The Rookie Club Thriller series Box Set

by Danielle Girard

  “When he was on top of me—”

  Tony shook his head. “Don’t.”

  Her own shoulders quaking, Jamie gripped her hands together to fight off the trembling. She shuffled through the pile of stuff between the seats in search of her cigarettes. She found them, fumbled with the pack. It fell onto the floor, cigarettes spilling.

  She wanted to reach it, but couldn’t imagine leaning down to pick it up.

  She let it go, turned to Tony. “I have to. I have to talk about it. Please, Tony.”

  She stooped for her cigarettes, couldn’t reach them. She shifted in her seat. There was no outlet for the anxiety that coursed through her. “He’s dead, Tony. He’s dead and I can’t close my eyes without seeing him on top of me, coming at me.”

  As they neared the end of the bridge, Tony jerked the car to the slow lane, then swung the car off into the vista parking lot on the north side of the bridge. It had a name, but she couldn’t remember it.

  He spun the car into the nearest parking spot and yanked on the emergency brake. Then, he pushed the door open and tumbled out.

  Jamie moved more slowly. The seatbelt wouldn’t come undone. The harness rubbed along a bruise, making her wince.

  But she followed.

  Cracked the door, pushed it open. Pulled herself from the car.

  Above them, the sky dazzled, the blue flowing right into the color of the bay. The city buildings stood like a row of pencils in the distance.

  A few cars were parked in the lot despite the cold weather. A Japanese tour group stood a few yards away, cameras aimed at the cityscape across the water.

  Tony headed for a quiet corner.

  Jamie limped behind.

  At the railing, he hung his shoulders. He stared down into the water.

  When she reached him, he turned to her. “It’s always there. It will always be there.”

  “Like death,” she said, moving until their shoulders touched.

  “Like death.” He swiped at his face.

  “I feel so alone, Tony. I don’t want to be alone.”

  He looked at her. “Me neither.”

  “Will you stay?” She thought about how she sounded, shook her head. “I mean, there are three bedrooms and it’s more than I need.” She felt her face flush. But Marchek’s hands were there again, clawing her. She shivered.

  Tony put a hand around her shoulder. “We’re family, J.”

  “So you’ll stay?”

  His eyes widened. “You mean it?”

  She nodded.

  “Of course.”

  Then, she was sobbing. The pain sharp in her back and neck, but she couldn’t stop. Tony held her and she tried to remember if he had ever done that before. If her father had ever held her.

  How good it felt to lean on someone.

  She wanted Tony to lean on her too. She wanted to be there for him.

  Then, maybe they could finally begin the process of putting that horrible day behind them.

  Chapter 37

  When Jamie arrived in the conference room, Hailey was already waiting. Mackenzie Wallace was there too.

  Mackenzie rose from the table and stepped toward her. Her brown eyes were wide and wise. She looked older.

  The rookie had grown into a full-fledged cop. Jamie felt a flash of sadness that the job did that to them.

  Mackenzie hesitated for only a fraction of a second before she wrapped her arms around Jamie. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She squeezed gently.

  “Thanks, Mackenzie.” Jamie closed her eyes for a moment. “It’s good to see you too.”

  “I’m on loan to homicide for a couple weeks,” the rookie said.

  No. Not the rookie.

  Mackenzie was no longer that.

  “Paperwork only,” Hailey added before pushing a chair toward Jamie. “You sure you want to be here?”

  Jamie said nothing. There was no good answer to that.

  Tony had been surprised that she was coming in today. Captain Jules had tried to deter her. But no one was going to forbid it. Not after yesterday.

  Jamie had waited until most people would be gone for the day. She wasn’t ready to answer questions yet, but she needed to stay in the game. She felt close and didn’t want to lose ground. Or maybe it was because at home alone it was too easy to remember what had happened. She wasn’t prepared to face it all yet.

  She and Tony had spent a quiet day in the house. He’d made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, burning both of them. She didn’t mind. He’d spent as little time learning to cook hot foods as she had. They had talked a little, mostly about Z. They had made plans with his foster parents to take him to a movie over the weekend. The biggest piece of what needed to be said was already out. The rest would come out over time. Mostly, she was relieved at the comfortable silence.

  Tony had postponed checking himself into rehabilitation for a week, and she was thankful. He’d stayed with her last night, sleeping in the bed beside her. It had been decades since they’d shared a bed, but it felt the same as always. Tony was her brother, the closest thing she’d ever have to a sibling—the closest for either of them now.

  Every time she stirred, he woke too. She hadn’t thanked him. She knew she didn’t need to. They’d been apart for years, but they’d found each other. He’d found her. Thank God for that.

  Tony had driven her through the city, dropping her at the building at almost six in the evening and telling her he’d be back at nine. They had planned to grab dinner on the way home—takeout, probably. She couldn’t see dealing with the stares she’d get at a restaurant, considering the cuts and bruises on her face. Plus, sitting too long hurt.

  Mackenzie and Hailey waited until Jamie was seated. Neither commented on how long it took her or on how bad she looked. Mackenzie’s bruises were turning greenish. Hailey probably had some too. Sitting there, the three women represented three of Marchek’s final four victims. The fourth was being sent home tomorrow. Jamie had already contacted the victim’s husband to let him know Marchek was gone. Dead. No more women would suffer at his hands.

  Hailey spoke first. “The medical examiner called on the autopsy.”

  Jamie knew Hailey meant Marchek’s. She was thankful not to hear his name out loud.

  “He had an explanation for the aspermatic samples we got from his victims.”

  Jamie took a slow, measured breath, tried to listen analytically.

  “Seems he had an anatomical anomaly called retrograde ejaculation. It’s rare and, in his case, probably congenital. Instead of exiting through the urethra, the sperm is passed in retrograde fashion into the bladder.”

  Jamie listened. “So there would be DNA sample in his urine, but not in his semen.”

  Hailey nodded.

  “He probably figured it out after his first arrest.” She paused. “Or, maybe not.” We’ll never know now, she thought. Thank God. “How about Natasha?”

  “We know she had sex with Worley, then Scanlan. Senior,” she clarified.

  “Aspermatic because he’d had a vasectomy,” Jamie added.

  “Right. Now, we’re focusing on the list of awards,” Hailey went on. “Roger tested Natasha’s trophy for transfer evidence and confirmed Tim wasn’t hit with her trophy.”

  “That’s encouraging. Tim didn’t win anything. So, maybe the killer hit Tim with his own trophy. Who else is on the list?”

  Hailey slid a piece of paper across the table. Jamie turned it around and scanned the names.

  Someone had made a small hash mark next to David Marshall’s name. “Your captain?”

  “He was out for drinks after the ceremony,” Hailey said.

  Jamie nodded, remembering what Tim had told her. “With Tim and Ramirez.”

  “So, if Worley found her dead, be hard for Marshall to be her killer,” Hailey added.

  “Agreed,” Jamie said, returning to the list. Cameron Cruz had received an award. Captain Linda James. She recognized most of the names but none stood out. “You have th
e other list?”

  “There are no other crossovers,” Hailey said. “Just Marshall.”

  “The only other person who touches both lists is Natasha herself,” Mackenzie added.

  “But we’re not worried about Marshall, right?” Jamie asked. “Because he was out for drinks?”

  “I had his trophy sent to the lab anyway,” Hailey said. “To be sure.”

  “Does he know?”

  Hailey shook her head.

  Christ, she hoped the captain of Homicide wasn’t Natasha’s killer. Jamie stared at the list again. She scanned the titles on the names—captain, lieutenant, sergeant. The list included a lot of men high up in the department but only officers. “You sure this is the whole list?”

  Hailey nodded.

  Jamie thought back to the ceremony. “There are names missing.”

  “Like who?”

  “Hang on.” Jamie pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed the lab’s number. “Roger, please,” she said when someone answered.

  Hailey and Mackenzie exchanged a glance.

  “Roger here.”

  “Roger, it’s Jamie.”

  “Hey. How are you?”

  “I’m alive.”

  “Yeah. I heard about what happened. Your gun’s down in ballistics,” he added awkwardly.

  “Roger, I’m calling about something else.”

  “Sure.” He sounded relieved.

  “You won an award at the banquet, didn’t you?”

  “Uh, yeah. I used it to test against the mold we cast of Tim Worley’s head injury.”

  “That’s what I thought. Thanks, Roger.”

  “Is that it?” Roger asked, sounding perplexed.

  “That’s it.” Jamie ended the call and set her phone on the table. She touched the paper between them. “That’s not a complete list.”

  Hailey scanned the list. “It only includes police.”

  “Right.”

  “You think we’re looking at someone from criminalistics or administration?” Mackenzie asked.

  “Natasha’s list includes a guy in the lab, doesn’t it?” Jamie asked.

  “Right,” Hailey said. “And another from administration.”

  “I’ll get the rest of the names together now,” Mackenzie offered.

  “I’ve got to finish up some things before I can head home,” Hailey said. “We’ll talk in the morning?”

  Jamie nodded.

  “You going to be okay?” Hailey asked.

  “I’ll live.”

  As Hailey stood, there was a knock at the door. It swung open to reveal a young man, looking terrified.

  “Hey, Dave,” Mackenzie said.

  The officer looked at her, wide-eyed. “Hey.”

  “What are you doing here?” Mackenzie asked.

  He scanned Hailey and Jamie and seemed to stumble on his words. “I’m looking for Jamie Vail.”

  Jamie knew exactly who he was. “David Priestley.”

  He nodded.

  She waved him in.

  Hailey motioned to the door, but Jamie shook her head and explained, “Officer Priestley is Scott Scanlan’s partner. He’s going to tell us about the night he was at my house.”

  Priestley glanced at them, then studied the floor.

  Hailey shut the door behind him.

  He focused on his hands as though there were something written there that he could use to get out of there.

  “Just tell us what happened,” Jamie prodded.

  Priestley glanced at the others in the room.

  “They’re staying,” Jamie said firmly. “We’re all involved.”

  He hesitated and then, shoulders sinking, began to talk. “Scanlan said he wanted to play a trick on someone who’d been giving him a hard time. He made it sound like a joke.” He avoided making eye contact with Mackenzie.

  They were in academy together, Jamie figured. He was embarrassed. She didn’t care.

  “He said he was going to let the air out of a couple of tires—that’s it.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to go, but shit, I didn’t want to get into a thing about it. It was our lunch break—or dinner break, I guess, because of how late it was. So, we drove up there. I knew it was going to take longer than an hour, but he promised not much—” He stopped, stared at the white wall, continued… “When we got up there, he told me to wait in the car. He just got out. I stayed. I didn’t see the knife until he came back.

  “Back at the car, he pulled a T-shirt out of the trunk and wiped it off. That’s when I saw the blood. He said a dog tried to attack him—that he was defending himself. I freaked out. I didn’t know what to do.” He shook his head. “He knew it too. He made me swear not to say anything. He said it was lucky he got to the dog first because it probably would’ve killed some kid.”

  “What the hell?” Mackenzie snapped. “Why didn’t you tell someone?”

  “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get a new partner, to transfer. He’s such a prick, but his father’s—” He stopped then, silent.

  Hailey nodded to Jamie.

  “You can go,” Jamie told him.

  He looked up, relieved. “Really? Are you going to—”

  “No,” she interrupted. “But don’t say anything about this yet. I’ll be in touch.”

  Avoiding Mackenzie’s gaze, he hurried from the room.

  Hailey spoke first. “We should start by telling IA and the DA’s office.”

  Jamie nodded. That probably made sense.

  “I’ll talk to IA,” Hailey offered.

  “I’ll go talk to Washington,” Jamie said. “Call my cell and we’ll touch base. I’ll be here until nine—at my desk or on my cell. Tony’s picking me up then.”

  As she made her way up to Chip Washington’s office on the eighth floor, Jamie prayed one of these leads would end in an arrest. They had to be close. She hoped they weren’t somehow looking at Natasha’s murder all wrong.

  Washington’s secretary was gone and Jamie considered for a second that he might be too. It was late, after all. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She started to turn when she heard it open.

  Washington emerged, wearing his coat and carrying a bulky leather attorney-style briefcase with a brass snap at the top.

  “You heading home?”

  He nodded. Yawned.

  “You okay?”

  He motioned to her bruise. “I should be asking you that.”

  She touched her cheek.

  “I’m sorry about what happened,” he offered.

  “Thanks.”

  “I’ve got time,” he said, turning back. “Come on in.” He led the way into his office, set the case down by his desk and shrugged out of his jacket.

  She heard the click of his bag opening as she moved into the office, shutting the door behind her. “I’m here because of another Scanlan incident.”

  Holding a notepad, he looked up. “What now?”

  Jamie told him about David Priestley’s confession.

  Washington shook his head. “That kid is a menace.”

  “He wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for his father.”

  “His father’s a menace too.” He lifted the yellow legal pad and began to make notes. “Let me get the specifics.”

  Jamie repeated the date and time of the attack, gave him her vet’s name and number. As she spoke, she glanced over at his shelf, scanning the pictures of his wife and daughter she’d seen dozens of times before. She started to ask about the girl when her eye caught an award at the end of the shelf. “What did you win that night?”

  Washington continued to write. “Oh, case records for the year. It’s no big deal.” He shifted in his seat, kept his head down. He seemed to be writing faster now.

  Jamie pictured him in the meeting with Bruce Daniels and Scott Scanlan. He’d been uncomfortable. Just like Daniels and Captain David Marshall. She stepped toward the award, heart drumming.

  Bruce Daniels and Captain Marshall had known about Deputy Chief Scanla
n’s affair with Natasha. That’s why they had been uncomfortable. But Washington? She couldn’t see the deputy chief telling a district attorney.

  She lifted the award and ran her finger across the corners. One was chipped.

  She felt her mouth drop open, reached for her gun.

  “Don’t,” he said. “Put your hands up.”

  She turned slowly, the air seeping from her lungs like from a punctured inner tube.

  Washington held a revolver, the barrel leveled at her.

  “That morning in the meeting about Natasha’s murder—you knew about her and Deputy Chief Scanlan.”

  He didn’t respond.

  “But not because anyone had told you,” she went on. “You knew because you caught them together that night.”

  His thumb drew back the hammer.

  “Right before you killed her.”

  Chapter 38

  Hailey had been in the office for eleven hours without a break. For lunch, she’d eaten a stale muffin from a vending machine and since then, all she’d had were two Diet Cokes.

  When her cell phone rang, she thought it was going to be Mackenzie or Jamie.

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s Stephanie Rusch at the lab.”

  “You’re there late.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Listen, Sydney asked me to call. She said you should get over here as soon as you can. Are you home?”

  “No. I’m at the Hall. Is everything all right?”

  “Uh, yeah. There’s someone you need to see,” she added, sounding nervous.

  “Can it wait until tomorrow?”

  “Uh, I don’t think so. It’s a guy from the sheriff’s department up by Lake Tahoe.”

  “Tahoe?” she repeated.

  “Uh, yeah.”

  Hailey sighed. “Okay. I can be there in fifteen minutes, but do you know—”

  “I’ve got to get back,” Stephanie said, cutting her off. The call ended.

  Hailey grabbed her coat and headed out of the station. John called on her way out. “Another late night?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Okay. I probably won’t be up when you get back.” He used to say, “Be careful and come home soon.” When did he stop?

  The streets were quiet. She made it into Hunters Point in less than fifteen minutes. She showed her badge to the guard, wound down the road to the lab. As she pulled into a parking spot, she thought about all that had happened since the day she’d been assigned Natasha Devlin’s murder. Bruce Daniels entered her mind. She pressed him out.