Impressions

by Barbara Winkes

  “I’m sorry. My mother, she wasn’t like that. She just…” Was too high and drunk most of the time to realize what was going on around her? She and her husband had barely noticed when a grown man gave their twelve-year-old daughter drugs. “I guess it could have been worse.”

  “There’s always worse, but it’s not a competition. Something tells me that there’s no need to defend her.”

  “Something or someone?”

  Nina shook her head. “Bethany told me that you two were in a relationship once. That’s all. I didn’t ask for details, and the rest was only about the case. I swear.”

  “How did you get out?”

  “Not every single person in the world sucks, that’s how. I was lucky to have some good people support me.”

  “Did you ever see your foster parents after that?”

  “I didn’t have to. They were killed in a shooting…police suspected a drug deal gone bad, and given my memory of them, I don’t have any reason to doubt that.”

  Jordan had the sudden impulse to go see Jack and Pauline, and hug them tightly. Given the time of night, she resisted—and besides, this wasn’t the only uncomfortable conversation waiting for her.

  “If at some point, you get Hank to spill who killed Oswald and Dinkins, let me know,” she said. “Just so I can close that file.”

  “Sure. I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem. But after getting all of those confessions out of me, I think you owe me, Detective. Let’s have those shots.”

  Jordan wasn’t going to dispute the suggestion.

  * * * *

  When Ellie returned to their table, Jordan took her aside, deciding she could no longer wait.

  “Okay, what’s the plan?” Ellie asked, amused and unaware. She leaned in for a kiss. “If you were looking for privacy, how about we go home?”

  “Ellie. Hold on a second.”

  “That sounds serious.”

  “I’m afraid it is. It’s about Natalie.”

  Ellie’s eyes widened. “Is she okay? What happened?”

  “She’s fine,” Jordan hastened to assure her, chastising herself. The last time someone had to break bad news regarding family to Ellie, it had been about her parents. “Remember, earlier, when I was getting coffee?”

  “Which took you forever.”

  “Yeah. That’s because I followed her.”

  “Jordan. Come on. I thought we were past this.” Ellie turned away, clearly frustrated with the turn of events. “I know she got some things wrong, but she apologized. Multiple times.”

  “That’s not what this is about. She went to another apartment, not the one with the water damage. She has the keys. I don’t mind her living with us, but she said it’s because of the renovations. What is that other place for?”

  “I have no idea. It could be harmless.”

  “Sure. I hope it is.”

  Ellie turned to her with a resigned expression, her shoulders slightly slumped.

  “There’s more, isn’t there?”

  “I don’t know yet. There’s another name on the door, and I asked April to look into it.”

  “Fraud? We have the background check. Nothing came up.”

  “Because we didn’t have that other name.”

  “She had a picture. That was real!” Ellie was beginning to understand what this could mean. Her desperate tone broke Jordan’s heart.

  “I’m so sorry. April hasn’t gotten back to me yet…So I guess we have to wait.” Jordan drew her into an embrace, but Ellie stepped back from it.

  “No, we don’t have to. Let’s go home and clear this up right now. I’m sure she’ll have an explanation.”

  “Ellie, please, why don’t we—”

  “I’m not mad at you. I swear. I probably would have done the same thing, and…I need to know. Right now.”

  “Okay then. Let’s get a cab.”

  It was the second time in as many conversations that Jordan felt her own family situation was relative to the challenges of others. But this was different. This was about Ellie. If Natalie had set out to hurt her, there would be hell to pay.

  * * * *

  In the past few weeks, Natalie had become a reliable presence. Of course, they hadn’t grown up together, so the process was a different one. Ellie appreciated talking to her, about their jobs, their parents, the dreams they’d had and the ones they still harbored for the future.

  A second apartment—what could that mean? Maybe nothing. Jordan’s friend hadn’t turned up anything. It would all be fine. They’d talk about it and leave it behind them. It made so much sense that Jordan’s experiences had made her extremely cautious about a family member turning up out of the blue. Regarding Kathryn, she had been right to be cautious. This was different, wasn’t it?

  Come to think of it, Natalie had asked a lot of questions, more than she’d answered. Modesty—or did she have something to hide?

  “You know I want to be wrong.”

  Jordan hadn’t said much else during the cab ride.

  Ellie believed her. “Yes, I know.” She looked down at their joined hands. “Perhaps we are just paranoid. We got somewhat of a reason to be paranoid, right?”

  “Yeah. Now let’s go wake your sister and totally annoy her.”

  Neither of them much felt the humor in that statement, but Ellie was determined to cling to hope until proven otherwise. Inside the house, she walked right up to the guest room.

  “Natalie?”

  “Ellie!” Jordan called from the living room downstairs. “Come here for a moment.”

  She childishly wished she could simply stay where she was, and avoid seeing what Jordan wanted to show her. That impulse only lasted a few seconds. Ellie couldn’t have made it to where she was by running from the truth. Maybe Natalie wasn’t a perfect person, but she was still her sister. They’d figure something out. Maybe she needed help.

  Ellie walked into the living room, instantly reminded of the text message she’d gotten earlier. On the table sat an open bottle of wine and a half-filled glass. An envelope with her name on it was leaning against the bottle, and the TV was on. It was just the scene Natalie had described—save for the envelope.

  “Why do I have the feeling I should put on gloves for that?” she wondered out loud. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to let disappointment crush her. Not on a day like this when she’d been once more reminded that so many people—so many women—had it much worse. Her concerns paled in comparison.

  Ellie finally reached out to open the envelope. Inside was a typed letter, and Ellie’s debit card.

  I hate goodbyes, so let me tell you this way. I really enjoyed my time with you. You two are adorable. From there, it went downhill quickly. Thanks for being a real challenge—I knew that at least one of you would insist on a background check early on. Hey, you tried, but I’ve been doing this for a while. Ellie, I’m sorry I had to borrow a few things from you. Anyone would be happy to have you as a sister. I almost wish it was true. Have a great life, and don’t waste your time trying to find me. Everyone has failed. N.

  Ellie looked up from the paper, too stunned to react at all, as if someone had knocked the wind out of her. Once she started to breathe again, the pain would hit her.

  “Ellie. Sit for a second.”

  “No. There’s no time. Where did you say that apartment was?” Ellie rushed to take her coat and purse from the coat rack. “Send a unit,” she said. “I don’t think it’s likely, but maybe we can still catch her. We need a BOLO—you remember the license plate number? I want to go to the apartment myself, the one where you saw it and the one with the water damage.”

  “Is there anything else I can do?” Jordan asked softly.

  “Not right now.” Ellie still couldn’t allow the hug. She knew that if she did, she might start crying, and she couldn’t give in to her emotions right now. There was no doubt Natalie had done this to others. They had to catch her. “I need to be a cop right now, be
fore anything else. And I need you to do the same.”

  “Of course. I’m sorry.”

  “I know. Let’s make sure she doesn’t get away with this.”

  * * * *

  Ellie was holding up. Jordan suspected that it was the number of practical things to do that saved her at the moment. She felt irrationally guilty for bringing up the subject in the first place—but the facts didn’t change. That way, Ellie had at least a small heads-up, though it was still an incredible blow.

  Finally, there was a text message from April who apologized for not getting back to Jordan earlier.

  I found something. Call me. Jordan called her right back.

  “Hey, I’m sorry,” April said. “I was swamped here. I’m looking at these records now, and Douglas is an elderly gentleman who died a couple months ago. There’s no record of a new tenant.”

  “She’s gone. We’re on our way to the apartment now.”

  “Damn it!”

  “It’s not your fault. Everyone was swamped yesterday.”

  “Yeah, but now it’s my business. I’ll let you know if I find anything else. You do the same?”

  “Sure.” Jordan ended the call, looking over at Ellie who had been silent from the moment they got into the car. She was focused on the road. Jordan barely stopped herself from saying she was sorry, again. “We’ll find her.”

  “Yeah.”

  They both knew it wouldn’t be much of a consolation for Ellie.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The apartment was empty, like no one had lived there for some time. The only reminder of who had had the keys recently was an article cut out from a newspaper: Local Hero, written by a reporter named Allen. Ellie had saved a woman from a burning vehicle that day.

  Natalie might have forgotten the article. More likely, she had strategically placed it on the floor, so they’d find it the moment they came in. The more time passed, the clearer Ellie could see what had happened, and how she’d let herself be tricked. Natalie had invaded every aspect of her life. She had tried to turn her against Jordan.

  “Oh God. I gave a speech to all our friends and introduced her as my sister.” She felt sick at the memory, their friends’ innocent reactions to her happiness. How could anyone have known? Natalie was a pro. But Madeline had been suspicious.

  “None of this was your fault,” Jordan said firmly.

  “I used that debit card once in her presence, when we met at the restaurant. She must have gotten the pin number then, and stolen it from my purse later. How did she even do that?”

  “We’ll figure it out once we find her. There must be people in this building that interacted with her. Let’s find out.” Determined, she walked over to the door on the other side of the hallway and knocked, regardless of the fact that it was past midnight.

  “Police! Open the door!” It took another round of knocking before the door was opened a small fraction, and a man in his late twenties, wearing only boxer shorts, peeked outside. His eyes widened when he saw Jordan’s badge.

  “Oh shit, you’re for real,” he said.

  “Can we talk?” Jordan asked, and he removed the chain.

  “Sure, just let me get a shirt.” He was back a moment later, studying her curiously. “Is something wrong? I was joking to Thalia about introducing me, but I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

  “Thalia.” Ellie suppressed a groan. Chances were this wasn’t Natalie’s real name either.

  “Your neighbor across the hall?”

  “Yes, she moved in a few months ago, I think. I saw her in the hallway sometimes. What did she do?”

  “Do you know where she is? Did she mention anything to you, her work, places she went?”

  He ran a hand through his hair.

  “No, I don’t think so. We…flirted a little. I have a thing for older women, you know.”

  Jordan didn’t roll her eyes at him, but Ellie was certain she wanted to.

  “If you can think of anything, please let us know,” she said, handing him a card. “It’s important that we find her.”

  * * * *

  Sometimes, Jordan had fantasized about the relationship she might have with Kathryn in the present. The attempt was usually marred by a memory. She was aware that Ellie’s situation differed greatly—nothing about Natalie had been real. Her efforts to connect, her affection, the family photos, everything was fake.

  It was stunning how Natalie had inserted herself into their lives, and they had let her, because…It seemed like such a miracle for Ellie to find her only living relative. Both of them had wanted it to be true. She assumed that exploiting her victim’s hopes was part of Natalie’s M.O. Ellie still hadn’t said much, but her posture revealed a sadness that was staggering. When they finally got home, Jordan wanted nothing but to hold her, shut out the world for a moment. To her relief, Ellie didn’t resist when they were in bed together.

  “If you want to talk…”

  “I’m sorry. I just want to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

  “Yeah.” Jordan kissed her softly, and tightened her embrace. It was all she could do at the moment. Tomorrow was another story.

  It was earlier than she would have liked when her phone rang. Jordan reluctantly reached for it, and answered. Ellie hadn’t stirred. “Carpenter.”

  “Jordan, you need to see this,” Derek said. “Remember Stone, the guy we arrested at the hotel? He made bail, but he’s not going to make it to trial.”

  Jordan pushed back the covers and reached for her jeans. “What happened?”

  “One shot to the head.”

  “Your timing sucks.”

  “Hey, don’t blame me. I didn’t shoot him…Though there was a moment…”

  “Yeah.” Jordan hadn’t forgotten anything about that hotel room and the woman shackled to the bed. “Where are you?”

  “On the scene.” Derek gave her the address. “If you could get here sometime in the near future…?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Leaving Ellie alone was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment, but perhaps she could get a little more rest before her own shift.

  “What’s going on?”

  “You can go back to sleep for a bit.”

  “Is this about Natalie?”

  “No. Apparently another one of the traffickers was shot, after he made bail. I’ll meet Derek at the scene.”

  “Okay,” Ellie mumbled, and pulled the covers back up to her chin.

  “Take it easy today. April and her colleagues are on the case now. They’re going to find her.”

  “Sure.”

  Jordan sat on the edge of the bed, leaned over and kissed her. “You’ll be okay. I’ll see you later. I love you.”

  * * * *

  When the alarm rang, Ellie got out of bed, went into the shower, got dressed, like every morning. In the past few days, they’d often woken to the scents of coffee and breakfast foods.

  Jordan had put coffee and water into the coffeemaker before she left, and while it was brewing, Ellie reflected on the past few days. It was a relief that she didn’t feel like crying much—perhaps the urge would vanish altogether.

  “How crazy are you, doing all that cooking,” she said out loud. What now? Another party, another speech, gather everybody and tell them it was all a hoax? What had been Natalie’s goal anyway, other than the about $2000 she had spent on various items in the past twenty-four hours? She had also taken a couple of dresses, a skirt and a couple of tops from Ellie’s side of the closet. Was she up to something more sinister? Or did she simply enjoy fooling people into believing her? Something didn’t add up—Ellie wasn’t too thrilled about the money. The way Natalie had made herself a part of the story, her story and that of her family, was even more disturbing to her. And she’d been alone in the house, likely opening more doors than that of the pantry. They kept important documents in a safe, sure, but even so, this was their home, their life on display for everyone.

  And Ellie had i
nvited her in.

  But the background check had come back clean. She, they, weren’t that naïve.

  Ellie poured herself a cup of coffee.

  There had hardly been a day when she felt less like going to work, and for a moment, she thought about calling Kate and starting the day with alcohol and avoiding everyone else.

  But she didn’t…because then she’d have to tell her friend the real reason.

  The world didn’t stop, and there were still people who had it worse than her, people who needed her. She wasn’t going to let them down.

  * * * *

  “You said something about timing,” Derek reminded her. “Long night?”

  He had only briefly joined them at the Night Shift the other night, but then left to meet Kate McCarthy, Jordan remembered. They would all find out anyway, so maybe it would be helpful if they knew in advance.

  “Natalie’s gone,” she said. “Wrote some crazy letter, withdrew the maximum amount with Ellie’s debit card, and raided her closet. It’s bizarre.”

  “You’re kidding me?”

  She gave him a long look. “You really think I’d make up something like that?”

  “No, of course not. Damn, that’s bad. How’s Ellie?”

  “Okay, considering. Actually…I’m not sure. We did everything we could, now our friends over in Fraud are taking care of this.”

  “Damn.”

  “You said that already.”

  “It bears repeating.”

  Jordan couldn’t argue with that. “So, what did I miss?”

  “I’m so glad you’re interested.” Dr. Adams looked up from where she was crouching next to the body. “Obviously, this looks familiar. Same precise execution.”

  “Someone wants us to know they’ve done this before, I assume,” Jordan said.

  “A self-appointed avenger, or someone whose job it is to get rid of witnesses,” Derek agreed. “Either way, we should check in with Esposito. A few of those guys will be tried here, and some of them know about Hank. We want them to be able to testify.”

  “I’ll do that,” she said, taking a look around the apartment. It looked like a carbon copy of the one where they had found Dinkins and Oswald. “How about I go right now? I’ll need to check something else as well.”