by Diane Kelly
Maybe now he’d get help for it.
* * *
By the end of the day Friday, the crime scene techs had called me with confirmation. Unfortunately, it was confirmation that the GPS device had no prints on it. Whoever had put it in Adriana’s car had been careful to wipe the device clean. Still, even without prints, it seemed clear, to me at least, that Ryan must have put it there. He seemed to be the only person with both a motive to do so and access to Adriana’s car. When he began to sense that their relationship was failing, he could’ve snuck her keys out of her purse and planted the device.
I spoke with Detective Bustamente before heading out for my swing shift. “What did the prosecutor say? Does this change anything?”
“He said it might. He called the defense attorney to see if he wanted to work out a plea deal based on this new evidence. You’ll never guess what he came back with.”
“What?”
“He said after hearing about the device Ryan went out and checked his car. He claims he found one under his hood, too. Ryan brought it to his attorney’s office and the two of them drove his car here. Our tech guys removed it.”
“Was it the same model as the one in Adriana’s car? Or different?”
“Yep. They were the same.”
That likely meant the same person placed both of them. But who?
“Any prints on it?” I asked.
“Nope,” Bustamente replied. “It was clean.”
“So the evidence is inconclusive.”
“Yep. The DA said he’d try to get Downey to agree to a lesser charge, but if they don’t come to some kind of agreement soon he’s going to move on. He doesn’t think there’s enough evidence to get a conviction on any bigger charges.”
In other words, Ryan Downey would get away with just the citation I’d written him for reckless driving. I closed my eyes for a few seconds before releasing an elongated breath. “This has been an extremely frustrating investigation.”
Bustamente opened a drawer, pulled out a plastic container, and held it out to me. “Here. Have a piece of fudge. My wife made a fresh batch.”
I fished out a piece, said good-bye to Bustamente, and ate the fudge on the go. Dang, that’s some fine fudge.
On my way out the door, I was stopped by Melinda as I passed her sitting behind the front counter. Melinda was a bleached blonde in her forties, and she served a dozen or more roles around the station. She was the receptionist, office manager, and assistant to Captain Leone, who ran the station. She was also the keeper of keys to the supply cabinet and many little secrets about all of us officers. But while she’d gladly give you the keys if you could justify your need for yet another ballpoint pen or notepad, she wouldn’t share secrets to spare her life. Nope, definitely not a gossip.
She held out a thin manila envelope. “This just came in for you.”
I took the envelope from her, opened it, and pulled out the single sheet of paper inside. It was a subpoena issued by the lawyer Adriana had hired and it required me to be in family law court at 8:00 Monday morning. I would’ve voluntarily agreed to attend the hearing on her protective order, but I knew lawyers liked to make everything official, so I took no offense at the legal summons.
“Thanks, Melinda.” I folded the document and tucked it into my breast pocket.
“You were quite popular today.” She reached over to her stacked bins on the counter and pulled out another envelope. “This came for you, too.”
I opened the second envelope to find a virtually identical subpoena, though this one had been sent by Ryan’s attorney. Looked like everybody wanted a piece of me.
I drove by Adriana’s place to give her the news about the GPS. We spoke on her porch.
“There were no prints on the GPS in your car, and Ryan claims to have found a device in his car, too.”
“That’s ridiculous!” she cried. “He probably put it there!”
I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. “I really don’t know what to tell you at this point.”
“What does this mean for me?” she asked. “Is Ryan going to get off scot-free?”
“The DA’s trying to work out a plea deal.”
“A plea deal?” Her mouth gaped. “The guy threatens me with a gun and tries to run me off the road and they’re going to give him a plea deal?” She covered her face with her hands, as if unwilling to face this decision. “I’m going to end up dead, Officer Luz. I just know it.”
My stomach turned and twisted inside me, pangs of guilt cutting through as if my organs were being processed through her Cuisinart. “Is there somewhere else you can stay for a while?” I asked her. “Maybe with a friend?”
“I’m not particularly social,” she said. “I’m friendly enough with people at work but there’s nobody I’d feel comfortable staying with.”
“What about a vacation?” I asked. “Maybe you could go visit your parents for a few days, let things settle down.”
“Ryan and I spent a week in Austin in July,” she said, “and I took two days earlier this year for my cousin’s wedding. I’ve only got three vacation days left and I wanted to use them at Christmas.”
“How about a hotel?”
“I could afford a night or two, maybe,” she said. “But dietitians don’t make a lot of money, and staying in a hotel isn’t going to solve anything. I’d have to come home sometime. Then what?”
At that point, I was out of ideas.
“We’ll continue the patrols,” I assured her. “If he keeps this up, we’ll catch him sooner or later.”
Her face hardened. “No offense, Officer Luz. But that doesn’t make me feel better.” She said nothing more before turning and going back into her house.
I stared at her closed door. Was there anything more I could be doing to help her feel safe? I thought and thought and thought, but I couldn’t come up with a damn thing.
Woof? Brigit barked from the cruiser. Funny, even though it was only a sound and not a word, I could tell it was a question. She was probably wondering why I was standing there staring off into space. Hell, I was wondering the same thing. It was an exercise in futility.
* * *
As I poured food into Brigit’s bowl Saturday morning, I noticed we were running low. Once she’d crunched down her kibble and I’d polished off a bowl of equally noisy granola, I loaded her into the car to head to the pet-supply store.
To our delight, a local pet-rescue group was holding an adoption day on the front sidewalk. Cages and portable enclosures were lined up along the walkway. Brigit woofed and wagged her tail as we rolled by, searching for a parking spot.
On our way into the store, Brigit insisted on introducing herself to each of the dogs, which ranged in age from a trio of three-month-old boxer-mix puppies to a middle-aged collie to a twelve-year-old senior Scottish terrier. While Brigit and the dogs made canine small talk, I struck up a conversation with one of the volunteers who was holding an adorable fluffy dog who was mostly gray with touches of brown on her face. When the dog looked up at me with her bright brown eyes and wagged her tail I felt my heart melt.
I reached out a hand to ruffle the dog’s ears. “Who’s this cutie?”
“This is Maya,” the woman said. “Maya’s mother was a miniature Doberman pinscher and her father was a Maltese. She was my surprise Christmas present a few years ago. My husband claimed he didn’t think we had time for a puppy, but then I found her in a box under the tree Christmas morning. We’ve been inseparable since.” She went on to tell me that Maya’s addition to their family had not only brought her endless joy, but had also led her to an acute awareness of animal-welfare issues. The overpopulation problem. Puppy mills. Dogs left chained and unattended in yards for long, lonely days. “Now I foster dogs who are up for adoption. Maya is wonderful about welcoming them into our home. She’s calm and sweet and never jealous or resentful.”
“Pretty and sweet, huh?” I angled my head to indicate Brigit, who’d grabbed the end of a colorful rope han
ging from the mouth of a pit bull for an impromptu game of tug-of-war. “My dog’s a stubborn pain in the butt with a squirrel obsession. Want to trade?” I was only joking, of course. I was as crazy about Brigit as this woman clearly was about her precious little Maya.
We shared a chuckle before I rounded up Brigit to go inside. “Good luck with the adoption day.”
“Thanks!”
I led Brigit inside where we filled a cart with a forty-pound bag of her favorite food and a nylon chew toy, as well as a catnip-filled mouse toy for Zoe. Three boxes of liver treats made their way into the basket, too. Brigit sure had been running through them lately. Of course she’d earned every one. I also grabbed a bottle of peach-scented flea shampoo. Nobody needed to know that particular purchase was for myself.
On our way out of the store, we were met with squeals of delight from two young boys whose parents had just given them the green light to adopt one of the boxer pups. Both the dog and the boys would have years of fun ahead of them, as well as new best friends. I gave Maya a final scratch under the chin. Yep, she’s irresistible. “Bye, sweetie pie.”
She wagged her tail and gave me and Brigit an arf in good-bye.
That afternoon, I left Brigit home with Zoe while Frankie, Zach, my sister Gabby, and I went to Frankie’s Roller Derby bout. Seth was working today, so he couldn’t come along. As I watched the women skate round and round and round the rink, I thought how similar it was to the stalking investigation. The case had me and Detective Bustamente going around in circles and seemingly had no end. Hell, at least in Derby they could keep score. I had no idea what the score was where Adriana Valdez and Ryan Downey were concerned. Only the two of them truly knew which of them had won each of their battles. The brick through the window. The woman with the red balloons. The sex-site profile. The visit to Toby at day camp. The car chase.
Frankie skated at warp speed, blowing by us in a blue-haired blur as we stood at the rail cheering her on. “Frank-ee! Frank-ee!”
Gabby pumped a fist in the air as she chanted along with us. She turned to me. “This looks like fun! Maybe I should give Roller Derby a try.”
Just then, another skater cut Frankie off and the two of them locked skates, wiping out, and slid across the polished wood, slamming into the half wall that surrounded the rink. Next to me, Gabby cringed. “Ouch! That had to hurt!”
Despite that fact, Frankie somehow made the fall look graceful, rising back up to her feet in a seamless motion.
I nudged Gabby with my elbow. “Still thinking you’ll give it a try?”
“Maybe I should give it some more thought first.”
We shared a laugh.
Zach turned to me. “I’m really glad you asked Seth to set up me and Frankie. I’ve never met any woman like her before.”
“You’ll never meet another one like her, either.”
Frankie was certainly unique. Fearless and ferocious, but with a soft and tender side, too.
“I worry about her,” he said. “You know, with the new job and all. Firefighting is such a dangerous profession.”
“Tell me about it,” I said. Not only was Seth a firefighter, but he served on the bomb squad, as well. The job came with a lot of risks. But the two of them had willingly accepted those risks, and if we wanted to be part of their lives, we had to accept them, too, even if it meant developing ulcers in the process. Besides, I supposed the risks of my job had given Seth a sleepless night on occasion.
We turned our attention back to the track. Frankie’s teammate Raven skated by, her dark hair pulled back in jaunty pigtails, the lights glinting off the multiple piercings in her ears. Mia, a petite Asian woman, followed her, looking both fierce and feminine in her pink skates and lacy fingerless gloves.
It was an exciting bout. The Fort Worth Whoop Ass and Shreveport She Devils were evenly matched, and the score went back and forth. As soon as the Whoop Ass got a lead, the She Devils would come from behind, score, and get ahead. But at the end of the bout the Whoop Ass emerged both bruised and victorious, the final score 161 to 158.
The teams exchanged sportswomanlike high fives on the track, rolling past each other in a procession before skating off. Zach, Gabby, and I exchanged our own high fives with Frankie as she skated over to us, sweaty and exhausted, but happy with the win. “That was a tough one!”
“You pulled it off, though,” I said. “Good job.”
After dropping Gabby back at my parents’ place, the rest of us returned to the house. Frankie spent a few minutes showering and freshening up before she and Zach took off for a dinner date, leaving me behind with only Brigit and Zoe for company. With Seth on a shift at the fire station, I’d be dateless tonight. Sigh.
I fixed myself an organic peanut butter sandwich on whole-wheat bread, making a second for Brigit. She and I curled up on the couch together to watch television.
After a half hour or so I realized that I was lonely, dammit. I’d always been a bit of a loner, a maverick who did just fine on her own. Not that I hadn’t had friends. But because of my childhood stutter I’d often kept both quiet and to myself. Even as my stutter abated as I grew older, I found the old habits hard to break. I’d attended events with groups of kids from band while in high school, and in college there had always been groups from the dorm to hang out with, but I’d never grown particularly attached to anyone. Now, though, I realized I’d grown attached to both Seth and Frankie, in different ways, of course, and for different reasons. But I had to admit I felt very lonesome here without one or the other of them to keep me company.
I looked over at Brigit, feeling a twinge of guilt. While I loved having her as a partner, there were some roles she simply couldn’t fulfill in my life. It dawned on me that she likely felt the same way. Maybe it was time to get another dog to keep her company when I wasn’t around, to be her friend in a way that only another canine could. Of course if Seth moved in, like he seemed to be doing even though he wasn’t acknowledging it, we might soon be sharing the house with him and Blast on a regular basis.
Despite my loneliness tonight, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. Moving in together would be a big step, not to mention that I already had Frankie to think about.
Oh, well. None of these things had to be decided tonight.
It also dawned on me that Adriana must feel lonely like this a lot. Even if she was an introvert, everybody needed someone, even if only on occasion. With Ryan out of her life now, even if it had been her choice, she must be feeling this same type of emptiness and heartache. On top of that feeling, she had the fear that Ryan might be out to kill her. I could only imagine how awful it would be to live with that kind of thing hanging over you. I hoped my fellow officers who were out on patrol tonight were keeping an eagle eye on her place.
* * *
The following week I was back on the night shift. Ugh. The only good thing about it was that it would give me the chance to keep close tabs on both Adriana’s house and Ryan’s apartment. While I knew the other cops in W1 wanted to keep everyone safe under our watch, the situation between these two was personal to me given how involved I’d been. I couldn’t help but think that I’d pay a little more attention than anyone else, be the most likely to notice something that was awry.
But first things first. And first thing Monday morning I had to appear in family law court. I’d been subpoenaed by Adriana’s attorney to testify on her behalf in the hearing on her protective order. Of course Ryan and his attorney had come to fight the order. If the judge granted the order, Ryan would no longer be allowed to possess a gun. Besides, these types of things could follow a person for life. It wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
Family law court had to be one of the most depressing places on earth, the portal to hell. It was where dreams of happily-ever-afters were crushed, where once-loving relationships were officially and finally severed, where children were legally—and sometimes physically—torn from one parent and given to another. The place was a maelstrom of rage, grief, dis
appointment, and despair. In other words, it sucked. Big-time.
When Brigit and I walked into the crowded room, the effect of all those people and their negative emotions were suffocating. I had to pause for a moment to mentally adjust. As we stopped, Brigit’s tags jingled. The people turned to see what had caused the noise and spotted my partner.
I’d been in family law court before, but that was before I’d been partnered with Brigit. As it turned out, a furry, friendly dog was like a breath of fresh air in the room. People who’d been scowling or holding tissue to their crying eyes before now smiled and pointed at Brigit, telling their children to look at the “doggie.”
We made our way slowly up the aisle, stopping to let everyone who wanted to pet Brigit have a chance. By the time we made it to a seat on the second row, she’d had dozens of hands on her and a couple of Cheerios were stuck to her fur, but she’d enjoyed every second of it. She also enjoyed licking the Cheerios from her back. I admired my partner for many reasons, but her ability to be not only fierce and formidable, but also sweet and loving, was definitely one of them. Some police dogs couldn’t be trusted to be touched and hugged, but Brigit ate that stuff up. She was an incredibly intelligent animal, with good instincts. Hell, sometimes I thought she was smarter and had better instincts than me. I know the same thought crossed her mind on occasion, too. The disdainful looks she sometimes sent me said it all. Oh, you poor, stupid human. What would you do without me? Fortunately, she forgave my faults and failures.
I slid onto a bench to await instruction, Brigit lying on the floor at my feet. Both Adriana and Ryan were already seated at opposing tables at the front of the room. Adriana had sucked it up and hired an attorney this time. She’d been smart to do so. Only fools tried to represent themselves. The two stared straight ahead, not casting so much as a glance in the direction of the other, probably on the advice of their attorneys. Still, Adriana’s shrunken posture said how uncomfortable she felt to be here. Ryan, on the other hand, sat up tall and rigid in his seat, seemingly both confident and angry at the same time.
