Lexington Connection (15 page)

Jessie nodded. Outside in the sunlight had to be better than sitting in the living room replaying memories. She went to the bathroom, stopped off in the library to pull out a book, something light and frothy to help refocus her mind somewhere else. Nicki handed her the tall glass as she went through the dining room to the deck.

The deck caught all the afternoon sun. She pushed the redwood lounge so it came out of the corner, adjusted the umbrella so it shaded the chair, and flopped down, setting the iced tea on the decking beside the lounge.

She lay back, the afternoon heat felt good. There weren’t a lot of days she could do this. If she went back to work, there would be even less. The investigation was back to square one on the drugs. Now she had even greater reason to bring them down. On the other hand—an outcome she didn’t even want to think about—what would she do if they wouldn’t let her back? All she had ever wanted to do was be a cop, like her dad, like her grandfather. She couldn’t imagine doing anything else. That was what made the arguments with Julie so painful.

This enforced leave had given her time to think. And the fact that she could have died made her reflect on her life. She had waited so long for Julie, had held on to the memory of their loving like a lifesaver when she was overwhelmed with caring for first her mom, then her dad, and always Nicki. Someone had loved her and she had loved someone. When all this caretaking was over, there would be someone there to love again. The truth of it was that Julie had not supported her then; and she wasn’t supporting her now, not like Jessie needed her to.

Letting go of that memory was like saying she had wasted all those years. She had gone through so many women, women she watched find someone, settle down, have a home life, someone who loved and supported them. When Julie had come back and said she had never gotten over Jessie and wanted to try, it had seemed like justification for all that waiting, all those lonely nights. What they hadn’t figured on was Julie’s distaste for being a police wife.

Jessie closed her eyes and it wasn’t Julie’s image that came to mind. Instead, Diana came to mind. With a surprising clarity, she remembered Diana’s shock when she had discovered Jessie was a cop. Jessie remembered her impression that Diana wanted to bolt out the door and disappear forever. But she hadn’t, she stayed, she said it didn’t change things. She just needed to readjust. She never explained why she was so shocked and then she had disappeared for months. When she came back, Julie was in the picture. Then Diana had disappeared.

Diana’s shock and Julie’s distaste. But Jessie was a cop, it was part of her heritage. It was in her blood. She expected problems because she was a cop. Station houses were littered with failed relationships. Her parents had made it. So she knew it could be done. She also knew how hard it was. Why did she have this vague feeling that Diana would have been able to handle it better than Julie?

She sat up and buried her face in her hands, slowly rocking. Where did it leave her now? A busted investigation, a failed relationship, a career that might or might not be there. She felt lost, adrift, with an emptiness in her she didn’t know how to fill.

She jumped when her phone rang, and her first startled, eager thought was,
Maybe it’s Diana.
The phone rang twice while she shook off that thought, shocked at its intensity. She checked the number as it rang again. She didn’t recognize the source but flipped it up. “Galbreath.”

“Well, well, well, back to the land of the living,” came the unforgettable metallic voice. “Didn’t believe me, did you? Had to learn the hard way.”

Her heart leaped and all Jessie’s senses came alert as she sat up. “Who is this?”

“Your guardian angel,” the voice mocked. “Answer the question.”

“It was you!” Like a burst of light, the memory returned. “You warned me.” Jessie turned around to sit on the side of the lounge chair. She felt strangely exhilarated, she could remember something. Another black hole eliminated.

“For all the good it did.”

“What do you want?”

“Just to know you’re alive and well.”

“What difference does that make to you?”

“Wouldn’t want to think I totally wasted my efforts.”

Jessie caught her breath. “Why?” At least, Jessie thought, maybe she could get one question answered and she could figure out the other. She ran her fingers through her hair.

“Beats the hell out of me,” the woman mocked. “Stop running your hand through your hair.”

Jessie froze. She turned her head carefully as she looked around the adjoining backyards. She examined overlooking windows, anyone who was working in the yard, the mowing service two yards down. She couldn’t see anyone who might be watching her.

“Now that I’ve got your full attention,” the woman went on in a more serious tone, “you’ve got a problem.”

“No shit,” Jessie retorted, “tell me about it.”
Who the hell are you?
she wondered even as she answered.

The woman laughed again. “When do you go back to work?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Ummm, let’s call it a trade. I’ll tell you what I know, you answer the question. I know you failed your psych eval, passed your physical. I know the second eval is coming up. I imagine you’re worried whether they’ll let you back in, if you’ve lost your nerve.”

Jessie felt her blood run cold. Whoever this was, they knew her well. Or could make very good guesses. “Next week,” she answered carefully.

“You’ll do fine. You’re a good cop, Detective. It’s in the blood.”

Why should the praise of someone so unknown reassure her so much? Jessie struggled to focus. “Tell me about my problem.”

“You’ve got a leak in the department.”

That was a sucker punch and yet it would explain so much. “Who?”

“Don’t know. Eliminating them as I search.”

“Peterson?” Jessie questioned.
Oh, please, don’t make it Pete. Couldn’t stand for my partner to betray me.

“No, cleared him.”

Jessie felt the relief. She saw Nicki come to the patio door with a question on her face. Jessie shook her head, waved her away, bent over, her elbows on her knees. “Conrad?” She named her captain next, because she needed to report this to someone and she needed to know who was safe. A leak, damn, that would explain so much going wrong.

“Cleared.”

“So why are you telling me?”

“Can’t be watching your back all the time. I got other things to do.”

“How do I know you’re just not making guesses, potshots in the dark?”

“Ummm, difficult. What can I say?”

“Tell me something that can’t be guessed at, that I can check out.”

“What? That I’m there? Really got my eye on you?”

“Yes.”

There was a long pause and Jessie thought it would end there. “You’ll be upset,” came the warning.

“Upset me!” Jessie snapped, tired of being jerked around.

“All right. Nicki was at the Bungalow Thursday night. Remind her she is seventeen even if she looks older. Kentucky hasn’t lowered the drinking age.” Jessie leaped to her feet. “I told you you’d be upset.”

“Hold on!”

Jessie threw the phone on the lounge chair, charged in the house and found her sister at the kitchen sink. “Nicki!” she barked. Nicki turned, her jaw dropping at Jessie’s tone. “Now answer me, truthfully. I need to know: were you at the Bungalow Thursday night?” She saw the truth in Nicki’s face. “Don’t lie to me, Nicki, this is important.” Nicki nodded, swallowing. “Shit. You’re grounded. We’ll discuss this later.”

Jessie charged back to the patio, picked up the phone. “You still there?”

“I’m still here.”

“You know I’ve got to take this somewhere.”

“Like I said, you’re a good cop. Just watch your back. I’ll let you know when I find out something. Oh, and tell Nicki I’m sorry.”

The connection was broken. Jessie sat there staring at the phone for several minutes, her mind a jumble of confusion. Someone who knew her. Someone who knew Nicki. Knew the Bungalow. Oh, God, who was this person?

She sorted things out, punched in a phone number. “Captain, I need to talk to you…No, away from the office, preferably with no one knowing…Yes, it’s important…Fine. There’s that little coffee shop on Harrisburg Road, Logan’s. I’ll meet you there.”

***

“I got a call,” Jessie started without much preamble. She knew this was not going to go over well. “Warning me not to go, that I had been made.” She wasn’t wrong.

Captain Conrad slowly put his coffee cup down. “I should fire you.”

“Hear me out. Whether you fire me or not, you need to know this information.” Jessie recounted the information the woman had given her over the phone.

Captain Conrad listened. When Jessie finished, he gave her an even, hard look. “You believe this person?”

Jessie spread her hands. “She was right that I had been made. If it was her, she was there to save me. She told me information about my sister here in town, which means she is or at least was here in town and she could recognize my sister.”

“Did your sister recognize her?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had that discussion with her,” Jessie said forbiddingly. “Not yet at least.”

Captain Conrad considered everything while Jessie waited. She was still trying to figure things out. There was some nagging familiarity about the voice in spite of the metallic sound, a pattern of speaking. It eluded her, but it tantalized.

“Any names?” Conrad asked.

“Said you were clear. Peterson was clear.”

“Nice to know we met someone’s approval,” the captain said with some grim humor. “Did you get the idea this was inside their organization?”

Jessie went over everything that had been said. “There was nothing said and we’ve found no record on any women working in the groups we found. On the other hand, if the information is accurate, it has to come from the inside.”

“Know anyone inside?”

Jessie shook her head. The thought that someone she knew and trusted might have a secret life was too disconcerting to contemplate. And yet there was only one unknown in her life.

“We’ll continue with our investigation, of course. It sounds like she will be contacting you again. We need evidence.” Jessie nodded.                 “It’d be nice to know who this person is.”

“If she’s inside, she’s got to be putting herself in danger.”

Captain Conrad nodded. “It’d still be nice.” He gave Jessie a cryptic look. “There’s still the matter of you withholding information.”

Jessie nodded. “I shouldn’t have.”
And I almost paid a fatal price, except for someone I don’t know.
“I just wanted it too badly. I’ll deal with whatever the repercussions are.”

Jessie slipped into the squad room early. She didn’t want any fanfare. She felt enough of a relief just to be able return to work. Instead of drawing a suspension without pay, she could have been fired. She could have been demoted down to patrol instead of given desk duty. And she wondered how much her contact with whoever had saved her life played into that. But now all that was behind her. The extra therapy time had been good. She was cleared to return.

She’d had time for discussions with Nicki, Nicki’s curiosity about herself, some long talks about sexuality, about vulnerability and any spillover from Jessie’s life. They were still on the same wavelength.

Julie was another story. Julie wasn’t happy with her return to the force. She would have been just as happy if Jessie had been fired, although Jessie hadn’t explained the evidence withheld had been a warning phone call. There were lots of tears, some hysteria. They had seen a counselor, joint sessions that were stormy. In the end, it had come to a truce. Jessie had to finish this case. Then they would reconsider. Julie had to come to terms with the potential for loss. It was very unlikely anything else would happen to Jessie. Cops go their entire careers without getting shot. This was a fluke, a one-time occurrence. There had to be a way.

“Good morning.” Pete greeted her with a grin and a hug. “Welcome back.”

“Glad to be back. How goes it?”

Pete shrugged. “Same old, same old.” He shoved files over to Jessie’s desk.

Jessie had an interview with the captain. They did not discuss anything about the leak.

She went back to work and they waited. Every day, with a raised eyebrow, the captain asked; and every day Jessie shook her head. Every day she thought of everyone she knew, quietly investigated even people she never would have otherwise considered. She went over and over every nugget of information, tried harder to remember everything that had happened in the clearing. She grew suspicious of everyone, and she waited.

***

“You ate the last doughnut,” Jessie complained. “What? I’m not special any more?”

“You were late. Teach you to be on time.”

“Funny.” She glanced at Pete, looked him over, his settling belly. She was conscious of those things after watching her dad. “Looks like you need to give some of those up, Pete. I’m the one who needs to put the weight on.”

“Learn to cook.”

“I know how to cook. That’s not the problem.” The phone on the desk rang and Jessie got it first. “Galbreath.”

“How’s it feel to be back in the saddle, Jessie?” an old woman’s quavering voice asked.

Jessie signaled Pete, settled into her chair. The voice wasn’t metallic this time, it was very different, but there was something in it she recognized.
Something elusive, tantalizing, just beyond her conscious memory
. “About time you called. I’d just about given up on you.” She silently buzzed the captain. “You sound very different.”

“Yeah, feeling old these days. Task took a little longer than I thought it would. Did you apologize to Nicki for me like I asked?”

“Yeah.” Jessie really didn’t like that this woman knew her sister, but it was a confirmation of identification. “How do you know her?”

“Met her at the park. Well, at my age, I don’t have time for chit-chat. Maybe another time. You doing okay?” The inflection made it sound like she was really concerned, Jessie thought.