Impressions

by Barbara Winkes

  “Who called?”

  “Natalie. I told her about the party.”

  “And?”

  “Nothing. She’s still fine with it, so I guess it’s a go.” It wasn’t a perfect decision, but Ellie didn’t want to have a conversation that might bring up painful mistakes for Jordan. She wasn’t that insecure. It bothered her that Natalie would jump to conclusions like that, and she hoped she had been firm enough in rejecting them. Maybe their surprise reunion had been a little too smooth, and they both had to realize that they’d have to learn a lot more about each other.

  Ellie’s resolve lasted until the next morning, when she confessed to Jordan over the first sip of coffee.

  “I’m sorry. I know you probably didn’t want to hear this, but I can’t keep secrets from you. I don’t want to.”

  Jordan seemed a bit puzzled, though fortunately not offended.

  “I understand. It’s okay, but…why didn’t she come over? I would have introduced Torres, and you were on your way.”

  “That’s what I told her. I don’t know. Maybe we’re both trying a little too hard. We might be related, but we’re still strangers.”

  “I know how that feels.” Jordan sighed. “That reminds me, Kathryn sent some texts again. She wants to know if we had a nice honeymoon. Regarding Natalie, that’s even more extreme—you two have never met. I understand overcompensating.”

  “I so understand that. You’re not mad at me?”

  “Why would I be? You know I’m not going to hook up with Torres, right?”

  “Of course I know that.”

  “Let’s forget about it,” Jordan suggested. “If she’ll be around, and it looks that way, you’ll figure out how to communicate.”

  “Like you did with Kathryn.”

  “Sort of. But you’ll be okay. You’re starting off with a clean slate.”

  “True. I’m glad I told you.”

  “Me too.”

  * * * *

  “Glad” was a relative term. Jordan was fairly proud of herself for not letting her own emotions get in the way, and focus on what this news meant for Ellie. Fortunately, they were in a good place that allowed them to brush off Natalie’s misperception.

  When she had cheated on Bethany, it was because she’d wanted out, and had been unable to achieve that goal in a mature and adult fashion. She and Bethany had never been in that good, secure place where the other person felt one hundred percent safe. And it didn’t matter anymore, because whatever Natalie thought she might have seen, she got it wrong.

  Her rush to judgment was startling, but most likely she wanted to be a loyal and reliable presence in Ellie’s life. But why those charges specifically, and why had she come to the Night Shift? Coincidence?

  “You answered your mother?” Nina Torres asked as she put a coffee in front of Jordan. Startled out of her musings, she realized that her phone was buzzing again. This time, it was Pauline telling her that she and Jack would be at the party.

  “Why is everybody so interested in my private life?”

  She hadn’t quite meant to say it out loud, but Nina’s amused smile told her she had.

  “It’s nothing personal. We are interested in other people’s personal lives, because we all want to live vicariously, or remind ourselves that it could always be worse. Sorry, that sounded better in my head.” She took a sip of her own coffee. “We’re all set for your guy to go in?”

  They’d had another meeting earlier, including a couple of Vice detectives. One of them had heard the name Hank mentioned once, but no one had ever seen him.

  Derek was preparing to make contact with someone from the list Darla had provided for Ellie, names further down on the ladder. He would pose as an associate of a wealthy businessman who was in town to discuss sponsoring, but also wanted a private party for after the game.

  “Soon,” Jordan answered her. This was all going fast. They didn’t have any additional clues regarding the gun that had disappeared from an evidence locker in another precinct. Nina had asked around as promised, not turning up much. The gun had originally been filed in the case of a shootout in a parking lot, handled by a couple of detectives by the names of Shriver and Cortez According to the paperwork it had never been touched again.

  If the theory of a turf war was still valid, had one of their own decided to put their finger on the scale? A few weeks ago, she would have sworn it wasn’t possible, but one of her colleagues was suspended, because he had assaulted another officer, and Chris Atwood had faced a reprimand.

  “What about the officer who reported the assault? How is she doing?”

  Torres had mostly refrained from even mentioning Potts, but she seemed concerned.

  “She’s okay, considering. She’ll come back to work next week.”

  “That’s good. You need some sort of normalcy.”

  “Yeah. What about you?”

  “Me, why? I’m fine. You were there. The bastard locked a woman into his basement, and he shot at us. I haven’t been losing any sleep, and neither has my supervisor.”

  “Good.”

  One reason why a gun from an evidence locker might show up at the murder scene of a couple of human traffickers—someone had enough.

  The problem was, in neither scenario they could just let it go. An execution was different from the situation she’d witnessed, Nina killing the man in justified self-defense.

  She pushed the thought aside when she saw Ellie walking in, heading straight for Jordan’s desk.

  “You’re both here, good,” she said. “Do you have a moment?”

  For a split-second, Jordan was reminded of Natalie’s near accusations, and she wondered if Ellie would be bothered by her drinking coffee with Nina Torres. That was ridiculous though. She wanted Ellie to be happy and have the best possible relationship with her sister. That didn’t mean they couldn’t point out when she was wrong.

  “Sure, what do you have?” Nina asked.

  “I’ve been going over Gina’s statement, and she mentioned a Ray.”

  “Yeah, the go-between for Dinkins,” Jordan remembered. “Why?”

  “The main witness in the Robertson case, who saw Brandi Gilbert standing over his boss’s body with the gun? His name is Raymond Owens. Now, that could be a coincidence, but I’m not so sure. I ran a check on him a while ago. The only thing I found was an assault charge that was dropped, seven years ago. What was strange, though, the first thing Brandi Gilbert said to me was ‘have you arrested him yet?’”

  “We need a little bit more than that,” Nina said. “It’s interesting, though. Gina never saw Ray, but perhaps you could try with Gilbert again. In the meantime, we see what happens if we drop his name with the folks Darla Pierson gave us. Thanks, Harding.”

  “You’re welcome. So…I’ll try to go see her as soon as possible. Brandi Gilbert, I mean.”

  “Yes, you do that.”

  Ellie was barely hiding her excitement. Watching her leave, Jordan allowed herself a moment of pride and affection for her. She had always known Ellie would find a place and make a name for herself in this unit. Knowing Ellie wanted her as much as she wanted this career, was still a miracle to her.

  Chapter Ten

  Ellie barely suppressed a flinch when she stepped into the room with Brandi Gilbert. She could already see how the time in jail had hardened her, or perhaps it was something that had been there before, something that had allowed her to survive so far. She wished she could turn back time for her, to a moment where she could reverse course.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “What do you think?” Gilbert shook her head. “I didn’t think you’d come back here. Isn’t your case closed?”

  “I was hoping we could talk.”

  “Whatever. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I know Mr. McKenzie talked to you about the possibility that you could be transferred to another facility.”

  “Not going to happen. I’m not insane enough.”

  “Why
do you say that?”

  “Look, lady, you’re wasting your time, and mine. I have nothing more to say to you, or Mr. McKenzie.”

  “We are both trying to help you—and the other women. Hank, Robertson, Owens—we know they all did terrible things.”

  “Do you? Yet here I am, in prison. Which is probably for the best. At least I always know where the next meal is coming from, and if I keep my head down, they leave me alone.”

  This time, Ellie did flinch. She wasn’t ready to give up.

  “We found a missing girl. She was kidnapped, locked in a basement. We think Owens might have been aware.”

  “Aware.” Brandi laughed bitterly. “I don’t know what you want from me. I’m not getting out, and like I said, it’s not the worst thing. I talk too much, one of his girls in here might get wind of it. It’s not that hard to smuggle a knife in.”

  “I need your help, Brandi. We can stop them. All of them, but I can’t do it without you.”

  “I told McKenzie already there is nothing to tell. Don’t you talk to each other?”

  “Please. There are other girls out there right now. I am so sorry that we couldn’t help you before. You’re not insane, but you deserve to get help. More than you can in here.”

  When Brandi looked up at her again, there were tears in her eyes.

  “You know, sometimes I wish I was. But it’s all clear. It’s what these bastards do, lock us up, in the dark, sometimes without food and water, and then there’s…the other stuff.”

  Having read Gina’s statement, Ellie knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “The girl that you found, is she going to make it?”

  That could mean many things. “I believe so,” Ellie said, hoping she could provide at least the tiniest bit of comfort with her answer.

  Brandi shook her head, tears still running down her face.

  “I don’t think you can protect me. They said that no one can, but what does it change at this point? Owens is tight with Hank, has been before he got the gig with Robertson. He always booked the girls when Robertson wanted to party…and some of his friends as well.”

  “Did you ever meet with Hank in person? You know where he is?”

  “He has his people to run things, but when it’s the important clients, he may get involved.”

  “Okay. Did you ever hear that he clashed with other…” Ellie wasn’t quite sure how to word it.

  “Pimps? Oh, sure, all the time. But those were on a smaller scale. He wants it all, run the streets and the parties in those expensive hotel rooms.”

  Ellie mulled this over for a moment. The pieces were coming together. This didn’t sound like a guy who would easily accept someone else encroaching on their territory.

  “This is very helpful, thank you, Brandi. Look, you don’t have to answer this, but there’s something I keep wondering about. Why Mr. Robertson?”

  There was a long pause in which Ellie thought she’d lost her again, then Brandi said, “Because Owens made me. It was about money, I don’t know all of it. He said prison was the best someone like me could hope for, and that if I ever told anyone, Hank would send me off to someplace worse than anything they’d done before.” She laughed bitterly. “There are some things worse than dying.”

  “You’re not going to die,” Ellie said firmly. “I’ll have to talk to a few people. We’ll make sure that you’re safe in here. Let me make some calls.”

  She left the prison and took out her cell phone the moment she sat in her car. McKenzie was quite enthusiastic when Ellie asked him to meet.

  “Thanks, Detective. I really appreciate your initiative.”

  Fairly emboldened, she called the A.D.A. next. Valerie Esposito’s reaction was a bit more sobering.

  “I could meet you in an hour, but don’t expect too much,” she warned. “Gilbert has changed her story a few times now. She shot him, she can’t remember, now this Owens guy made her do it. That’s not going to look good.”

  “Honestly, at the moment, I don’t care what it looks like. Raymond Owens likely knew about Gina, and he might know where Isabel Combs is. He is the link between those cases.”

  “And for that, you have the slightly vague statement of a woman who was held in a dark cellar, drugged, probably tortured, and she might have overheard talk about a guy named Ray. I’m sorry, Ellie, that’s still thin.”

  “I know, but Brandi Gilbert is afraid. That has never changed, and we need to protect her.”

  Valerie sighed. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ll meet you and McKenzie in an hour.”

  “Oh, while we’re at it, I’d like a search warrant for Owens’ apartment.”

  “Would you now? I’d like an all inclusive vacation at a luxury resort in the Bahamas, and a date with Halle Berry, but it’s not very likely at the moment.”

  Ellie waited.

  After a heavy sigh, Esposito added, “I’ll look into it.”

  “Thank you. We’re going to ask him to come in, talk, see if he’s open to giving up this Hank guy.”

  “Good luck,” Valerie said.

  “Thanks. I can use it.”

  “No kidding.”

  * * * *

  Owens sat in the precinct’s waiting area, getting to his feet when he saw Ellie. He didn’t look too happy.

  “Mr. Owens, thank you for coming in,” she greeted him. “There are a few things to clarify. Come with me please.”

  He followed her, but kept arguing all the way to the interrogation room.

  “What’s to clarify? The bitch is behind bars, where she belongs. What else is there?”

  “Like I said. A few things.” Ellie opened the door, and he walked past her into the room, slumping into a chair. After closing the door again, she sat across from him and opened the folder on the table, showing him a photograph from the house where Nina and Jordan had found Gina.

  “Let’s forget about Ms. Gilbert for a moment. Do you know where this is?”

  “No. Should I? You asked me here for that? Lady, I have a job to do.”

  “What kind of job is that? Providing entertainment for your clients? Look, we know you’re the one who corresponded with the owner of the escort service, not Mr. Robertson. We also know you did the same for a handful of other clients of yours. That in itself isn’t looking so good, but we’re more interested in Hank.”

  There was a minute reaction in his expression, before he went back to the same condescending smile.

  “I have friends who know girls who like to party. What are you going to do about it?”

  “I’m only interested in those who are underage…and those who are forced to be there. Like Brandi Gilbert, Isabel Combs, Gina…We hear you had some problems with Mr. Robertson over money…he ends up dead. We now have a version that’s quite different from the one you gave us. Brandi tells us you forced her to kill him. Another guy mentions your name in connection with the escort business, and he winds up dead, too, along with his partner. If you don’t start talking soon, you might end up the fall guy in all of this. Frankly, Mr. Owens, I don’t care. It’s up to you.”

  “You have the words of a bunch of whores,” he spat. “That’s not going to do anything.”

  Ellie slowly got to her feet. First, she needed to make a bit of distance from this toxic individual. Second, her blazer falling open slightly revealed her badge and gun. She wanted to remind him that while he might not think much of her, she was the one with the power at this moment.

  “Oh, we have more than that. The man in that house? He isn’t dead, and he’s pointing fingers.” A bit of a bluff might help as well. Owens couldn’t know that she wasn’t telling the truth. “Gina was trying to get out, so Dinkins lost interest, and he brought her to his friend’s house. Next stage…”

  “All right, Red. I want to call my lawyer.”

  “It’s Detective Harding. As you wish.”

  That would give her enough time to clear things with McKenzie and Esposito. So far, so good.

  Ellie
got up and left the room while Owens was waiting for his attorney.

  * * * *

  She found Jordan in the break room, where they could catch their breath before Esposito and McKenzie would arrive. Ellie realized she had avoided the room ever since she’d walked in on Waters and Sam, for no rational reason. She remembered many intense, and sometimes difficult conversations in this room, but it had always felt safe. If she had this reaction, what would it be like for Sam?

  The truth was she knew exactly what it was like. Ellie had overcome her visceral reaction to dark places, but she remembered the first days and weeks after her abduction well. Jordan, of course, knew all about those dark places.

  “I think it’s going okay so far, right?” She knew that Jordan had been watching the interrogation. That still made her a bit nervous, because she could remember a time when she’d tried so hard to get noticed, professionally and otherwise. The woman she’d wanted so much had become her wife, but she was also a more experienced detective taking notice of Ellie’s performance.

  “Yeah, you’re doing great.” Jordan gave her a warm smile over her coffee, reassuring her. “Damn, there’s not enough caffeine in the world to see this through…but if all goes well, maybe we can wrap this up before the dinner party.”

  Ellie wasn’t sure whether she believed they could be so lucky, or if she was just trying to encourage her.

  “There will always be lose ends with cases like this,” she said.

  “Unfortunately, yes. It’s a billion dollar industry. Too many assholes who want their share.”

  “Well, a few of them won’t get it now.”

  “True.” Jordan seemed pensive.

  “I know it’s not our call, but aren’t you kind of glad? I mean…I just think of Brandi, Gina, and everything they did to them.”

  “I’m not feeling sorry for any of those guys, that’s for sure. We still don’t know why Dinkins and Oswald were shot with a gun that came from evidence. That part worries me.”

  “Someone took the law into their own hands?”

  “I don’t know, but when we walked up the stairs to that house, he had his hands up. He was reaching for something, but that wasn’t a gun. We found a couple of handguns and a rifle inside, three shots fired from inside.”