Jason winked at his partner. “Apparently, I’ve still got it!”
Vanessa laughed. “Yeah, and let’s hope it’s not infectious.”
*******
They decided not to go back to Recycled Lives, and Vanessa noticed Jason was deep in thought on the way back to the precinct. She recognized the look and knew not to interrupt. His silence continued on the elevator as they rode up to the squad room. They both sat at their desks, Jason leaning back in his chair, with his hands crossed on his chest.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. “What’s cooking up in that hollow shell you call a brain?”
She waited but got no response. “Jason?”
“Yes?”
“I asked you a question.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking of something.”
“No kidding, and that was the question. What are you thinking about?”
She watched as he stood up and walked toward the lieutenant’s office. “Jason!”
He turned, gave her a hold-on-a-minute gesture, and then knocked on the door.
“Come!”
He disappeared into the office, leaving her waiting.
*******
Jason shut the door behind him. “Got a minute, Lieutenant?”
“Sure, Jason. Sit.”
He did, and then waited for Sarah Banks to finish her notes. She closed the file and looked up at him. By now, he was used to not waiting for an invitation, and started in with his reason for the meeting.
“We uncovered some information today on the homeless case, and it’s given me an idea.”
“Information?”
“Somebody approached a homeless man last night and asked if his name was Benny Walker. When the man said he was mistaken, that he wasn’t Benny Walker, the stranger looked him directly in the face before walking away.”
“Interesting. Where you able to find this Benny Walker?”
Jason shook his head. “No, but it got me wondering. If that was our killer, maybe he’s looking for specific people.”
Banks leaned back in her chair and studied her detective. Jason could tell she was already on the same page. “Did you get a description of this Benny Walker?”
“Yes.”
“Let me guess, you want to dress like Benny and go undercover on the streets.”
One thing he could say about Sarah Banks, she’s no dummy. Her instincts were very good. He stared at her, not answering the rhetorical question, while she worked it through her mind. After several minutes, he leaned on her desk. “What do you think?”
“I think I better run it past Patton.”
“Does that mean you’re on board?”
“Possibly. What does Layne think?”
“I didn’t tell her what I was considering.”
The lieutenant’s eyebrows lifted. “Why not?”
“I didn’t want her volunteering to be a decoy. She’ll argue that two undercover plants will be more effective than one, and I don’t agree. Besides, I don’t want her putting herself in a vulnerable position, unnecessarily.”
A hard look crossed the lieutenant’s face. “That sounds sexist and patronizing!”
“I know, but it’s not meant to be. I’ll be disguising myself as a known target, at least if our theory is right, but she would be a new face on the street. It could well spook our killer.”
“Why not make that argument to her?”
“Because she won’t hear of it. If I’m on the street, she’ll want to be there. If you agree with my logic, I’m counting on you to hold the line on this.”
Jason withstood a withering glare for a full minute more before Banks sat forward. “I’ll take it to Patton. We’ll deal with your position on Vanessa’s involvement if the captain signs off on the idea.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He got up and left the office, without waiting for an invitation.
*******
Sarah Banks dialed John Patton’s office. Two rings and a familiar voice answered.
“Captain Patton’s office.”
“Hi, Mary. It’s Sarah.”
“Hey, Sarah. How goes the battles?”
“Keeping our head above water. Is the captain in?”
“Yeah. Let me get him for you.”
“Thanks.”
Less than a minute later, the deep voice of John Patton came on the line. “Hi, Sarah. What can I do for you?”
“You got a couple minutes, John? I need to run something by you.”
“Sure. Give me ten and then come on up.”
“Perfect.”
She hung the phone and studied the notes she’d made during her conversation with Jason. His idea of going undercover was a good one, but releasing the necessary resources for such a setup was above her pay grade, thankfully.
She’d been undercover a couple times, mainly in her time with vice, and found it challenging but nerve-wracking. She didn’t like to put her people in those situations if there was a better way. The problem, at least right now, was she didn’t have a better way.
She gathered her notes and headed up to meet with her boss.
*******
Vanessa sat at her desk, glaring at her partner. Jason was doing his best to ignore her. Lieutenant Banks came out of her office and walked past both detectives without a word, but Vanessa was sure a subtle signal had passed from Banks to Jason.
She waited for the lieutenant to get on the elevator, and then confronted Jason.
“When are you going to come clean about what it is you’re not telling me?”
“What are you talking about, Vanessa?”
She stood up and walked around to stand next to him, looking down as he sat there.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Strong! I’ve known you long enough to know when you have something cooking.”
Jason rolled his chair back away from her, then stood. “Cooking! That reminds me, I told Sandy I would grill dinner tonight. Gotta run. Bye.”
Vanessa stood watching him run for the stairs. She was so surprised it took her a minute to realize her partner had just bailed out to avoid her question. She yelled after him as the stairwell door closed.
“You can’t hide from me, Strong!”
*******
When Sarah Banks arrived on the fourth floor, Mary told her she could go directly in. John Patton was sitting with his chair tipped back, his eyes closed. She cleared her throat. Her captain opened one eye.
“I know you’re there, Sarah. I’m just trying to get my headache to subside before you make it worse.”
“John, I’m hurt…”
Patton sat up, a smile revealing his teeth and his joke. “Just kidding. What did you want to talk to me about?”
She consulted her notes and then filled the captain in on Jason’s idea. She could see, even before she was done, that Patton liked the plan. When she finished, he didn’t hesitate. “Go with it.”
Sarah was a little surprised, and her face must have shown it, because the captain grinned at her. “What’s the matter, did you expect a fight?”
“No…maybe some discussion.”
“I know you, Sarah. You wouldn’t have brought it to me if you weren’t on board. From where I sit, it’s an offensive play on a case where we have been totally defensive. I’d take it to the chief, but I know his answer. He wants this homeless problem to go away.”
“Is that how he sees it, the homeless problem?”
“I’m afraid so. Too much political viewpoint for my blood, but you and I both know these are people, not problems.”
Sarah decided not to bring up the situation relative to Detective Layne. She knew John would tell her to handle it however she wanted. The problem was she didn’t know yet how that would be.
“Okay, John. I’ll set it up and keep you in the loop.”
“Good. Can I go back to sleep now?”
They laughed, and Sarah realized she missed having the big man on the squad room floor.
“Bye, John.”
Chapter 7
Nina was waiting for her daddy when he opened the door at home. Jason kissed Sandy and took his daughter into his arms. “Hi, honey. Did you miss your daddy today?”
“I don’t know about her, but Mommy missed you.”
“Well, Daddy missed both his girls.”
“I was just getting ready to put her to bed, so you have good timing. Do you want to do it?”
“I’d be glad to. Come on, sweetie. Daddy’s gonna tuck you in.”
He took her to the nursery and laid her down. Tucking a pacifier into her mouth, he said a quiet prayer and backed out of the room.
When Jason came into the kitchen, Sandy was just putting dinner on the table. He washed up and sat down. They made small talk, his wife filling him in on Nina’s exploits.
Inside, Jason was waiting for the right moment to begin what was going to be a difficult discussion. He had no delusions about how Sandy would take his news, and he put it off as long as possible.
Finally, after dinner, when they were sitting comfortably in the family room with a glass of wine, he told her.
“You know the homeless deaths Vanessa and I are looking into?”
“Yeah. It’s so sad.”
“Well, we found out they are not natural deaths after all.”
“Seriously? You think somebody has been killing those poor people? How?”
“We’re not sure yet. They found an injection point on the latest victim, and they’re doing more drug screening.”
She picked up the wine glasses and carried them to the kitchen, and when she returned, she snuggled up to him on the couch. He played with her hair as he got to the point.
“I made a suggestion to Lieutenant Banks today.”
“Oh, yeah. What was that?”
“I think we might be able to catch this guy if we go undercover on the street.”
Sandy pulled away and looked at him. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Well, actually, me.”
“Jason! You know how I feel about you taking unnecessary risks.”
“I know, I know. This would be an operation with back-up nearby, and I’d be on camera the whole time.”
She studied him, a look of worry painted on her face. “Why you?”
“Two reasons. One, I’m impersonating a man who may draw out our killer. Secondly, and more importantly, it was my idea.”
“You know very well, the reason I was happy you made detective was because it got you off the street. I want you coming home to me every night!”
Sandy was nothing if not passionate about protecting her family, and he loved her for it, but he felt this was something he had to do. He had to put a stop to the monster picking off these helpless people.
“I’ll be coming home, I promise. If the captain green lights the operation, I’ll take every precaution. Bulletproof vest, the whole she-bang.”
“You mean Patton hasn’t approved the mission yet?”
“No. Banks was taking it to him this afternoon.”
She laid her head back on his shoulder. “Well, I can always hope he’ll say no.”
That was her way of giving him the okay, and he appreciated her strength. “Thank you.”
“You’re not welcome. Now keep playing with my hair, it’s relaxing.”
He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, ma’am.”
*******
The next morning, Jason was on his way to the station when his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Jason, this is Leonard Davis’s sister, Libby.”
“Yes, Libby. How is he?”
“He’s good. Still a little sore from the surgery but they’re going to release him this afternoon.”
“Really? That’s great! Does that mean…”
“Yes. The sentinel node was clean, and they don’t believe the melanoma has spread through his system.”
“Thank the Lord.”
“I’m going to see him at the hospital now.”
Jason’s grin split his face in half. “Tell him I’ll pass along the news to everyone, and to get his butt back to work!”
Libby laughed. “Don’t worry about that, all he’s talked about is how he misses you guys.”
“We miss him, too. Bye.”
*******
By the time Jason reached the station, he’d spoken with Vanessa, Banks, Sandy, and Patton. Lieutenant Banks mentioned he needed to stop by her office when he got to the station. He took the stairs instead of the elevator, and passed his and Vanessa’s empty desks, heading directly to the lieutenant’s office. He knocked.
“Come!”
Jason opened the door to find Vanessa sitting in front of Banks. His partner wore a scowl, and Jason avoided her eyes as he sat down.
“Good morning, Lieutenant.”
Banks nodded. “Good morning, Detective.”
“Good morning, Vanessa.”
“Don’t you good morning me! How could you propose an undercover mission without me?”
Jason looked at Banks for help. “Did you explain it to her?”
“Actually, I thought I would let you.”
“Does that mean the captain approved the idea?”
“He did.”
He looked at Vanessa. “I’m sorry. I knew you would want to go out on the street with me, and I didn’t think it was a good idea.”
She crossed her arms and stared at me. “Is that right? Why?”
“I’ll be trying to impersonate a familiar face, but you’d be a new presence. Somebody not known might spook our killer and stop him from revealing himself.”
Jason could see a slight softening in his partner’s eyes, but she wasn’t convinced. She made the exact argument he’d predicted. “On the other hand, two of us out there might double our chances of succeeding.”
“I didn’t think the risk was worth the chance he might target an unknown female.”
Lieutenant Banks had seen enough.
“Okay, so here’s how this is going to go. Jason will be on the street, dressed like our decoy. Vanessa will be in an unmarked van with both eyes and ears on Jason. I will be in one of three patrol cars, ready to close on this guy, if he shows.”
Vanessa looked at Banks. “But…”
“Did I stutter, Miss Layne?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. Jason, get your disguise together. Vanessa, make sure you have the van and equipment needed for this operation. We go tonight. Any questions?”
“No,” the detectives answered together.
The lieutenant picked up the phone, then looked at detectives. “Go!”
They scrambled out of her office.
*******
Vanessa had to go to the basement to arrange for the surveillance equipment, and when she stepped off the elevator, a large silhouette in the morgue glass caught her eye. She turned left and pushed through the morgue doors. “What are you doing here?”
The large body of Doc Davis slowly rotated toward the door. His smile was tempered by an occasional wince of pain. “I work here.”
Vanessa scoffed. “Not the day after surgery, you don’t. You need to get your butt home and rest.”
The longtime medical examiner laughed, then winced from the effort. “I was on my way. I just wanted to see how things were holding up.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Doctor Chase had being doing just fine. Now, beat it.”
Darrel Chase was standing on the other side of Doc Davis, holding a file. “Actually, I was glad he stopped by. The expanded tox screen on victim five came back negative. I still don’t know what the substance was that got injected into her neck.”
Vanessa took the file and scanned the test result. “What else can we test for?”
“That’s what Doc was just looking at. Any ideas, Leonard?”
“Maybe. Do you have any urine saved from the autopsy?”
“Sure. I’ve got a few ccs frozen. Why?”
“Get it. I have a hunch, but it’s just a
hunch.”
Vanessa glared at Doc, both angry and now glad he’d stopped by. “What are you thinking?”
He turned to her as Darrel went to get the sample. “Sux.”
*******
Jason drove over to The Shepherd’s Closet, and headed inside. He was immediately spotted by Shirley Stinson. “Detective Strong, how nice to see you.”
“Hi, Shirley. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Really? Why?”
“I need your help picking out some clothes.”
“Aw, shucks. I thought you missed me.”
Jason laughed. “Well, that was the other reason.”
Shirley smiled. “Of course, it was. What do we need today?”
“Do you think you could pick out clothes to make me look like Benny Walker the last time you saw him?”
“Probably. Why?”
“You need to keep this quiet, okay?”
She made a zipper movement across her lips. “Sealed.”
“I’m going to spend some time on the street, and hopefully find out what’s going on.”
“Interesting. Okay, follow me.”
She led Jason to a rack of old coats, pulling off two raincoats, one yellow and the other blue. “Try the blue one first, that was his usual coat color.”
Jason slipped it on and it was a little too big. “Alright, try the yellow.”
“This will work, Shirley. I need a little extra room inside.”
She hung the yellow coat back up. “Okay, good.”
She headed off toward the boot rack, then stopped to look at Jason’s feet. “What size?”
“Ten and a half.”
She reached over and grabbed a pair of construction boots, looked inside, and then dropped them on the floor next to Jason’s feet. “Elevens.”
Jason tried one on, nodded, and added them to the collection. Next stop was the hats. They were piled into three large plastic containers, and after much searching, Shirley came out with a Dallas Cowboys cap.
“It’s not the stocking hat, he preferred but it’s the right team. Wear jeans and you should be ready to go.”
LETHAL INJECTION (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE) Book 8) Page 5
