Hard Job Read online

  Lautner jerked with surprised shock as the enormity of what had been revealed rippled through the rest of the room. Kelly set at the far end of the table and Reightman could see in his face the bitter realization of how thoroughly he’d been drawn into the web of duplicity and how members of the city’s brass had betrayed his trust. “His pride, his temper, and his capitulation to members of the city’s hierarchy, has led him here,” Reightman observed to herself as she looked down the table. “And those things, combined with my own actions, ultimately resulted in Sam’s death.”

  As she struggled with her depressing thoughts, she felt Hollingfield’s eyes on her. She glanced up and saw his considering look before he turned back to Madame Zhou. “What do you want?”

  “It is very simple, Mr. Hollingfield. We want the case reopened – although I do not want it announced as such. All of this needs to be played very close to our collective chests, so to speak. Additionally, we want the responsibility for the investigation placed into Detective Reightman’s hands, and we expect the full cooperation of the city – every department – to be given to her, with no interference. We want the provisioning of any needed resource without argument or delay. Also,” Zhou looked at her client, “I want protection for Mr. Bailey.”

  Toby started to object but Zhou was adamant in her demand. “No, Toby, don’t argue. Everyone seems to have overlooked the fact it was you who was the target last night. You will be protected until this has reached its conclusion.” She turned back to Hollingfield. “And now, the final thing: we want Detective Jackson to be honored for his selfless part in saving Mr. Bailey’s life. It won’t mean much to his family now, but perhaps it will one day.”

  Hollingfield was silent for a couple of minutes as he thought over Zhou’s list. He turned to Jessica Lautner who gave him a short nod. He looked to Evans and Tom Anderson, who readily indicated their agreement. He looked down the table to Kelly, who agreed in a quiet, shamed voice. Finally, he turned to Reightman. “Assuming I can get agreement from the Mayor, do you agree with Madame Zhou’s demands, Detective?”

  Reightman hesitated. She agreed with most of them, but she didn’t know if she’d be able to meet the old woman’s expectations. She couldn’t bear it if she failed Toby and she knew she’d have difficultly surviving if she failed herself. Mitchell nudged her foot under the table, jostling her injured knee. She looked Chief Kelly in the eye and he gave her a grim smile, followed by an almost imperceptible nod. She looked down the table at Toby where he waited expectantly for her answer, his pale blue eyes unblinking. “Yes,” she answered.

  Hollingfield rose from his seat. “I must step out to brief the Mayor and gain her agreement. Shall we take a recess?”

  “That is a fine idea, Mr. Hollingfield. I could use a break myself. This has been a tiring morning for me. I’m not as young as I once was, and I find it difficult to keep up.”

  Reightman couldn’t stop herself from grinning openly at the lady’s comment. “If you weren’t keeping up this morning, I don’t think anyone would survive it when you were.”

  She walked around the table to where Chief Kelly sat. She’d never trust him again after what he’d tried to do to her this morning, and might never get past his behavior of the past few days. But…“Sir,” she said, in offering. “Would it be possible for Nancy to order us some lunch before we get started again?”

  “I’ll see to it,” he answered gruffly. He stood from the chair and looked down at her. “Reightman…”

  She met his eyes and knew he was embarrassed by the day’s events. She also knew that although he’d been made to cooperate, he wasn’t her ally and might never be one again. “Save it, Chief, I have more important things to worry about.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “You do. Get your ducks in a row, Reightman, and pray for luck. You’re going to need it.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said quietly to his back as he left the room. She wasn’t sure if his comment had been made in encouragement, or in threat. She hobbled back to her end of the table. The ache in her knee reminded her she needed to stay in the chair as much as possible.

  Mitchell encompassed everything he’d witnessed with a single word, “Wow.”

  “Not very descriptive, but I think it about sums it up,” she kidded him gently. Then more seriously, she added, “I’m going to need your help, Mitchell.”

  The young cop pursed his lips, looking older than his years for a brief second. “Yes, you are.” He looked down at his shoes. “I know I’m not Jackson, ma’am. But I’ll do whatever I can to help and you can be damn sure I’ll have your back.”

  “Mitchell?” She waited until he looked up into her face. “You’re right, you’re not Jackson, but….nobody will ever be him. You’ll do just fine.”

  He headed to the vending machine to get them each a soda, and she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. “Get the bastards,” she heard Jackson say in her mind. And she replied, “I will, Sam….I will.”

  

  Things moved along quickly that afternoon. Hollingfield returned and informed the group that the Mayor had given her approval for Zhou Li’s requests. Their agreement was documented by Hollingfield himself and Zhou patted him approvingly on the hand as she took the signed document from him. “I knew you showed promise, Mr. Hollingfield.” The somewhat nonplussed City Attorney also informed them that Wilkenson had resigned directly after leaving the meeting.

  Dr. Evans was excused for the remainder of the day, as her attendance that morning had been for the purpose of providing any additional details pursuant to her findings. She was still smarting from Zhou’s questioning of her ruling, but after having witnessed the exchanges of the morning, she decided not to make an issue of it.

  Once everyone else was settled back in their chairs, Zhou turned to Toby. “Alright, Mr. Bailey – I think it is time. Start by telling us how this evidence came into your possession.”

  Toby walked them through the events from the moment he had been given Geri’s letter to the arrival of Jackson and Reightman at the spa. After he finished, he opened the satchel and pulled out the brown envelope, the ledger and the small white envelope containing the key and the diamond earring.

  Reightman slid the white envelope to Tom. “These need to be tested for prints, and for DNA. There may be something on the earring. I don’t know about the key.”

  Tom signified his agreement and then Toby handed the other items to Reightman.

  “I think we should view the photos first.” When no one objected, Reightman unfastened the brads and pulled out the large stack of photos. She laid them on the top of the table and sorted them into small stacks, organized by the individuals represented in the images. All told, there were fourteen sets of pictures – thirteen of which featured easily recognizable faces. As the attendees grouped near the stacks, there were occasional exclamations of surprise, which were quickly stifled as the potential impact to the community was realized.

  While the photos were examined and their subjects named and described, Toby found himself understanding how and why his business license had been so easily approved, how there had been no issues raised by the zoning commission, and how anything needed from a city department had been obtained effortlessly and at very reasonable cost. “I never questioned any of it,” Toby realized. “I thought Geri had just done some research and found the best deal, the most efficient path, or the right argument.”

  “Who do we think this is?” Tom asked, tapping on one of the images

  “I don’t know,” Reightman answered as she picked up the photos of a man, maybe in his mid-to-late thirties. The body was well-toned, although not possessed of Guzman’s musculature. “The only identifying feature is the tattoo.”

  Tom examined the picture, and then jokingly asked, “Anyone in here have a tattoo?” His effort to provide a little levity was met with blank looks. “What?” he asked. “I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question given all the revelations presented today.”

/>   “Ummm…I have one,” Mitchell admitted, not understanding Tom was joking. “It just…not there.” He trailed off, his innocent face blushing bright pink.

  “I want to see! Why don’t you show me?” Lautner teased him mercilessly. ‘Or do I have to guess where it is first?”

  “Uh…uh…well….”

  “Mitchell, she’s just yanking your chain,” Tom came to his rescue and reassured him with a smile.

  Zhou Li rapped gently on the table top, bringing them back to the matter at hand. “If you will take a look through the ledger, I think you will find all of the photographs have been referenced with their respective financial transactions.”

  Tom took up the book and looked through the contents, occasionally checking a date and time stamp of an image with an entry. “We might be able to tie these to the financial records of each of our celebrities. However, we will need probable cause to get the records.”

  “I might be able to help with that,” Lautner offered. “However, we should be prepared to run into a few roadblocks.”

  “I’ll have one of the financial gurus on the forensics team take a crack at streamlining the information.” Tom noticed the concerned expressions directed at him from both Reightman and Zhou Li. “The young lady I have in mind to help is completely trustworthy,” he assured them. “She’d better be – she’s my wife’s cousin, and her momma would have her hide if she ever got herself involved in something like this.”

  Reightman glanced at Zhou Li, and when the old lady shrugged to let her know that the decision was in her hands, Reightman agreed. “Alright, Tom, but tell her to keep the information close. She might have the best intentions, but I want to make sure we keep anything having to do with this buttoned up tightly.”

  Tom agreed and handed the book off to Hollingfield, who only flipped through a few pages before giving it to Lautner.

  Reightman considered her next move. “I think we need to talk about who will be assigned to help with this.” She turned to Kelly. “Sir, do you have any suggestions?”

  “I can recommend a couple of folks to handle any legwork you need, but I’m hesitant to make any recommendation for the investigative team, given my own damned gullible involvement. Do you have anyone in mind?”

  Reightman considered a few choices. “Yes Chief, I’d like to keep Mitchell involved, although I’m not sure how to best use him. But there’ll be plenty to do and I’m sure we can keep him busy. I’d also like Detective Jones assigned to me, since he is the most senior detective we have that I trust completely. If I could have a couple of others – maybe Detectives Monroe and Caldwell – I think that would be sufficient. I don’t want to add too many folks into the mix. In fact, I plan to parse out the tasks and information carefully so no one has access to the full ball of wax – except those of us in this room.”

  “I’ll get them all pulled off their current assignments, and have them report into you. It’ll be in morning before I can make it happen.”

  Reightman started to push the issue, but thought through the current departmental constraints. “Understood. I realize we’re short-handed, but I’ll need them first thing in the morning.” She raked her fingers through her hair, and realized she was about out of stream. “I think the only other thing we need to do tonight is to arrange for Mr. Bailey’s protection. I think we can use a couple of teams of patrol officers. It’ll mean pulling from the regular patrols, but I don’t see much choice.”

  “I’ll get with the duty officer and get a few teams assigned in rotation.” Chief Kelly offered. “I assume you want them to start as soon as we leave here?”

  “Yes. I think a presence on Capital Street will deter anyone looking to finish last night’s job, although I’d like someone to shadow Mr. Bailey for the next few days – full time. Any thoughts?”

  Kelly folded his arms across his chest and thought the roster of officers he’d trust. He finally shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s a pretty tricky role to fill. The person has to be trust worthy, but also needs the right mindset to accept Mr. Bailey’s life choices – no disrespect or judgment intended, Mr. Bailey

  “I’m not easily offended, sir, and I appreciate your consideration. The truth is, I’m probably the most boring queer they’ll ever meet.”

  The Chief looked away, clearly uncomfortable with Toby’s comment.

  After a moment of awkward silence, Mitchell spoke up. “I’ll do it.”

  “Are you sure, Mitchell?” Reightman asked, both surprised and pleased he’d stepped up to the plate. “It’ll mean really long hours, and will cut into your private time. There won’t be much relief.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. I can handle it for a few days. If it gets to be too much, I’ll let you know and we can try and figure out something else.”

  After running through the list of other possible candidates in her head, Reightman was convinced there weren’t any other choices. This would be an opportunity for Mitchell to prove himself, and might just clench a permanent promotion for him. “Ok then, Mitchell. If you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure, ma’am.”

  “Can anyone think of anything else we need to cover this evening?” When no one raised their hand, Reightman decided to shut things down. “Why don’t we call it a day? It’s been a long and difficult one, and I didn’t sleep at all last night after…after….” The sorrow inside rose up again, making it difficult for her to continue.

  All the attendees understood what she was trying to say, and one by one, they silently filed out of the room until only Zhou Li, Toby, and Mitchell remained.

  “Detective? I have something for you.” Toby opened his satchel and pulled out a small object which had been carefully wrapped in paper. “It’s Detective Jackson's notebook – the one he had with him last night. I found it after you left.”

  Reightman took it from his hand, trying not to choke up again. “Thank you, Toby.”

  “I don’t know if it has anything important in it, but I knew you’d want it anyway.”

  “Yes, I do. It’s important to me, regardless of what’s inside.” She placed the wrapped notebook on her yellow legal pad and then turned back to him. “Did you find it after you slapped me?

  “Yes.” He looked away from her, embarrassed by what he’d done.

  “You did the right thing, Toby,” she assured him. “No telling what I would’ve done without you and Mitchell there to keep me under control.” She included both Mitchell and Toby as she said, “Thank you.”

  “Detective Reightman,” Zhou Li interrupted gently, so as to not shatter the moment. “I rode with Toby this morning. I was wondering if Officer Mitchell could escort him outside, so he can bring his car around and pick me up near the entrance. Toby, if you could also take this stack of materials it would be a big help. I really am very tired.”

  “Sure, that’s not a problem, Madame Zhou,” Mitchell agreed. Reightman was pleased to see he’d adopted Zhou Li’s preferred form of address. Good thing he was a quick study. She didn’t think she could handle another lesson in manners from the old lady today.

  “Thank you, Officer,” Zhou said appreciatively. She waited until the two young men had gathered up the files and documents and left the room. She then turned to Reightman. “Detective Reightman, I have been unable to express my heartfelt condolences to you until now, and for that, I apologize. Detective Jackson was a wonderful man.”

  Reightman could feel tears threatening and blinked her eyes to try to prevent them from falling. She was too late. “Yes, he was, Madame Zhou.”

  “Focus on the wonderful things you remember about him, as well as the things which exasperated you at times. It will be painful, but it helps with the healing. I know from my own experiences.” Zhou watched the Detective thoughtfully until Reightman had herself in control once more. “Detective, if there is anything I can do in the days ahead, please let me know. I am happy to help anyway I can.”

  Reightman nodded as she wiped away her tears with the back of her h
and. “There…there is one thing you can help me with, Madame Zhou.”

  “What is that, Detective?”

  “Well…could you help me buy….I mean…I need a dress, for Sam’s funeral. Can you help me find one?”

  Zhou was silent as she remembered the Detective’s reaction when Moon had suggested she buy herself a dress. That day she’d told Moon that either she or Detective Jackson would have to be dead and buried before she’d be caught in a dress. It had proved to be a prophetic statement and was almost too much to bear thinking about now. “It would be my honor, Detective,” she replied, her own voice tight with emotion. “I will alert Moon and will give you a call in a day or two to arrange a time to assist. We will both be delighted to help.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Certainly, that is what friends are for,” Zhou replied as she gathered her few remaining things

  “We’re…we’re friends?” Melba asked slowly, surprised by Zhou Li’s use of the word.

  Zhou tilted her head and peered through her glasses. “I can tell you must be very tired, dear. Otherwise you would already know the answer to that question.” She reached out and gently patted Reightman’s arm. “Since I am very tired myself, I will answer – just this once. Yes, Detective Melba Reightman, we are friends.” Zhou gave her a very wise smile and started toward the door.

  Melba watched her go, and knew just how lucky she’d been today. If Zhou Li hadn’t been by her side, things may have turned out very differently. She picked up her heavy purse and gathered her things. Her knee was hurting, and she was looking forward to getting off her feet. “What a day, Reightman,” she thought as she hobbled to the exit. Grateful it was over; she turned off the lights, and gently closed the door.

  CHAPTER THREE

  After Toby and Mitchell dropped Madame Zhou off in front of Green Dragon and carried in the files she’d brought with her, Toby thought about what he needed to do next before going up to his apartment.