The memory brought back the familiar ache. But now, it was combined with an entirely different emotion, fear. As she padded down the hall with Nate, the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Rosa answered.
She set Nate on his changing table and yawned as she pulled off his pants to change him. Rosa opened the door, holding the phone. “It’s for you. It’s about Diego.”
Cameron left the room, but she could feel the weight of Rosa’s stare on her back as she did. “Hello.”
“Cameron, it’s Hailey.”
“Hey.”
“Sorry if I’ve called at a bad time.”
“Doesn’t seem like any of ’em are good right now,” she said.
“It’ll get better,” Hailey said, though the tone was anything but convincing.
“What’ve you got?”
“Few things I thought you’d want. We got some prints off the wall of Ivana’s building, where she was attacked. Matched them to a police officer.”
Cameron sank down on the living room couch. “Shit.”
“Yeah. None of the ones on the scene. It’s been passed on to Assault and Internal Affairs. That’s not mine, and they don’t come back to the ORG Lounge. We did confirm that Ivana was there with the other girl, Anna. Her prints are all over the wall in one of the offices. We believe that’s where she was first attacked and raped. Jamie’s on that one. At least, the guys who raped her and probably killed the other one weren’t cops. We’ve sent the composites all over the department, but nothing has come back yet.”
Cameron thought maybe finding the real killers would clear Diego of at least the one killing and the rape. She shivered. The whole department was at work on cases that had stampeded their way down the center of Cameron’s life.
“It gets worse.”
Cameron leaned back into the cushions as though she might protect herself from the next hit. She waited to hear Diego’s name.
“The knife found on the Pesce King came back from the lab. I’m not working that one—but Dale Hartung is. Know him?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s got prints on it. A whole set—perfect.”
Cameron held her breath. “Diego?”
“Nope. Michael Lavick.”
“He was with us that day. At the scene.”
“At the scene, yes. But, what about before?” Hailey asked. “Someone said he was out while you guys were planning.”
Cameron sank down. “That’s right. Lau led it. Christ, what a mess.”
“No kidding. It’s raining fucking cops in here. Chain of custody is a nightmare. No one’s allowed in. It’s all being locked in a huge walk-in safe, and only one person’s got the key until this stuff gets processed fully and reports finished.”
“Jesus Christ. Who?”
“Cheryl Ann Palahniuk.”
“The Chief’s secretary?”
“Administrative assistant,” Hailey corrected. “Everything goes through her and I hear she’s taking the job very seriously.”
Cameron thought about that.
“I’d watch it right now, Cruz. It’s everywhere.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Hailey was quiet a moment.
“Rosa said something about Diego.”
Hailey exhaled. “They arrested him last night. He showed up at Lavick’s house. The police were tipped off. No Lavick though.” Hailey paused. “I’m sorry.”
“Shit. What are they holding him on?”
“Murder one for Benjamin, but I suspect there will be more to follow,” Hailey said, and Cameron knew she was right. They’d have a laundry list on Diego unless new evidence came up.
“I’ve got to run, Cameron. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Okay, Hailey. Thanks.” Without saying goodbye, Cameron punched the off button on the phone. Diego had been arrested. He was behind bars. How could she help get him out of that?
Chapter 43
The day had finally arrived when Ivana would leave the hospital. Dressed in the clothes Rosa had brought, Ivana was ready to leave the sour-smelling room. Rosa insisted Ivana stay with her and Cameron for a few days. She had finally accepted, but Ivana felt certain she would never make it there. Her instructions were to go straight to her old apartment. That’s where the man was meeting her. If she didn’t, Rosa would be hurt.
He was listening, the note said, so she kept quiet and waited until it was time to go. Whatever happened, she wasn’t going back to that apartment.
She put her medicines in the plastic bag she’d found in the hospital closet and looked around the room one last time. She would stop at a pay phone and call Rosa to warn her. She could at least do that. After all, no matter where she went, it would take her some time to get there.
She opened the hospital room door and peered into the empty corridor. What if he was there, waiting for her?
Surely, she could lose someone in a hospital. She’d go out another exit. She had spent a little time exploring, and there were a lot of ways in and out.
The process of checking out of the hospital took forever. Finally, she was wheeled out of the hospital in a chair.
“Is someone meeting you?” the nurse asked, looking around for a car.
“A little later,” she lied.
The nurse checked her watch.
“I wait on the bench,” Ivana said.
The nurse frowned and took another look at her watch.
Ivana moved out of the chair and onto the bench. “I am fine.”
With a quick glance over her shoulder, the nurse nodded. “Okay. Be careful now.”
The nurse went back inside. Ivana waited for a few minutes on the bench before returning to the building to find another way out. If he was out there somewhere, watching, she wanted him to think she was inside.
She walked past the elevators, down a long, busy hallway, her heart pounding. She kept her head down and focused. No one stopped her. She didn’t let herself consider dying. She’d almost died twice already. If she died today, so be it.
Instead, she thought of Michal and wished she could rub his back while he fell asleep one last time. She had a stabbing pain at the thought of him and her mama, but she pushed the thoughts away. She would see them, she told herself. Someday. Today, she had to be strong.
Trying not to attract attention, she stopped every fifty feet or so and pretended to tie her shoe or check for something in her bag as she studied her surroundings. No sign of him.
She made her way to the Emergency Department in the basement and went out the sliding doors where the ambulances parked. Then, she headed up a flight of stairs next to the building and walked toward a residential area away from the hospital’s main exit.
Three blocks down, she found a bush to sit behind and for twenty minutes, she watched. No one had followed.
Next, she went to the end of the block and used a pay phone beside a bus stop. She dialed Rosa’s number. When she answered, Ivana spoke quickly, explaining the policeman she’d seen and what he’d told her.
“I’ve seen him near the salon.”
“The tall one, with the mustache?”
“No mustache,” Ivana answered. “But, yes, he’s tall.”
“It doesn’t matter about him,” Rosa said firmly. “You do not go to that apartment.”
“I am not going there, Rosa. But I also should not come to you. He said he will hurt you.”
“I’ll come get you. Tell me where you are.”
“No,” she said and lowered her voice. “I must not.”
“You have to come. I’ll call Cameron, and she’ll have someone here by the time you arrive.”
Ivana checked over her shoulder. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Do as I say.” Rosa’s tone reminded her of her mother’s—firm and strong. Ivana longed to be in Rosa’s arms, to be held like a little girl. She wanted desperately to go to Rosa, but she was terrified.
“Come straight here. Come to the back door,” Rosa repeated. “If you see him
, scream for help.”
Ivana longed to say yes.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. Just do it. I’ll call Cameron now. Can you get here okay? Do you know how?”
Ivana worried her lip, trying to decide what to do.
“Ivana!”
“Yes,” she said. “I have the directions you gave me. If you are sure.”
“I am. Now, be safe and get here as quickly as you can.”
“Thank you, Rosa. You are too good to me.”
“Don’t thank me. Just be careful.” With that, Rosa hung up, and Ivana found another place to hide while she watched for anyone following her. When she was sure she was alone, she set off for Rosa’s house.
It took her almost two hours to make her way. She was careful to stop often and take quieter streets. When she arrived at Rosa’s, she hurried down the side of the house to the small deck in the back. There, she climbed over the short fence and onto the deck. The inside of the house was dark, and she hoped Rosa hadn’t left. She cupped her hands on the cool glass and stared inside, then knocked. No one came. She bit into her lip, beginning to worry when she heard a baby’s cry. It had to be Nate. She saw Rosa walk by with a bottle in her hand.
Excited, Ivana knocked again, harder.
Rosa waved when she saw Ivana.
Pulling the door open, Rosa scanned the backyard and ushered her inside, closing the door behind them. “I’m glad you’re here. I called Cameron twice and left a message, but she hasn’t called back yet. I want you to tell me everything about the man. As soon as she calls, she’ll get someone to find him.”
Ivana checked the lock. “He was dark, like you.”
“Hispanic?”
“I don’t understand,” Ivana said.
“Did he have an accent?”
“No.”
“And you’re sure he was a policeman?”
Ivana’s eyes went wide. “Yes. He wore the suit and a gun.”
“But, you didn’t see his name?”
Ivana shook her head. “Please believe me. I don’t lie to you.”
Nate hollered again.
Rosa touched her arm. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out. Let me take care of him first. He’s hungry.”
Ivana followed Rosa toward the baby’s room. The room was painted blue with thick off-white carpet under foot. A small rug the shape of an airplane decorated the floor beside a white crib. A bright mobile with little farm animals hung down over the baby.
On the other side of the room was a big bed, covered in thick pillows. Across from the foot of the bed, stuffed animals covered the top of a bookshelf stocked with books. It was the kind of room Ivana had dreamed of as a little girl. Instead, she’d had almost no toys. The few she had were bought at a secondhand store. Her bed was a mattress on the floor, and a threadbare sheet and holed blanket were her covers. Nate’s room was heavenly.
Rosa put him on the changing table and unfastened his diaper, talking to him as she did.
Despite her fear, Ivana was taken with the baby. She remembered when Michal was that young. “Can I help?”
“Once I’ve changed him, you can feed him if you like.”
Ivana felt a tiny thrill. She hadn’t held a baby since Michal. Her mother had few friends and none with young children. Her mother didn’t allow her to babysit the neighborhood kids because their parents couldn’t pay.
Rosa put on a new diaper and snapped up Nate’s outfit. “There you go.”
A moment later, the doorbell rang.
Rosa and Ivana exchanged a glance. Rosa lifted Nate and placed the bottle to his lips. Creeping to the window, she shifted the shade slightly and peeked outside.
Ivana followed her gaze, but from her angle, she couldn’t see who was at the door.
Rosa exhaled. “It’s okay. They’re from Cameron’s work.” Rosa handed the baby to Ivana. “You stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Ivana took Nate, holding him tight to her and settled into a rocking chair, rocking him slowly as he ate from the bottle.
From the other room, she could hear Rosa and two men. They were whispering. Ivana strained to make out what they were saying. Maybe they were talking about her. She thought again about the man. He would be missing her by now. How long before he figured out she was not coming?
“Why do you want to find her? Why does it matter?” Rosa asked. “She’s been through enough.”
The other voice grew louder. “We need to talk to her.”
Ivana felt her skin crawl. She silently prayed Rosa wouldn’t tell anyone she was there. She rocked the baby, needing to comfort herself as much as him. Please, don’t hurt Rosa. Please.
“How should I know where she is?” Rosa said.
The voices rose and Ivana felt panicked. “Don’t lie to me,” a man shouted.
There was a slap. Rosa cried out.
Ivana held Nate tighter to her chest. A wave of tears filled her eyes. She blinked hard. The baby made a small noise, and Ivana felt her pulse pound. She needed to hide. She saw the closet.
Opening the door as quietly as possible, she took the baby into the cramped space and pulled the door closed behind her until all she could see was a thin crack of light. She pushed the long dresses and coats to the side and backed to the wall, her knees under her, the baby’s bottle pressed to his lips.
He made a grunting noise as he ate, and she did her best to muffle the sounds behind the clothes. Please, don’t find us.
She could no longer hear Rosa. Her heart pounding, she swallowed the tightness in her throat. Forcing herself to sit as still as possible, she waited for something to happen.
The silence went on forever. The only noise was Nate eating.
Suddenly, the bedroom door banged open. Ivana jumped and Nate started, but she held him close, pressing the bottle to his lips and praying he didn’t cry.
“I told you, she’s not here,” Rosa said and Ivana could tell she was crying.
She blinked hard, unable to fight back her own tears. Oh, God. Please, no. Not Rosa.
There was nothing for several seconds. She held herself perfectly still, praying that Nate didn’t cry out, that it would all end. Maybe Cameron would come home. Please, something to save them.
Rosa didn’t speak. Ivana strained to hear any noise from her. She leaned forward to listen, wishing she could see them. What was going on?
Rosa let out a strained whimper. “No,” she pleaded.
There was the hard crunch of metal on bone. Rosa cried out. Nate whined. Ivana pressed him to her own pounding chest. She could feel his heart pounding against her, the rumbling of sobs in his little throat. She cupped him to her and bounced him, the bottle pressed to his lips.
When she finally opened her eyes, she saw Rosa’s long hair against the white carpet.
Rosa wasn’t moving. Ivana tried to hold still, to be invisible. The shadow shifted against her eyelids as the closet door opened. When she looked up, she was staring at the end of a gun.
Rosa lay motionless on the floor.
“Let’s go,” he said. Ivana held Nate tightly, wondering if she could possibly save either of them.
Chapter 44
Everything about that morning had been strange. Ahrens called them into the bay to announce their assignments, which she normally did in the team room. It was the first time Cameron had ever seen Ahrens so undone. At eight o’clock in the morning, her hair was in a ponytail that might have been done the night before. Strands fell loose around her face. The pantsuit she wore was one Cameron had seen earlier in the week. The blouse beneath it was wrinkled and stained with coffee.
The rest of the team didn’t look much better. A few were missing altogether: Lavick, Daley, and Ballestrini were nowhere to be seen. Ahrens had reassigned all the teams and directed them to leave all personal electronics in the locker room. “I want us focused on work today,” she had added, telling them that if there were emergencies, they could be reached on t
heir radios through the station’s dispatch. Cameron almost brought her phone anyway, but there were too many people in the locker room to do it discreetly.
Unlike normal patrol days, Ahrens also assigned them to districts and warned them to avoid any calls that seemed like they might require use of a weapon. They were police officers. What did she expect? Not that there was much in the way of violence in the Castro where Ahrens sent Cameron and Paules. Never partnered before, she and Paules made awkward small talk between calls.
The day consisted of a series of ridiculous calls. The first was a noise complaint that turned out to be three construction workers blaring Van Halen. A man called in a domestic dispute, which was actually a mother yelling at her ten-year-old to drink his prune juice. “He’s completely stopped up. He has to drink it.” The little boy was seated at the table next to a glass of what looked like a dark ale, crying.
“You could try blending it with some fruit,” Paules suggested as they left.
The other calls were two suspected thefts, one from a coffee shop and one from a bohemian store that sold hash pipes in unique shapes and colors. The final call had come in as she and Paules were heading back, so they ended up being the last ones to return. Cameron had used the phone at the bohemian shop to call Rosa to find out if she could pick up anything for dinner, but Rosa wasn’t answering the phone. And that, too, didn’t sit well. Normally, they spoke at least a few times a day. Of course, Cameron also usually had her cell phone.
When they arrived at the station, Cameron made a beeline for her locker and found her phone. She had one missed call and a message from home. She dialed the home number. The phone rang four times and with each ring, her stomach clenched tighter. Rosa was always home by now. She tried Rosa’s cell phone next. No answer there either. She punched the button to retrieve her voicemail when she sensed someone behind her.
She saw Ryan Lau and jumped slightly.
The Rookie Club Thriller series Box Set Page 80