Неизвестный - 4. Justice In The Shadows

She unclipped the cell phone from her belt. She doubted that anyone would be around, but she tried the main number at Sloan Security first. A male voice answered on the fourth ring.

“Jason, it’s Frye.”

“Hey.” His voice was flat, tired.

“Any news on Michael?”

“Not yet.”

Rebecca pushed her sympathy for Michael’s friend and her anger at the assault aside. The best thing she could do was find whoever was behind it. “Do you have Sloan’s computer there? The one she used last night to monitor the live feed of the sex video?”

“Sure. I was just about to call you. I’ve got a good print of the guy.” Jason’s tone was animated for the first time. “I had to extract the images from several partial views and do a computer simulation to get the composite, but it’s good enough to through the databases—NCIP, Armed Forces, DMV—for starters.”

“Okay.” Rebecca blew out a breath. “Do it.”

Rebecca jumped from the car, keyed the alarm, and headed toward the back entrance to the station house at a fast clip.

“Where’s the fire,” Watts puffed as he hurried to her side.

“Look—we probably took whoever’s running the kiddie porn show by surprise last night. They’re going to be tightening up their internet security now, especially if they know that Justice has one of their mid-level guys.” She shouldered through the rear fire door on the first floor and headed toward the elevators. “They could be reorganizing the whole operation, too—changing personnel, switching out the kids, relocating the studio right now. We’ve got to get as much as we can as fast as we can.”

“You want to tell me how you managed to come away empty from an operation that you were supposed to be coordinating, Sergeant?” Captain John Henry’s voice was level, but his mahogany face was a shade darker than usual with barely suppressed irritation.

“I was hoping you could tell me, sir.” Rebecca’s eyes were winter grey and her voice colder still.

“Sit down, Sergeant.”

“I’m fine, sir.”

“That wasn’t a request.” He hadn’t raised his voice, but his formidable shoulders bunched with tension. “Your paperwork is still incomplete. No psych eval. I could pull you put of the field and sit you behind a desk until you grew roots.”

“Whitaker must have forgotten to send the report,” Rebecca replied.

“Nice try, Frye. Whitaker says you have a final meeting before he signs off.”

She gritted her teeth. “I guess there was a miscommunication.”

“I’m sure.” Henry tipped his chin toward the chair. “Now sit your ass down.”

Rebecca sat. Despite her concern that Henry might be behind the leak that had led to the attack on Sloan’s life, he was her commanding officer, and he held all the cards.

Henry sighed. “Did you come away with anything from the operation at all?”

“Other than a civilian in the hospital?” Rebecca rarely disclosed all the details of her investigations to anyone, even her captain.. “Not much. We know there’s an Internet porn ring broadcasting live sex videos in the area. The guy the feds snatched from us last night is a part of it.”

“Connected to organized crime?” Henry asked almost eagerly. “It would be big if we could tie Zamora and his crew to this.”

“Nothing solid.” Rebecca watched him for some sign that his interest was more than just that of a cop wanting to clean up the city and advance his own career at the same time. If he were the mob’s inside man, his questions might give him away.

“Have you got anything working on the streets that might pay off?”

“Soft stuff. Nothing hot.” She leaned forward almost imperceptibly. “Look, Captain. If you give me a little room to work this, I know I can break something open. I still have the whole team. We know almost as much as the Feds, and they don’t have the contacts I do.”

He leaned back in his leather chair, the only concession to comfort in the room, and steepled his surprisingly elegant hands in front of his chest. His heavy lids appeared nearly closed. “I have no authority to approve that kind of operation.”

Rebecca said nothing.

“I think it might take Whitaker another week or so to finish his report,” Henry mused. “Until he does that, you can’t go into the regular rotation.”

Rebecca knew that he was giving her the unofficial green light to keep hunting for the leaders of the porn ring, and anything else that she might turn up. Unofficial meant unprotected, too. He was out of the loop and unaccountable. She’d be alone, without department sanction. If he were dirty, it was a perfect way to set her up. Much the way Jimmy Hogan had been set up. A cop working outside was easier to dispose of.

“I’m sure he’ll want to see me another time or two, yes sir.” She needed the freedom to pursue the case, and this was the only way she’d get it.

“Sergeant,” the captain added before Rebecca turned away, “you can have a man or two to assist.”

“Watts,” Rebecca said immediately, ignoring the faint look of surprise on Henry’s face. Firmly, she said, “And the uniform—Mitchell.”

“I’ll see to it.”

Rebecca had almost reached the door when she heard the quiet words, “Good luck, Sergeant.”

She didn’t answer as she stepped through and closed the door.

Watts waited just outside. “What’s he say?”

“Not here.” She glanced at her watch. Five-thirty. Six months ago she would have immediately headed back to the Tenderloin in the hopes of finding some of her confidential informants who were just crawling out of bed and hitting the streets for the start of their night. She’d stay out—dropping into the bars, talking with her CIs, watching, listening, taking the pulse of the city—until the night dwindled into dawn. Night after night. That had been her life.

But it wasn’t now. Couldn’t be now.

“I’m going to be at Sloan’s at nine tonight. Call Jason and Mitchell and tell them to meet us there, if you want in on this. That’s all I can give you now.”

He jiggled the change in his pocket and thought about the stack of files on his desk. Cold cases—old cases that had run out of steam. No leads. No suspects. No hope of closure. He could sit on his ass and make phone calls for the next three years and retire with thirty years in. Good pension, good health benefits. Or he could throw in with Frye, who seemed to attract danger like moths to flame.

He studied the tall, blond, intense woman by his side—a tough street cop whose only agenda was justice. A cop’s cop.

“I don’t have anything cooking right now.” He shrugged. “I’ll ride along.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Catherine stepped from the elevator and glanced around the lobby. Rebecca stood with a shoulder against a column, talking on her cell phone. She wore a gray gabardine suit and a plain white shirt. A thin black belt encircled her waist. The shoulder holster was not visible under the carefully tailored jacket, but Catherine knew precisely where it lay along Rebecca’s left side, just below her breast. Quickly, she threaded her way between the people milling about in front of the information desk.

“What a surprise.” Catherine reached for Rebecca’s hand as she kissed Rebecca’s cheek. “I’m so glad to see you.”

Rebecca laced her fingers between Catherine’s and pulled her gently out of the path of the steady stream of hospital visitors. “Any chance you can get away for a while?”

“I have a little over two hours before I need to see patients in my office.” Catherine tilted her head, searching Rebecca’s eyes, appreciating the warmth she found there. “Just what do you have in mind, Detective?”

“I suppose there’s no chance we could roll around in the on-call room for a while?” Rebecca took a step closer until her body lightly touched Catherine’s.

Catherine drew a surprised breath and then saw the amusement flickering in her lover’s face. “You shouldn’t tease me while I’m working, darling.”

“I was only partly teasing.” Rebecca’s voice dropped a register as she traced her fingers over Catherine’s forearm. “But I suppose you’d like dinner instead.”

“I’d like both,” Catherine murmured. “But I think the rolling around part should wait until later.”

“Where are we going?” Catherine asked.

“DiCarlo’s.”

“You’re kidding. On the spur of the moment like this?” Catherine turned in her seat to study Rebecca’s face. “Is this a special occasion?”

Rebecca shook her head. “Nope. I just thought you’d like it.”

“Oh, I like it.” Catherine rested her hand on Rebecca’s thigh, softly running her fingers up and down the tight muscles beneath. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Rebecca asked curiously as she pulled into the small gravel parking lot adjoining the century-old mansion that housed DiCarlo’s restaurant.

“You don’t usually stop work this early.”

Rebecca blushed. She wasn’t used to anyone being able to tell what was going on with her as easily as Catherine. It wasn’t that she minded; it was just that it continued to surprise her. “I’m not done, exactly. I’ll explain over dinner.”

Once they had ordered and were alone, Rebecca said, “I’ll be going back out for a few hours this evening.”

“Will you come by the apartment when you’re done?” Catherine still found it necessary to ask, uncertain of how much to expect at this point in their relationship.

“Yes, if you don’t mind that it might be late.” Each time they had this conversation, Rebecca was anxious. Every relationship she’d ever had had suffered and ultimately failed because of who she was. Because of the cop she was.

Catherine raised an eyebrow. “Rebecca, I know you have to work. I know what you do. You don’t need to apologize for that by taking me out to dinner.”

“I’m not…” Rebecca fell silent as the waiter brought their first course. “It’s not that. Not totally. I wanted to see you. I… I miss you. Jesus, I just saw you this morning, but I miss you.”

Catherine reached across the table and took Rebecca’s hand. “I don’t want you to feel guilty about being who you are. I love you. And loving you means loving the cop in you. I know that.”

Rebecca brought Catherine’s hand to her lips and kissed her palm softly. “I just want to do everything right.”

“Well, you’re doing very well so far.” Catherine carefully drew her hand away, because the heat from Rebecca’s fingers was making it difficult for her to think. “Are you working on a new case?”

“Uh…” Swiftly, Rebecca calculated, trying to gauge how much she should say. “Officially, I’m not working on anything. Henry wants me to see Whitaker another time or two before he’ll clear me to resume full duty.”

“Officially.” Catherine’s stomach clenched. “And unofficially?”

“Unofficially I’ve been green lighted to continue looking into the pornography ring.” Rebecca had heard the undertone of anxiety that Catherine had tried to hide. “A lot of it we can do right from Sloan’s, with computer traces, just the way we have been doing. You don’t need to worry.”

“Rebecca, darling,” Catherine said softly. “I will try my very best to understand and support you. I truly mean that. But you can’t expect me not to worry.”

“I promise it will be all right.” Rebecca reached for Catherine’s hand again. “Try to believe that.”

“Will you let me help?”

Rebecca’s first impulse was to say no, but she forced out the words. “Yes. Chances are we’ll need your profiling input.”