by Kay Bigelow
“I can do that, Boss.”
Leah returned to her office, and locked the door. Jardain had taken their coffees and placed them on the coffee table in front of her couch.
Instead of sitting on the couch, where they’d be within touching distance, Leah chose one of the comfortable chairs at either end of the couch. After a moment of indecision about whether to sit on the couch closest to Leah, Jardain sat in the chair at the opposite end of the coffee table. They were assured they’d be able to see the other’s reactions. Jardain took a long sip from her own cup.
She’s stalling. Just tell me and get this over with.
Jardain took a deep breath, and said, “When I left you to go to the hospital to see my grandmother that morning, I was already on autopilot. I panicked. I didn’t have the words to express why I stopped you, and I didn’t know how to be with you. So I ran.”
Jardain paused. Leah waited.
“I don’t know what it is about you that attracts me, not just physically, but emotionally, soulfully. You scare me,” Jardain said softly, and stopped.
Leah had no intention of making this easy for Jardain. She suspected too many people in Jardain’s life made it easy for her not to share her feelings, and Leah wasn’t about to put her name on that long list.
The room became very still. When Jardain resumed speaking, her voice was only a little above a whisper. “I love you, Leah. I’m afraid I’ll screw up our relationship and lose you forever. I know I keep saying that, but it’s true. I’ve never been in a long-term adult relationship. As a young woman, I was afraid of being trapped or owned by another person. Walking away from the women I chose to be with was easier than dealing with my issues. I only chose women who were no more interested in a relationship than I was.”
Again, Jardain paused. Leah knew how incredibly difficult this was for Jardain. She wanted to move closer to Jardain and at least hold her hand, but she stayed where she was. Jardain probably had never given a second thought to why she didn’t want a relationship. No one had ever asked her, for one thing.
“With you, though,” Jardain continued. “I’m sure that wouldn’t happen. I’m not sure why or how I know it wouldn’t happen with you. Maybe because I love you, maybe because we’re closer to being equals, maybe, I hope, you love me for who I am and not because of my money or family.”
Jardain had run out of things to say.
“What do you want from me?” Leah asked.
“I want you to love me for who I am, warts and all,” Jardain said with a ghost of a smile.
That smile carried so much hope, so much love, so much trust that Leah’s ice-covered heart melted.
“Wait, you have warts? I didn’t see any that morning.”
Jardain smiled. “Yeah, and I want to share every last one with you.”
“Be still my beating heart,” Leah whispered.
“I have a proposition for you. I know you have to solve my sister’s murder and then make yourself available to testify at the murderer’s trial. By that time, summer will be upon us. I take summers off. Will you spend a couple of weeks with me somewhere exotic? Please say yes. We’ll have time to do nothing but get to know one another.”
“Yes,” Leah said, surprising herself. “I’d love to be away from work and spend time getting to know you better.”
Before Jardain could move or say anything, Leah’s phone began vibrating and Cots stood outside her door knocking loudly on the door.
“I’ll go. I don’t want Cots and Peony angry with me for taking you away from the investigation. Maybe we can talk some more this evening?”
“It would be a good start.”
Leah walked Jardain to the door. Before opening it, she took Jardain into her arms and kissed her. Every time they kissed, the kisses seemed to be longer and hotter than the ones before. It was getting more and more difficult to stop. I wonder if a woman can catch on fire, literally? If it is, the next time she kisses me I’ll spontaneously combust.
Chapter Thirty-one
After Jardain left Leah’s office, Cots stepped in. “I hope you took my advice regarding listening to Jardain.”
“Good morning to you, too,” Leah said. “What do you have for us?”
“I’ve found a police lieutenant who meets all your criteria. There’s a bit of trouble with her, though.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s a stickler for the rules and some of her co-workers thinks she’s working with Internal Affairs.”
“What’s her name? Is she working for IA?”
“You can ask her yourself if you’ll grab your gear and we leave right now.”
“Your car or mine?” Leah asked.
“Yours.”
Once they were in the car, Cots gave Seraph an address, and they were on their way. Leah was lost almost immediately—as usual.
“Tell me about who we’re seeing and why.”
“Her name is Maggie McGregor. She’s been a cop for ten years. She was the youngest detective assigned to head up a Special Investigation Unit, and still is its head five years later. She’s turned down two promotions to stay with her SIU. She gets outstanding performance evaluations from her superiors, but lackluster or all-out negative ones from her peers. And her subordinates would follow her to hell if she asked them to. Apparently, you either love her or hate her.”
“I like her already. Where are we meeting her?”
“On the outskirts of the park near a food truck known for some of the best Mexican food in the city, Mamacita’s Mexican. We’ll be there in about ten minutes. I sent you a copy of her file.”
Leah was just finishing reading the file when Cots announced they were at the park. They found a spot near the food truck, which was just being opened.
“I don’t see her,” Cots said. “Do you?”
“Yeah, she’s coming toward us. Either she works nearby or she purposely parked her car far enough away so we can’t run her plates.”
Maggie McGregor wasn’t what Leah had been expecting. Based on the file Cots had given her, she was expecting a woman still in her thirties. And, she apparently hadn’t updated her file photo in a number of years. She was a short, full-figured woman in her mid- to late-forties who wore her almost-blond hair cut short. Her intelligent eyes constantly scanned the area, moving from person to person. Leah knew she carried a weapon, but couldn’t figure out where she put it.
“Why don’t you meet with her by yourself? She might be more at ease with a peer.”
“All right. You’ll be able to hear the conversation, yes?”
“I’m all set up.”
Leah left the car and took the long way around the truck and walked up to the lieutenant.
“Maggie McGregor?”
“Yes. I’m guessing you’re Leah Samuels. I remember seeing your photo for weeks when you solved the murder of those fourteen people on New America. The media made it sound like you single-handedly cleaned up a corrupt police department.”
“I did very little of the cleanup. Can we walk rather than stand here and talk?” Leah asked.
“Of course.”
“Thanks.
“What can I do for you? Your colleague was rather vague about why you needed to meet me,” Maggie said.
“I’ve been hired to find a murderer. When I do that, I want to turn him over to you.”
“And you get what from this?” Maggie asked, suspicion lacing her voice.
“I’m not interested in the publicity the resolution of this case will generate. I figured you might want or need it more than I do,” Leah said, hoping she wasn’t insulting the woman.
“What do you get for solving the murder?”
“My firm is being paid by a private citizen.”
“Your firm?”
“Black Orchid Investigations.”
“And the cop who is assigned to the case?”
“Is taking bribes, and at least one of those paying him may be paying him not to solve it. If he’s not being
bribed to not solve it, then he’s incompetent. I don’t want to hand this particular murderer off to him.”
“So the bottom line here is that you want to give me a murderer and claim him as my own. My SIU just happened across this guy and figured out he’d killed someone important and we arrested him.”
“I don’t care what kind of spin you put on it, but yes, that’s the gist of what I’m asking of you.”
Maggie didn’t say anything for several moments. Instead, she led them to a bench where they sat while Maggie mulled over Leah’s offer.
Leah could almost imagine what was going on inside Maggie’s head. She’s probably trying to figure out what my angle is. What do we get out of it? There has to be something.
After five minutes, Maggie said, “You could be setting me up for some reason. But you were a stand-up cop, and I’m willing to trust you’re still a stand-up person and you’re not setting me up.”
“I’m not. When we’ve got all our ducks in a row, I’ll notify you and we’ll walk you through the evidence. I promise the case will be airtight when we give it to you. You can always claim it as an anonymous tip.”
“How big is this going to be?”
“Big enough that you’ll not have to worry about your career being on the line—ever.”
“How did…Never mind, I probably don’t want to know how you found out about my troubles within the department or about how you found this guy. Just so you know, trust is not one of my strong suits.”
Leah laughed. “Mine either. Thanks for trusting me.”
“I’ll wait for your call,” Maggie said as she rose from the bench and turned to walk away.
Leah watched Maggie disappear behind the food truck. She remained seated and stilled her mind. She noticed the many signs of spring all around her. With a sigh, she rose and headed back toward the food truck. When Leah reached the business side of the truck, Cots was standing in line.
Leah went to her car to wait for Cots. “I thought we could all use some good Mexican food for lunch,” he said as he got in the car. The smells coming from the two bags heavy with Mexican food made Leah’s mouth water.
When they got to the office, Cots headed for her office while Leah went to the break room for drinks. Peony came through Leah’s office door sniffing like a dog. “I smell Mexican food. Please tell me I’m not wrong.”
Cots had gotten an order of almost everything on the food truck’s small menu. They each tried everything Cots had brought for them. They agreed that the truck’s food was some of the best in the city. Leah wondered if the truck was associated with a real restaurant.
“Now that we have someone to hand this case off to, let’s really hunker down and find this guy. Ideas?” Leah asked after they’d stopped inhaling their food.
“I remembered what you said about Peony’s gift for thinking outside the box, and I knew we’d have to be more clever than Daichi if we’re going to find him. So I pretended to be Peony so I could think creatively. And I must tell you, that was a very scary experience,” Cots said with a grin.
Leah laughed. She couldn’t imagine the staid and stable Cots pretending to be the free-spirited Peony to think creatively, much less doing it.
“Payback’s a bitch,” Peony murmured, apparently thinking Cots was making fun of her.
“Anyway, a few months ago, I’d heard rumors there was a web where criminals gathered, so dark as to be practically invisible. Hacking into it was harder than I thought it would be. Whoever owns it has some serious skills. I enlisted Alex’s help.”
“I remember you saying her hacking skills were better than yours.” Leah said.
“I wouldn’t say better, I’d say different.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t say better,” Peony said.
“Children, can we get through one day where you’re nice to one another?” Leah asked.
“Yes, Mother,” Cots said.
“Good.”
“As I was saying, I enlisted Alex in the hunt for a way in. After two months, she found a hole in the fence keeping non-members out, and we slipped in. What a treasure trove of information the place is. We carefully looked around for another few months to ensure we weren’t discovered. Earlier this week, we began seeing if we could find Daichi there. It didn’t take long. We think he may be the force behind this dark matter web. If that’s true, the guy is seriously smart.”
“What did you find out about him?”
“As we expected, he’s head of the Shandian gang. The gang’s name is all over this dark matter web, but he’s only mentioned a few times by name. Apparently, the gang is known for their violence. What’s most interesting is Daichi keeps his cohorts on a tight rein. Anyone who goes against his rules or him ends up dead, killed in the most unimaginably ugly ways. His message was heard loud and clear and no member has stepped out of line or challenged him for dominance in over six months,” Cots said.
Peony took over the report from Cots. “He’s also not into any of the usual gang stuff. They don’t sell drugs or traffic in women. He’s an equal opportunity leader and allows women to be full members. Alex said she saw one reference to Daichi being a woman, but that may have been a not-so-subtle insult indicating Daichi was less than. A couple of years ago, there was a reference to a new gang called the Forty Elephants. I’m wondering if that gang didn’t also morph into the Shandians.”
“Why would you even think that?” Cots asked. “And who names a gang Forty Elephants?”
Peony gave him a look that would have frozen another man’s cohones for life. Uh, oh. Do I detect trouble in paradise? Leah hoped not. She didn’t want either of her partners to leave the firm.
“I think that because Forty Elephants was the name of a gang in nineteenth-century England. They were made up entirely of women.”
“Interesting,” Leah said, preventing Cots from challenging Peony to a verbal duel.
There was a knock on the door.
“Enter,” Leah said as she wondered why Stacy would interrupt them.
The murder board disappeared immediately. Cots apparently didn’t trust anyone other than himself and his two partners.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might be interested in something I found,” Alex said as she crossed the room to hand Cots a folded piece of paper.
“Good work. Tell us what you found,” Cots told her.
Leah watched Alex closely. Cots didn’t trust humans easily and this young woman was one of four people she knew he trusted. I wonder if Alex isn’t part of the trouble between Cots and Peony.
Chapter Thirty-two
“I was wading through a morass of conversations hidden deep, deep in the DMW, uh, dark matter web, and found a reference to ‘that white bitch with the rich daddy.’ I thought it could be another of those trust fund babies who take up with bad boys to tweak their father’s nose, or it might be a reference to our victim. I followed the thread. Among other things, there was a dialogue between Deathhead and Snake where Deathhead said, ‘Maybe we should do the bitch like Dai did that other bitch.’ Snake said, ‘Shut your fucking mouth. You know Dai don’t like us talking business here and specially don’t wants us talking his business here.’ I thought you’d like to know.”
“You’re right we do want to know. Excellent work, Alex,” Leah said.
Alex blushed a pretty shade of rose at Leah’s words.
“Thanks, Boss,” she mumbled as she turned to leave.
“Wait,” Leah said. “What do you think they were saying?”
“I think they implicated Daichi in Sarah’s murder,” Alex said.
“When did the conversation take place?”
“Two weeks after Sarah was killed.”
“Thank you for bringing it to our attention. This is exactly what we needed.”
After Alex was gone, Cots put the information she’d given them onto the murder board.
“Okay,” Leah said. “So Alex has given us a solid lead that says Daichi murdered Sarah himself. N
ow all we have to do is verify that conversation. So we need to do two things. One, we need to know the identities of Deathhead and Snake. Peony you handle that search. Cots, I want you to see if the Special Investigation Group handling gangs has anything on Daichi.”
“I’ll need to break into their database, Boss.”
“Do it, but please don’t get caught.”
“I’ll be careful.”
An hour later, Cots stepped into Leah’s office and said, “Grab your gear, I’ve found Daichi.”
Leah and Peony were first out of the office building. They assumed Peony would be driving, but Cots had other ideas.
As they stood waiting for Cots to arrive so they could go find Daichi, a compact van pulled around the corner. It was larger than a normal-sized car, but not nearly as large as the van they’d used while on New America.
“We need one of those,” Peony said. “Maybe Cots can equip it with all our essentials so we’ll be prepared and not have to waste time hauling equipment in and out of the office.”
“I agree. We’ll put Cots in charge of finding one for us.”
The pale green van cruised through the parking lot and stopped in front of Peony and Leah.
“Are you two going to stand there gawking at me or shall we go find a bad guy?” Cots asked from inside the van.
“We should have known you’d be one step ahead of us thinking we needed one of these.”
Cots laughed. “One step? Nah, how about miles? This baby is fully operational. If you’re nice, I’ll let you drive her someday,” he said after they were inside.
“Tell me about Daichi while you take us to him,” Leah said.
“Daichi was born here on Xing twenty-seven years ago. His father was a wealthy businessman and his mother a schoolteacher. He excelled in the lower grades, but by the time he entered the university he had become disenchanted. We don’t have any idea why. We also don’t know why or how he got involved in organized crime. A year ago, he began encroaching on ShaTin’s Shaanxi territory. Again, we don’t know why,” Cots told her.
“We—Alex, Cots, and I—think he chose the Shaanxi’s territory because it’s not an old and established gang. Guy ShaTin took his nook of the world from his uncle only a couple of years ago. Perhaps Daichi thinks it will be easier to wrest it away from ShaTin than carve out a piece of a larger territory,” Peony said.