“How did you find the funding to start this venture?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant, detective.”
“Irving Garrison helped develop this building and according to our sources, bankrolled your venture here.”
“Be that as it may, I still fail to see what this has to do with some open source, free to the public code.”
“My techs would like a list of IP address that accessed and downloaded the program in question.” Will changes the direction of the conversation. His tone tells me he’s irritated I brought up Garrison again. I wish I could say I blame him, but I don’t.
“While I would love to help with your investigation, I’m sure you understand I can’t just hand that over.”
“We could get a warrant.” I toss in my normal worded message. He will of course respond by telling me to go get it.
“I would appreciate that, detective. Thank you.”
I watch him stand and walk to the door, basically telling us to get the hell out.
Following Will to the door, I stop in front of Mr. Brandt. “See you soon.”
“I doubt it, Jasmine. How is Frankie doing? I saw that Chase is doing well on our latest game release. Maybe he and I will play sometime.”
He smiles at me again and this time I feel a chill roll down my spine. I do my best not to make it show, but he knows he got to me. My mind moves a hundred miles a minute as I ponder the veiled threat. Chase is only playing all the time, but who is he really playing the game with? I doubt I could ever get him to stop playing it when I do. Even if I get the names of the kids he plays with, a good hacker can impersonate that player seamlessly.
I walk into the elevator next to a slightly irritated Detective Everts.
“You have a reason for bringing Garrison in this?”
Mindlessly opening my phone I show him the text from Logan. He calms down and nods at the new information.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie. “I’m going to go to the convention center and see Hadley.”
“Finally going to talk to her?”
The elevator doors open and I just walk away. Sometimes, you just can’t say anything when your mind is full of everything.
***
There are few places on this planet that you feel you are not part of this world. The oceans, anytime there are bunches of kiddies running around and at any comic book or science fiction convention. I purchase a general admission ticket and gag at the price. Thank the powers that be for credit cards. Or just thank greed and corporate America, your choice. The skinny volunteer barely out of diapers kid, scans my pass and I walk into that other world.
You name the character from your favorite show and I promise you there is someone here in costume. Be careful though because the actor who played Walker number Five, is signing autographs for fifty bucks and won’t talk to you for less than ten. You know, because they’re famous. What would that film be with one less character? The world will never know. I’m not looking for them though. As I weave through the rows of tables, swarms of fans, my eyes flick from the map and to the markings around the hall. This place needs GPS.
“Detective Steele, you’re here!”
I turn to see Logan with one bottle of water in his hand and a coffee in the other.
“Thought I would see if Hadley was here.”
“Oh sure, she’s in the back. Follow me.”
Logan walks through the crowd and I get to see the back of his shirt. Hadley’s face, blood dripping out of her mouth, vampire teeth pressing into her lower lip. The image causes my breath to hitch a bit. Not the teeth, but the blood. I swallow my irrational thoughts as Logan walks up to a table and places the bottle of water on it. He stands back and there is Hadley, her hair darker from the time I last saw her, laughing at the fan in front of her. Logan leans down and whispers something in her ear. She looks up and finds me in the crowd. The emotions that one feels when facing their past, their fears, and their regrets, it’s impossible to describe. There are no words.
Hadley says something to the line in front of her table as she turns back to face me. I watch her take a few steps towards me before security stops her. My feet, as they sometimes do, walk on their own until I am right in front of the security guard.
“She’s with me.” Hadley tells the men and he moves the barrier, letting me inside the safety zone.
“Hey Had, I’m…” Before I could finish my though, her arms are around my neck and been she pulls me in for a hug.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Leaning down, I admit I relish the hug from my friend. I’ve missed her witty comebacks, her innocent comments, just everything. Like all real family, blood and time seem to matter little. Pulling back, she grabs my hand and leads me to her table. She calmly wipes the few stray tears that fell from her eyes and sits down.
“Stay, I’ll be done in a little bit and we can sit in the back for a bit. I see you met Logan already. I’m sure you two have lots in common. He works for the police department too!”
I can see Hadley my friend disappear and Hadley the actress pop up. Her smile, larger. Her eyes, more engaging. She’s on for the paying public. It’s a true talent. Logan pulls back the curtain and motions for me to follow him. Finding a nice set of folding chairs and tables, we sit down.
“You know Hadley?”
“Yeah, I do.” I watch him fumble with his coffee cup, spinning it within his fingers. His eyes focus on them, as if unable to focus on anything else. His leg slowly bounces as his body fills with nerves. It doesn’t take a detective to know, this is why he let me know where she was.
“You’re dating her.”
His eyes pop up and lock with mine.
“Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. How long?”
“About a year.”
A year. That’s while I was still healing from my injuries. When I was hiding from the world and all its drama. When I couldn’t bear to see her in pain. When I abandoned her as a friend. He was there. I didn’t know. I’m both envious at him and angry at myself.
“How did you meet?”
“I was investigating someone hacking a local hospital’s wireless system. There were fears of changing the frequencies of pacemakers and other things. Anyway, she happened to be there for physical therapy. After seeing her there more than once, I decided to bring her coffee. She started talking to me and it turned into a routine.”
“You bringing her coffee during therapy?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“Jasmine, there’s nothing to thank me for.”
I shrug my shoulders and ignore his comment. He might have done it for himself, but inadvertently he made me feel better about the situation.
“Can we talk shop for a minute before Hadley comes back here?”
“Sure, hit me with your best shot, Logan.”
“I found the profile for D.B.M. I sent him a message about a job, now we just wait and see.”
“You did what?” My voice cracks with slight anger considering what he just told me about his relationship with my friend.
“It was cleared with the captain. I contacted him, now we wait for him to respond.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then I wasted my personal time sending an email.”
“You said these type of people were good. They do research, they pay attention and make sure they are comfortable before getting into a deal. So, what the hell makes you think he isn’t doing this now?”
“I made a calculated risk assessment and felt it was worth it.”
“Here I am thanking you for helping Hadley when I couldn’t and you go right around and do the same damn thing I did to her.”
“I did nothing to her.”
“Logan, you’ve put her in harm’s way again!”
“Mind telling me why you two are causing a scene out here?”
We both turn and see an annoyed Hadley standing, arms folded shaking her head. She w
alks over to our small table and sits down next to Logan. Her eyes flash from him to me, waiting for an answer.
“I’m sorry baby, Jasmine and I are working a case together. We were just talking shop and I know how much you hate hearing about all that stuff.”
“Jazz? You have something to add to this conversation?”
Her eyes bore into my head. She wants me to answer, but I know if I say something it won’t help. As she waits patiently, I search my mind for something to say where I wouldn’t be lying. My phone rings in my pocket, effectively cutting off all thoughts.
“Steele.”
I look at the two in front of me. Logan looks nervous while Hadley just stares blankly. I think she knows I am about to walk away again.
“I’ll be right there.”
“You have to go already?”
“I’m sorry, Had. I promise it won’t be for long this time.”
“About the case?”
“Yes, but we’ll talk another time. Just please look into the man funding everything. That is what I need you to do.”
Logan nods as I stand up to leave. Hadley walks me to the edge of her autograph section. Giving her a quick hug, she watches me leave the wide open space of her celebrity to the swarms of moving cattle from table to table. Even though I hate crowds this was a good thing to do.
***
The doors of the elevator open up on the fifth floor of the hospital, revealing a few uniformed officers, a woman crying into a nurse’s arms and the captain standing in a corner rubbing his temples. This doesn’t look good.
“Good you’re here.”
Will walks up to me, pen and pad in his hand.
“What’s going on?”
Will motions down the hallway and like a perfectly trained puppy, I follow. If I ever get put in a hospital again, this is the place to be. There are more doctors on this floor than the rest of the place I bet. Well, less nurses and frankly they’re more valuable. It’s neither here nor there I guess.
“Jake Morris, on the transplant list for a liver,” he stops and turns to face me.
“So, what’s the time of death?”
“I’m not dead yet, detective. Soon, but not yet.”
That’s when I see Mr. Morris, alive and well but handcuffed to the hospital bed.
“Rejection?”
I walk into the room and stare at the man as if he’s an oddity in the world. Hell, he is, I’m a homicide detective. I don’t get to see live victims. It’s always the family members and their losses. I want to poke him to make sure he’s real, but that’s childish.
“Ow!”
I do it anyway.
“Sorry, just checking.”
“I assure you detective, I am still living and breathing.”
“What happened?”
“I’m in liver failure.”
“Right, the metal on your wrist is decoration only.”
“We just need to hear your side of the story,” Will throws in to bring the conversation back to the point at hand.
“Look, I know this sucks and you must be livid at your situation, but we need to know who did this to you.” I find myself feeling compassion for this guy. I mean he must have been so desperate to resort to buying organs online. That couldn’t have been an easy conversation with his family. If he had any.
“My son’s only seven. I just wanted a chance to see him grow up.”
I understand that more than my words could ever express. My brother and his wife would have given anything for ten more minutes with Chase.
“I was reading online in some forums, downloaded a program and found a listing for various organs.”
“You were on the transplant list. The sicker you are the more likely you are…”
“I’m an alcoholic. Would you donate part of your liver to me?”
My silence speaks volumes.
“Neither would I. Apparently, when you’ve already had a donation and screw it up, they don’t like you very much. I had no choice. Seriously, detective, what would you do?”
Stop drinking and put my family first?
“It doesn’t matter what I would have done. You chose the path you did and now you are going to pay the price for it.”
“I just don’t get it. He was listed as type O, universal donor. I paid a shit load of money for a small section of liver. It was supposed to regenerate and make me a healthy man. They lied.”
I want to smack this man. He lied to his family. He chose to continue to drink and put them at risk. He chose these things and now doesn’t want to deal with the ramifications. When the hell will people learn you reap what you sow?
Turning on my heels, I walk out of the room. I head over to Victor who is in deep conversation with the captain.
“The DNA matches Mr. Miller. It’s definitely from his body.”
“So, that’s why I was called.”
“Steele, that might be the primary reason, but there is more to it. The district attorney is hesitant a judge will issue a warrant.”
“That information is vital to our case.”
Victor watches the two of us talking, his head bouncing back and forth.
“Victor, how long does Mr. Morris have?”
“If he responds to the medication it is possible to bypass rejection or it will completely fail and die. Truthfully, there is no timetable here.”
“He’s convinced he’s going to die.”
“I know. Hopefully, it gives him time to think about life’s decisions.”
He smiles as he walks away from the captain and me. Turning my attention back to Tyler, I can see these last few cases have aged him greatly. Being a captain, dealing with the red tape and bureaucracy can’t be easy on him.
“You want to tell me why the DA isn’t sure we have enough to go for a warrant?”
“He feels we need something more solid before going after a computer company that employs a large number of people. Not to mention has a wonderful history of giving back to the community.”
“Two dead bodies, two laptops and a program connecting it all to a company isn’t enough.”
“Not in an election year apparently.” He runs his hair through what’s left of the hair on his head. “I need you to be careful with case. Mr. Pevy let me know that Irving Garrison was behind the company’s start-up capital. I don’t need to worry about you here, do I?”
“I promise you I’ll follow the evidence wherever it leads. If it leads to his doorstep, I will hit him square between the eyes.” I turn away and head back to the elevator. Pushing the button a little harder than I needed to, I try to hide my frustration with the people around me.
“Steele, this isn’t just about you. Remember that.”
I search the captain’s eyes for understanding but find none. He’s questioning my ability, I don’t like it. This isn’t like last time. This isn’t the same thing. This is me trying to do the best I can do with the evidence I have. The world closes in on me and my breath catches in my throat. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I work, it’s never going to be enough.
Chapter Seven
Sometimes when you stare at something long enough the words or images on the page begin to move. My eye doctor told me it had to do with dryness, some retina thing, or like reflection. I don’t remember, he just said it was my natural eye doing its best to drive me nuts. My mother on the other hand called it ‘an excuse to get out of school to go to the doctor-itis.’
Staring at the case files in front of me I feel that same sensation when the words begin to move. Mom would be smacking me in the back of the head. She might tell me to focus on one thing and don’t stare at it like a panting dog. Yeah, her analogies were usually odd, but what do you expect from your mother? Leaning back, rubbing my eyes, smiling because I know I am more my mother every day. Not such a bad thing.
This case is a bad thing. It reeks of stupidity, greed and more stupidity. If people were smarter, kinder, showed a bit more compassion than half of the crimes I deal wi
th would be gone. There wouldn’t be votes against civil liberties, no shooting children over clothing, and less murder. Who am I kidding? This is reality and people will always take the easy route instead of the hard working one. Where there is a will there is a lawsuit or someone on the Dark Web willing to sell it to you. The world is a selfie-obsessed, narcissistic society and I am raising a child in it. My mother never had to deal with this shit.
“I brought you some coffee.”
Frankie walks into the bedroom and hands me a steaming mug of heavenly goodness. She always knows when I need a break or a pick-me-up. Lately, it’s been more of a way to start conversations. I’m not avoiding her per se. I’m working hard to figure out how to answer her questions. I keep going back to that damn fork in the road. Do I walk left and rehash the same pain or pick a new path that I don’t know? Why can’t this be easy?
“Thanks,” I mumble as I left the warmth travel down my throat into my stomach.
Frankie collects the lose pages of the file and puts it neatly to the side. She sits down and I know serious conversation is coming soon.
“Can we talk?”
“Sure.” Mental note, do not roll eyes. Do not disrespect whatever it is she is going to say. Do not, under any circumstances, laugh at her. I can utter those words regularly, but I feel my brain never gets the memo.
“You keep avoiding me.”
“It’s a difficult case.”
“You also forget who you’re talking to. This case hasn’t been easy on me either.”
“I’m sorry.” Leave it to me to forget that Kaley was her patient. One she could have saved, but the law and a mother prevented her from helping.
“I feel I could have done more. It was my job to do more.”
“You can’t think like that, Frankie. We both know you went out of your way to protect Kaley. Her mother prevented it from happening. Her mother, Frankie, not you. Will and I scoured your files, and there was nothing in there that made either of us feel you let her down. You know I’m biased as hell, but Will would call you out.”
Melting Steele Page 10
