Impressions

by Barbara Winkes

  “I understand you need time. It took me a while to work up my courage to come here. I visited the grave…I hope you don’t mind I’ve been leaving flowers.”

  “That’s okay, of course. I’d been wondering about that.”

  “Anyway, I really felt like I couldn’t keep this to myself any longer. This is my number.” She snatched a pen and some sticky notes from Ellie’s desk and jotted down the numbers. “I hope you’ll call me when you’re ready. Thank you for seeing me.”

  She got to her feet. Ellie was slow to react, but she finally did. “Please, wait, Ms…Natalie. How about now? I mean, if you don’t have any plans. Would you like to have dinner with me and my wife?”

  She had gotten used to the term detective. This new aspect of her reality never failed to fill her with excitement.

  Natalie turned to her with a surprised smile. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. I was about to leave, and I could call her…but here she is.” Jordan had just come inside, heading straight for Ellie’s desk.

  “You’re ready to go?”

  “Yes. And I have a surprise for you. Meet Natalie—my sister.”

  In the biological sense, Natalie Morgan was the closest thing she had to family, too. Ellie had once promised herself to never waste any chances, and this situation definitely qualified.

  * * * *

  Jordan was happy for Ellie. These days, she was just plain happy, and grateful that this day had taken a turn for the better, even if she couldn’t help thinking it was a little strange. Why wait for weeks to come see Ellie? Then again, it had taken her own mother two decades to find the courage to talk to her. She was hardly one to judge, and Natalie seemed pleasant. In any case, she didn’t seem to have any problem with the fact that her half-sister was married to a woman. Jordan would give her credit for that.

  “So what do you do?” she asked, when they had sat down at the restaurant with a first glass of wine, the sharp edges of first surprise mellowing.

  “I’m afraid it’s not nearly as exciting as your job. Wow. You deal with really dangerous individuals. I work in an office. It’s safe and boring, and that totally works for me.”

  “Believe me, some days the greatest danger I’m in is from a paper cut.”

  Not that today had been dangerous in any sense of the word, but if Nina’s predictions were true, they could be kicking a hornet’s nest with this investigation. She would have liked to see how Ellie’s day had gone, especially since she’d overheard Waters grumbling about the case, but that would have to wait.

  “Forgive me if I don’t believe that. You put away some high profile criminals.” Natalie smiled self-consciously. “I’ll admit when I learned that Ellie’s with the police, I did some homework. You saved a woman from a burning car.”

  She appeared to know a lot about Ellie already. Ellie, on the other hand, still seemed too stunned to ask a lot of questions. Jordan could think of some, but it wasn’t her place.

  “How did you find me?” Ellie asked finally.

  “The Internet was a great help. With what Mom gave me, I could do some research, and so I learned about the accident, and that you existed. Then, your name came up a time or two in the paper, and so I knew where to look.”

  It sounded legit enough so far.

  “I didn’t want to act like a stalker, but I wanted to be sure I knew at least a little bit about what I was going to walk into. This is so much better than I hoped. I think Mom would be very happy. I’m sorry. It’s just amazing.”

  Only a day after they’d returned from their honeymoon, it truly was.

  “Would you like to come to our house for a coffee?” Ellie asked.

  Jordan asked herself if it was time to put on the brakes sometime soon. She didn’t want her to be disappointed.

  Natalie Morgan smiled. “I’d love to,” she said.

  * * * *

  “Oh my God, it’s late! I’m so sorry,” Natalie exclaimed when she looked at her watch. “Way to make a first impression. I hope I can call you again sometime?”

  “Please. I’d love that,” Ellie said, getting up to see her out. She, too, was amazed how time had seemed to slip away as they talked over coffee. For some reason, the situation wasn’t as painfully awkward as it could have been. They both had questions some of which the other one could answer. Ellie was grateful to realize her emotions had changed, softened over time—she could talk about her parents with love and pride rather than the all encompassing pain she’d felt for years. Thanks to Jordan, and Madeline, a friend of Meredith and Patrick’s she had reconnected with recently—this chance encounter made a difference as well. She had a sister.

  “Excuse me,” she said, laughing, while they were waiting for Natalie’s cab. “This is still surreal to me.”

  “I understand. But good, I hope.”

  “Yes. I am happy now, but for a long time, I felt very alone. Not just lonely, but like no one would understand me. I’d definitely like to keep in touch.”

  “Great. Why don’t we have lunch some time this week? Just the two of us, if you can get away from work for a bit?”

  “I’m sure I can do that sometime. Where’s your office again?”

  “In the Mason tower. It’s not that far from the station, and it has some really great restaurants.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The driver arrived, parking on the curb. Ellie almost stepped forward to hug Natalie, remembering at the last moment that she’d only met her a few hours ago. That was the reason, right? It was only normal. She watched as Natalie waved and got into the backseat, then she turned back for the house. What a crazy day it had been. And tomorrow would be busy as hell too. She needed to squeeze in meeting Brandi Gilbert before her hearing. Before Waters got wind that she’d shared some opinions with the public defender. Ellie remembered that she meant to ask Jordan about him. That seemed like forever ago.

  In the living room, Jordan was almost asleep, but she opened her arms as Ellie curled up next to her on the couch.

  “This is really tempting, but we should go to bed. Early start tomorrow.”

  “You and me both.” Jordan sighed, but made no attempt to move.

  Wife, Ellie thought, unable to hold back the smile. Ellie loved everything about being married. They had been living together for a while now, so nothing specific had actually changed, but it was hard to ignore the milestone it presented, an added depth to their commitment.

  For the first time in her life, she felt like she had actually arrived, in a place where it was okay to remain without constantly seeking out the next challenge. In her job. In her relationship. Now, the appearance of a family member she hadn’t known about. The timing might be odd, but odd things happened in life. This was one to be grateful for. She had many blessings to count—but getting up early in the morning after a lack of sleep wasn’t one of them.

  “Come on. I really need some horizontal time.”

  “Promises, promises,” Jordan murmured, but she let herself be led into the master suite.

  * * * *

  “Do you think I went too fast?” Ellie asked when they were having breakfast the next morning. “In the moment, it seemed the right thing to do. Now I wonder if I was a little too intense.”

  “You can be pretty intense, and I love that about you.” Jordan who stood by the coffeemaker, bend to kiss her neck softly. “I think she was okay. She stayed until after midnight, after all.”

  As if on cue, Ellie yawned. “This is still so weird, out of the blue. I have a sister. I’m baffled, I’m happy, and I feel a little guilty for thinking I should maybe run a background check on her.”

  “Well, you know we’re not supposed to use these sources for personal purposes…I’m with you on that. On the other hand…It never hurts to be prepared.”

  “That’s not paranoid, is it?”

  Jordan sat across from her. “Maybe a little. But for the world we live in, it’s justified. Just basics, to make sure she is who she says she is
. I can take care of that.”

  The quick agreement told Ellie that Jordan had been thinking about it. So it wasn’t just her. And she didn’t mean to doubt Natalie’s story, or discredit a dead woman. She simply didn’t want anything to mar this unexpected, great experience.

  “That would be great. Thank you. I have to go to the morgue, deal with my partner, and squeeze in a meeting sometime before the afternoon, and by the way, I completely forgot to ask you about McKenzie.”

  “Hang on a second. Is Waters still giving you trouble?”

  Ellie shrugged. “Not more than the usual. Don’t worry about it. He’ll be gone in a few weeks.”

  “Still, if it gets too much, talk to Carroll. He’s going to listen.”

  “I know. Now, about you and James…”

  Jordan shook her head, laughing. “Well, you met him. Back in the days, we were the only openly gay people we knew around here, so we connected over that.”

  “You trust his judgment?”

  “Absolutely, and not because he’s gay. He goes for very specific cases.”

  “Yeah, like mine…Is there really a good reason for shooting someone five times?” Ellie gave herself the answer. “Perhaps that’s not the right question, or the question I should ask. Someone’s dead, and it’s my job to find who did it, and prove it. All else is out of my hands.”

  “Waters said you made an arrest?”

  “Yeah, we did. I think she did it. She confessed, and all evidence points to that…well, that’s where McKenzie comes in. He’s interested in the context, and frankly, I am too.”

  “Yeah, he’s big on that. Are you going to call Natalie?”

  “I was going to give her a couple of days.”

  “That’s probably a good idea.”

  Chapter Four

  She didn’t know Ellie was going to talk to the medical examiner this morning, so Jordan was fairly surprised when she and Nina ran into her in front of the double doors. They had barely said hello when Dr. Adams stepped out.

  “Agent Torres, Detective Carpenter, Detective Harding,” Dr. Adams greeted them.

  “I guess you’re all here for the same reason, but I’m afraid one of you will have to wait.”

  “I just need a second, please,” Ellie started. “Do you have anything new for me regarding Mr. Robertson?”

  “She’s my favorite, always says please and thank you,” Dr. Adams commented dryly. “However, someone was in a hurry regarding the guys in 17B.”

  “Sorry about that,” Torres said in a pleasant tone. “This was urgent.”

  “But Robertson was supposed to be first…”

  Jordan didn’t envy Ellie. With no news from the ME, she might be in for an uncomfortable conversation with her partner this morning. However, she could see Nina’s point. If the murders of Dinkins and Oswald were linked to organized crime, and there might be a witness out there, this had to take priority.

  “Sorry, Harding. The lady from the FBI says it’s urgent, those are the bodies I have to take care of first. Come back later?”

  Ellie’s expression clearly showed her disappointment, but she didn’t try to argue. “I guess I will. Thanks anyway. I’ll see you.”

  Jordan and Nina followed Dr. Adams into her office. “Now, don’t get your hopes up too high either. Most of what I found is what you’d expect. One shot to the head each, in quick succession. There were no defensive wounds, no sign that they tried to run away.”

  “So the person who killed them must have been a professional—at the very least, well-trained. Anything else? Those guys were so under the radar, they were practically ghosts.”

  “Well, I can tell you they had Chinese take-out for their last meal. Some time between eight and ten last night, time of death soon after.”

  The food containers in the closet came from a nearby restaurant chain. It had been closed yesterday, but today, they hoped to talk to some employees.

  “That’s good. Someone might have seen them.”

  They could only hope that that employees, and possibly clientele of the restaurant were more helpful than the men’s neighbors. She might have to introduce Nina to Chucky as well.

  “Any drugs in their system?” Nina asked, making Jordan wonder if she had a theory.

  “Nope, just some beer.”

  That would probably match the empty bottles in the trash.

  “Blood stains on the mattress didn’t match either of them, to no surprise.”

  “Yeah, I imagined that. Thanks, Doc.”

  They got lucky not much later—the print recognition software showed them the record of a young woman once arrested for a DUI, four years ago. Since she was eighteen at the time, the record hadn’t been sealed. Isabel Combs had been reported missing only a few months later, before her nineteenth birthday. She had vanished after spending an afternoon at the local mall with two friends.

  A quick call to the restaurant confirmed that the employees working the night of the murder would come in later in the afternoon. They’d meet them there—enough time to dig deeper into Isabel Combs’ disappearance.

  Her photo was going around in the media once more.

  * * * *

  Detective Waters was not amused when Ellie told him about her experience at the morgue. “Who’s running this department anyway?” he snapped. “You can’t just let things like that slide.”

  “I’m sorry, but what was I supposed to do? Agent Torres had already asked…”

  “Agent Torres doesn’t work here, and Adams knows that. What’s her problem?”

  “Harding, Waters, could you please come into my office for a moment?”

  Ellie hoped it wouldn’t take too long. She had to see Brandi Gilbert before she went before the judge.

  “I just want to make sure you’re on the same page here.”

  “This is impossible. Gilbert will see the judge today. It would help to deal with any unforeseen surprises, if we had some results at least.”

  “I agree, but Special Agent Torres asked for a courtesy, and there’s a lot at stake. Why would you think there could be unforeseen surprises with your case? You have a confession, the murder weapon, a witness—shouldn’t be a problem, should it? Harding, you don’t look convinced.”

  Ellie straightened in her chair. “I have no doubts, sir.”

  “Good. That’s all.”

  It looked like she would have enough time to steal away for a meeting with McKenzie and Gilbert.

  * * * *

  “Why are you here? I thought you already have everything you need. I’m in here.” She raised her shackled wrists. “Is that not enough?”

  Compared to the last time she’d seen her, Brandi Gilbert looked surprisingly composed, Ellie thought. It didn’t sound like she was much cooperative, but at least she had agreed to this meeting with Ellie and McKenzie. Ellie would make the most of it.

  “I have a few more questions.” That my colleague neglected to ask. “How many times have you been to Mr. Robertson’s apartment?”

  “Three times. Maybe four.”

  “Please, try to be as precise as possible.”

  “Okay, four. What difference does it make? You’re not going to ask me why I was there?”

  “He paid you?” Ellie asked, unfazed by the challenging tone.

  “Girl, are you new or what? He paid the money upfront, in Hank’s account. They all do. Otherwise I wouldn’t get near that house.”

  “Hank. Can you tell me his last name?”

  “Why don’t you try to figure it out?”

  “Ms. Gilbert,” McKenzie warned. “The detective is here to help.”

  She snorted. “That would be a first.”

  “You know what’s going to happen when you walk into the courtroom later? The judge will know this about you—you shot a man five times. It would help if you could tell us why.”

  “Really? Help who? There’s no life for me anywhere.”

  “What happened that night? You didn’t decide to shoot him, just li
ke that?” She was probably far beyond things that she could and should say to the woman without jeopardizing her case, but Ellie was getting frustrated with her changing attitude. She kept her tone low, reminding herself that she only knew a fraction of what the woman had been through. “You asked me if I had arrested Mr. Owens. What did you think I arrested him for?”

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “I believe that. Maybe you weren’t thinking clearly when you pulled that trigger either? This wasn’t Mr. Robertson’s gun. Who gave it to you, if it wasn’t yours?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t remember!”

  Ellie cast a look at McKenzie.

  “I had a psychiatrist talk to Ms. Gilbert earlier this morning,” he explained. “There are too many unexplained questions right now, especially regarding Mr. Owens, who is the only witness. Perhaps you could warn your partner and the A.D.A. that the case is thin.”

  “I’d like to talk to Mr. McKenzie alone for a moment,” Ellie said.

  “That’s okay, I think we’re done here,” McKenzie told his client. “Ms. Gilbert, I’ll see you later, and remember everything I told you.”

  “Yeah, right. I have nothing else to do.”

  Ellie shook her head when they were outside the room.

  “I have to admit, I didn’t expect that. It’s like talking to a different person.”

  “Except one thing that remains the same.”

  “She’s still terrified, I get that.”

  “It seems like every once in a while the gravity of what happened, and the consequences, sink in, then there’s something else that scares her more. Your instincts were right on the money regarding the psychiatrist. The gaps in her memory indicate trauma, either from committing the murder, or witnessing it, but as long as we don’t know for sure, I think this woman needs help more than she needs prison.”

  “I’ll be back later,” Ellie said, doubts plaguing her. Either way, she was going to face consequences as well. On her way back to town, she called Darla Pierson, Jordan’s former CI, at work. It wasn’t more than a hunch at this point, but she was the only one Ellie knew that might help her.