The Gumshoe Diaries (18 page)

Standing in front of the machine a moment I
watched the light blink at me. I noticed that my penlight was
creating a glare off the console glass from the angle at which I
was shining it. I moved my hand left and right, then up and down
trying to compensate but no good. Finally I knelt in front of the
console and pressed my penlight right on top of the glass, and then
I saw it. The blinking light was part of a small tubular device,
set right above a lens of some sort, and whatever it was, was not
attached to the SEM at all?
Balls!
It was a
camera, and I was being watched right this minute! Before I could
think
what the hell
the green light changed to red.
Oh crap, now what!

****

(“After the moment passes and the impulse disappears.
You can still hold back. Because you don’t crack easily…”)…Code of
Silence…Billy Joel…1986

Chapter Twenty-four

Hollenbeck Station…Monday, Feb 23,
2009…10:00pm

The look on Rebecca Tran’s face was pure
elation! She was so sure that her slick piece of police work would
land her in tight with her CO, that she was actually scribbling
Josh Stanford’s name all over her note pad like a High School
freshman crushing on her homeroom teacher. It was somewhere between
cute and pathetic. Cute because,
well
, she was very cute! It
was pathetic because her CO, Lt. Oscar Celaya is rarely impressed;
and almost never enough to actually inspire action. I suspected
young Rebecca’s bubble was about to be burst.

Oscar’s office door opened abruptly, swinging
hard enough to bounce off the wall and rattle the windows.
Startled, Becca jumped out of her chair and walked around her desk
when she saw Iggie and the lieutenant heading her way. Her partner
was grinning like he’d just run over a small child. But the LT
looked as if he were about to eat one! This wasn’t a good sign and
Becca suddenly felt bile rising from her stomach, burning her
esophagus.

“
Is this what you call smart
police work Detective Tran,”
roared Lt. Celaya angrily?

“Um, what do you mean sir,” she answered
meekly, retreating half a step and crossing her arms defensively.
Truth be told she was she was fighting the urge to bolt. More bile
reached her throat and burned uncomfortably, causing her voice to
crack a bit. She tried to look cool, calm and collected but was
obviously failing. Iggie smirked like a true tattletale and she
could see that the lieutenant wasn’t buying her little Miss
innocent act.

“
What do I mean?
Are you serious Tran?
Look sunshine, if you expect to still have that gold shield on your
belt when you leave here tonight I suggest you drop the cute stuff.
Don’t you know cute is wasted on me? I’m ten years past my prime,
hopelessly married, and a card carrying member of the
‘he-man
woman hater’s club’
,
you got it
,” Oscar ranted! He
always was pretty entertaining when he ranted and raved. To be
honest I kind of missed that.

“Yes sir, I didn’t mean anything, I’m just
confused about what’s the issue here,” Becca replied finding her
voice? She scooted back around her desk to put a physical barrier
between her and her psycho boss. She didn’t know this guy but had
heard some terrible stories about his temper.

“
The issue Rebecca is that you removed a
potentially critical piece of evidence from an active crime scene
without contacting CSI. That is a clear violation of protocol
detective, you should have known better,”
Officer Ingram
offered condescendingly.

“Put a sock in it Iggie, I don’t need any
help scolding the rookie,” quipped Lt. Celaya.

“And just so we’re clear, you’re walking on
the same rice paper as your partner here,
you got
that!
”

“Right, sorry LT, my bad,” Iggie stammered
apologetically. He stepped back a couple of feet, crossed his arms
and stared down at his shoes, waiting for Oscar’s eyes to look
Becca’s way again.

“
Anyway
, like laughing boy here said,
you blew it Tran. You contaminated a crime scene, a Cardinal sin in
police work. Fortunately for you it’s also a common sin among
rookies like you, so the blame belongs to Iggie, he should have
known better,” Oscar said, transferring the heat from student to
teacher.

“
Wait just a min…”
Iggie started.

“I told you to can it Detective Ingram, that
means shut up and listen,” Oscar said, cutting Iggie off in mid
sentence.

“Sir, it’s not all his fault,
I’d
already
started to
…” Becca began. Oscar raised his hand
like a beat cop stopping traffic at a busy intersection.

“Spare me Tran. I appreciate your loyalty to
a guy you barely know, but the fact is this is the second time in
24 hours that the
BOTH
of you have fouled up on
this investigation,” Oscar said, scolding his new detective as he
took a seat on the corner of her desk. He removed his glasses and
slowly rubbed his tired eyes. After a moment he sighed and put his
glasses back on his face.

“Ah, I’m getting too old for this job’“ he
said looking down at Becca who had seated herself while he was
massaging his temples. He studied her young face for a few seconds
and waited for her to make eye contact. When she did they
considered one another without words, sizing one another up so to
speak. Finally Oscar broke the silence.

“You have a lot of potential Tran,
I mean
that
, you wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think so,” Oscar said
sincerely. Becca remained silent, stunned by the sudden change in
the lieutenant’s demeanor? She allowed herself to relax enough to
reply without squeaking.

“Thank you sir,” she replied smiling weakly,
secretly scolding herself for smiling!

“Look, I don’t believe in throwing the baby
out with the bath water. This is your first case with us. And let’s
face it. Iggie isn’t exactly teacher of the year,
are you
professor
,” Oscar said, turning to glare at her partner? Poor
Iggie seemed to actually shrink about an inch under the heat of
that stare.

“No excuses sir,” Iggie replied without
making eye contact. Every good Marine knows there is only one way
to answer a question like that from a commanding officer. No
excuses sir. Oscar let him off the hook, returning his attention to
Becca.

“So here your next move young Tran. I want
you to take this flash drive to IT upstairs and have them see
what’s on it. I’ll clue you in right now it’s nothing except the
vic’s
homework and personal shit,” directed Lt. Celaya.

“What makes you think that,” Becca asked?

“It’s a hunch Tran, a hunch, you never heard
that term before? Forget it, and because I’m a 35 year veteran in
this town it’s a goddamn good hunch,” Oscar answered tiredly.

“Yes
but
…” Becca started.

“No buts Tran! This isn’t rocket science. You
have got to know your subjects. The principle character in this
murder scene is Dr. Judy Looney. Next is Whitey Roode, low-life.
After that comes whoever killed the poor slob the good doctor was
probably
boinking
. Last and definitely least is our victim,
Ernie Namura. Forget him, he’s insignificant, a statistic only,”
Oscar said, accentuating each point by raising a finger one at a
time. Rebecca perked up scooting closer her chair closer to the
desk. Even Iggie had looked up from his shoes and moved closer to
the conversation.

“But I thought you liked Dr. Looney for this
murder? Iggie thought so too?”

“Well you’re both wrong. I like Dr. Looney
for being the key to solving this puzzle. Actually, I was hoping
that Whitey Roode would be the perp. But unfortunately it’s not
adding up that way. As big an asshole as Whitey is, he’s no
murderer. No sir, whoever did this thing does it for a living. It’s
too neat. And that’s how I know that your flash drive is useless.
The murderer left that for you to find. Well, it was left for you
or Whitey, depending on who got there first,” Oscar explained,
standing up to stretch.

“Oh Lordy, I’m way too old for this,” Oscar
whined, arching his back.

“If Whitey and Dr. Looney are clear where
does that leave us,” asked Becca?

“It means that our unknown subject is playing
with us. He planted that stick under the soda machine knowing we’d
find it easy enough. Then, he left us to play grab ass with Whitey
Roode deciphering a device containing
bupkis
. The real
target is Judy Looney. She took whatever was worth finding with her
when she left the lab,” Iggie said joining the brainstorm.

“Give that man a prize,” Oscar replied
sarcastically.

“Now here’s the sixty-four thousand dollar
question, where is Dr. Looney now,” Oscar asked looking down at
Becca? Suddenly she was afraid, not for herself, she was afraid for
Judy Looney!

****

(“I’m not broke but you can see the cracks, you can
make me perfect again…”)…U2…All because of You…2004

Chapter Twenty-five

Union Plaza, Las Vegas, Nevada…Tuesday, Feb
24, 2009…9:00am

This should have been easy; all of my plans
are easy. But this time, this one single time there was a wrinkle,
a blemish, a monkey in the wrench of my day. I had expected that
gnat, Whitey Roode to follow me as I followed her. He was the
obvious one; he loves her after all, in spite of her unfortunate
affliction. But the Turk, I must admit, he was a surprise. I seldom
have surprises,
delicious
. But if Hassan is here that means
Roode is dead. And if Roode is dead, why is the Turk here? His
Russian masters could care less about this woman. She is no threat
to their precious lies. It was the little present that I left for
the so called detective to find that contained what they feared. If
he found it, and how could he not, even an imbecile like him
should’ve found it, then he would be the hunted one. Surely he had
pulled some strings as they say inside his brotherhood of blue and
discovered the list that Hassan had explicitly warned him to
ignore.

That insatiable curiosity must’ve been his
death sentence.
Pity
, I was hoping to have had that pleasure
myself.
Bollocks then
, the Turk will take his place, he must
pay for Mei Li’s death anyway. All the years grooming her for
greatness, wasted,
damn his eyes!
He’ll answer for that, and
soon, as I sense he is much too close to my frightened
entertainment. It’s decided then; Hassan will be first on today’s
menu of mayhem. I’ll dispense of him before I visit the good doctor
and her mate, Whitey’s former wife, the transgender
abomination.

--

Union Plaza Room 3023…Tuesday, Feb 24,
2009…10:00am

--

Judy Looney pulled the heavy drapes closed as
soon as they got into the room. She hadn’t felt safe since
discovering the chip. Goddamn Whitey, why did he get her into this
mess? Actually that wasn’t fair; he was just the enabler, she made
her own choices, everyone does. She pondered that thought a moment,
why do people blame the circumstances for the choices they make?
Everyone wants to be the victim she supposed, and for an instant
she remembered her victim moment. The relationship she walked away
from that propelled her into the life she now led. She left behind
the love of her life because she lacked the capacity to forgive.
She let her anger hardened her heart and rob her of the life she
had dreamed of as a little girl. For a fleeting moment she secretly
wished for a
do over
chance
, but those are only
dreams as well.

She did enjoy the little detours that
Whitey’s schemes brought into her boring life. As much as she loved
her work and teaching, a little part of her yearned for the
excitement his recklessness brought. She wasn’t in love with
Whitey, but she was in like with him. She knew that he was smitten
and she felt guilty about leading him on, but she couldn’t help
herself. In a way Whitey reminded her of what she had let slip
away. However, no man could ever replace her lost love, she would
never allow that. Hence her relationship with Ronnie, let’s face
it, loneliness kills. She paused a moment to survey the street
below, not exactly sure what to look for. Judy hoped that whatever
survival instincts she possessed would surface if anything caught
her eye.

“You didn’t say a word the entire trip. Five
and a half hours without traffic, what gives,” Ronnie asked?

“I know, I’m sorry honey, I just didn’t want
to wind you up with a lot of speculating about what your ex is up
to back in LA, that’s all,” Judy replied, walking away from the
window and crossing the room.

She collapsed into Ronnie’s arms and wept,
allowing herself to be vulnerable for the moment. Judy sensed that
sooner or later she was going to have to suck it up if they were
going to survive and she was betting on sooner. She regretted that
her addiction to Whitey’s nonsense was going to cost more than she
was prepared to admit to. They had really stepped in it this time.
What she read of that list, and she had read most of it, convinced
her that she ought to be scared to death. The names on that chip
were powerful people and the notes associated with each of them
were undoubtedly worth killing for. She knew for a fact that the
chip had cost Ernie his life, the poor sweet kid, as it had
Whitey’s pals at the deli, and the girl that had set all of this in
motion. How was she supposed to tell Ronnie all of that? She
wasn’t, that’s how. What Ronnie didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her,
right? It wasn’t like they could stop this runaway train. Their
best bet, according to Whitey was to get this freaking thing to his
contact in Vegas and then disappear for a while, maybe take that
Parisian honeymoon they talked about before Proposition 8 ruined
everything?

“Penny for your thoughts,” Ronnie whispered
as she stroked Judy’s hair?