Part 9 (2/2)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
Avery had seen the A1 headquarters in disarray a few times. It usually happened when a new huge case broke or just as a promising lead came in and had everyone in a fervor to work together to wrap the case up. But when Avery and Ramirez arrived back at the station with c.o.x in tow, the place was a circus.
There were a few news vans in the parking lot as she parked. She led the way across the rear lot with Ramirez escorting Denny c.o.x. She heard a reporter say something loudly. Within seconds, four people were rus.h.i.+ng across the back lot, one of whom was a cameraman. As she lowered her head and continued for the building, Avery also saw a few unfamiliar cop cars. She checked the tags and the decals and cursed under her breath.
Cops from the B3 district, she thought. Great. Apparently they're going to ride this thing into the ground.
Just as a reporter and a cameraman reached them, Avery was at the door, ushering Denny c.o.x inside.
”Excuse me,” the reporter said. ”Is this man under arrest for the killings and burnings?”
She said nothing, but Denny c.o.x sure as h.e.l.l did.
”They came to my house and went nuts,” he said, his drunken slur seeming to draw out each word. ”Beat the s.h.i.+t out of me because they don't have any real leads.”
Ramirez gave him a push and they were all through the doors and away from the reporters.
”What the h.e.l.l is that about?” Ramirez asked Avery.
”There were B3 cars out there,” she said. ”I'm betting they went to the news, hoping the attention would throw us off.”
As they ventured further into the station, the circus continued. She saw a few men in B3 uniforms, including the one who had confronted them earlier in the day at the latest site. He was arguing with Officer Finley. Connelly was in the fray, too, doing everything he could to appear calm. When Connelly saw Avery, he waved her over urgently.
”You got this handled?” Avery asked Ramirez, gesturing to c.o.x.
”Yeah. See if you can sort all of this out.”
Avery quickly made her way over to where Connelly was in the midst of a heated debate between Finley and one of the B3 officers. The tag on his uniform read Simmons.
”What the h.e.l.l is going on here?” Avery asked.
”Too much at once,” Connelly said. ”Someone over at B3 leaked the story to the press. In the last hour, the media has been reporting that there's an interdepartmental rivalry going on.”
”That's not exactly accurate,” Simmons said. ”Although, we...”
Simmons trailed off here, looking behind Avery. She turned and followed his gaze. He was looking at Ramirez ushering c.o.x to an interrogation room.
”What the f.u.c.k?” Simmons said, not quite in a yell but nowhere near quiet. ”Is that Denny c.o.x?”
”Yes, it is,” Avery said. ”Do you know him?”
He looked at her with such venom that she thought he might throw a punch or shove her. ”He used to be a B3 cop.”
Connelly's eyes grew wide. ”Are you s.h.i.+tting me? This is unbelievable.”
”I don't care what department he was with,” Avery said. ”He was fired for very good reasons and also has a history of arson. Add to that the fact that he was an ex-boyfriend of Sarah Osborne, the latest victim, and there's more than enough reason to bring him in.”
”Jesus,” Simmons said.
”Seems like karma if you ask me,” Finley said. ”You tattle to the media on us and now there are cameras rolling everywhere when one of your boys gets arrested.”
”Everyone calm down,” Connelly said. ”Finley...I need you to go ahead and release Adam Wentz. After that, I don't care what you do, just stay away from these B3 p.r.i.c.ks.”
”Hey, watch your mouth,” Simmons said.
”You're in my station, a.s.shole. I don't need to watch my mouth.” Ignoring him, Connelly then turned to Avery. ”I need a word with you in private. Come on.”
He led her through the cramped station and to his office. He shut the door behind them and rubbed at his temples.
”This is a mess,” he said. ”This is just one huge cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k, Avery. Now please...tell me there is a really good reason for having that ex-B3 cop here in cuffs.”
”Aside from his record, he also got violent when we questioned him.”
”In your opinion, is he our guy?”
”It's too soon to tell, sir.”
”Cut that nonsense. What's your gut telling you?”
She thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. ”Probably not. If he was the killer and has been dumping bodies at the rate we're finding them burned, I doubt he'd have been drinking heavily-and Denny c.o.x is pretty drunk at the moment. If he was the killer, he'd want to stay alert and ready just in case we caught on to him.”
”But is there a chance he's our guy?” Connelly asked.
”There's always a chance, sir.”
”Well, if we can't nail him for it within an hour, I'm letting him go. This just makes an already screwed-up situation even worse.”
”Understood.”
”Now,” he said, ”as if things aren't bad enough, I need you to head to O'Malley's office. The f.u.c.king FBI showed up two hours ago and are pus.h.i.+ng against us. I need you to talk to him and see if you can work your magic. And I need you on it now.”
She left Connelly's office as he started rubbing at his temples in frustration again. She hurried down the hallway to O'Malley's larger office. She knocked on the door, which was already cracked, and entered following O'Malley's loud ”Come in.”
She entered the office and saw that O'Malley looked just as fl.u.s.tered as Connelly. The FBI agent that was standing at the edge of O'Malley's desk and rifling through doc.u.ments, however, looked unreasonably calm.
”Special Agent Duggan, this is Detective Avery Black,” O'Malley said. ”She's our very best. She's also the lead on this case.”
Duggan extended his hand and gave hers a hearty shake. He looked to be in his late forties. He was well-polished right down to his beard. ”Nice to meet you,” Duggan said. ”I hear you're the very best in the A1.”
”Let's hope so,” she said. ”What can I do for you?”
”Well, I'm not here to run the show. I just wanted to sort of partner up with the best there is. This guy you just brought in...do you think he's the culprit?”
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