Impressions

by Barbara Winkes

  “Yeah.”

  There was a moment of hesitation. Ellie waited for Sam to move first, because she hadn’t been sure if the gesture was welcome, but then carefully hugged her back.

  * * * *

  Some of the tension finally fell away when she walked inside the D&T, spotting Jordan at a table near the bar. Jordan got up to greet her with a kiss, and in this place, no one batted an eye if it lasted a little longer.

  “Hey. You made it. Are you hungry?”

  “God, yes. I thought this day would never end.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  Ellie sat, and picked up one of the menus. “What are you having? They should do an all-you-can-eat buffet. I feel like I can’t make any decisions anymore.”

  “Let’s start with a Thai salad. That’s easy.”

  “What would I do without you?”

  Jordan smiled at that, but she didn’t give an answer since the waitress stopped at their table to take their orders. Beers arrived quickly. After Ellie had taken a sip, and leaned back into her chair with a sigh, Jordan asked the question.

  “How are you?” There was a world of others behind that one.

  “Still a bit shocked, I guess. Like everyone. I knew I’d be glad when Waters was gone, but I didn’t expect it to happen that way.” Even exhausted as she was, she could easily tell what was bothering Jordan. “And no, he never tried anything with me. I’ve been thinking about this, and remember what Casey said, about Sam losing her grandma? Asshole, he thought she had no one to go to.”

  “Yeah. Fortunately it didn’t work out that way.”

  “No. It’s just…It makes me so angry. I’m not even the one who—” Ellie stopped when a waitress walked by, but it wasn’t the one who had served them. “Now, where is that salad?”

  “That’s the million dollar question. And, of course, salad? What happened to you?” Ellie turned around to find herself face to face with her best friend, Kate McCarthy. Behind her was Derek Henderson.

  “What are you doing here?” Jordan asked, somewhere between amused and puzzled that their friends had found them. It wasn’t that much of a stretch—they had come here together before, and the D&T, though the audience was mainly LGBT, was open to everyone.

  “A good evening to you, too, Carpenter. Kate said it’s been too long since we hung out. Now I realize why that is,” Derek quipped.

  “Seriously,” Kate said, “Derek told me about today. I don’t even know what to say to that. It’s awful. I mean we deal with some stuff…on the job, and even the occasional jerk, but this is completely different. I hope he’s out?”

  “Looks that way,” Ellie said. “Almost makes me feel guilty, because I’m glad that day came sooner than later.”

  No one disagreed with her.

  * * * *

  She had been tired earlier, but spending time with Jordan and their friends had been reassuring, and food and drinks had helped too. When they were back at home, neither of them felt like sleeping right away. Tomorrow might be another difficult day, but there was still time. Ellie sighed in bliss as Jordan’s hands, warm and confident, stole underneath her nightgown, teasing and promising. It came off not much later.

  “Not to change the subject. I love the subject,” she said, and Jordan chuckled, brushing her lips against Ellie’s neck. Momentarily, she was distracted from what she wanted to say. “I might have told a few people we were having a dinner party. Natalie, and Sam…but I think we should invite Ariel too, Jack and Pauline, of course…”

  She paused when Jordan’s fingers wandered up her thigh.

  “Fine with me,” Jordan whispered, not distracted at all. Ellie decided it could wait. Everything else could wait. She knew there were things other than the party she’d neglected to mention. Come to think of it, some of them she should have mentioned to the lieutenant as well—the insinuation that one of his friends might withhold back-up. Not that Waters had many friends at the department.

  Enough of that, Ellie told herself. She needed to stop obsessing about him. She and Jordan had kept worse demons at bay.

  “Is everything okay?” Jordan, who sensed she was distracted, asked.

  “Yes. I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Jordan resumed her task, started kissing her way down Ellie’s eager body, capturing all of her attention. One more thing Ellie had found out she loved: Married sex.

  Much later, even though her body was as relaxed as it could be, her mind couldn’t follow enough to let her sleep. She turned, trying to be silent not to wake Jordan, but as it was, she didn’t have to.

  “Can’t sleep?” Jordan asked, quietly stating the obvious.

  “I still don’t understand how we couldn’t see it. I hate this, you know? I mean, we’ve seen some horrible things.” She knew she didn’t need to specify. “And it was hard, but we got through it. I know I got through it because I had my chosen family—my friends, and you. We always had that to come back to, right?”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  This had been a certainty after every traumatic experience, every close call they’d faced. They might be dealing with it differently, but this was something they’d always had in common.

  “Coming back to work. I know it saved both of us. I remember exactly what it felt like to put on the uniform again. I don’t know that it’s the same for Sam.”

  “Well, that’s also up to us, isn’t it? Atwood and his gang are not in the majority, and they know it.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Carroll won’t tolerate this shit, and I know Sergeant Bristol is the same. If those guys want trouble, they’re going to get it.”

  Ellie snuggled back in her arms, comforted—for now.

  * * * *

  Jordan had done her best to assure Ellie everything would be okay. She thought she’d done a decent job, even though there was no denying this was a complex situation that would have implications for everyone. Still, she managed to get to work before Nina arrived, and do a quick check on Natalie Morgan. There wasn’t much to be found, but it looked like she said who she was. She had gotten a few parking tickets, but appeared to be a law-abiding citizen otherwise. That was at least something good to tell Ellie.

  She looked at her phone, oddly aware of the lack of texts from Kathryn. In the beginning, her biological mother’s behavior had bordered on stalking, making Jordan wonder if she should take actions. After several difficult conversations, they had come to a cease-fire. Neither she nor Jim were invited to the wedding, and things had gotten calm. Maybe too calm, but at the moment, Jordan had enough on her plate to add another thing to worry about.

  Nina still wasn’t around yet, so she started organizing notes and folders on the missing women.

  “Still no sign of Combs.” Everyone in their unit was used to the lieutenant sneaking up on them every once in a while, so she didn’t even startle.

  “No,” she said, suppressing a sigh.

  “Come into my office for a moment?”

  Jordan got up to follow him. Inside Carroll’s office, they both remained standing. There wasn’t enough news to require sitting.

  “Any hint as to who killed those two men?” he asked.

  “Not yet. With Combs out there, the focus has slightly shifted.” Or it kept shifting whenever Nina introduced a new aspect of her investigation. “We know there are more women, and it’s likely that there’s a connection to upcoming sports events.”

  “The pre-season game.” Carroll winced slightly.

  “Yeah.” Jordan didn’t blame him. She didn’t care much about the games, but they swept a lot of people into town. Enough to put the locals on alert—law enforcement, and criminals who didn’t want to share with out of town players.

  “When you asked me about Harding getting a new partner, was that in any way related to what Officer Potts reported?” he asked.

  Jordan spun around, surprised, though she realized she shouldn’t have been.

  “No. I swear. Not ev
eryone’s a good teacher, and I thought she could benefit more from working with Detective Doss.” It was a good thing that Ellie never learned about her meddling—Jordan was, a little too late, aware it had been uncalled for, and only unnecessarily complicated things.

  “I see.”

  She followed his gaze, and through the open blinds, they could see the men and woman who had just walked in. “Excuse me please, I’ll have to have a word with the folks from IA.”

  “Of course.”

  Nina Torres arrived the moment she sat back down.

  “Sorry, I’m late, but I had to clear something with your A.D.A. How about we go bust some bad guys?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  * * * *

  Ellie wasn’t sure how the day would play out, and who would want to talk to her when. She started by organizing what she had found out from Darla, and her conversations with Gilbert’s attorney. They had found out earlier that an assault case against Owens, seven years ago, had been dismissed, and apparently he’d followed the law ever since. It bothered her that she couldn’t do anything for Gilbert at this point, but if they were to save other women from the same fate, there was some hope at least.

  Sam hadn’t called her, but perhaps she’d join them tonight. Once she had something in order she would be able to present to the lieutenant, she went over other files on her desk. Ellie didn’t think Carroll would have much time today, with the IA inspectors in the house.

  She also took a short break to call Madeline. Everyone else, she could call or text later, but her mother’s friend was the only one who might appreciate a warning before meeting Natalie.

  “Ellie, it’s so nice to hear from you. How’s married life?”

  “It’s been great, thank you.” In fact, it was the easiest, most beautiful part of her life. She was truly happy, all the other challenges notwithstanding. “The reason I’m calling is that we’ll have a dinner with a few people, because…I’d like to introduce you all to someone.” This had happened so suddenly, it felt strange to relate it to someone other than Jordan who had met Natalie already.

  “That sounds mysterious.”

  “It really isn’t. I just found out a few days ago that I have a…half sister.”

  Madeline had been friends with her parents a long time. Maybe Ellie was even hoping there could be a slight chance…

  “How?” Madeline asked, puzzled. “I mean…I don’t claim to know everything about Pat and Meri, but I know they married young, and there is no way—am I getting this completely wrong? I’m sorry.”

  “Natalie told me her mother was in a relationship with Dad before he met Mom. It’s all…plausible, and Madeline, she showed me a picture. This is real.”

  “Wow. This is a surprise.”

  “Yes, but a good one. I have a sister! I found someone who’s actually related to me. She seems very nice, of course I have only met her a couple of times, but I’d really like her to meet my other family.”

  “I’m glad to be a part of that. You must have checked her story, too?”

  “Jordan did,” Ellie said, hoping this would convince her mother’s friend. “I know, this is crazy, but she’s for real. And her mother died not long ago, so I can…relate to that.”

  “Of course. I’m happy for you, and I’d love to meet her. Just tell me when.”

  “We’re still planning, but I’ll let you know. Thank you. I have to go now,” she said when she saw Lieutenant Carroll open the door of his office, coming out with the woman from Internal Affairs.

  * * * *

  “How’s Mulveney behaving?” Nina Torres asked when they were in the car, on the way to meet a possible witness. It wasn’t the question Jordan had expected, though she wasn’t surprised Nina had put two and two together.

  “So far, so good. He’s been a little sketchy on the details, but at least he gave us the sports connection.”

  “Yeah, that was a good one.”

  “So where are we going?” Jordan felt like Torres hadn’t been generous with that information.

  “I called in a few favors, and one of the numbers Dinkins called belongs to a name that rings a bell,” Nina explained. “I believe this guy has some answers as to the whereabouts of Combs’ and the others.” She reached behind her seat to produce a folder. “Low level, so no one’s going to come bailing him out anytime soon. There’s a good chance he’ll be interested in a conversation.”

  Jordan leafed through the file, skimming over the man’s rap sheet.

  “Precious. If he’s so low level, why do you think he can help us?”

  “I know the type,” Nina said confidently. “With those events coming up, they’ll need a lot of food soldiers.” Jordan had come to disturbing conclusions on her own, before Nina added, “After they already lured them in.”

  Busting that guy sounded better and better.

  The house was fairly run-down, in a neighborhood where most other houses looked the same. A few rackety stairs led up to the front door. There was a black truck parked in front of it. Jordan and Nina exited the car and went to the front door. Nina knocked. There was no answer, though they heard noises from inside. One especially made them step away from the door and tuck themselves against the wall on either side.

  Just before he started shooting.

  From the sounds of it, he wasn’t all that interested in a conversation.

  “Don’t be stupid,” Nina yelled between shots. “We just want to talk to you!”

  “I don’t want to talk to you!” He stopped shooting though. Jordan wasn’t getting her hopes up high yet.

  “You should. We can help you. I know you got into some bad shit, but it’s not you we are after.”

  There was a shadow behind the door, and Jordan gripped her own gun tighter.

  “What do you want?”

  “Talk about your friend Dinkins. Or perhaps you knew him as Ted Hart.”

  “Haven’t seen him in years.”

  “Cut the crap. We know you called him a few weeks ago. Look, if you help us find those women, we might even forget that you were shooting at us a second ago. Otherwise…let’s just say if Dinkins’ friends find you first, and they think you talked to the police, it will be a lot worse.”

  He came out onto the porch, holding his hands up. Nina straightened, pointing his gun at him as she walked up the stairs, Jordan behind her.

  All of a sudden, he dropped his hands, reaching for…whatever it was; Nina was faster, pulling the trigger.

  Chapter Eight

  Jordan replayed the moment in her mind a few times, coming to the same conclusion. Nina had no choice, did she? He had greeted them with gunfire, before even knowing why they were here, so she had reason to assume he would not cooperate. She had called for backup and an ambulance. The man was dead.

  “Sorry,” Nina mumbled as she holstered her gun. “I didn’t expect it to become this messy.”

  “You had no choice. He was shooting at us.”

  However, Torres wasn’t looking for reassurance from her.

  “I’m aware, but thanks. Let’s make sure the crime scene is secured, and then we’ll take a look at the house.”

  “You really think he knew where the women are?”

  “I think he wasn’t as prepared for eventualities as Dinkins and Oswald. We might still get lucky.”

  The officers arriving were Wes Martin and Libby Marshall, and two younger men Jordan had seen before at the Night Shift, Yang and Ennis. From Potts’ class, she realized. Wes and Libby joined her and Nina as they searched the modest two story house from top to bottom. Upstairs, there was a bedroom with a TV and DVR, a few USB drives on the nightstand. Jordan wondered what might be on them, wincing at the possibilities.

  A bathroom next door showed no hint of another person—a shaving kit, some over the counter painkillers. They bagged the drives, and continued. This time, the closet didn’t contain any surprises, just men’s clothes hung haphazardly on mismatched hangers.

  Downsta
irs, the kitchen was stocked with mostly cans and frozen goods. A few six packs of a cheap beer brand, and some vodka. There were stairs leading to a small cellar with the heating system, a washer and dryer. A door was secured with a lock, the key still in it.

  “Go ahead,” Nina muttered. “If somebody shoots at you, you know I’m faster.”

  In spite of what was probably meant to reassure, Jordan felt tense when she turned the key and carefully opened the door. At the sight revealed, she flinched. The person on the other side of that door wasn’t going to do them any harm.

  It was Chelsey’s friend Gina.

  She was alive.

  * * * *

  “I thought you’d be busier today,” Officer Chris Atwood remarked as he walked by Ellie’s desk, after dropping off a file for Detective Doss. Maria looked up from her computer screen, watching the scene with interest.

  “I’m working. Aren’t you?”

  “Say, what’s it like to destroy someone’s reputation? It would have been so easy, Harding. You could have just told the truth.”

  Here we go.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” She had told Jordan and Kate before that there was no point in answering to gossip, but she was about to reach her breaking point. Chris Atwood thought gay marriage was immoral and a sign of end times. It didn’t surprise her in the least that he’d take Waters’ side. “If this is about your friend, I told the truth to everyone who asked me.”

  “Really? The guy was weeks away from retirement.”

  “Yeah. He should have thought about that. He should have used his brain before doing any of it.”

  “Oh, come on, we all know about Potts—”

  “Shut up,” she said. “Since you’re so worried about my work, why don’t you let me get back to it?”

  Maria Doss laughed when he stalked out of the room. “That was impressive. I’m not sure what Jordan was worried about. You don’t let anyone mess with you.”

  “Wait. Did she say anything? When?” Ellie could think of a couple of times that Derek Henderson had appeared out of nowhere during an argument with Waters.

  “Don’t worry about it. She didn’t need to say anything.”