“I understand. But you came back eventually.”
“Yes. I tried out for the academy, and that was it. I always remembered the detective that came to see me that day. I remembered I hated her…and then, that it takes guts to do that, so that played a role. But I got to see the detectives at work, and I knew that’s where I wanted to go. I’m talking too much, right?”
“No way, I’m enjoying it. Well, not the sad part, obviously. I hate I never got the chance to meet Patrick, but I’m really happy I found you. Tell me more, please.”
Ellie did, guiltily thinking about the background check she’d talked to Jordan about—and she was nearly late for work.
She waved to the waiter and when he arrived at the table, paid her lunch with her debit card while Natalie ordered another coffee.
“I really have to go now, but I’ll be in touch about the party.”
“I’m excited,” Natalie said. “And we’ll have to do this again soon.”
* * * *
At the station, Ellie finished up on some paperwork. Since she didn’t have time for her own coffee at the restaurant, she headed to the break room between printouts. She stopped cold at the sight presenting itself to her when she opened the door. In front of the vending machine, Waters stood with Officer Potts close enough to leave no personal space. His hands were on her lower back. While her brain was still processing what she saw, Ellie realized that Sam looked distressed, the picture making sense in a disturbing way all of a sudden.
“What’s going on here? Sam! Are you okay?”
Potts almost violently pulled away from the touch and fled.
“I can’t believe this.” Ellie shook her head, still somewhat in shock. “What the hell were you—”
“Shut the fuck up, Harding. This is none of your business.”
“You just made it my business. If Sam doesn’t report…”
He was in her face the next moment, angry and, she thought, pathetic. “Be very careful what you say next. You are already hanging on by a thread, constantly going off on your own. That’s not going to look good for you.”
“I’m not the one rushing through the process, ignoring evidence. I’ll take my chances. You can’t intimidate me.”
“You think?” he all but spat. “You know, you all depend on that backup arriving on time.”
Ellie caught a glimpse at something that, she assumed, had been simmering under the surface for a long time. He was known for mean jibes against everything and everyone he didn’t like, and there was a lot Detective Waters didn’t like. She knew Maria had been glad not to be working with him any longer, but he’d still mostly kept it together at the time. Lately, he’d been escalating. Assaulting a young officer and threatening a colleague was over the line. She was almost relieved. It had to end here.
“That’s enough, Cliff,” she said just as the door opened, and Derek Henderson walked in.
“Hey, Waters, the lieutenant wants to see you,” he said curtly. “You better go now,” he warned when Waters didn’t react right away. Eventually though, he shot his younger colleague a glare and left the room.
Ellie took a deep breath. “This turned from mildly annoying to a nightmare quickly.” She could tell that Derek was curious, but he didn’t ask. “Carroll wants to see you too,” he said instead.
“Yeah, I figured. I better go. Thanks.”
“No problem. I don’t know what he told you, but you’re doing okay.”
“Thanks again.”
A moment later she realized that Waters was still in with the lieutenant. She could hear both men raise their voices, though she couldn’t make out words. She never got her coffee either, though that was the least of her concerns right now.
Eventually, Waters yanked the door open and stormed past her, all but pushing her aside. A couple of detectives at their desks pretended not to notice. Ellie knocked on the doorframe.
“Sir? You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Come in, and close the door.”
“I’m sure you know why you’re here.”
“Yes, sir.” Ellie wasn’t nervous, but she was aware of feeling tired…and sad. They fought hard to convey a zero tolerance for this kind of behavior on the streets and in homes. To have it exhibit by one of their own was terrible, and it was even more depressing to think he might not be the only one. “You want me to tell you what I saw in the break room.” He nodded, and so she related what she’d witnessed. She didn’t falter, and made sure to keep the emotion out of her voice, treat this like she would approach any testimony. Ellie didn’t need to worry.
“Thank you. You’re aware that there will have to be consequences, so you’ll likely have to repeat this to IA.”
Ellie wanted to ask many questions, if Officer Potts was going to court, if this had been the first instance. Instead, she said, “Of course.”
“Good.” He frowned. “Well, this is far from good, but it’s where we are now. There is something else I need to ask you.”
“No,” she said. “He never behaved that way with me.” She took a deep breath. Since she was already here, she could just as well seize the moment. “Sir, I know this is a bad time, but regarding the case…”
“Don’t tell me it’s not closed after all.”
“The murder, yes, but I was following a lead…” She had to say it out loud, even though Ellie feared it would sound silly to the lieutenant, coming from her, the least experienced detective in the unit. Beginner’s luck, Waters had called her early successes. “Ms. Gilberts committed the murder, but there’s a bigger context here. She was working for a man named Hank who apparently has a lot of high profile clients—like Robertson. He also has a reputation for being extremely cruel. I thought if we could get a team together with Vice, we might be able to get to him, too…”
Lieutenant Carroll mulled her proposal over, or perhaps he just thought that she was incredibly naïve. The silence was stretching too long for her comfort, before he said, “Talk to your source some more, see what they have, and I’ll see what I can do. It might be worth a shot.”
“Thank you.” She would have been incredibly proud if it wasn’t for this mess Waters had gotten all of them into.
“All right. That’s all. You can go back to work.”
* * * *
Things happened fast. Waters was suspended, Potts was taking a leave as well. Internal Affairs would be in the house the next morning. Meanwhile, Jordan hadn’t been able to talk to Ellie. All she’d heard from Derek was about some argument in the break room after Ellie had walked in on him. This was not how she had imagined this partnership would end. Like some of their colleagues, she, too, wondered if they had let his bad behavior slide a few times too many.
Meanwhile she still had a job to do. Nina was with her when she got the ballistics report that came with a puzzling detail about the gun used in the Dinkins and Oswald murders. A post-it note referred to a recent incident in another precinct: The gun they were looking for had been confiscated in another case but was now missing from evidence.
“Everything okay?” Nina asked over her shoulder. She was likely aware of what everyone in the department was talking about in hushed tones, but much to her credit, she didn’t comment much.
“Yeah. I’m not sure where we go with this, but it is…interesting.”
Jordan pointed at the section of the report she’d just read. She was sure Nina would come to the same conclusion she had.
To her surprise, Nina said, “It’s a guess. That doesn’t mean someone in law enforcement is behind this.”
“Unfortunately, it’s hard for someone outside of law enforcement to get their hands on this particular one. It was in an evidence locker.”
“Not your division though. Be grateful.”
“There’s enough going on today. But still, this is disconcerting.”
“That someone took out those guys? I don’t think so. If they did an amateur job and left all those traces, I’d call that disconcerting.”
Unless someone had been desperate enough to go down that route. Someone who cared about Isabel Combs—or the other girls.
“I can check this out. Why don’t you take a break?” Nina suggested. “I’m sure you’d like a few moments with your wife.”
Jordan wasn’t sure what to make of her sudden shift in mood, but she’d hold that thought, because Nina was right. She really wanted to talk to Ellie, see how she was dealing on this crazy day.
* * * *
She found Ellie with Maria and Officer Casey Lyons in the parking lot. Apparently neither of them had felt like going into the break room.
Lyons was devastated. “I wish she had talked to me earlier. Look, we always knew he was a jerk. How could we not see this coming?”
“It’s not your fault,” Ellie assured her after a long look to Jordan. Secretly, they all harbored the same regrets. “Yes, he made jokes that weren’t funny, but we didn’t know he didn’t stop at that. Lieutenant Carroll is on this. He’s not going to let it go.”
“Yeah.” Casey shook her head. “I still don’t get it.”
“How is she doing?” Jordan asked.
“Terrified of what’s going to happen…unsure if she even still wants to be a cop…all of which I can understand,” Casey explained. “Some of the boys’ club will rally around him.”
“Come on,” Jordan protested, uncomfortable. “Not here. He never had many friends.”
“I’m not talking about you guys, but I’ve heard some of the rumblings already. Remember what happened when your partner started dating McCarthy? They’re not the majority, but you know, squeaky wheel and all.”
“She’s good,” Maria said. “I hope she won’t leave because of that one asshole.”
“I hope you’re not talking about me.” Derek had joined them. “Hey, Jordan. There’s someone waiting for you.”
“Oh crap,” she mumbled. “All right, I’m coming.”
* * * *
Jordan recognized Chelsey Dorman, who was waiting for her with Nina Torres, right away: She was the young woman she had seen pulling the sweater around herself closer, earlier in the coffee shop near Dinkins and Oswald’s apartment.
She still looked cold.
“I overheard you talking to Linda,” she said. “I couldn’t say anything there, but I can tell you something about those men. I’m so glad they are dead.”
Jordan caught Nina’s thoughtful glance.
“Okay, let’s sit down and talk.”
They took her to a quieter interview room. Chelsey had to be around twenty, but her posture and expression made her look older. Jordan was reminded of Darla. Darla was safe now, but there were too many like her.
“You knew the men who were killed this week, across from the coffee shop?”
She had to talk to Mulveney, possibly Kim Geller again. It seemed unlikely that they just went about their day without knowing anything that happened right in front of their eyes. Nina had agreed there might be a connection to the upcoming sports event. Rigley’s, Mulveney’s bar, had long been notorious for illegal gambling and betting. There had to be a link, and she was tired of being lied to.
“One of them, Dinkins, I guess. My friend Gina and I met him at a party…I thought he was too old to be hanging around with the frat boys, but that happens sometimes. She liked him. I know that she went out with him a few times, and then…she disappeared. I read all these articles, and…” She swallowed hard, her eyes welling up. “I think something terrible happened to her.”
“Did someone report her missing?”
“I don’t know her family. They might have. I just went to the coffee shop a few times, and that’s when I saw him with another girl. That was a couple of days before the murders.”
“All right, Chelsey, is there anything else you noticed, anyone he talked to?”
“No. I had a bad feeling, but it didn’t really come together until I realized someone had killed them. I wasn’t sure what to do…but when I heard you talking to Linda, I thought you might be able to help find Gina.”
“We’ll do everything we can,” Nina assured her. “We’d like you to look at some pictures as well.”
Linda came in after her shift as promised, and by the time she left, they had three other pictures on the wall next to Isabel Combs’. Gina Lopez, Ashley Simon, Carly Heller. The women’s ages ranged from seventeen to twenty. All of them gone missing within the past half year. That was just within two counties.
Jordan had the feeling that the worst was yet to come, and it had already been a pretty awful day.
When they finally agreed to continue the next day, she texted Ellie to meet her at the D&T. Ellie texted back that she needed to run an errand first, and would see her there.
Chapter Seven
Ellie already felt bad when she stepped into Darla’s cozy apartment where her son, Jordan Avery Pierson, was enjoying his dinner. Decorating his surroundings with it, seemed a more appropriate description, but both mother and son were having a good time.
“I already know this isn’t a social visit, or you’d have picked another time,” Darla joked. “If something comes flying, just try to get out of the way in time. That’s what I do.”
“I’m sorry to bother you again. About this guy, Hank…”
“Yeah.” Darla sighed. “I sort of imagined you’d be back. That’s got to be frustrating. You just put Lemont away.”
“We did. Sometimes…” Ellie didn’t finish the sentence. Right now, they had to clean their own house as well. “Anyway, you might have heard about the woman we had to arrest in the Robertson murder. She pulled the trigger, every piece of evidence points to that. She confessed, then said she couldn’t remember…I think she’s severely traumatized, and that’s not just my opinion. It’s pretty much out of my hands now, but there is another angle. If we could stop this guy, it’d be a win-win situation. And I’m not yet convinced that she wasn’t coerced into killing Robertson. Maybe he pissed off Hank.”
“That would be easy to do,” Darla agreed somberly. “But it won’t be easy to get to him. Put out the word maybe that someone is looking for some high end entertainment, big shot corporate folks, or celebrities with precarious tastes. An after game party could work too. If it’s high profile enough, he might be interested. I could make a few calls, see if anyone is willing to talk to you.”
“I don’t want you to do anything dangerous.”
“Don’t worry. The times when I did almost anything for a donut are definitely over. You and Jordan have helped me a lot, so I definitely won’t let you down…but you know I have an even better reason.”
“Yes, I know. Call me if you find out anything more…and take care.”
Ellie stepped out of the way just in time as a spoonful of baby food was catapulted her way, followed by giggles.
She had one more stop on her way before meeting Jordan.
Sam opened the door to her right away. She left it open and went back into the living room of her apartment, as if she didn’t care much if Ellie came in or not.
“Hey. I wanted to see how you were doing…with everything.”
Sam gave her a shrug. “I guess I have to figure some things out now.”
Ellie noticed the buzzing phone on the table. Sam picked it up and turned it off.
“Right now, it’s about sixty-forty,” she said. “Some of it is good. A few want my head on a silver platter. Would you like some wine? It’s not that we have anything to celebrate, but…I felt like it.”
“I can imagine.” Those weren’t just words. Sam hadn’t been around long enough to know, but there had been a time when Ellie had depended on a tiny piece of metal as her only weapon. She preferred not to revisit that moment too often—but she could imagine. “But no, thanks. Look…I know we don’t know each other that well, but I hope you’ll stay. It’s your life
, and your career, and from what I hear, you’re good at this. Don’t let one asshole ruin all of it for you.”
“Wow.” She sat on the edge of the sofa, picking up her glass. “I never thanked you for backing me up today, so…Thank you. I don’t even know that I would have talked to the lieutenant if you hadn’t come in.”
“It’s good that you did.”
“Not everyone thinks so.”
“Then they’re wrong.” Even though she hadn’t meant to stay long, Ellie took a seat as well. “I’m sorry, of course it’s your decision, whatever you want to do. I wanted to let you know that we’re here for you.”
“Thanks.” Sam gave her a wistful smile. “Are you sure you don’t want a glass? You have to make your mind up quick. There might not be any in a bit.”
“Do you want to come with me? I’m meeting Jordan, and perhaps some friends, at the D&T.”
“Thanks, but no. I don’t want to go out tonight. But I’m keeping you. It was nice of you to come by.”
“They will wait for me. And if one of those calls is from Casey, please, pick up. She’s on your side.”
Casey had told her earlier that Sam had grown up with her grandmother who had recently passed away. They were silent for a moment, before Sam said, “I don’t get it. Why me? Why did he think that he could get away with it, that I might be too weak—”
“No. You know that for people like that, it’s all about them. Whatever he might have thought, it doesn’t matter, right? He was wrong. You have a family here. We have your back.”
“I appreciate that, but I swear you don’t have to stay. If the offer still stands, I might take you up on it another time though.”
“Any time. If you want to talk, please call me. Come to think of it, we’re having a dinner party soon, and we’d love to have you. If you want, that is. You don’t have to tell me anything now, we haven’t even set a date yet.”
“That’s very kind. I’ll think about it.” Sam accompanied her to the door. “I’ll see you.”
Impressions Page 5