The Last Hope

by C. C. Jameson

  “Sure, if you can find someone who’s willing to switch with you. Then, run it by me again. Oh, and make sure that person’s partner is fine with it, too, because they’ll be working with you. I won’t let anyone do their patrols alone at night, not even for one shift.” He pulled a piece of paper out from one of the files he was holding. “Here’s a copy of this week’s roster.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Sergeant.”

  She glanced at the list of names and wondered which one of these officers would be easiest to approach. She didn’t know many of them yet. In the twelve years since Kate had joined the police force, she’d never had a regular partner. She wondered why for a moment. Most cops settled in with a partner, but she’d never done that. Instead, she’d been passed around from cop to cop, partnering up on an as-needed basis with whomever needed a partner for a few days. Either that or she’d worked dayshift, where having a partner wasn’t standard procedure, especially with the budget cuts the police were forced to deal with.

  She and the others on patrol never had much to talk about. Kate liked to keep her personal life private and didn’t want to hear about the ups, the downs, and whatever else was happening in the other cops’ lives. Maybe that was why nobody wanted to partner up with her on a regular basis. Perhaps that explained the negative points on her last evaluation. Was it the “teamwork” issue she had to work on? If it had made its way into her file, then it had to be important. Could it be a significant flaw to fix or at least improve upon?

  Meh.

  Maybe one day she’d get around to it.

  “Roll call is about to start; you better hurry,” the sergeant said, pulling her back to reality.

  Kate glanced at her watch. He was right. She folded the roster, placed it in her breast pocket, and then rushed to the meeting room.

  After answering four domestic disturbance calls, dealing with one breaking and entering, and issuing half a dozen speeding tickets, Kate was done with her shift.

  She was returning her patrol car keys when she ran into Officer Mansbridge. She remembered his name because he was the chubbiest cop in the district and probably the most talkative as well. In just a few days, she’d heard all about his wife, his kids, his tooth problems, his back pains, his retirement dreams, his fear of heights, and... what else? Oh yeah, she couldn’t forget how he had listed every single dieting fad and why they were all scams.

  “Hey, Mansbridge, would you be interested in switching shifts with me for a little while? Just a few days?”

  “Hey back, Murphy.” He smiled at her, but it seemed forced. “I’m doing well, and how are you doing today?”

  Argh.

  She hated it when people wanted to make small talk. Pointless. But she needed him to do her a favor, so she played along. “Sorry, how are things?”

  “Life’s good, Mary’s pregnant again,” he said with a smile. This time, it appeared genuine.

  “Congratulations!” Kate hesitated, not sure if asking a follow-up question would result in a twenty-minute conversation. She really needed to join the detectives as soon as possible. “When is Mary due?”

  “She’s twelve weeks, so... early January.”

  “That’s fantastic.”

  Kate remained quiet, hoping Mansbridge wouldn’t expand on this or other irrelevant details for too long, but she was pleasantly surprised when he continued.

  “So, you want off day shift? Mary would certainly prefer to have me home in the evenings. Let me talk to Smitty, and I’ll get back to you.”

  “I’ll give you my cell number,” Kate said. She scribbled it down and then handed him a ripped page from her unofficial notebook.

  “How long?”

  “I don’t know. Probably just a day or two.”

  “Okay, I’ll text you later,” he said, grabbing his car keys and walking away.

  “Thanks, Mansbridge. Have a safe shift.”

  She rushed to her locker, changed out of her uniform, and then headed to conference room two where she walked into a discussion, midstream.

  “But that doesn’t make sense,” an Asian woman said.

  “Have you checked with the bank?” Detective Fuller asked.

  A tall and slender brown-haired man continued, “Yes, and there wasn’t any. I also ran a check across all US banks. Nothing else.”

  “Okay, let’s look at it from a different perspective,” Fuller said, and his eyes locked onto Kate as he finished.

  He made quick work of the introductions, motioning to the tall, brown-haired man, then the woman, and then the chubby blond she’d met in the lunchroom with Fuller earlier, and saying, “Detectives Chainey, Wang, and Rosebud.” They nodded hello and he added, “Here’s our wallflower. Wallflower, these are the detectives.”

  The conversation picked up where it’d left off.

  “Wallflower” is probably better than mentioning my last name.

  However, Kate was confident they’d figure out her identity soon enough. Heck, Rosebud probably saw her name tag this morning.

  Whatever.

  She couldn’t care less what he called her. At least she got to sit in and learn more about the case.

  “What we have is DNA that matches his old sample from a decade ago. Did the lab re-test it against the fresh sample?” Fuller asked.

  Old sample from a decade ago?

  Kate had completely forgotten about that. Her uncle had drunk himself silly a few days after Aunt Lucy’s death.

  Was it the night of her funeral?

  She couldn’t remember the exact date, but he’d gotten into a bar fight. A one-time incident, but it had coincided with someone getting killed in an alley near the bar. An assault charge wouldn’t have required a DNA sample under normal circumstances, but due to the timing and proximity of the murder, they must have tested him, and his DNA must have remained on file since then. That was how they’d matched it so fast. Kenny had since moved his drinking to the privacy of his home—no more chance of getting in a fight—but Kate knew he wasn’t a violent guy. That incident had been out-of-character for him.

  Rosebud replied, “Yes, LeBrun, the new guy, compared it to the old sample on file. Just to be extra-safe, I asked the lab supervisor, Luke O’Brien, to test the recent sample himself. That LeBrun kid looks so young; I didn’t want to bet it all on him.”

  Luke O’Brien... That name… Could it be my Luko?

  She hadn’t thought about him since... Well, last time she’d talked to him was the day of her family’s murder. She’d also seen him at the funeral, but what can kids say at such an event? They hadn’t spoken in twenty years.

  It may not be the same Luke O’Brien anyway. Probably isn’t. What are the odds?

  Then again, he was from the East Coast, always loved dissecting animals, admired police officers growing up, and Boston seems like a good option for moving up the career ladder if he followed his dreams of becoming a scientist.

  Luko working at the Boston PD crime lab would be plausible. Likely? No. But possible.

  She forced herself out of her head to refocus on what was important.

  “Did we get a match on the rest of the fingerprints at the crime scene?” Fuller asked.

  Chainey answered. “Most belonged to the victim, but there were quite a few from unknown people. No match in our database.”

  “Do we have family members, friends, or past girlfriends who could be matches? Could we request fingerprints from them?” Fuller asked.

  “No wife or girlfriend as far as we know. The body was released, and his funeral is tomorrow. I’ll attend and make note of people who may be of interest,” Chainey said.

  “Good. Wang, go with him and take pictures, discreetly.” Fuller continued his examination of the board. “What else have we got? Have you made progress on a motive for Murphy? Did you get any new information from him?”

  Chainey sat on the corner of the table and flipped through his notebook. “His not-owning a car checks out. His neighbors haven’t seen him drive in years and his l
icense has expired. They see him at the bus stop once in a while. That’s how he goes to the grocery store and liquor store, normally late afternoon. They haven’t heard or seen anything unusual. They usually see light from his living room TV in the evenings.”

  Fuller scratched his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Okay, do you know what buses come near his house?”

  Wang shook her head.

  Fuller frowned. “Well, look at the routes and see if he could have reached McAlester’s house by bus.”

  “Bicycle?” Rosebud asked.

  “Didn’t check,” Chainey said, shaking his head. “I doubt he’d physically be able to get there without breaking a bone or having a heart attack. Steep hills, high-traffic roads, and the guy’s old and out of shape.”

  “Check anyway,” Fuller replied. He glanced at the wall behind him. It was covered with images, maps, and other information Kate couldn’t read from where she stood. “Okay, we’ll meet again tomorrow. I’m tracing back the victim’s and suspect’s previous addresses. Maybe we’ll find a common link that’ll point us to Murphy’s motive.”

  The three detectives left first, with Wang nodding at Kate on her way out. Fuller approached the door, and then stopped, waving his hand from Kate to the door, “Wallflower, after you.”

  Kate left the room without speaking. What’s the point anyway?

  They had nothing but DNA, but that would be enough to prove him guilty unless she could show that he was being framed, but why and by whom?

  She checked her cellphone, but nothing from Mansbridge.

  Kate could go and visit her uncle, although she wasn’t sure where they’d transferred him. With today’s hectic schedule, she’d missed his hearing, but there was no way he was still in the holding cell at the station. Plus... what in the world was she going to tell him? She didn’t have anything comforting to say, and she wasn’t allowed to divulge the details of an ongoing police investigation. She wasn’t willing to risk losing access to the detectives and their knowledge of the case for such an avoidable faux pas.

  She looked at her watch: 3:55 p.m. She remembered reading a memo about the crime lab’s operating hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. She’d never stepped in the DNA lab before, but she knew the building was in Maynard. Although televised police drama series always portrayed the crime lab conveniently located down the hall from where the detectives worked, it didn’t take her long to understand that it wasn’t the case in real police life, at least not in Boston.

  The DNA lab was about thirty miles away, so, depending on traffic, getting there before they closed was possible. She peered out the window to assess the traffic: vehicles were moving, albeit slowly.

  Could she get there in under an hour and find out if the lab supervisor was indeed the Luke O’Brien she knew as a child? It was worth a shot.

  What else was she going to do?

  Chapter Three

  June 24, 2015

  Kate Murphy

  DNA Laboratory, Maynard, MA

  Kate’s police badge, ID, and a signature in the logbook was enough to allow her past the security desk. The officer on duty informed her that the supervisor hadn’t left yet, but the lab was officially closed.

  She walked to the elevator and read the department listings until she saw what she was looking for: DNA lab - second floor.

  She got in the elevator and headed up. When she reached the correct floor, two glass doors with the Massachusetts State Police logo etched on them were all she could see. She tried pulling them open, but they were locked.

  The noise from her attempt stirred movement in the dimly lit area at the back of the room. A man in a lab coat and protective goggles had apparently heard her and was coming her way.

  Could it be Luke?

  Last time she’d seen him, he was fourteen. A skinny kid with wild hair, acne, and thick glasses.

  The man coming toward her was tall with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. If he wasn’t six feet tall, he was close to it. He had thick and wavy brown hair and a weary frown on his face.

  Could it be him?

  When he reached the doors, she saw intense blue eyes behind his protective eyewear, and she knew.

  “Luko!” she exclaimed, feeling an unstoppable smile dawning on her face.

  The man’s expression went from annoyed to surprised, and a big, crooked smile appeared on his lips. She’d forgotten how the left side of his mouth always went much higher than the right. She’d teased him about it as a kid. He unlocked the doors and awkwardly stood in the entryway, one hand on the closed door and the other on the one he’d pushed open, holding it just wide enough for his shoulders to get through.

  “Katie? Katie Murphy?”

  Kate smiled. “Yeah! It’s me.”

  “What...” He shook his head and blinked three times. “It’s b-b-been fifteen, twenty years? I never thought I’d see you again.”

  Kate moved forward, wanting to hug her old friend, but he retreated behind the doors, and then popped his head and right index finger out. “Wait here.”

  “Okay,” Kate said, stepping back.

  He hadn’t changed much after all. Sure, he was taller, bigger, and, she assumed, smarter than he’d been as a kid. He used to read his parents’ encyclopedias from cover to cover just for fun. She couldn’t believe he still stuttered a little, but the thought of it made her smile even more.

  His stutter was why she’d nicknamed him Luko. When they’d first met, he was eight years old, rolling down the street on a cool blue BMX. She was seven, riding on her brand-new yellow bike. She could still remember the day vividly. It was one of only two days she ever looked back on from her childhood.

  Her family had just moved into town. It was her birthday, and her parents had gotten her a new bike. It was the exact one she had always wanted. The yellow frame came with a red banana seat, a blue basket, a pink bell, and red streamers hanging off the handlebars. Kate didn’t know any other kids in town, and this boy was the first one she’d seen in her new neighborhood. Both of them were riding their bikes on the street. When you’re seven, that’s reason enough to make friends with someone.

  She’d dashed up to him and dared him to compete with her. “First one to the end of the street wins!”

  She could still remember the surprised look on his face and the stupefaction moving to his body, making him waver a little. To this day, she still didn’t know if he’d fallen over or just lost his balance for a second, but Kate had taken advantage of her head start. She knew she wasn’t the fastest girl on a bike, and he’d almost caught up with her, but she managed to reach the stop sign first, ringing her bell to celebrate.

  Then she’d parked her bike on the sidewalk, using her fancy retractable kickstand, and walked over to the boy she’d just beat by a hair.

  “I’m Kate Murphy.”

  “I’m Luke O... O...”

  “Nice to meet you, Luko,” she’d said, extending her hand like she’d seen her parents do when meeting new people.

  He’d pushed her hand away and shaken his head.

  “No, Luke O... O... O’Brien. O’Brien.”

  She’d raised her shoulders.

  “Nah... I prefer Luko. I knew some Lukes at my other school, and I didn’t like them. I don’t know any other Lukos. I’ll see you around,” she’d said before getting back on her bike and returning home.

  And that was how their friendship had begun: two awkward, geeky kids who hung out before and after school, read Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, explored caves, climbed trees, and ran around town.

  Kate stopped her reverie when Luke exited the laboratory a few minutes later. He’d traded his lab coat for a plain beige jacket, and his protective eyewear for a regular pair of glasses.

  “Oh... Almost forgot,” he said before going back in. He pressed a few buttons on an alarm panel, then closed and locked the glass doors behind him.

  He stood in front of her, put both hands in his pockets, and then shook his head. “Katie
Murphy. God. I can’t believe you’re here right now.”

  Kate couldn’t help but wrap her arms around her old friend, although she cut the hug short. His strong arms felt right and reassuring around her, but who was he? She didn’t know him anymore. He was no longer a kid; he was a grown man.

  When she pulled away, she peered up at him and said, “I heard your name today, and I had to find out if you were the Luke O’Brien I knew.”

  “The one and only,” he said with his crooked smile.

  She’d found his smile different and cool as a teen, but now there was also something sexy about it, especially when combined with what appeared to be a two-day beard. Very attractive... but the rest was all nerdy: invisible-frame glasses, outdated clothes, awkward body movements. He kind of looked like Gerard Butler acting as the world’s biggest geek.

  “Luko...”

  He lowered his eyes for a moment. “You’re the only one who’s ever called me that.”

  “Too bad, it’s a great name, and it suits you,” Kate said.

  They turned to face the elevator.

  “Wanna grab a drink?” Kate asked.

  “Sure, but let me make a call first.”

  He reached for his phone. Kate summoned the elevator, and it only took a few seconds for it to arrive. When the elevator opened, he walked a few steps away from her, his index finger motioning “one minute.”

  “Hey... it’s me. I’ll be home late, okay?” He glanced at Kate for a second, and then lowered his voice as if trying to hide the rest of his conversation from her. “No, everything’s fine. Don’t wait for me for dinner. Okay... Later. Love you.”

  He put his phone back in his pocket. Kate wondered who he’d been talking to, but then again, it was none of her business.

  Luke extended his arm to the edge of the elevator door to keep it open. “Let’s go. Beer? Coffee? Dinner?”

  “How about beers and nachos?” Kate asked, stepping into the elevator.

  “Is this what you traded your ice cream floats and fries for?”