by Mike Ryan
Haley didn’t reply. He just smiled and went back to what he was doing. Recker seemed to be enjoying the back and forth tug he and Jones were having. But, he figured enough was enough and finally came clean with what was on his mind.
“If you must know, I was thinking about Vincent,” Recker said.
Jones scrunched his eyebrows together, wondering why the crime boss would be deep in his friend’s thought process. “Why would you be thinking about him? You said nothing of much interest was said at the meeting. Was there more?”
Recker shrugged as his eyes shot past Jones, looking at different parts of the room. “Well, I dunno.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know? Either something was said, or it wasn’t.”
“Right before leaving, Vincent asked if I wanted to meet with a detective that was on his payroll.”
Jones looked perplexed by the request. “For what purpose?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
“Seems a bit odd.”
“I know. I can’t figure out what it could have been about.”
“Was it any of the ones that you met outside Jeremiah’s house on that final day?”
Recker shook his head. “No. Said it was someone else. But, Vincent said it wasn’t of his asking.”
“What do you mean?”
“Vincent said this guy, this detective, asked to meet with me. Had nothing to do with Vincent. He was just acting as the intermediary.”
“Well that is strange indeed.”
“You don’t think Vincent could be setting you up for something, do you?” Haley asked, finally interjecting himself into the conversation.
“No. I think we’re still on as good a terms as we’ve always been,” Recker replied.
“I wonder what it could be about?” Jones said.
“I dunno. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough, though.”
“Were there any other interesting nuggets from the meeting you’d care to disclose?”
Recker shrugged. “Uhh, he said he’s heard rumors of another person being with me, so he asked if we had a new man in the operation.”
“Oh?”
“I didn’t confirm or deny anything.”
“Well if you don’t deny something, it’s as much of a confirmation as actually confirming it,” Jones said.
“Yeah, but I did it in a much more amusing way.”
“Oh, well, as long as you had fun with it,” Jones said, rolling his eyes.
“He knows we’ve got another man whether I actually admit it or not. The only thing he’s really worried about is knowing who it is.”
“Why?” Haley asked.
“You don’t get to his level without knowing every person in the city who’s capable of posing a threat to him at some point,” Recker answered. “He just wants to make sure you’re not someone he has to worry about in the future.”
“So, will he?”
“No, I basically told him how it is. He’s not gonna concern himself with it too much now.”
“How can you be so sure?” Jones asked. “If you recall, he poked around quite a bit, asked several questions to try to get to the bottom of our operation initially. Unless of course you forget about Mia and I ducking out on Malloy down at the university.”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“Then how do you know he won’t try to find out Chris’ identity?”
“Because we came to an understanding,” Recker said.
“An understanding? Care to expand on that?”
“He took me at my word that our new man has nothing to do with him and is nothing he needs to be concerned with.”
“He did? Seems very unlike him to just accept something like that so easily.”
“Well, it also might have something to do with me taking him at his word about something.”
“Which is?”
“He knows about Mia,” Recker said.
Jones just stared at him for a few moments. “You’ll have to divulge a little more. He’s always known about Mia.”
“He knows she’s my girlfriend.”
As soon as he said the words, Jones stood there, stunned. Haley, too, stopped what he was doing and looked at Recker. It was a startling revelation for them.
“Seeing as how you don’t seem too terribly upset, I take it you’re satisfied with whatever it was that Vincent told you,” Jones said.
“Well, he said he’s heard about why that little beef with me and Jeremiah happened, with Mia being used as bait. And he knows where she’s working.”
“Well we’ve always suspected that.”
“Yeah, but that’s why he’s not worried about Haley. He doesn’t need to worry about our secret and I don’t need to worry about his.”
“So, he’s basically letting you know he knows about Mia, but he’ll never do anything to her, unless he’s provoked,” Haley said.
“That’s basically the size of it.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to share about this meeting?” Jones said in a huff.
“No, that was it.”
“That was it. You initially told me nothing interesting happened, and yet, you just disclosed three different topics that were extremely noteworthy. Are you sure there’s nothing else you’d like to share?”
“No, that’s it.”
“It seems as though we have different definitions of what’s important.”
Recker shrugged again, not giving it much more thought.
“Even if the other things can be shrugged off, I do wonder what that business with the police is about,” Jones said.
“Well, if there’s one thing I’m sure about when it comes to dealing with Vincent . . .”
“What?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
2
Without having a specific case to work on right then, Recker and Haley had gone out to lunch. Jones stayed behind to work on a few leads. He hoped to have a new case later that night or the following morning. They brought back a sandwich for their leader, who immediately started devouring it, holding it in one hand as he continued typing with his free hand.
“Take a break, David,” Recker said. “It’ll still be there in a few minutes.”
Jones looked at his friend and nodded, pushing his chair away from the desk momentarily. “Did you two enjoy your lunch date?”
“Very nice. Food was great,” Haley said.
“Hey, how’s your apartment working out for you?” Recker asked.
“Oh, I love it. It looks so good. Mia did an unbelievable job with it. She really has a nice style and good taste. She could be an interior decorator or something if she ever decided to leave nursing.”
“She likes helping people too much to do that. Maybe a side gig or something.”
“Well, tell her I can’t thank her enough for making the place look so good. I never would’ve been able to do that.”
Recker laughed. “She knows. That’s why she did it. Probably didn’t want it to look like an empty warehouse for a few years like mine did.”
“Yeah, there are some days I wake up and I look around and don’t even wanna leave the apartment.”
“Hopefully that is only a fleeting thought,” Jones said.
Mia had fixed up Haley’s apartment the previous week after offering her services several times. Her, Recker, and Haley had become good friends in the time since the new Silencer had arrived on the scene. The three of them sometimes had dinner together at one of their places at least once a week. Knowing how Recker treated his apartment before Mia moved in, she didn’t want Haley’s place to have that same devoid of life feeling to it. Even though they weren’t in their apartments for most of the day, Mia thought they should still have a nice environment to come home and relax in. She figured it was good for their mental state to have pleasant surroundings at home, rather than blank walls to stare at.
After quickly eating his sandwich, Jones got back to work. Recker and Haley milled around the office for a l
ittle while, not having anything specific to do. Recker finally went to his gun cabinet and started cleaning some of his weapons, Haley giving him a hand.
“When’s the next assignment coming?” Recker asked.
“Should be here shortly,” Jones replied.
“What’s the beef?”
“Possible murder.”
“Oh good. Love those,” Recker said sarcastically.
Recker instinctively looked over at Jones for a second, then went back to cleaning his guns. But something tugged at him that something was wrong. Jones had a concerned look on his face and seemed to be typing a little faster. He took turns working between two computers.
“Something up?” Recker asked.
Jones briefly looked at him before going back to his work. “A problem. Definitely a problem.”
“Thought you said it wouldn’t be ready ‘til later?”
“No, not with that case. That’s still on the same schedule.”
“Then what is it?”
“A problem.”
Recker looked at Haley and sighed. “Is this how I sound sometimes? Like, not giving direct answers.”
Haley shrugged, not really wanting to admit it was true. They finished cleaning the guns and closed the cabinet, then walked over to the desk and sat next to Jones, waiting for him to tell them what the problem was.
“Would you like to expand on that now?” Recker asked. “You tell me I’m not very forthcoming sometimes, but you’re not exactly Mr. Talkative yourself, you know.”
Jones turned his head and looked at the pair and raised his eyebrows, not sure he agreed with the suggestion.
Seeing as how nothing else was working, Recker looked away and sighed in frustration. “Maybe we can help.”
“Yeah, let us go out and work our magic,” Haley said. “We got nothing else going on right now.”
“I’m afraid this is nothing you can two can work magic with. At least not yet,” Jones replied.
“Jones, just spit it out. What’s going on?” Recker finally asked, tired of the games.
“Well, it appears there was a shooting sometime this morning. I’m still trying to figure out the particulars.”
“So, how’s that pertain to us?”
“Yeah, unless they missed. If they didn’t, should already be a police matter, shouldn’t it?” Haley said.
Jones gave him a serious looking face. “It is indeed a police matter. It seems as though the target was one of their own.”
Recker took a few seconds to let what he said sink in. “What do you mean, one of their own? You mean somebody shot a cop?”
“That is exactly what I mean.”
As Jones continued typing, Recker and Haley looked at each other, both understanding the seriousness of the situation. It was something none of them liked to hear. Recker put his hand over his mouth as he looked at the floor. His mind thought back to the situation involving Officer Perez and Adrian Bernal, causing Recker to make a deal with Vincent to find the would-be killer. After a few seconds, Recker broke free of his trance.
“Is the officer dead?”
The look Jones gave him told him all he needed, though Jones clarified it anyway. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“What happened?” Haley asked.
“I’m still trying to piece things together.”
“How’d you pick up on it?” Recker said.
“Only because the police have called a press conference for thirty minutes from now,” Jones replied.
“So why didn’t we pick up on it?”
“You know the reasons as much as I do. There’s no crystal ball to pick up on these things. We can only pick up on what’s planned . . . and shared. If it’s not premeditated, or texted or called or emailed to an accomplice, you know we won’t get wind of it. Not beforehand, anyway.”
Recker sighed, already knowing as much, still frustrated nonetheless. “I know.”
“If it’s someone who just decided this morning to do something like that, then what can we do?” Jones asked.
“Nothing,” Recker said, shaking his head.
“Believe me, Michael, I know it’s unfortunate, and it bothers me as well, but sometimes we can’t be there in advance.”
“Especially with police officers,” Haley said. “They get involved in so much stuff, a lot of it is just spur of the moment. Could’ve just been a routine call that escalated somehow.”
Recker nodded, everything both men were saying making sense. It didn’t make him feel better, though. Jones continued typing away, fiddling in his seat the way he often did when he found something that perked his interest. When that happened, he tended to sit straighter as he looked at the screen. Recker noticed he was doing it now.
“You got something else?”
Jones gulped before answering, not liking what he was seeing. “It appears that there was another shooting of a police officer three days ago.”
“What?” Recker incredulously asked.
“Three days ago, another police officer was shot. He was a little luckier, though, in that he survived.”
“Did you already know about this?”
“It’s the first I’m hearing about it.”
“Why didn’t we know about this already?”
“It wasn’t publicly known until now.”
“What?” Recker asked again, not believing it. “Since when has the shooting of a cop not been publicly known? That’s usually a lead news story in any media outlet.”
“I don’t know, Mike, all I can tell you is what I’m seeing.”
“There’s gotta be more to it.”
The three men didn’t say another word for fifteen minutes, as Jones continued digging into the shootings. He finally found the reason they didn’t hear of the first shooting.
“It appears that the police department kept the first shooting hush-hush,” Jones said.
“Why would they do that?” Haley asked.
“It seems the first officer shot was actually on an undercover assignment.”
“Which means they didn’t want word leaking out that it was a cop,” Recker said, understanding now why it was covered up.
“Makes sense,” Haley said.
“Yeah, but how are you finding this out now?” Recker asked.
“In the wake of this latest shooting, that officer was pulled off that assignment this morning,” Jones replied.
“Things are getting hot.”
“So it would seem.”
Jones continued sifting through the information at his disposal as Recker and Haley quietly and patiently waited nearby for any further bits of knowledge he could drop down on them.
“Well that’s interesting,” Jones said, his eyes glued to the screen.
“What’s that?” Recker asked.
“It would appear that both officers were hit with the same kind of bullet.”
“So? Doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a connection.”
“Perhaps not. But it is interesting nonetheless.”
“What kind of bullet?”
“Preliminary reports indicate both were fired from a .45 automatic. Both were hollow point bullets.”
Recker leaned back in his chair, thinking about what might have been going on.
“Is that too much of a coincidence?” Jones said, saying what they all were thinking.
“Two shootings in three days against the same profession with the same type of bullet?” Recker said. “I guess anything’s possible.”
“One officer was undercover and another in uniform. Very well could be a coincidence.”
“Like I said. I guess anything is possible.”
“Should we start on it?” Haley asked.
Jones shook his head as he turned to face him. “The police have already started their own investigation on it. And believe me, with two of their own being shot, they will be completely thorough.”
“David’s right. As much as this crap bothers me, I don’t think we need to roll on this one. They
’ll pull out all the stops on it,” Recker said. “They’ll find the guy, assuming it’s just one. Even if it isn’t, they’ll find them.”
Haley nodded, and even though he wanted to get in on it, understood the reasoning to stay away.
“Besides, we have another case to work on coming up,” Jones said.
“Might be a good idea to keep an eye on the police investigation, though, just to see how it’s going,” Recker said.
“I will do that.”
Jones went back to typing at his computer, as Recker rubbed both sides of his temple with his hand. Haley, though, wasn’t ready to put the shootings to rest, thinking there may be something else involved.
“Hey, I just thought of something,” Haley said. “Do you think that detective that Vincent was talking about might have something to do with this?”
Recker and Jones looked at each other, though neither said a word at first glance as they thought of the possibilities.
“Maybe the guy wanted to see if we’d heard anything about who it might have been,” Haley continued.
“That’s kind of a tall leap, wouldn’t you say?” Jones asked. “Linking one to the other.”
“Maybe. But that would classify as pulling out all the stops, wouldn’t it?”
“A police detective asking help from us on a police investigation involving the shooting of one of their own wouldn’t just be pulling out all the stops. It would be destroying all the stops.”
Jones looked at Recker to see if he agreed with his assessment and mentioned something to him. But considering his friend totally ignored his comment, he assumed Recker was so deep in thought he just didn’t hear him. Jones let him be for a moment until his lapse of concentration had gone then repeated his statement.
“Huh?” Recker said, though he did hear his friend talking. “Oh, well, I don’t know. Like I’ve said twice already, I guess anything’s possible. I guess it would depend on their leads, or lack of them, and how desperate they are.”
“I couldn’t see any scenario in which they asked for assistance from us.”
They debated the pros and cons of such a scenario for a few minutes until Jones pulled up the press conference on one of the computers. The three men stayed glued in their seats as they watched the event unfold, none of them saying a word throughout the proceedings. Once it was over, Jones clicked off the website and switched the screen to something else.
