Lightning Chasers

by Cass Sellars

  Parker looked cautiously at Sydney. “Do you think the chief’s involved with this?”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences, not ones this big. She’s in this up to her nose. How much do you think she’ll make in the new job?”

  Parker was an HR expert. “Could be over 200k in this area, but the benefits are what seal it—company cars, stock options, a sign-on bonus, annual incentives, and retirement guarantees. It could net out to be 300k or so just in the first year.”

  “Who the hell is giving up that job?” Sydney asked drolly, looking to Taylor.

  “Bryce’s father, Lawrence Downing III.” Her delivery was matter-of-fact as she was noticeably trying to process her day.

  Parker clicked open a window on the tablet. “Lawrence R. Downing III apparently did a short stint as an MP in the Army many years ago and has parlayed that into a career as a security expert. He worked for some of the big computer companies in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle and then came out back out here ten years ago when he was forty-five. He grew up in New England.”

  “So this guy’s going to retire at fifty-five?” Syd sounded bemused.

  “Looks that way. The bio says, He enjoys sailing and always looks forward to more time on the water.” Parker read from the Eastern Computer Times where one could pay for page-long advertisements that were disguised as articles.

  “I guess we don’t have to wonder if there was a prior link to the PD since CTI was the major sponsor of the ball.” Syd watched as Parker clicked on another link and expanded a picture of the CSO and his son flanking the beaming chief in a two-year-old publicity shot. “Looks like there are many connections going back some years.”

  Another link. “It says here,” Parker continued, “that Bryce is eager to follow in his father’s footsteps at CTI. The other picture is just the chief and Downing at a city council reception at the Marquee Dining Room.”

  Sydney was now bending closer to see the next shot. A dark-haired woman in too much jewelry was shaking hands with Bryce Downing. “Recognize that stain on humanity?” Syd asked Parker, pointing at the screen.

  “Oh my God, is that your mother?”

  “It sure looks like it.” Her mother’s alliance with the city council and Major Williams was bad enough, but even she couldn’t imagine Pamela could be part of any of this.

  Taylor stepped over to look at the photos. “Bryce tells anyone who will listen that he’ll be in that job one day. I guess that day is going to have to wait.” Taylor shook her head as if knowing not to wait for answers no one had.

  * * *

  Darcy stood and picked up her purse from the counter. She looked weary as they issued their quick good-byes, knowing everyone needed a break from all this. Taylor followed her out.

  When Taylor turned onto Darcy’s street, Darcy looked at Taylor carefully and asked, “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

  Taylor nodded and followed her from the car. It seemed they were both anxious for a tiny piece of normal as they continued to digest the insanity of the evening.

  When Darcy keyed open her town house door, she half expected to hear Taylor say that she had changed her mind. She was more than pleasantly surprised when Taylor pointed the remote to lock her SUV.

  Taylor was staring at her when she closed the door behind her but said nothing.

  “I’m sorry about today, Taylor,” Darcy managed as she looked down at her hands and she knitted her fingers together nervously.

  “Just convince me that you’re sure we’re here for the right reasons.” Taylor clearly needed one last round of reassurance before she moved toward filing the revelations away for later digestion.

  “Completely positive, Taylor. I really want to be with you.” Darcy took several tentative steps closer before Taylor closed the remaining gap between them and pressed her mouth solidly on Darcy’s. The kiss was hard and long. Darcy surged against Taylor who braced a muscular thigh between hers. She responded by tilting her hips against Taylor and pushing harder against her mouth.

  Taylor guided Darcy toward the floor and onto the soft rug before unbuttoning her shirt and snatching her own from her body. Darcy scanned her fingers over Taylor’s torso as she unclasped her bra and then Taylor’s. Darcy gasped as Taylor lowered bare skin onto hers and ground against her heated core. Taylor appeared blinded by the rush of energy burning through her as she claimed the figure under her. A few minutes more and Taylor was loudly consumed by the fire stoked by Darcy’s hand between her legs. A determined Darcy made it more than apparent that they were far from finished. She tugged Taylor’s jeans away and drew a line across her ribs with her mouth.

  Taylor shuddered as the intensity between them grew. “I want to taste all of you.”

  Darcy replied by pulling Taylor to her feet and toward her room. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  After hours of cataloging the photos Sandy had taken every Sunday for six months, they finally took a break.

  “Do you think she got the job before or after Sandy was killed?” Jen folded her knees under her chin as she sat against the wall of Syd’s studio.

  “I have no idea,” Syd admitted. “I have to think that Williams had some help with all of this. He’s too stupid to go out on his own.” Syd twisted Parker’s hair loosely around her fingers as they sat together on the floor, Parker leaning back against Syd’s chest, grateful for the steadying warmth she found there.

  “I spent last night outlining the chain of evidence so I can explain it,” Mack said. “I’ll hand over copies of documents and preserve the originals for my personal insurance. This is bigger than any of us expected. I’m about to ask Major Cash for a fairly significant leap of faith. We’re not only dealing with grand theft and murder, but I’m asking him to possibly add police corruption on top of it.” Mack started the summary she would deliver to the major.

  “We have regular Sunday night deliveries from CacheTech. We know that inventory counts were done before and numbers were fudged after. And since we can put Bryce Downing in that truck, it’s a safe bet he was responsible for inventory adjustments. We can unofficially show three million in missing inventory thanks to Taylor, but I won’t use any of those numbers until subpoenas are issued. We can reasonably prove, though, because of the pallet tag we found, that at least some of those missing units were in that warehouse.”

  Mack continued to connect the dots.

  “Sandy had been watching this long enough to finally bring it to Major Williams, who not only didn’t report the case Sandy brought him, but finds her murdered on the same property, and doesn’t report it then either. Not only doesn’t he report it, he makes up something to cover for what anyone who had connected brain cells would have linked together if they had stopped to think. Taylor identifies Bryce Downing at the warehouse and in possession of the truck that belongs to the company now paying our soon-to-be ex-chief big bucks. The only other person that stands to gain is now sitting in the chief’s chair.”

  Syd handed a black-and-white yearbook photo to Mack. “I ran down the owner of Peticor Construction and I connected his son to Bryce. They were in the Silver Lake Christian Academy all the way through high school.”

  “I guess we know why he chose that warehouse. I think I have more than enough to bring it to Major Cash.” Mack blew out a loud sigh.

  “Do you trust him?” Jenny was obviously worried about Mack; she wore the stress like a heavy cloak.

  “I have to. This is starting to look like we’re the criminals here. I’ve trampled on every protocol known to man over the last few weeks.” She kissed the top of Jenny’s head as her wife stood to hug her. “Time to meet the brass.”

  She tried to smile but Jenny didn’t look any better, and everyone knew that Mack was more than a little apprehensive.

  * * *

  Major Cash was a tall, lean cop just entering his fifties. He had been on the department for nearly fifteen years after a lateral transfer from McLean, but he had been i
n law enforcement since he graduated from college at twenty-one. Mack had worked with him since she was a rookie. She trusted his judgment. Of course, now she had no choice but to depend on it.

  “Mack. To what do I owe the pleasure? We miss you over on the west side.”

  “I miss being there.” Mack leaned over the table in the back corner of the coffee shop, off the beaten path on the north end of Silver Lake. “I think I finally understand why I’m not, though. That’s why I’m here.” She paused for a breath before continuing. “I need your help.”

  The major looked concerned and sipped his cooling coffee, never taking his eyes off Mack’s worried face and whispered tone. “Shoot.”

  “What I’m going to tell you is not pretty, and I’m probably in some hot water here, but this is way bigger than me.”

  She looked around her, uncomfortable with her back to the door, but she trusted the senior commander to watch the entrance.

  “This is about Sandy and about doing the right thing, Major. I’m prepared for the consequences if it comes to that.”

  The major set his mug on the table absorbing the warning in Mack’s voice. “Okay.”

  “You know something was wrong in Curran’s case. We talked about it.” Mack began slowly reminding him of the concerns she’d had immediately following her transfer.

  He nodded. He didn’t interrupt her briefing or offer his thoughts about the disturbing facts in the case.

  “I…got some information that made it look really bad. I found out that she probably did stumble onto something wrong at that warehouse that night, but it wasn’t drugs, sir.”

  “How did you trip over this information, Sergeant Foster?” His words and tone subtly reminded her that she was a cop and this was sounding dangerous.

  “Video, sir. There was some air traffic that night and there was video of the area where Sandy was shot. I didn’t get it myself, but I saw it.” She left the source of the information open for interpretation—after all, the media had helicopters, too.

  “I saw the truck that was there that night. We know now that it was probably delivering stolen computer equipment. Sandy had been watching them for a while, six months or better. She told Major Williams about it several times before she died but nothing happened. It’s reasonable to assume that she told him exactly where it was happening as well. A fact he didn’t reveal when he ran the scene after the homicide. I can also be reasonably certain that Sandy had sent him photographs. I can show you a stack of them that she took from the same vantage point she would have had when she was shot.”

  Mack grazed her teeth over her bottom lip as she tried to frame her next statement carefully, “The second problem is, we…I think he’s involved in covering for the shooter.” There. She’d said it. The proverbial cat was out of the bag now.

  “You really think that dumbass is in this?” His tone was dubious given his apparent low opinion of his colleague, but he lowered his voice and leaned closer to Mack.

  “Up to his eyes, sir.” She knew that Cash was aware of Williams’s role as the chief’s lackey. “If you could have seen that crime scene and the way he handled it, you would believe me.”

  “It’s not that I don’t believe you, that you believe it, but how do you plan on proving it?” He pressed a cheap teaspoon into his fingers as he digested the information.

  “I’m not even as worried about proving it was him as I am about telling you the rest, which is, frankly, worse.”

  He blew out a breath and regarded her seriously. “You have never given me any reason to believe you are anything but ethical and by the book. Nothing you have said so far seems to have been garnered by any book.”

  Mack nodded and left the statement unaddressed. “The problem is the source of the stolen items. We traced them to the company and confirmed that one of their employees was taking the product or at least driving the truck that contained stolen product the night Sandy was killed. His father ranks pretty high in the company, Major.”

  “So we get someone to pick him up. We bring him in on suspicion of embezzlement and break him on the other.” The major was obviously feeling more and more uncomfortable.

  “The company is CacheTech, Major. The guy moving the freight, three million dollars’ worth, is the son of the outgoing CSO.”

  He looked at her blankly when the dots seemed to connect in his mind. He hunched across the table and barely whispered incredulously, “You think Provost is in this?”

  “Yes, sir, I do. I don’t think she had her hand on the gun or any stolen property, but I think she has been feathering her own nest so she could get that cushy job. Otherwise, why would Williams be acting so off?”

  She laid it out for the major. “The father is out and the chief is in. Williams is suddenly named interim chief. We both know you’re a hundred times more qualified to do that job, and I’m not blowing smoke, sir.” She meant every word she was saying as she handed him a folder full of evidence arranged chronologically. “This video shows the events in real time and lines them up against what we…I believe happened behind the scenes. Williams was aware of the suspicions that Sandy had because she had been funneling him evidence for months. Evidence, according to Mia, he claimed he was passing on to people in Investigations. I’m willing to bet no investigation was ever started. Maybe Williams saw an opportunity or Provost saw a way to cement her future. Whatever the order, a father managed to cover for his son who was the subject of Curran’s suspicions, and suddenly two people got big jobs they wanted and my friend died.”

  “It’s common knowledge that the major was recommended by Provost and no one can figure out why,” Major Cash noted. “The guy’s a joke, but letting one of our own go down for a job? Even I would have bet against that.” It was the first time Mack had ever heard Major Cash speak poorly about anyone, regardless of his true feelings. “If you believe all this, why not go straight to the VBCI?”

  Mack grimaced. “That’s part of the problem. Jonas caught the shooting case and he’s always been close to Williams. Williams basically told him how to write his report. He obviously believed it when Williams told him the drug deal theory without doing any independent work. You can read the report yourself. I need someone with clout to go there because Jonas has every reason to protect himself and the shitty job he did.”

  She pushed up the last bit of courage she had. “Sir, I believe if we could see cell phone records for the chief and the major since that night, maybe even before, it would tell us a lot. Some of my research indicates that the major was at the scene before the information started flowing through official channels.”

  Cash dragged a large hand down his face and looked wearily at Mack. “The less I know about how you got here, the better.”

  He tucked the envelope under his arm. “I don’t know how to shield you from the shit storm that’s about to come, Foster. If this goes bad and there isn’t enough on those two, you know they’ll try to fire you—if they don’t prosecute you first.”

  The thought was terrifying. The various consequences had always played in the back of Mack’s mind but she also couldn’t imagine working for a corrupt department. She had never thought of being charged with a crime before the major spoke the words. “I totally understand. This is for Sandy, Major. I’ll survive.”

  “I know you will. I’m going to see John.” Mack nodded her understanding. He was going to the bureau, to see Supervisory Special Agent John Noles. “I need to be sure that I’m playing for the right team here, Foster. Do you understand?” Cash looked suddenly stressed and angry. His intent was obvious. She hoped the fact that she didn’t protest told him volumes.

  “I do.” She was reasonably sure he saw what she did in the evidence or undoubtedly would, once he had more than a few minutes to digest it.

  “I’m going to plant a seed, Foster. Call me at the first sign it grows, understand?”

  “Yes, sir.” She watched him stride purposefully toward the door with a paper grenade tucked under his arm.
She felt like she had been holding her breath during the entire meeting. She drove her city car to the main station and tried to believe that doing the right thing wouldn’t bite her soundly in the ass.

  * * *

  Major Cash hit the speed dial for Major Williams as he pointed his car toward the VBCI field office. “Damon, how’s life as the chosen son?” Cash was embarrassed they shared the same rank. He hadn’t seen Damon Williams do any real work since they were assigned to a common patrol squad fifteen years earlier.

  “Looking pretty good, Mark. What can I do for you?” Williams sounded relaxed.

  “Well, I know that the Curran case is still open, and I wondered if you were any closer. Mack Foster just came to me and mentioned that she had concerns about the two detectives on the case and wondered if I could let her work another angle. I told her that I would see what I could do. She’s pretty adamant about a possible new lead, something about computers.”

  “This is getting out of hand, Mark.” Cash could almost hear as the fury boiled through Williams’s words. “I’ve told her what I needed her to handle and this is now approaching insubordination. There is no other angle. The detectives are about to make an arrest. I’ll handle the sergeant, Major Cash. Foster is my problem. Don’t worry about her little request.”

  Cash could hear the key tones of Williams’s cell phone before their call was even disconnected.

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later, Mack dialed the number. She closed her eyes briefly before Major Cash answered her call.