Jump The Line (Toein' The Line Book 1) (49 page)

Captain Meyers once again comes through with a stroke of brilliant team leadership.
 “
Le
t’
s take a brief break.  Everyone be back here in fifteen minutes
.
”

“
Wait a minute
,”
Wes says.
 “
We came to review evidence.  Taking a brea
k’
s only going to make this harder, and I doubt Megal
o’
s taking any breaks
.
” 

I shoot him a mental high five.

“
Alright
,”
the captain says.
 “
Carry on
.
”

“
We have more evidence
,”
DeeDee says.

I groan.  Sh
e’
s probably going to talk about the garbage bag with the shoulder in it. 

Go ahead
. 
Make an even bigger ass out of your jealous self.
 

All I want to do is dispense with the bureaucratic bullshit and go find answers to the questions she shoul
d’
ve already researched.  Now
I’
ll have to listen to her rant, worried Megal
o’
s out there stalking my Alaina. 

My Alaina?
  Did I just call her
my
Alaina?  I sigh, gaze into my empty coffee cup.  I have so little time.  Sh
e’
s due to be in her nine
o’
clock class shortly, but because of wha
t’
s happening,
I’
m sure sh
e’
ll not go.

I try imagining where she might be.  Her apartmen
t’
s a crime scene, and ribboned off, so sh
e’
s not there.  Sh
e’
s got no other place to go that I know of, and her brothe
r’
s being hunted for murder.  No doubt sh
e’
s looking for him. 

“
Break
,”
Captain Meyers repeates half an hour later.

This time, we do
n’
t argue.

Chapter 44

When Wes and I show up back at the coffee pot, DeeDe
e’
s kissing up to Agent Smith.  Poor guy.  I should warn him.

“
You wan
t‘
as
s
’”
—
some ic
e
—
“
for your Coke
?”
she asks the SAC.

“
No,
I’
m good, thanks
,”
he says, distancing himself politely from DeeDee, yet still managing to elicit a smile. 

Why ca
n’
t I be that smooth?  Instead of distancing myself from her, I invited her into my life.  I made the mistake of asking DeeDee to dinner to pick her brains for info about what she and Captain Meyers and Mayor Laws are up to. 

At this point, watching SAC Smith politely rebuff DeeDe
e’
s advances, I have to ask myself: who gives a damn? 

I do
n’
t. 

“
Le
t’
s go
,”
I say to Wes, enjoying DeeDe
e’
s scowl.
 “
W
e’
ve got a meeting to finish
.
” 

Wes and I leave them and rejoin the meeting.  Sheriff Cornwell took off, a good thing since Meyers was close to shooting him.  DeeDee arrives back at the meeting with SAC Smith, smiling and more eager to slam me.

“
If
y’
all do
n’
t mind,
I’
ll start us off
.
”
 
She glances at the SAC.
 “
I agree with Agent Smith.  Wha
t’
s important now is locking down evidence and linking it to a suspect.  Well
,”
she continues brightly
,“
We
have
a suspect.  We found Robin Colb
y’
s overnight bag in a Coca-Cola truck stolen by his sister from behind Oma
r’
s
.
”

Whoosh!  Up go my hackles.
 “
I think we need evidence other than an overnight bag to get a conviction
,”
I say
,“
especially now that w
e’
re talking serial murders
.
”

“
There was nothing but underwear and socks in that overnight bag,
Miz
Laws
.
”
 
Wes, the quintessential sexist, emphasizes her stated role as NP
D’
s feminist dick and future administrator.
 “
Ho
w’
s that evidence
?
”

“
I
t’
s not
,”
she answers truthfully.  In present company, any attempt to deceive would be met with ruthless resistance.  She knows it, exploits it.
 “
But that ba
g’
s bound to have Robin Colb
y’
s fingerprints on it, the same, possibly, as that garbage bag we found in their freezer. 
With
that gir
l’
s chewed-up shoulder
,”
she adds.

“
Proving nothing
,”
Wes says
,“
other than the fact he touched his own overnight bag
.
”

“
Proving he could have been in the Coke truck in which the bag was found, or from which it was taken
,”
DeeDee argues.
 “
And we have a witness who places him in that truck the night Angie Mille
r’
s body was dumped in the alley behind Oma
r’
s
.
”

“
Holy crap
!”
someone mutters.  I
t’
s Sheriff Cornwell, returning late from an extended bathroom break.  H
e’
s not keen on women, unless the
y’
re barefoot and pregnant, but DeeDe
e’
s old fashioned footwor
k’
s obviously impressed him.

“
I
t’
s a circumstantial connection to Angie Mille
r’
s murder
,”
I agree.  The same as Wes and Sheriff Cornwell, I grudgingly admit DeeDe
e’
s evidence, while circumstantial, will hold up in court.
 “
But nevertheless i
t’
s a decent one
.
”

“
Sure thing
,”
Sheriff Cornwell pipes.
 “
It could get Robin Colby a chemical cocktail in the hands of the right prosecutor and jury
.
”

H
e’
s right.  Alain
a’
s brother is in deep trouble, and Rookie Laws is going to make sure he stays that way.  I gaze at her.  Ass kicker.  Boot licker.  Bureaucrat, wh
o’
ll one day make a fine NPD captain.

“
How do you think Jane Do
e’
s shoulder got in that fridge
?”
DeeDee asks, challenging everyone, especially me, to explain.

We
s
’ dark eyes snap.
 “
It could easily have been planted.  I think we need more than a shoulder in the ice box o
f
”
—
he turns to m
e
—
“
wha
t’
s this Colby gir
l’
s name?  The suspec
t’
s sister
?
”

“
Alaina
,”
I say, wishing We
s’
d quit asking as if
I’
m the Alaina Colby expert.  If there was any doubt before about who the NPD detective hob-nobbing with Megalo Do
n’
s sister is, there is none now. 

Thanks, Wes.
I shoot him a dark gaze.  He smiles, continues chewing his toothpick. 

“
Detective Hawks is correct
,”
SAC Smith says, ignoring DeeDe
e’
s glare.
 “
We need to stay focused on linking the evidence, whatever we find, to the crime.  And then we need to link our suspec
t—
whether i
t’
s Robin Colby or someone els
e—
to the crime
.
”

“
Wha
t’
s going on with this Robin Colby
?”
Captain Meyers asks.
 “
Has anyone been able to round him up for questioning
?
”

“
Well, no, sir.  We ca
n’
t locate him
,”
DeeDee says, her pointed stare making me shrug.  I hope sh
e’
s getting my message: i
t’
s not my turn to watch him.

“
W
e’
ve put out a BOLO on him early this morning
,”
Wes says.
 “
Every law officer in Ohio and Kentucky is now on the lookout for him.  W
e’
ll add Indiana to our list
.
” 

DeeDee, furious, shoots Wes a chilly glare.
 “
Detective Gillam, why did
n’
t you tell me about the BOLO?  I will
not
be excluded from this investigation
.
”
 
She glances at me, then back at Wes, accusing.  Clearly, she believes Wes and I are colluding.  I
t’
s the farthest thing from my mind.
 “
Sorry, I had no idea the BOLO was issued
,”
I say.
 “I’
d have informed you
.
”

Wes cuts her no slack.
 “
Why would you need to know
?”
he says.
 “
I
t’
s a BOLO for Chris
t’
s sake, and yo
u’
ve not exactly been forthcoming with us, have you, Miz Laws
?
”

I’
m worried.  I could cut the tension between these two with a knife.  If they keep it up, our revie
w’
s going to deteriorate into open warfare.  Tha
t’
s not why w
e’
re here.

“
Why do
n’
t you sit down so we can move forward
?”
Wes says, and then turns to Mayor Laws, wh
o’
s been scowling at him for several minutes.
 “
Do
n’
t look so offended, M
a’
am
,”
he says
,“
sh
e’
s the one who leaked to the
Enquirer
, not Detective Hawks.  Sh
e’
s a rookie, I know, but tha
t’
s no damned excuse.  Tha
t’
s not how we operate here at NPD
.
”

“
Captain Meyers
,”
the mayor says, flying at Wes and defending her daughter
,“
I ca
n’
t believe yo
u’
d tolerate such behavio
r
—”

“
Hold it
!
”
 
Captain Meyers slaps his hand on the conference table and points at Wes.
 “
Tha
t’
s enough, Gillam.  And Darlene?  You sit down and shut up
.
”

Mayor Laws glowers, remains standing.  Wes looks smug.  I just want to escape this incestuous fracas, but know
I’
ve got to see the meeting through to its conclusion.  W
e’
ve all got to work together.  Alain
a’
s life depends on it. 

“
DeeDe
e’
s got some valid points
,”
I say.
 “
I think she can help us considerably if sh
e’
ll check Alain
a’
s friends, as I asked her to last night
.
”

Any one of the people sitting at the conference table could knock DeeDee over with a feather.  The
y’
re not expecting me to defend her.  Sh
e’
s not, either.  She stares at me, looking uncertain.  I shoot her a smile. 
I’
ve caught her off guard by being nice.  Maybe she can learn something.  Maybe.  You do
n’
t roll over on your partner: you support her, no matter what.  Sh
e’
s shrewd and calculating, but I can hope sh
e’
s getting the lesson
I’
m trying to teach. 

“
As it happens
,”
she continues
,“
I did exactly what you asked, Detective Hawks
.
”

I nod my approval. 
Ther
e’
s a first time for everything.

“
And what did you come up with
?”
Wes growls.

SAC Smith looks equally impatient. 

“
What did you find
?”
Captain Meyers adds, apparently losing patience with his golden girl. 

“
She hangs out with a character called Stokley Farrel
.
”

“
Does she have any other friends
?”
Wes demands, chewing hell out of his toothpick.