Know That I 10/11
Jul. 21st, 2012 01:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whedonistTitle: Know That I
Disclaimer: Not my characters – except for one or two. The rest of the ladies and gentleman contained herein belong to entities with a higher pay grade. Thanks for allowing li’l ole me to play; I promise to return them as I found them…just like the tools I borrowed from dad when I was a kid. Also, this is unbeta’d so…mistakes are really all me. Sorry about that.
Fandom: Women’s Murder Club – TV show only.
Pairing: Lindsay/Cindy, Jill/OC.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: An old college friend of Cindy’s moves to town and shakes things up.
A/N: Another week, another chapter. One more in this story and then I need to work on my joint Buffy project with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
valyssia. The next piece in The River's Daughter series will be Pyxis' Lantern. With any luck I'll have that for mass consumption on the fourth. Until then, read and have a good weekend.
Ch. 10 – As I Settle
“You have no right looking that smug,” Cindy pouted while she ran her hand down the length of Ozzie’s back. She and Mac had taken the eager mutt on an early morning jog, ending up at one of the small local parks close to her apartment. Currently, they were sprawled out near a small cropping of trees. Cindy was grateful for the additional warmth of Ozzie snuggled up along her leg and Mac’s offered windbreaker.
“You still can’t be upset about this morning?” Mac wiggled her eyebrows and didn’t let the smirk she’d been wearing all morning fall from her lips. Between last night with Jill and then this morning, Mac really couldn’t have been happier. Things were going exactly like she wanted them to and to make things that much better, work was actually less of a time suck than she had anticipated when she’d accepted the position.
Shaking her head, Cindy groaned, “I never, ever wanted to see that much of either of you. I love you both, but that was…” The reporter shuddered at the memory of walking in on Jill bent over the couch.
“Please, I’m better than Starbucks for a morning pick me up,” Mac snickered and bumped shoulders with Cindy. The grumble from her friend did make her let up, “For what it’s worth, I didn’t think you’d be there that early. I thought I had at least another ten or fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll get over it,” Cindy assured and let it drop, figuring that she’d find a way to scrub it from her memory eventually. “So, in the interest of a topic change and since it was pretty obvious how you and Jill are doing, which I’m thankful for and again I’m sorry, what do you have going on today?”
Mac shook her head, “Not a lot really, I have a few reports for my boss to get out before five and then uh, laundry, maybe. You?”
“I’m on standby until Linds calls for the raid,” Cindy answered.
“Cool. How are you and Lindsay by the way? You don’t really talk about her, no, okay, you talk about her, but you haven’t really commented on your relationship. Things good?” Mac wondered. It, Cindy’s relationship with the terse inspector, made Mac curious and she had a hard time seeing how the two worked. Where Cindy was bright, a little bubbly and quick on her feet, Lindsay seemed to be stand-offish, a little temperamental and calculated. The melding of the personalities was, admittedly, a little hard to swallow.
Cindy quirked an eyebrow at her and asked in return, “And you’re curious because?”
Mac shrugged and replied honestly, “Because on paper, you two intrigue me. I can tell you’re happy, but I don’t know how Lindsay figures into that and how you two work.”
“How do you and Jill work?” Cindy responded.
“I think that’s apples and turnips, Augie. My relationship is new and we’re still working off our chemistry,” she wiggled her eyebrows and snickered as the redhead blushed. “Honestly, we have a similar sense of humor. She’s really, deceptively smart and keeps me on my toes, it’s a turn on. Oh, and she likes my dog. Huh, Ozzie?” Mac cooed and scratched behind the ears that perked up at the sound of his name.
“Jill is. She’s a great person to have in your corner,” Cindy said, settling back on her hands and stretching her legs out in front of her.
“I can tell. She’s got…there is, I don’t want you to tell me, if she wants me to know, she’ll say something eventually, but she’ll occasionally get these looks when I talk about my family. I’m guessing her’s wasn’t that great?” Mac mirrored Cindy’s position and joined her friend in looking out over the park as some of the morning fog began to burn off.
“I’ll just say that I’ve never had the displeasure of meeting her family and I’m better for it,” Cindy answered, knowing that it wouldn’t really appease Mac, but Jill’s story was Jill’s to tell.
Nodding, Mac let the tightening coil of anger sit in her stomach at the implication. She wasn’t sure what happened, but she’d been around long enough to know that whatever ‘it’ was was probably abusive and that never set well with Mac. Instead, she said, “That’s fair. I’m happy with our glacierly pace.”
Cindy’s head titled as she looked at her friend. “Why are you taking it so slow?”
MacKenzie chewed her lower lip before answering, choosing her explanation with caution, “Because I think it’s the right thing to do and you still haven’t answered my question. I haven’t forgotten.”
“Lindsay is…amazing, frustrating and just about perfect.” Cindy’s lazy smile spread a little wider. “I mean, you know how she is publicly, but she’s different at home.”
“So, Jill was saying something about you not wanting to move in with her?” Mac pressed a little knowing that if she didn’t no one else would probably bring it up unless it was to argue. “’Cause even being away from you for a while, doesn’t mean you have changed in some ways. I think you jumping in to the deep end is one of those things that is still inherently Cindy Thomas.”
“It is. I would, but…Lindsay wants it on her terms, you know? Her place, her way and when we do take that step, I want it to be on our terms, not hers,” Cindy admitted.
“And telling her this…” Mac started.
“Would probably start a fight,” Cindy cut her off.
Mac squinted at her friend, sizing her up and sighed, “Augie, I say this with as much love as I can muster, but do your Daddy a favor, put on those big girl underoos and talk to her.”
“Hey…”
Mac put a hand over her mouth and shut her up. “Michelle and I broke up because she was doing what you are doing. You’re keeping these things away from Lindsay when I’m pretty sure you rejecting the woman’s request is doing her more harm.” Mac watched Cindy’s eyes dart to the ground and knew she was right. She removed her hand and continued, “If you want to live with her, then do it, but talk about it instead of just shutting her down.”
The reporter’s brow furrowed as she shook her head. “Right, because trying to explain this to the woman that’s been mean to you because she thought we had slept together will end well? And besides, why are you defending her?”
“Whoa, she thought we slept together?” Mac frowned. “That’s skeevy, but you should tell her because you need to tell her and also, I’m not defending her, I’m just saying, I’ve been in her position. It sucks, Augie. Tell her and make the decisions together.”
Cindy opened her mouth to protest. Mac stopped her with a raised eyebrow. “You suck,” was the only thing the reporter offered to the rest of the conversation.
The T.V. played quietly, but the sound from one of Ed’s shows carried down the hall. Claire tuned it out as she looked at her boys passed out in their bedroom. Their thin clammy forms huddled under the blankets of their respective beds.
It had started late last night, about an hour after she’d gotten home from work; Ben was the first one in to complain of not being able to get warm enough. A quick check of the boy and Claire had promptly given him some children’s Tylenol and sent him back to bed with an extra blanket. She was in the living room when Ed had wheeled out with Michael in his lap, both with the same miserable look her little Ben had been wearing an hour earlier.
At ten this morning none of her boys were any better, Ed was sacked out on the couch, looking more miserable than she had seen him in a while. The boys were in bed and Claire was left to play nurse maid and try her hardest to not catch whatever bug they had. She’d been overdosing on vitamin C since last night and had even made a run to the store for more juice and Nyquil for her patients.
Satisfied that they were settled for at least another hour, she cracked their bedroom door and headed to the living room to check on her husband. Ed was propped up on the arm of the couch, his head resting against the back as he watched an episode of Law & Order. “Who did it?” Claire asked as she sunk into the recliner to the right of the couch.
“I think it was the teenager,” Ed croaked and cracked a grin. “I think they make it too easy.”
Claire smiled. “Probably, but how are you feeling?”
“Like I went on a weekend bender and just came up for air,” Ed answered, his face souring as he swallowed.
“Throat?” Claire was out of her seat and perched on the edge of the couch in seconds, her fingers resting against Ed’s neck just under his jaw. “You’re swollen just like your sons. What did you guys get into?”
Ed shook his head as he pulled her hands away. “No clue, maybe they brought something home from school.”
“It’s a petri dish full of children,” Claire agreed.
“You okay not being at work?” Ed teased lightly before resting his sweaty forehead against the couch.
“Yep, Lindsay’s swinging by soon to drop off some files that I can sort through. She, Warren and Tom are working with vice on a raid of the Do boys,” Claire answered him knowing he still liked to hear some of what his old colleagues were working on.
“Who in vice?” he asked predictably.
“Whileneck in vice, Denise and Tom are the organizers.” Claire shifted and pressed against him to get more comfortable.
“Steve’s all right. A bit of a jerk when he was in uniform, but he shaped up okay. If Lindsay and Jacobi are there, they shouldn’t have problems.” Ed ran a hand over Claire’s arm before tucking it back under the blanket.
“I’ll tell Lindsay when she stops by. Rest up, baby,” Claire murmured as she kissed her husband’s heated forehead. Ed’s eyes were closed and his breathing was evening out before she made it back to her chair. Taking the remote from the coffee table, she lowered the volume on the T.V. and was getting ready to boot up her computer when Lindsay’s unique rasp sounded from the entry way.
“Claire, where are you?” Lindsay called out.
Standing, the doctor headed towards the sound of her friend’s voice and met her at the entrance to the kitchen. “Here.”
“Hey,” Lindsay smiled. “You look tired.”
“Hmm, thanks you look full of sunshine and light yourself,” Claire deadpanned and rolled her eyes.
“Sorry. Do you need anything? I can make a run to the store or something before I head out,” the inspector offered, hooking a thumb over her shoulder.
“No, I think I’m pretty well covered. Did you bring my files?” Claire asked eyeing the backpack strap on Lindsay’s shoulder.
“I did. I think I grabbed everything that you asked for. If I missed anything, Jill said to call her and she’ll get it to you.” Lindsay followed Claire into the kitchen and set the pack on the kitchen counter. “Can I do anything? Cindy said that if you need her to call. I know she’s got a bunch of stuff to do at the office, but I also know her editor owes her a favor or two.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Honestly, I should be okay. Besides the raid, what kind of craziness are you and Jacobi getting into?” Claire turned towards the coffee that she’d made a little while ago, thankful that the carafe was insulated and kept the brew warm while she was taking care of the boys. Snagging two cups out of the strainer in the sink, she fixed herself and Lindsay a cup.
Sitting on a stool, Lindsay answered, “We were going to swing by the residence hall and talk to a few people. Jacobi and I had sat through about a week’s worth of video and we got Amy going in to the building from her parent’s house, but there is nothing there for her leaving. It’s been bugging the hell out of us.”
Claire sat down next to the brunette and slid over the cup she’d fixed for her. “What are you thinking?”
Lindsay shrugged as she took a grateful sip. “I don’t know. I mean, her coming in was helpful, at least we know she got there so it narrows down her timeline, but no shady characters in or out and we never saw her exit the building.”
The doctor’s eyebrow quirked and she asked, “Any viable suspects from other residents?”
Lindsay’s lips pursed before she shook her head. “Nobody that I’d really look twice at. Whoever killed her – Claire, they took an axe to her and put her in at least two suitcases.”
“I’d still take a look. We’ve seen people that we wouldn’t think a second thought about do far worse than that,” Claire offered as a reminder as she played with the rim of her cup. “Lot of anger.”
“But the way she was disposed of…?” Lindsay argued.
“Which is why I’d look at the people there. From a logistics stand point or even a forensics stand point, it’s a nightmare to go after someone with an axe. They would have had to surprise her…”
“Assuming that the axe is the cause of the death and not the means of disposal,” the inspector interjected.
“If she was dead before hand, but I can’t tell. I’d lay good money on you not being able to find her leaving the building because when she left the building, she was already in those suitcases.” Claire took another drink of her coffee and watched her friend work through what she just proposed.
As she settled on an idea, Lindsay joked, “You’re either the smartest woman I know or the scariest, Claire. I’ll just thank God that you’re on our side and not on the other.”
“Go, see if you and Jacobi can figure anything out. Also,” Claire said as she stood and followed Lindsay to the front door, “be careful on the raid. I don’t really need to get any phone calls about you.”
Saluting, Lindsay walked backwards down the walkway until Claire shut the front door.
Jacobi looked at the yellow Post-it stuck to the palm of his hand and back up at the brown plastic placard bolted to the wall across from the elevators he and Lindsay just stepped off from. He watched as she pulled an elastic band from around her wrist and tied her brown mop of hair back into a high pony tail. “Getting serious?” he queried, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Lindsay just shrugged. “Always serious,” she deadpanned and shot her partner a wink. “What unit is Shue in, again?”
“One-thirty-two,” Jacobi answered and pointed down the hall towards the back of the building.
“Let’s get this over with. We have to be back at the station for prep on the raid in an hour. Tom’ll bench us if we’re late,” Lindsay groused as they headed down the brightly lit hallway. Her and Jacobi both scanned the walls and ceilings, taking note of the cameras posted at the corners of corridor. The acoustic tile ceiling, Lindsay also noted, wasn’t in the best of shape. Brown water stains and the occasional chunk were missing from every other tile that she saw.
“You think missing this thing with him isn’t a good idea?” her partner asked.
She shot him a look as he scanned the numbers on the doors they passed. They were at one-twenty-two when she answered, “I don’t really mind, but if they’re pulling in Tucker’s team for S.W.A.T. then I may reconsider. He’s not playing with a full deck.”
Jacobi snorted. “You mean to tell me you didn’t think he walked on water after tackling the guy with the explosive vest?” Jacobi wiggled his eyebrows and watched as Lindsay shook her head. The incident that had Tucker walking on water with the rest of the yahoos from his department was a little less than a year old. Some idiot with delusions of grandeur had made a series of pipe bombs and strapped them to a fishing vest. He’d, Taylor Silva, had walked out to Fisherman’s Warf causing mass panic. The negotiator had talked Silva down enough they were able to get most of the people to safety.
Then one of the hostages had decided to play hero spooking the nut job. Silva had clammed back up after that and it took another hour for Tucker’s team to infiltrate the restaurant Silva had holed up in. In a last ditch effort to get the detonator away from the man’s hand, John Tucker had jumped him, trying to wrestle the detonator away. Silva had managed to push it anyhow, but the man hadn’t wired the vest right.
For that Tucker was a damn hero and Lindsay and he had been trying to figure out how attacking the man with the explosives was a good idea. Even on their best days, the days when the duo felt as good as they could and on their game, would they think of doing what Tucker did. They had discussed it, it wasn’t so much that he threw himself on the bomb, it was the fact that one of the snipers had a clean shot and Tucker told the shooter to stand down.
That breach of protocol for the Wild Bill moment could have gone a helluva lot worse in their mutual assessment.
“He was stupid and lucky and could have killed a lot more people than he helped,” Lindsay grumbled as they stopped in front of Shue’s door. Jacobi leaned forward and heard the T.V. Stepping back, he nodded and wrapped on the door.
They waited quietly as footsteps sounded and the tell-tale clink of a security chain was slid out of its track. “Yeah?” was the greeting they received from the burly, goateed man standing in front of them.
A thin eyebrow rose on the slim inspector as she asked, “Derek Shue?”
“Yeah, can I help you?” he asked looking down at the shields prominently displayed on their hips.
Jacobi pushed passed him and walked into the small efficiency. Lindsay followed suit and allowed Shue to close the door behind them. “We wanted to talk to you about Amy Delgado,” Jacobi spoke up, his gaze sweeping around the room of a man he thought would more than likely stay a bachelor for the rest of his life.
“Did you guys find her?” the man’s eyes skittered between the two people in his apartment.
“We did,” Lindsay answered. “You haven’t heard?”
Derek shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “Talked to Destiny and Tiff last week. Hadn’t heard anything beyond that. I’m guessing it isn’t good?”
Lindsay shook her head.
“I’m sorry to say that Ms. Delgado is dead,” Jacobi supplied.
Tears welled in Derek’s eyes and Lindsay empathized, “We were wondering if you could answer a few questions…”
“Where’d you find her?” Derek choked out, his hand going to cover his mouth.
“Uhm,” Jacobi licked his lips and looked to Lindsay. His partner shrugged and he answered honestly, “We found parts of her. Part of her body was discovered enclosed in a suitcase in a dumpster.”
“Which dumpster?” Derek wondered as he swiped at his eyes and moved left to rest against the corner of the wall that separated out the little kitchen in his apartment and the living area.
“One a few miles from here,” Lindsay answered the question and followed up with one of her own, “When was the last time that you saw the victim?”
Derek swallowed and scratched the back of his neck. “The day she got back from her parents. She was doing some laundry and I, uh, well, I usually helped her carry it to the laundry room and back up to her and Tiff’s place.”
Jacobi’s brow knitted together. “Mrs. Delgado’s stated that Amy did her laundry at home over the break.”
Derek’s lips pursed and he looked between the two inspectors standing in his living room. His right hand slid down and gripped the neck of the axe.
Lindsay barely got the warning off before the young man began swinging.
Next>>>
Disclaimer: Not my characters – except for one or two. The rest of the ladies and gentleman contained herein belong to entities with a higher pay grade. Thanks for allowing li’l ole me to play; I promise to return them as I found them…just like the tools I borrowed from dad when I was a kid. Also, this is unbeta’d so…mistakes are really all me. Sorry about that.
Fandom: Women’s Murder Club – TV show only.
Pairing: Lindsay/Cindy, Jill/OC.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: An old college friend of Cindy’s moves to town and shakes things up.
A/N: Another week, another chapter. One more in this story and then I need to work on my joint Buffy project with
valyssia. The next piece in The River's Daughter series will be Pyxis' Lantern. With any luck I'll have that for mass consumption on the fourth. Until then, read and have a good weekend. “You have no right looking that smug,” Cindy pouted while she ran her hand down the length of Ozzie’s back. She and Mac had taken the eager mutt on an early morning jog, ending up at one of the small local parks close to her apartment. Currently, they were sprawled out near a small cropping of trees. Cindy was grateful for the additional warmth of Ozzie snuggled up along her leg and Mac’s offered windbreaker.
“You still can’t be upset about this morning?” Mac wiggled her eyebrows and didn’t let the smirk she’d been wearing all morning fall from her lips. Between last night with Jill and then this morning, Mac really couldn’t have been happier. Things were going exactly like she wanted them to and to make things that much better, work was actually less of a time suck than she had anticipated when she’d accepted the position.
Shaking her head, Cindy groaned, “I never, ever wanted to see that much of either of you. I love you both, but that was…” The reporter shuddered at the memory of walking in on Jill bent over the couch.
“Please, I’m better than Starbucks for a morning pick me up,” Mac snickered and bumped shoulders with Cindy. The grumble from her friend did make her let up, “For what it’s worth, I didn’t think you’d be there that early. I thought I had at least another ten or fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll get over it,” Cindy assured and let it drop, figuring that she’d find a way to scrub it from her memory eventually. “So, in the interest of a topic change and since it was pretty obvious how you and Jill are doing, which I’m thankful for and again I’m sorry, what do you have going on today?”
Mac shook her head, “Not a lot really, I have a few reports for my boss to get out before five and then uh, laundry, maybe. You?”
“I’m on standby until Linds calls for the raid,” Cindy answered.
“Cool. How are you and Lindsay by the way? You don’t really talk about her, no, okay, you talk about her, but you haven’t really commented on your relationship. Things good?” Mac wondered. It, Cindy’s relationship with the terse inspector, made Mac curious and she had a hard time seeing how the two worked. Where Cindy was bright, a little bubbly and quick on her feet, Lindsay seemed to be stand-offish, a little temperamental and calculated. The melding of the personalities was, admittedly, a little hard to swallow.
Cindy quirked an eyebrow at her and asked in return, “And you’re curious because?”
Mac shrugged and replied honestly, “Because on paper, you two intrigue me. I can tell you’re happy, but I don’t know how Lindsay figures into that and how you two work.”
“How do you and Jill work?” Cindy responded.
“I think that’s apples and turnips, Augie. My relationship is new and we’re still working off our chemistry,” she wiggled her eyebrows and snickered as the redhead blushed. “Honestly, we have a similar sense of humor. She’s really, deceptively smart and keeps me on my toes, it’s a turn on. Oh, and she likes my dog. Huh, Ozzie?” Mac cooed and scratched behind the ears that perked up at the sound of his name.
“Jill is. She’s a great person to have in your corner,” Cindy said, settling back on her hands and stretching her legs out in front of her.
“I can tell. She’s got…there is, I don’t want you to tell me, if she wants me to know, she’ll say something eventually, but she’ll occasionally get these looks when I talk about my family. I’m guessing her’s wasn’t that great?” Mac mirrored Cindy’s position and joined her friend in looking out over the park as some of the morning fog began to burn off.
“I’ll just say that I’ve never had the displeasure of meeting her family and I’m better for it,” Cindy answered, knowing that it wouldn’t really appease Mac, but Jill’s story was Jill’s to tell.
Nodding, Mac let the tightening coil of anger sit in her stomach at the implication. She wasn’t sure what happened, but she’d been around long enough to know that whatever ‘it’ was was probably abusive and that never set well with Mac. Instead, she said, “That’s fair. I’m happy with our glacierly pace.”
Cindy’s head titled as she looked at her friend. “Why are you taking it so slow?”
MacKenzie chewed her lower lip before answering, choosing her explanation with caution, “Because I think it’s the right thing to do and you still haven’t answered my question. I haven’t forgotten.”
“Lindsay is…amazing, frustrating and just about perfect.” Cindy’s lazy smile spread a little wider. “I mean, you know how she is publicly, but she’s different at home.”
“So, Jill was saying something about you not wanting to move in with her?” Mac pressed a little knowing that if she didn’t no one else would probably bring it up unless it was to argue. “’Cause even being away from you for a while, doesn’t mean you have changed in some ways. I think you jumping in to the deep end is one of those things that is still inherently Cindy Thomas.”
“It is. I would, but…Lindsay wants it on her terms, you know? Her place, her way and when we do take that step, I want it to be on our terms, not hers,” Cindy admitted.
“And telling her this…” Mac started.
“Would probably start a fight,” Cindy cut her off.
Mac squinted at her friend, sizing her up and sighed, “Augie, I say this with as much love as I can muster, but do your Daddy a favor, put on those big girl underoos and talk to her.”
“Hey…”
Mac put a hand over her mouth and shut her up. “Michelle and I broke up because she was doing what you are doing. You’re keeping these things away from Lindsay when I’m pretty sure you rejecting the woman’s request is doing her more harm.” Mac watched Cindy’s eyes dart to the ground and knew she was right. She removed her hand and continued, “If you want to live with her, then do it, but talk about it instead of just shutting her down.”
The reporter’s brow furrowed as she shook her head. “Right, because trying to explain this to the woman that’s been mean to you because she thought we had slept together will end well? And besides, why are you defending her?”
“Whoa, she thought we slept together?” Mac frowned. “That’s skeevy, but you should tell her because you need to tell her and also, I’m not defending her, I’m just saying, I’ve been in her position. It sucks, Augie. Tell her and make the decisions together.”
Cindy opened her mouth to protest. Mac stopped her with a raised eyebrow. “You suck,” was the only thing the reporter offered to the rest of the conversation.
The T.V. played quietly, but the sound from one of Ed’s shows carried down the hall. Claire tuned it out as she looked at her boys passed out in their bedroom. Their thin clammy forms huddled under the blankets of their respective beds.
It had started late last night, about an hour after she’d gotten home from work; Ben was the first one in to complain of not being able to get warm enough. A quick check of the boy and Claire had promptly given him some children’s Tylenol and sent him back to bed with an extra blanket. She was in the living room when Ed had wheeled out with Michael in his lap, both with the same miserable look her little Ben had been wearing an hour earlier.
At ten this morning none of her boys were any better, Ed was sacked out on the couch, looking more miserable than she had seen him in a while. The boys were in bed and Claire was left to play nurse maid and try her hardest to not catch whatever bug they had. She’d been overdosing on vitamin C since last night and had even made a run to the store for more juice and Nyquil for her patients.
Satisfied that they were settled for at least another hour, she cracked their bedroom door and headed to the living room to check on her husband. Ed was propped up on the arm of the couch, his head resting against the back as he watched an episode of Law & Order. “Who did it?” Claire asked as she sunk into the recliner to the right of the couch.
“I think it was the teenager,” Ed croaked and cracked a grin. “I think they make it too easy.”
Claire smiled. “Probably, but how are you feeling?”
“Like I went on a weekend bender and just came up for air,” Ed answered, his face souring as he swallowed.
“Throat?” Claire was out of her seat and perched on the edge of the couch in seconds, her fingers resting against Ed’s neck just under his jaw. “You’re swollen just like your sons. What did you guys get into?”
Ed shook his head as he pulled her hands away. “No clue, maybe they brought something home from school.”
“It’s a petri dish full of children,” Claire agreed.
“You okay not being at work?” Ed teased lightly before resting his sweaty forehead against the couch.
“Yep, Lindsay’s swinging by soon to drop off some files that I can sort through. She, Warren and Tom are working with vice on a raid of the Do boys,” Claire answered him knowing he still liked to hear some of what his old colleagues were working on.
“Who in vice?” he asked predictably.
“Whileneck in vice, Denise and Tom are the organizers.” Claire shifted and pressed against him to get more comfortable.
“Steve’s all right. A bit of a jerk when he was in uniform, but he shaped up okay. If Lindsay and Jacobi are there, they shouldn’t have problems.” Ed ran a hand over Claire’s arm before tucking it back under the blanket.
“I’ll tell Lindsay when she stops by. Rest up, baby,” Claire murmured as she kissed her husband’s heated forehead. Ed’s eyes were closed and his breathing was evening out before she made it back to her chair. Taking the remote from the coffee table, she lowered the volume on the T.V. and was getting ready to boot up her computer when Lindsay’s unique rasp sounded from the entry way.
“Claire, where are you?” Lindsay called out.
Standing, the doctor headed towards the sound of her friend’s voice and met her at the entrance to the kitchen. “Here.”
“Hey,” Lindsay smiled. “You look tired.”
“Hmm, thanks you look full of sunshine and light yourself,” Claire deadpanned and rolled her eyes.
“Sorry. Do you need anything? I can make a run to the store or something before I head out,” the inspector offered, hooking a thumb over her shoulder.
“No, I think I’m pretty well covered. Did you bring my files?” Claire asked eyeing the backpack strap on Lindsay’s shoulder.
“I did. I think I grabbed everything that you asked for. If I missed anything, Jill said to call her and she’ll get it to you.” Lindsay followed Claire into the kitchen and set the pack on the kitchen counter. “Can I do anything? Cindy said that if you need her to call. I know she’s got a bunch of stuff to do at the office, but I also know her editor owes her a favor or two.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Honestly, I should be okay. Besides the raid, what kind of craziness are you and Jacobi getting into?” Claire turned towards the coffee that she’d made a little while ago, thankful that the carafe was insulated and kept the brew warm while she was taking care of the boys. Snagging two cups out of the strainer in the sink, she fixed herself and Lindsay a cup.
Sitting on a stool, Lindsay answered, “We were going to swing by the residence hall and talk to a few people. Jacobi and I had sat through about a week’s worth of video and we got Amy going in to the building from her parent’s house, but there is nothing there for her leaving. It’s been bugging the hell out of us.”
Claire sat down next to the brunette and slid over the cup she’d fixed for her. “What are you thinking?”
Lindsay shrugged as she took a grateful sip. “I don’t know. I mean, her coming in was helpful, at least we know she got there so it narrows down her timeline, but no shady characters in or out and we never saw her exit the building.”
The doctor’s eyebrow quirked and she asked, “Any viable suspects from other residents?”
Lindsay’s lips pursed before she shook her head. “Nobody that I’d really look twice at. Whoever killed her – Claire, they took an axe to her and put her in at least two suitcases.”
“I’d still take a look. We’ve seen people that we wouldn’t think a second thought about do far worse than that,” Claire offered as a reminder as she played with the rim of her cup. “Lot of anger.”
“But the way she was disposed of…?” Lindsay argued.
“Which is why I’d look at the people there. From a logistics stand point or even a forensics stand point, it’s a nightmare to go after someone with an axe. They would have had to surprise her…”
“Assuming that the axe is the cause of the death and not the means of disposal,” the inspector interjected.
“If she was dead before hand, but I can’t tell. I’d lay good money on you not being able to find her leaving the building because when she left the building, she was already in those suitcases.” Claire took another drink of her coffee and watched her friend work through what she just proposed.
As she settled on an idea, Lindsay joked, “You’re either the smartest woman I know or the scariest, Claire. I’ll just thank God that you’re on our side and not on the other.”
“Go, see if you and Jacobi can figure anything out. Also,” Claire said as she stood and followed Lindsay to the front door, “be careful on the raid. I don’t really need to get any phone calls about you.”
Saluting, Lindsay walked backwards down the walkway until Claire shut the front door.
Jacobi looked at the yellow Post-it stuck to the palm of his hand and back up at the brown plastic placard bolted to the wall across from the elevators he and Lindsay just stepped off from. He watched as she pulled an elastic band from around her wrist and tied her brown mop of hair back into a high pony tail. “Getting serious?” he queried, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Lindsay just shrugged. “Always serious,” she deadpanned and shot her partner a wink. “What unit is Shue in, again?”
“One-thirty-two,” Jacobi answered and pointed down the hall towards the back of the building.
“Let’s get this over with. We have to be back at the station for prep on the raid in an hour. Tom’ll bench us if we’re late,” Lindsay groused as they headed down the brightly lit hallway. Her and Jacobi both scanned the walls and ceilings, taking note of the cameras posted at the corners of corridor. The acoustic tile ceiling, Lindsay also noted, wasn’t in the best of shape. Brown water stains and the occasional chunk were missing from every other tile that she saw.
“You think missing this thing with him isn’t a good idea?” her partner asked.
She shot him a look as he scanned the numbers on the doors they passed. They were at one-twenty-two when she answered, “I don’t really mind, but if they’re pulling in Tucker’s team for S.W.A.T. then I may reconsider. He’s not playing with a full deck.”
Jacobi snorted. “You mean to tell me you didn’t think he walked on water after tackling the guy with the explosive vest?” Jacobi wiggled his eyebrows and watched as Lindsay shook her head. The incident that had Tucker walking on water with the rest of the yahoos from his department was a little less than a year old. Some idiot with delusions of grandeur had made a series of pipe bombs and strapped them to a fishing vest. He’d, Taylor Silva, had walked out to Fisherman’s Warf causing mass panic. The negotiator had talked Silva down enough they were able to get most of the people to safety.
Then one of the hostages had decided to play hero spooking the nut job. Silva had clammed back up after that and it took another hour for Tucker’s team to infiltrate the restaurant Silva had holed up in. In a last ditch effort to get the detonator away from the man’s hand, John Tucker had jumped him, trying to wrestle the detonator away. Silva had managed to push it anyhow, but the man hadn’t wired the vest right.
For that Tucker was a damn hero and Lindsay and he had been trying to figure out how attacking the man with the explosives was a good idea. Even on their best days, the days when the duo felt as good as they could and on their game, would they think of doing what Tucker did. They had discussed it, it wasn’t so much that he threw himself on the bomb, it was the fact that one of the snipers had a clean shot and Tucker told the shooter to stand down.
That breach of protocol for the Wild Bill moment could have gone a helluva lot worse in their mutual assessment.
“He was stupid and lucky and could have killed a lot more people than he helped,” Lindsay grumbled as they stopped in front of Shue’s door. Jacobi leaned forward and heard the T.V. Stepping back, he nodded and wrapped on the door.
They waited quietly as footsteps sounded and the tell-tale clink of a security chain was slid out of its track. “Yeah?” was the greeting they received from the burly, goateed man standing in front of them.
A thin eyebrow rose on the slim inspector as she asked, “Derek Shue?”
“Yeah, can I help you?” he asked looking down at the shields prominently displayed on their hips.
Jacobi pushed passed him and walked into the small efficiency. Lindsay followed suit and allowed Shue to close the door behind them. “We wanted to talk to you about Amy Delgado,” Jacobi spoke up, his gaze sweeping around the room of a man he thought would more than likely stay a bachelor for the rest of his life.
“Did you guys find her?” the man’s eyes skittered between the two people in his apartment.
“We did,” Lindsay answered. “You haven’t heard?”
Derek shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “Talked to Destiny and Tiff last week. Hadn’t heard anything beyond that. I’m guessing it isn’t good?”
Lindsay shook her head.
“I’m sorry to say that Ms. Delgado is dead,” Jacobi supplied.
Tears welled in Derek’s eyes and Lindsay empathized, “We were wondering if you could answer a few questions…”
“Where’d you find her?” Derek choked out, his hand going to cover his mouth.
“Uhm,” Jacobi licked his lips and looked to Lindsay. His partner shrugged and he answered honestly, “We found parts of her. Part of her body was discovered enclosed in a suitcase in a dumpster.”
“Which dumpster?” Derek wondered as he swiped at his eyes and moved left to rest against the corner of the wall that separated out the little kitchen in his apartment and the living area.
“One a few miles from here,” Lindsay answered the question and followed up with one of her own, “When was the last time that you saw the victim?”
Derek swallowed and scratched the back of his neck. “The day she got back from her parents. She was doing some laundry and I, uh, well, I usually helped her carry it to the laundry room and back up to her and Tiff’s place.”
Jacobi’s brow knitted together. “Mrs. Delgado’s stated that Amy did her laundry at home over the break.”
Derek’s lips pursed and he looked between the two inspectors standing in his living room. His right hand slid down and gripped the neck of the axe.
Lindsay barely got the warning off before the young man began swinging.
Next>>>
