the footage to the media. He was so grateful Ludo was alive and wanted the man to know that.
“You’re a good man, Officer Cavan.” Ludo closed his eyes again and seemed to fall asleep.
§ § § §
On the ride back to the station, Veo was pissed that so many others had stolen their thunder. “We’re going to stage our own press conference at two o’clock,” Veo said. “I can’t wait.” He pulled out a comb a
nd worked it through his already immaculate hair.
Cavan and the bomb squad driver exchanged smiles.
“You interest me,” he said.
It took Cavan a moment to realize that Veo was talking to him.
“I do?” Cavan was taken aback.
“You come off like…I dunno…kinda goofy, but you have a confidence in you. A quiet confidence. I guess that’s why you think it’s okay to wear a black T-shirt under your uniform.”
“Thanks…I think.”
Back at the station, the driver held the door for Veo. “Got time for a coffee?” he asked Cavan sotto voce as they walked into the station.
Cavan thought he might have misheard the guy, but the quirked brow focused on him told him otherwise.
“Er…sure. I think. Hang on, lemme check.” Cavan was flustered. The guy was handsome but was he gay? He didn’t even know his name.
“I was wondering if I’m supposed to be hitting the streets…or if I can grab a quick coffee?” he asked Felicity, who was dumping family-size plastic bags of candy into plastic jack-o-lanterns.
“You’re off the roster until they find you a new partner.” She clicked through computer records as Cavan mined the candy stash for gold. He found it. A root beer barrel. His favorite.
“I know Sergeant Veo wants you here for the press conference at two-thirty, so you’ve got plenty of time for that coffee, but stay close to the station, yeah?”
“No problem. By the way, where’s the closest cleaners?”
She flicked a glance at him. “I have a guy that comes in and picks up uniforms every day. He can have it back to you tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Ben didn’t tell you?” She looked annoyed. “Probably too busy texting his girlfriend.”
“Sergeant Veo also mentioned that I could get a replacement uniform.”
Her face darkened to a dangerous shade. “I’m being nice, Carmichael, but I ain’t your housekeeper.”
“My uniform’s been checked into evidence and I have nobody else to ask. I’m sorry if I offended you.” He was anxious now. He’d just lost his partner after a single day and now his only friend in the station house was mad at him.
She softened a little. “Give me your measurements. I’ll handle it. And bring me your dirty gear.”
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