Impressions

by Barbara Winkes

  “Sorry.” Ellie sighed. “Waters has friends. Imagine that.”

  “Not that many. Atwood’s dad and Waters’ brother hang out together. I think it ends there.”

  “Let’s hope.”

  She picked up her phone and answered when she saw the call came from Jordan.

  “Before you hear from anyone else, I just wanted to let you know we’re okay…”

  “If you didn’t want me to worry, that’s not the way to go about it. What happened?”

  “Something good. We found one of the women.”

  Ellie decided it wasn’t the moment to bother Jordan—or anyone today, for that matter, with Atwood’s stupid antics.

  * * * *

  A couple of minutes on the phone with Ellie was the only break Jordan got. Gina was disoriented and freezing, but she was coherent enough to answer a few questions, before she was taken away in the ambulance. Those few minutes already spoke of unthinkable horrors.

  Libby went to the hospital with her while Jordan and Nina finished up the search, then joined them after a doctor had tended to the young woman and performed necessary tests.

  Gina confirmed that she had met Dinkins at the frat party. She’d been flattered he took an interest in her.

  “At first, I went along with everything.” She blinked as if that had been so long ago she almost couldn’t remember. Torres’ features were set in a tense expression. “Then he told me that he owed some powerful people money, and they had threatened him. There…was a way I could help him.” Tears ran down her face. “How could I be so stupid? He said he loved me, and if I loved him too, I’d do this, make sure they wouldn’t kill him.”

  “He let other men rape you,” Nina said.

  The woman nodded. Jordan thought that clarity of language was of utmost importance. Place the blame where it belonged. She hated this case with a passion. Whoever had killed Dinkins and Oswald, she couldn’t help thinking they had done a favor to society. Those were still murders she had to investigate, though, and chances were the killer—or killers—didn’t care all that much about the women.

  “There’s nothing stupid about it,” she said firmly. “You met a guy at a party, started dating him—you couldn’t expect this to happen.” Except he had targeted her. How many others?

  Gina continued. “He was always so jealous. He bought me a phone, wanted me to destroy mine. Whenever I asked questions, he said it was just the two of us now, and when I wanted to leave, he told me that the same people that threatened him would come after my family and friends! I didn’t know what to do!”

  “How long did this go on?” Torres asked quietly.

  “Until about five days ago. I think. I lost count in the dark. This guy came over, and they were talking, about someone called Ray. Then he said I had to go with him. I didn’t want to and he…hit me. I hadn’t been feeling well before, and I passed out. I woke up in that cellar.”

  “Dinkins’ place, where was it?” Jordan had a bad feeling, and it was instantly confirmed when Gina described the area where Dinkins had taken her. It wasn’t the place where they had held Isabel Combs. There was another house or apartment somewhere, for the same gruesome purpose.

  “Thank you, Gina, you’ve helped us a lot.”

  Out in the hallway, Jordan noticed that Torres looked pale in the light of the halogen lamps. She didn’t blame her.

  “Are you okay?”

  Nina shook her head. “Hell, no. We have to look for another place, and we still have no idea where Isabel is—or this Ray person. You know what, I could really use a drink.”

  “No kidding. You want to go after we wrap things up here…and regroup?”

  “I’d love to. This is the most welcoming department I’ve ever worked with.”

  “Really? I’m sorry for the other experiences then.” She wondered if Bethany had ever mentioned their previous relationship. “Let me just find out what Ellie is up to.”

  Before she could do that, her cell phone vibrated in her hand, announcing the arrival of a lengthy text message from Kathryn. Jordan decided that she wasn’t going to deal with it today, and made her call.

  Ellie sounded tired. “I didn’t think you’d want to go out tonight. I’m kind of tired, and you must be too. Besides, you have yet to reassure me that you’re okay like you promised.”

  Okay might be relative after everything she’d just heard, but Jordan reminded herself that Ellie was having a number of tough days as well.

  “Just one drink,” she said. “You didn’t have dinner, did you?”

  “No. I guess I can do one drink. I’ll see you later. Night Shift?”

  “Sounds good. Thank you. How did it go with IA?”

  “Okay, I guess. They asked a few questions about the incident and Waters’ general conduct, and I told them what I could.”

  “All right. I love you.” She changed gears quickly when the phone started vibrating again seconds after she’d ended the call. “For Christ’s sake, why?”

  “I’m not sure if I should ask,” Nina commented.

  “Neither am I, but dinner is a go. Ellie will join us once she’s done. I guess we’ll get back to it tomorrow. The lab’s bound to have something for us from the house.”

  “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  * * * *

  “How long have you been on this case?” Jordan asked after they’d sat down at the bar. She was quite certain that Torres’ involvement was no coincidence. She didn’t just randomly make the connection after the murders—she had likely been on Dinkins’ and Oswald’s trail for a while. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to pull one of their cohorts out of the proverbial hat so quickly. That, and Jordan could see she was tired. Exhaustion from a case that wouldn’t end—she could understand. She’d had one of those, and it had come with high costs.

  “Too long. Too many women missing, turning up dead, or not at all…today was a good day, believe me. I’m not going to shed any tears over the guy I shot.”

  “I get that.” Ellie was nowhere to be seen yet, and she hadn’t texted or called again. Jordan was sipping her beer slowly, while Nina downed a shot.

  “Frankly, a shot to the head is a pretty easy way out for the other guys too.” She signaled the bartender for another shot. “I know it’s your job to know who did it, but unless they are in the same business, I don’t care.”

  Jordan wondered if asking her to slow down a bit would sound patronizing. She could understand the impulse to drink the images and implications away for a few hours. From experience, she knew they’d still be there the next morning, but then again, that was probably nothing new for Nina.

  “They were too damn clever, getting away each time,” she said. “Not this time, though.”

  There was something in her tone that startled Jordan. She wasn’t sure if there was an actual hint in that, or if the narrative had simply triggered something in her own memory. There were monsters out there. It could feel cathartic to wish them dead. They didn’t go there unless they absolutely had to, right?

  “But that’s enough about me. You and your partner have an amazing track record. You recently got married. What else? Is now a good moment to ask about the text message?”

  Now, Jordan wanted a shot too. She shrugged. “Not really work related. My biological mother. It’s a long story.”

  “They’re all long stories, aren’t they? Since you’re making that distinction, I assume you haven’t always been on speaking terms.”

  Still no Ellie. Where was she? Jordan took another sip of her beer. Right now, she wished she had gone with Ellie’s suggestion to go home. She understood Nina was trying to get away from the horrors of the day. She was questioning her methods.

  “It’s been better than it was. I should really check on Ellie.”

  “Yeah, you do that.”

  Jordan couldn’t help thinking that she was getting a lot of clues tonight—she wasn’t yet sure about the picture.

  * * * *

  I’m just leavi
ng, Ellie texted as she walked towards her car. I’ll be there in ten.

  For a brief moment, she thought about calling Sam, but decided against it. The case Jordan and Agent Torres were working on might not be something she felt like talking about tonight—and Ellie assumed that after today’s incident, the evening wouldn’t completely pass without shop talk.

  She didn’t have the chance to present her notes to the lieutenant yet, so perhaps she could run them past Jordan, and if she was interested, Torres as well. Maybe everything Brandi Gilbert had endured wouldn’t be for nothing after all.

  “Hey, Harding. You’re going home already? Don’t have work to do?”

  “Give it a rest,” she muttered, unlocking the car door. She jumped when Atwood slammed it shut, crowding her against the side of the car.

  “You think you’re so clever, right? You remember what Cliff said. He might be out, but a few of us are still here. And we don’t like drama queens and liars.”

  “I don’t like you,” she snapped. “Now get lost or I’ll kick you in the balls. I’m not joking.”

  Apparently, Atwood believed that she could, because he backed up a step.

  “Don’t you ever forget that you need us when you’re out there by yourself,” he warned. “Bitch.”

  “Yeah, right. Amazing vocabulary you have there.”

  When he was gone, Ellie opened the door, sat inside and started the car, then killed the engine when she realized her hands were shaking. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of having an accident on top of it all. This was only confirmation—they had indulged the likes of him and Waters too long. No more. Tomorrow she’d talk to Carroll, and he would certainly have a word with Sergeant Bristol.

  When she felt a bit less jittery, Ellie pulled out of the parking lot. Maria was right—she wouldn’t let anyone mess with her, especially when they threatened someone she loved.

  * * * *

  Nina had excused herself and gone to the bathroom when Ellie finally arrived.

  “Hey. What took you so long? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. What’s wrong? I’m okay, I swear.”

  “We still have so much to do with that stupid dinner party,” Ellie said, her eyes welling up.

  “If it’s too much, we don’t have to—what happened?”

  Taking a deep breath, Ellie eyed the assortment of shot glasses on the counter. “I’ll tell you, but you go first. What did I miss?”

  “I just had one beer. So?”

  Ellie sat on a barstool. “I’m sorry for being so dramatic. Atwood isn’t happy I told the truth about Waters, and...With everything else, it slipped my mind, but back in the break room, Waters told me to be careful, if we needed backup at some point in the future. I thought he was just talking. Now I’m not so sure anymore.”

  “I’m so sorry. We’ll take it to the lieutenant tomorrow, first thing in the morning.”

  Jordan felt silly for telling her, just the other day, that everything would be fine. In her defense, she’d been missing an important part of the puzzle, but she couldn’t blame Ellie either. Too much had happened in the past few days, and yes, there was still the dinner party—and it mattered, sharing this important development in Ellie’s life with their friends and family.

  “Yeah. I guess we have no choice.”

  * * * *

  After another fairly sleepless night, the next couple of days passed without any further incident. Both Lieutenant Carroll and Sergeant Bristol confirmed that they wouldn’t take threats from one cop to another lightly.

  Finally, Ellie got her chance to talk to Carroll about her findings as well. He agreed that there needed to be more personnel on this, and he called Derek, Jordan and Agent Torres into the meeting as well.

  The more people this involved, the more nervous she got, especially at this moment. She was still fairly new to this particular unit. Of course, Waters was the only one to blame for his premature exit, but he had been her partner, and there would likely be new scrutiny, especially after she’d brought new complaints. In all of it, she still hadn’t managed to talk to Jordan about having involved Darla.

  However, when Carroll gave the word to her, Ellie knew exactly what she wanted to say.

  “My source tells me that this Hank has been around for a while, elusive, running things mostly from out of town. But he pays attention when there are a lot of wealthy people coming to town. He goes beyond the traditional escort services, focusing on high profile clients with violent tastes. There are still unanswered questions about the Brandi Gilbert case.”

  “The pre-season game could be big business for this guy, then,” Jordan surmised, and Torres nodded.

  “Since we have found no connection at all between him, and Dinkins and Oswald, it might not be too much of a stretch to think they stepped on his toes,” she added. “If their boss thinks he could benefit from a turf war, there might be more bodies.”

  “That’s what we’re all trying to avoid,” Carroll said.

  “I could go and talk to Gilbert once more,” Ellie offered. “We could also put out the word that someone’s looking for entertainment for an after-game party.”

  “If that’s going to be me, I could also get in touch with a CI of mine.” Derek leaned back in his seat. “He might have heard some chatter.”

  Part of her was still astonished at the way this was going—but most of all, Ellie was relieved that she could come back to work and find that she was still part of the family, that whatever Waters and Atwood came up with, were nothing but lies. That same family would come through for Samantha Potts.

  Chapter Nine

  In the light of day, Jordan wondered if she had misunderstood Nina’s words. She had shared her impressions with Ellie who reminded her to trust her instincts—and then it was finally the weekend, and they could plan the party over breakfast in bed. The list kept growing.

  “This almost looks like a carbon copy of the wedding. Do we need a cake, too?” Jordan joked.

  “Hm.” Ellie gave the list a thoughtful look. “A cake would be good. I don’t know.” She shook her head. “We’ve been so busy, whenever I have a moment to think about this, it still feels completely unreal. I mean, I like her, but she’s still a stranger. I don’t even know what it’s supposed to feel like. I know I don’t want to scare her away.”

  “You won’t, I promise. You’re the kindest person I know. Why would that scare her away?”

  “You make it sound so easy.” Ellie sounded wistful.

  “She seems…uncomplicated. You two will be fine. Are we okay with the list now?”

  “Why, you have any plans?”

  “Yes,” Jordan said, taking the coffee cup out of her hands, leaning in to kiss her. Ellie willingly surrendered the list for the moment.

  “I like where this is going,” she said.

  * * * *

  Natalie called on Sunday evening. Ellie had been sitting on the couch, some music playing in the background while Jordan was in the shower. The weekend had done wonders to help clear her thoughts, regarding the job, and other things. They had talked about the connection between their cases, but then simply taken time for themselves.

  Together. She still marveled at the fact that they had been able to leave all those reservations and bad decisions in earlier relationships behind, and move forward to this point. Live together, get married. Sometimes, she couldn’t help thinking what it would have been like, had Ariel come to live with them. Ellie felt a bit melancholic, but not as deeply sad as she had in the beginning. Ariel was happy, and had the support of a loving family. That was all they’d ever wanted for her, and they were still able to keep in touch.

  Her phone rang from somewhere in the depth of her purse, and she got up to get it.

  “Hey, Natalie, how are you?”

  “I’m good, thank you. Um…do you have a minute?”

  “Yes, of course. I’m glad you called. About that party, would next Saturday be okay with you?”

  “Sure, that wi
ll be fine. Ellie…” She sounded serious. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Is everything all right with you?” Please, no bad news. I just found her.

  “Yes, I’m good. Look, I really had a hard time trying to decide whether I should tell you. You were right, we don’t know each other all that much, but…I think you deserve to know. I went out for a drink yesterday.” She paused.

  Ellie wasn’t sure whether she should be concerned or irritated.

  “Natalie, what’s wrong?”

  “I saw Jordan. With another woman. I’m so, so sorry, but I had to tell you.”

  “When was that?” Ellie asked, then shook her head at herself. That was not what she’d meant to ask.

  “A few days ago, at a bar…They looked pretty close.”

  “This is a misunderstanding. If you had waited a little longer, you would have seen that I was there too. The woman you saw is an FBI agent.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Irritation was starting to gain over concern. “Natalie, please, you have to trust me a little. Listen. Jordan would never do that. They were working on a case, having a drink afterwards. It happens sometimes.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure it does. I’m so relieved! I’m sorry I worried you for nothing. Am I still invited?”

  “Yes, of course. You’re the guest of honor. And there’s nothing to worry about, but thanks for looking out for me.”

  “Always. You’re the only little sister I have.”

  “Like I said, thank you, and believe me: This is not an issue.”

  “I get it,” Natalie said ruefully. “I really messed up this big sister thing, didn’t I? I promise I’ll do better. I know that you’re in love, and just got married, but sometimes—”

  “Please, forget about it. It’s fine.”

  “Thank you. I can’t wait to meet all your friends.”

  “We’ll see you Saturday then. At six.”

  Ending the call, Ellie wondered if everyone around her had lost their mind. Fortunately, Jordan returned from the bathroom that moment, and Ellie had to get up and pull her close for a deep kiss.

  “You missed me?”

  “Oh yes.”