Justice for Hire (17 page)

Yappy squinted at the red light. “There may have been some LSD involved . . . I think.”

“In all three cases?”

He cocked his head. “I think so.”

Lisa pushed on. “I understand the perpetrators were part of a conspiracy?”

“Um . . . I believe so.”

Lisa loved this. Even though this dumb cop had no idea what he was talking about, she would be able to use it. She continued, “Are there others involved in the conspiracy? Perhaps more murders yet to take place?”

Yappy looked confused and thought a moment before answering, “We think so.”

“So, should the citizens be afraid?”

He shuffled his feet and glanced around. “Well . . . I guess it’s something to be afraid of.”

“What precautions should the people take?”

“Uh . . . don’t go outside, and don’t answer the door until I . . . uh, until we find out what’s going on.”

Lisa’s wide mouth tightened into a triumphant smile. This is what she’d hoped to get. It made for good TV, a bit alarming perhaps, but alarming is good. Good for ratings.

She pressed on, “And what of the first killer, Cheryl Waters, has she confessed yet?”

“Nope. Not yet.”

Lisa glanced up. The Lincolns had exited the precinct and were coming down the steps and she wanted to talk to them.

“Thank you, Officer Spiegle. You’ve been very helpful.”

“Yup,” he said. He turned to wave at Jake and Annie, and then wandered around the side of the building.

Lisa caught Don’s eye and motioned with her head toward the Lincolns. Don swung the camera their way and continued to film as Lisa wheeled around and hurried to intercept them at the bottom of the steps, her microphone in front, ready.

Don moved slightly to the left, his camera continuing to whir.

Lisa pushed the mike at Annie. “Annie Lincoln, you and your husband have been involved in some high profile cases lately. I would like to ask you a couple of questions, if I may? Can you tell me a little bit about this one, and what leads you are investigating?”

The camera whirled.

Lisa smiled a thin wide smirk.

Annie looked at the mike three inches from her nose and spoke without hesitation. “Detective Corning has released all the pertinent information. Any further investigations we, or the police, are doing, are strictly off the record until further notice.”

The mike swung over to Jake. “What about the LSD found in the system of the killers?”

Jake and Annie exchanged a glance. “We have no comment,” he said.

“Can you tell the viewers anything else?”

Annie leaned in. “I’m sorry, we have nothing else we can tell you. I’m sure Detective Corning will be releasing more information to you as the investigation continues.”

Lisa’s thin lips tightened in resolve, indignant, and determined. The microphone was poked closer to Jake. “Can you tell me about the conspiracy?”

Jake frowned. “What conspiracy?”

Lisa felt smug. She raised her head, her sharp nose sniffed. “The police believe there may be more murders planned. Do you know when, or where that may be?” Lisa waited and tapped her foot impatiently.

Annie leaned toward the mike, “We’re unaware of any conspiracies. And now, we have no further comments. Please excuse us.” Jake and Annie turned their backs and strode away in the direction Spiegle had gone.

Don followed as Lisa ran after them. “Just one more question,” she called.

They ignored her.

Lisa stopped and frowned as she watched the Lincolns go. She’d always found it hard to get much from those two. As well, she’d tried the families of all the victims, and Cheryl Waters, and yet had been unable to secure an interview.

But, she could make do with what she had for now. She turned to face the camera.

“We will bring you breaking news as it happens. In an exclusive report, I’m Lisa Krunk, live for Channel 7 Action News.”

Don shut the camera off and lowered it.

“Come on Don, let’s go,” Lisa said, spinning around and striding down the sidewalk toward the van.

Chapter 34

Thursday, August 25th, 12:05 PM

HANK LEANED FORWARD in the guest chair in front of Callaway’s desk and rested his arms on the laminate top.

The cop looked up from his monitor and shook his head. “Still no ID on either of the John Does, Hank. I’m doing what I can, but we have no record of them in the system nationwide, and nobody has come forward to identify them.”

Hank leaned back, folded his arms and glanced around the precinct. There were more than enough cops hanging around here. If he had a bit more help, perhaps he could get a break. He stood and said, “Thanks, Callaway.”

“Yup.”

Hank crossed the precinct floor and tapped on Diego’s open door. The top cop looked up from his paperwork.

“Can I see you a minute, Captain?”

Diego tossed his pen onto his desk, sat back and motioned toward a chair. Hank dropped down and slouched back.

“What is it, Hank?”

“I need some more help. I need more uniforms on the streets. I can’t do it all myself, and I haven’t come up with any leads.”

Diego wove his fingers together behind his head and worked a crick out of his neck. He eyed Hank closely a moment before speaking. “I haven’t got any guys I can spare, Hank. You know that. I wish I could hire more cops, but the budget just won’t allow it.”

Hank motioned toward the precinct floor. “Look Captain, we have a bunch of guys there, and a dozen more writing parking tickets on the streets. How about giving me some of them to help with a little canvassing?”

Diego shook his head. “Can’t do it Hank.”

Hank stood and paced a moment, and then turned suddenly, faced Diego and frowned. “Captain, the way I see it, it’s a matter of priority. If we could spend a little less time chasing morality breakers and running after citizens who drive a little too fast, we might have the resources to catch some real criminals.”

Diego shrugged a long shrug and took a deep breath. “I want to get to the bottom of this as badly as you do, but we need to feed the budget.”

Hank sank back into the chair. The budget. It was always about the budget. “Can’t you forget about money for a few days?” Hank raised his voice a notch in exasperation, “You were out there, at the press conference—you heard the questions—the people want some action on this. They don’t care about the budget. You've got to be realistic. The police have a job to do, and that job is getting criminal scum off the streets.”

Diego waved a hand in the air as he spoke, irritated at Hank’s outburst. “Hank, we’ve had three shootings and have three perps. One is in jail, and two are in the morgue. What makes you think there are more out there, and if so, how is patrolling the streets going to help us?”

Hank closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out in a slow stream. He leaned forward and frowned. “Because these shootings are all related. I know they are, and so do you. Something, or someone is behind all of this, and the only chance of a lead right now is to find out who those two are in the morgue.”

Diego picked up his pen and twiddled with it. He seemed to be thoughtful.

Hank continued, “And then, there’s David Haines, who’s missing.”

“That’s for Missing Persons to handle.”

“It may be related. I have a feeling it is, and that’s why I have the canvassers showing around a picture of him as well. If anyone saw him yesterday, I want to know about it.”

Diego’s brow wrinkled as he eyed Hank. “All right. I’ll give you King. He can help you out on this.”

Hank snorted in disgust. “King? Simon King?”

Diego shrugged. “I can spare him. There are two other detectives in the narcotics division. They can handle it for now, and King can partner with you on this one.”

“I don’t work with a partner, Captain, you know that.”

“You can for now. King may be new, but he’s all I can give you.”

“I can’t work with King,” Hank said flatly. “Nobody can. There’s a reason he was transferred here. Nobody in Toronto could get along with him either, so they dumped him here.”

Diego laughed. “Not quite true, but if I know you, Hank, you can tame him.”

Hank shook his head slowly and exhaled. “All right. You’re the boss, but I don’t answer to him, and if he gets in my way . . .”

Diego interrupted, “And I’ll give you two more cops. Just for a few days, and I hope to see some results by then.”

“You’ll get results, Captain.”

“What are the Lincolns doing about this? Anything promising from them?”

Hank shrugged, “They’re as stumped as I am right now, but Jake’s going to hit the streets as well, and Annie’s pretty smart. They may come up with something useful.”

“Just make sure they don’t get in the way. We can’t be watching out for them as well.”

“Come on, Captain, that’s not fair. You know they’ve been a big help to us in the past. Sure, they may get paid to do what they do, but they genuinely care about catching the bad guys as much as we do. And half the time, they’re helping people who didn’t even hire them.”

Diego sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Hank crossed his arms. “So, where is King, and when do I get to team up with this idiot?”

Diego gave Hank a black look.

Hank’s voice took on a sarcastic tone. “Sorry, Captain. I mean, when do I get to team up with the wonderful Detective King?”

“Just go easy on him, Hank. He’s got some good qualities, and he’s a good cop. You’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, I’ll figure it out,” Hank said. “So, where is he?”

Diego shook his head. “I don’t know where he is right now, but I’ll bring him in and get this partnership started.”

“I can’t wait.”

Chapter 35

Thursday, August 25th, 12:14 PM

THE 1986 PONTIAC FIREBIRD was speeding down Main Street, a few miles over the speed limit, but traffic was light, and Jake had a heavy foot.

Annie was used to his driving, long ago given up trying to change the way he drove. He may break the occasional traffic law now and then, but he never took any unnecessary chances. Besides, she didn’t want to be like her mother and try to change people who were ok the way they were, especially her husband.

Annie peered at Jake over her sunglasses. “I think Yappy’s a bit of a problem. Lisa Krunk always manages to get something from him and he doesn’t know how to keep quiet.”

Jake nodded. “He’s definitely a problem at times.” He glanced at his wife. “Do you think it was him who told her about the LSD?”

Annie shrugged. “Maybe, but I don’t know how he found out, because Hank didn’t release that information, as far as I know.”

“Word gets around. People talk. It may have come through the medical examiner’s office, perhaps one of her assistants. It’s hard to keep a secret.”

Annie agreed. “Perhaps. Hopefully there’s no harm done.”

“Lisa always finds a way to cause harm,” Jake said, as he reached to his belt, freed his ringing iPhone, and touched the screen with his thumb. “Jake here.”

“Detective Jake, how are things?”

“Sammy?”

“The one and only.”

Jake laughed. “How’s life on the streets?”

“Wonderful.”

Annie reached over and poked Jake in the shoulder. “Give me the phone. You’re driving.”

Jake grinned at her and hit the speaker button. “Hold on, Sammy,” he said, and then handed the phone to Annie.

Sammy Fisher was an enigma with a big heart. Homeless by choice, he was an unusual but charming character, and she couldn’t help liking him. They’d gotten acquainted with him recently when he’d helped to track down a fugitive.

Annie took the phone and held it up between her and Jake. “Hi, Sammy, it’s Annie.”

“Greetings, Detective Annie. How’s my favorite lady private eye?”

Annie chucked. “I’m doing well, Sammy. Jake is trying to drive right now, so he gave me the phone. It’s nice to hear from you.”

“Nice to be heard.” Annie heard a belly laugh come from the phone, and then, “I thought you might need my help again?”

Jake leaned over. “In what way?”

“I heard you were at the mission looking for some information. Thought I might be able to lend my expertise in some way. I have a lot of friends on the streets. Some of them have part-time jobs, but most of us are between jobs, at the moment, and are at your disposal.”

Jake gave Annie a thumbs-up and she nodded back. “As a matter of fact,” she said into the phone. “We could use your help. We’re looking for a missing boy and, so far, the police haven’t found anyone who may have seen him.”

“I know people who know people and can ask around. We may be homeless, but we’re harmless, and still citizens of this fair city. Of course, there are a lot of nasties out here too, but I’m not talking about the criminal element. Most of the people I know are nicer folks than you might think,” Sammy said, and then his voice turned serious, “How old is the boy?”

“He’s sixteen years old,” Annie said. “He skipped school yesterday and his parents are fairly certain he was wandering around the city. He hasn’t been seen since yesterday morning.”

“Just get me some pictures of him and my colleagues and I’ll get to work.”

“How many pictures?” Jake asked.

“Fifty or so.”

“Fifty?”

“Like I said, I know a lot of people. You’ve heard of six degrees of separation? Well, out here it’s two degrees of separation, and they can cover this city like flies on a bag lady.”

Annie laughed. “You got it. Fifty it is.”

“They have nothing better to do, anyway,” came over the line.

Jake grabbed Annie’s arm and eased the phone a bit closer. “You still in the same place?”

“Yup. You remember where my castle is?”

Jake laughed. “I don’t think I’ll forget that.” He put both hands back on the steering wheel and turned into the left lane to pass a slow-moving senior.

“Just tell me when you can be here and I’ll be at home waiting for you,” Sammy said.

Annie glanced at Jake. “We can get some copies made right now.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “We just passed the copy shop.”