A Deadly Blessing

by Kathy Bennett

rookie ride with her to the hospital. She was dead before they got here, but guess what she told the young cop before she flatlined?"

  "I don't know," I said, waving my hand in a circle indicating he should get on with his story.

  "The kid says the mayor started whispering. So he leans down close to hear her, and according to him she says, 'Tell the governor I had Zippy kill his girlfriend. It was me. I eliminated her. Promise you'll tell him.' "

  "Wow, and that would make sense. Sorriano kidnapped and killed Heather in payment for the early release of his degenerate brother."

  By now, my partner was beginning to smile. "But wait, there's mo-"

  There was a loud knock on the door and a pretty woman with her dark hair in a braid came in the room. She was obviously a detective. Even if I discounted the badge and gun, her sensible shoes and dark slacks and jacket gave her away.

  Darius jumped up from the bed. "Oh, I'm glad you found me."

  I sized the girl up and wondered if the slender beauty was the benefactor of all the Barry White action Darius had been dishing out lately.

  "Um, Maddie, I do have some news."

  Now I narrowed my eyes at the woman. She must be a part of whatever Darius was going to tell me.

  "Larry-the-Wife-Beater made good on his threat. He moved me to the Mental Evaluation Unit." He smiled at the woman, then looked tentatively at me. "Maddie, this is your new partner, Jade Donovan."

  Jade moved forward and extended her hand to me. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

  I shook her hand briefly, as another wave of grief smothered me. My partner had distracted me from Travis's death by filling me in on the way our case was turning out. Now I was filled with despair again.

  "Thank you," I mumbled. I looked to Darius. "When does this take effect?"

  "As soon as you come back to work. It was actually supposed to start at the beginning of the next deployment period in two weeks, but I made Larry-the-Wife-Beater promise not to say anything to you until we finished the McCall case." He looked at the pretty brunette by his side. "I'll work with Jade and train her about everything she needs to know about missing persons and then you can come back and tell her how messed up I am."

  "Oh, that sounds like fun. I'll be sure to bust my ass to come back as quick as I can." Realizing how my comment must sound to Jade, I apologized. "I'm sorry. I don't mean anything against you. It just seems the department could cut me a break seeing that I just…just lost my husband. Now they're taking my work partner away from me too." I snatched a tissue from the box at my side to intercept the tears that began flowing from my eyes.

  "Please, don't apologize. I completely understand," Jade said. "Maybe you can talk to the chief and he'll change his mind," she said with a kind smile.

  I snorted in reply. At least she seemed nice.

  "I'm going to go outside and check in with the lieutenant," she said to Darius. "It was nice meeting you, Maddie. Oh, and here's my cell number," she said scribbling on the back of a business card. "Don't hesitate to call me if there is anything you need—even if it's just to talk." She set the card on the rolling tray by my bed and left.

  I turned my gaze to Darius. "Why doesn't the department just drive a stake through my heart and put me out of my misery?"

  Darius smiled and leaned down and gave me a hug. "Remember, neither God nor the LAPD gives you more than you can handle. At least, that's what they keep telling us." He sat next to me on the bed again. "Are you up to hearing the rest of my story?"

  I nodded and blew my nose in a tissue.

  "Where was I?" He paused for a few seconds thinking. "Oh yeah. So the rookie's in the ambulance and the mayor tells him she arranged to have Heather McCall murdered. So here's the best part," Darius said. "The rookie got it all on tape."

  I gasped. It was every homicide detective's dream; a murder suspect's dying declaration immortalized on tape.

  "I guess you and that new gal Jade Donovan will be tying up the loose ends?"

  "So that's how you're gonna work it, huh?" Darius asked. "Let us get the case wrapped up - bow and all and then you'll come back to work."

  I smiled and nodded at my partner. I sank my head back on the pillow and we were silent, each of us in our own thoughts.

  There was a soft knock at the door. Darius hesitated a second to see if someone was going to enter, but when no one did, he got up to see who'd knocked. It was Tiffany Truesdale.

  As she entered the room, I saw a nervous patrol cop post himself outside my door. Obviously, he was supposed to be watching over Tiffany and followed her to my room.

  The teenager's eyes widened at seeing Darius at the door.

  "Detective Cutter, I was hoping I'd see you again. I can't thank you enough for rescuing Brenda and me."

  "That's why I make the big bucks," he said, winking at her.

  Tiffany turned her attention to me and extended her hand as she walked toward my bed. "I'm Tiffany Truesdale, and I'm so sorry you got injured trying to help me."

  I immediately was struck by the young girl's poise and maturity, to say nothing of the fact she was beautiful. I shook her hand.

  "Hi, I'm Detective Divine. I appreciate your apology, but my injury had nothing to do with your case."

  A frown clouded the governor's daughter's face. "But the nurse said—"

  Darius spoke up. "Maddie is my partner. She was working your case, but she was forced to get involved with something else that left her with a few bumps and bruises."

  The lines of Tiffany's face displayed skepticism."I was told you were shot."

  I shrugged. "It was a scratch. The important thing is that you and your friend Brenda are okay. You are okay, aren't you?"

  The teenager nodded. "I had it a lot easier than Brenda did, but I'm going to make sure my dad gets her whatever help she needs. I couldn't have come through this okay without her."

  I smiled at the brave young woman before me. "I think your friend is lucky to have you."

  Tiffany's shook her head. "No. It was my idea to go to the party. None of this would have happened if I hadn't arranged to ditch my security detail. But I'm not going to let this experience go to waste. I'm going to address the issue of teens putting themselves in danger and take it to schools throughout California. Maybe Brenda's and my experiences will keep other young people from making the same mistake."

  Darius and I exchange a glance. We were both impressed.

  "Just so you know," Darius said to the young girl, "we've got units at the compound in the desert. We've made some arrests and we're gathering up the girls and working with the Department of Family and Children's Services to find them a place to stay until we get this sorted out."

  "There were dogs—" Tiffany began.

  "We know. Animal Services is working on that issue as we speak," Darius said.

  Just then, the nurse came bustling into the room. "Here I thought you'd run down to the cafeteria for the yummy hospital food, Tiffany. I need to get you back to your room. The doctor is going to give you the results of the tests we've done."

  "Thank you for coming to see me," I said.

  I was surprised when the teen came over and shook my hand. Then she turned and did the same to Darius. "Thank you both. I'll never forget you." With that, she made her way to the door, gave us a wave, and left.

  "Now there's a girl with a good head on her shoulders," my partner said.

  I nodded. "How random is life?" I asked. "By donating her bone marrow to Tiffany, Heather McCall was doing a good thing but still wound up dead." Tears filled my eyes and slowly spilled to my cheeks. "Travis overcame his fears to rescue me and he got killed for it." I absorbed the wetness with some tissues. I took my hands away from my eyes and looked at my partner.

  "In time, I'll mend," I said. "Thankfully, it appears Tiffany came out of this mess all right and will use this incident to educate other kids. Some people might say we're blessed, and I suppose that's partly true. But there are all kinds of blessings in this world, an
d this, my friend, was a deadly blessing."

  The End

  A NOTE TO READERS

  Thank you for purchasing my book. If you enjoyed this novel, I hope you'll consider taking a moment to leave a short review at the online retailer where you purchased the book.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Kathy Bennett worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for over twenty-nine years. Her career with the LAPD began as a civilian employee, but in 1990, she became a sworn police officer and served 21 years in that capacity. Most of her career was spent working patrol in a black and white police car. Kathy also served as a Firearms Instructor at the LAPD Police Academy, a crime analyst in the 'War Room,' a Field Training Officer, and worked undercover in various assignments. In 1997, she was honored to be named Officer of the Year.

  Kathy is married to a Los Angeles Police Officer, and they have one daughter and one granddaughter, along with an assortment of dogs and cats. She's currently working on her next book featuring Maddie Divine and Jade Donovan.

  Kathy loves to hear from readers so connect with her online at:

  www.KathyBennett.com

  E-mail to KathywritesLAPD@sbcglobal.net

  www.facebook.com/KathywritesLAPD

  www.Twitter.com/KathywritesLAPD