Visible Threat (7 page)

15

J
ACK WAS ALREADY
in the homicide office when Ben arrived.

“You’re here early.” Ben slapped Jack’s shoulder on the way to his desk.

“Yep, been here about an hour. Coffee’s fresh, though. Just brewed it.” Jack nodded in the direction of the coffeepot.

Ben grunted and poured himself a cup. He doctored it with cream and sugar before he sat down. “So what are you working on?”

Sighing, Jack tossed a crime report to Ben. “There was a message on my desk, left by Sergeant Rodriguez about an incident last night. Another young girl was plucked out of the San Gabriel River. I would’ve called you earlier, but since I know you and Amy were away for the weekend celebrating the big ten-year wedding anniversary and all . . .”

Ben snorted. “Yeah, right, blame it on Amy. You’re just a hard charger. Another dead body in our jurisdiction?” he asked as he glanced at the report.

Jack shook his head. “Nope, this one is alive. And a couple
of cops were injured on the call. Anyway, Sergeant Rodriguez noticed a rose tattoo on the girl, identical to the one on Alice.” Jack didn’t say he knew who the injured officers were, but he did, and the knowledge weighed heavily on his mind. It was all he could do not to rush to the hospital to check on Brinna. As it was, he’d checked the watch commander’s logs of the incident about ten times in the hour he’d been in the office, looking for updates.

“Alive?” Ben looked up from the report and held Jack’s gaze. “Is the girl talking? Is there a connection?”

Jack shrugged and rolled his pen between his palms. “She’s foreign, just like Alice, but not talking. She almost drowned, so we’re not sure how much is trauma and how much is language barrier. We’re working on bringing in a translator. The medical people believe the girl is of Eastern European descent.”

Ben whistled. “Like Alice. The dentist who looked over Alice’s teeth said she’d likely had work done in Bulgaria. Was this girl beat up like Alice?”

“That’s up in the air. She rode the San Gabriel River rapids for over a mile. That was bound to beat her up a bit. I figured I’d wait for you before going to the hospital to see what there is to see.”

“Has to be related. What are the odds of two unrelated women of Eastern European descent, with the same tattoo, ending up hurt in Long Beach?”

Jack nodded and steepled his fingers. “I’d bet a paycheck they are related. And I thank God this girl is alive. This is the lead
 
—the break
 
—we’ve been waiting for.”

*   *   *

While Ben went to admitting and checked with the doctors about the injured girl, Jack visited the ER and tried to find out any information he could about Brinna and Rick. Relief flooded through him when he discovered that at least Brinna had gone home. Another officer saw Jack and filled him in on Rick’s condition and the circumstances of the rescue. Jack’s anxiety ramped up anew. He was shocked by the seriousness of Rick’s injuries and knew Brinna well enough to believe that she probably felt responsible for him.

“She’s on the fifth floor.” Ben rapped Jack on the shoulder as he relayed information about the girl from the river.

“Can we talk to her?”

“Well, they say she’s doing better, but there’s no translator yet. They have pinpointed her country of origin as Bulgaria.”

Jack raised an eyebrow as the connection to Alice solidified.

Ben continued. “What’d you find out about Brinna?”

“She’s been released. But Rick is still here and not doing very well. They think he may be paralyzed.” Jack told his partner all he’d learned about Rick.

Ben shook his head. “That’s tough. Rick’s only been on the job about four years. I pray he pulls through 100 percent.”

“Definitely,” Jack agreed. “Did they have an idea when the translator would get here?”

“No. How about we go to the cafeteria and get some coffee? They said they’d let me know when someone gets here.”

“Sure. Might as well be prepared to hurry up and wait.”

16

W
HEN
B
RINNA ARRIVED HOME,
tired as she was, she needed a shower to wash away the flood-control odor. And it felt like heaven. She wrapped her casted hand in plastic and stood under the hot spray, wishing the water could also rinse away the guilt she felt about Rick and all of the bad that had happened in the muddy runoff. The hot water worked to remove the odor, ease the physical aches and pains, but little else.

Maggie says I leap before I look, and I do. But am I responsible for Rick’s injuries?

She couldn’t answer the question and finished the shower in favor of bed. Fatigue brought her a blissfully dreamless sleep. When she arose around 8:30 a.m., stiff and sore, she tried to figure out how to scratch her wrist, which was driving her crazy. It didn’t hurt; it just itched. Contemplating six weeks of that itch, Brinna feared she’d be cutting the cast off long before she was supposed to. The smell of the flood
control lingered in her hair, so she took another shower, a quick one, and finally felt clean when she dried off.

Maggie had spent the remainder of the night on her couch, and Brinna could hear her moving around, so she knew her friend was also up. When she left her room, she saw that Maggie was on the phone, checking to see if there was anything new on Rick. The night before, they’d decided to go back to the hospital if Brinna felt well enough. She stretched and decided she felt okay
 
—not great, but okay for someone who was pulled out of filthy rain runoff.

Coffee was already made
 
—she could smell it
 
—so she meandered into the kitchen and poured a cup. On the phone, Maggie nodded and answered in the affirmative from time to time. When she finally hung up, Brinna looked her way, hoping to see relief, but saw only more worry.

“Well?”

“He’s in surgery. They’re trying to relieve pressure on his spinal column.” She yawned and ran her hands through her hair. “Your mom called while you were in the shower.”

“Did she want me to call?” Brinna’s brows scrunched together; she wasn’t sure she was up to a conversation with her mother. Though they’d grown closer in the time since her father’s death three months ago, and had even ironed out some big problems, Brinna still found it difficult sometimes to be “mothered.” She often needed to nurse her wounds alone first and then call Mom. Right now, in pain and floundering in guilt, she wanted only to sort through her thoughts, not Mom’s opinion about things.

“No, I don’t think so. She heard about the rescue on
the news and wanted to know what happened. I told her.” Maggie shrugged. “She was relieved to know you were okay. You know
 
—typical mom stuff.”

“Yeah, I know.” Brinna stared into her coffee cup. Mom would pray, a response that was her answer to everything, something that used to bother Brinna. But her attitude about prayer had shifted a lot in the last few months. While she often still had a difficult time asking for prayer for herself, she had no problem requesting it for others. And as she swallowed more coffee, she decided maybe that was what Rick needed
 
—Mom praying to God that he’d be all right.

“Want to head over to the hospital after I shower?” Maggie asked, interrupting Brinna’s train of thought.

“Sure. How’d you sleep last night?”

“All right. Your couch is comfortable. How about you? Still sore?”

“Yeah, I’m aching in places I didn’t think I had places.”

“I hope Rick can say that after he gets out of surgery.”

17

“I
NEED TO SPEAK
with you
now
.”

Magda turned from her client, startled by the sound of her native language. Simon, one of Demitri’s goons, stood before her, looking as though he’d been up all night. His hair was wet and his face dark with stubble. His clothes were rumpled and he wore a scowl. Magda glanced at her client and saw that Simon’s expression made her uncomfortable.

“May I finish with my
 
—?”

“No, now.” Simon gripped her arm tightly, and Magda felt the fear rise.

Smiling and nodding at her client, she spoke to the woman in the calmest voice she could muster. “Will you excuse me for a moment, my dear?”

“Sure,” the woman replied as she backed away, nervously glancing between the two. “I’ll just browse a little longer.”

“Thank you.” Magda’s smile quickly faded as she faced Simon, teeth clenched. “What is it?” she hissed.

“Not here; your office.”

Blowing out an irritated breath, Magda stalked to her office, Simon on her heels.

“I don’t like this,” she said, shaking her head. “You have no right bursting into my business in the middle of the day. Demitri and I have an agreement.”

“I have a problem, and I need your help.” Simon looked at her with fear in his eyes. Magda recognized the fear. Something had happened that would displease Demitri.

“What?” The word squeaked out as the terror that she too would face Demitri’s wrath throttled her.

“One of the girls ran away.”

Magda took a step back, banging into her desk as her breath left her. “How?” was all she could manage.

“It doesn’t matter. I have to get her back. If Demitri returns home to find her gone, I’m a dead man.”

His last sentence hit Magda like a bullet. Simon was not exaggerating. Demitri would kill someone for a transgression like this. Worse, this could impact them both. Her mouth suddenly felt like cotton. She licked her lips.

“Get her back? Do you know where she ran to?” she asked.

Simon pulled a paper out of his pocket. It was from the local newspaper’s website, breaking news at the top. He pointed to a short article about a girl being pulled from the river. “I think this is her. Magda, you have to help me. Demitri will return in six days.”

Magda took the printout and read the brief article. The police had pulled the girl from the water. She had no ID. They were asking for the assistance of anyone who might know her identity.

Magda didn’t know her identity; she never knew any of the girls. But she knew now she had an opportunity. The police were involved. How could she help Simon with his dilemma and at the same time get rid of Demitri for good?

18

B
RINNA AND
M
AGGIE
entered Memorial Medical Center through the main doors. It was before noon and there were a lot of cops in the lobby, obviously milling around waiting for news about Rick. One of the guys told them that he was still in surgery. The admonishment “immediate family only” had not changed. They also learned that his wife, Molly, was somewhere in the hospital.

“I want to find her,” Maggie said, chewing on her bottom lip. “How about we check out the cafeteria? Maybe she’s down there.”

“I could use some bad hospital coffee,” Brinna joked and then glanced at Maggie to see if there was any hint of a smile on her friend’s face. But Maggie was obviously preoccupied, her brow creased in concern. Brinna noted that Maggie had grown quieter the closer they got to the hospital and guessed that she wouldn’t be okay unless Rick was. Partnership was like that
 
—at least good partnerships were. Though Brinna loved working with Hero and hated the thought that she
might lose that privilege, she sometimes envied the working relationship Maggie had with Rick. Nothing sexual or strange, they simply complemented each other. They could count on one another . . . and that was very important when things went crazy on the streets.

Brinna had had a small taste of that kind of relationship a few months previous with Jack O’Reilly. It had been rough at first, since neither of them wanted to work with the other, but by the end of their time together, they’d meshed. In addition to stopping a serial child molester and rescuing a friend’s kidnapped twin girls, Brinna remembered their last night together fondly.

“Any unit to handle, a 211 silent
 
—”

Jack was driving, and when he looked across at Brinna, she knew they were in agreement about handling the silent robbery alarm. He flipped on the lights and stepped on it, leaving off the siren so as not to tip the bad guys off. Brinna advised dispatch they were en route. The address given was a 7-Eleven, commonly referred to as a “stop and rob.” Jack parked around the corner, and the two of them got out of the car to approach carefully.

Brinna remembered neither of them had to speak; they knew what to do and how to approach the situation. She moved for cover in the parking lot while Jack tiptoed up and peeked in the window. With sign language he told her he saw one bad guy with a gun and three customers. No way could they just rush in
 
—too many potential hostages and innocent targets.

Using the car as cover, Brinna got her own eye on the
store just as the bad guy turned to flee. They could not have handled it better if they’d done it a hundred times.

Brinna had inched forward, gun on target, catching the crook by surprise. He jammed to a stop and stared at her. Her distraction gave him no time to react as Jack moved in and smacked the gun away with a baton. In three steps Brinna was right there to hold the man still while Jack applied handcuffs. The people in the store applauded.

She and Jack were to be honored in a few weeks at the annual police awards banquet.

Chewing on a thumbnail as she and Maggie walked down the corridor to the cafeteria, Brinna remembered that special “partnership” feeling and noted it had only been a couple of weeks for her and Jack. Maggie and Rick had been partners for three years. Maggie was facing the same kind of separation from her partner that Brinna was from Hero, albeit for a much more tragic set of circumstances.

She wanted to tell her friend that she understood, but did she? As valuable as Hero was to her, she knew their partnership was not the same complex dynamic as interaction with a human partner. Losing Rick as a partner would be closer to being widowed or divorced for Maggie. As she pulled open the door to the cafeteria, she realized she was now just as concerned for Maggie as she was for Rick. How would Maggie take it if Rick could no longer be her partner?

She didn’t see Jack and Ben until she heard one of them call her name.

“Brinna!”

She turned and grabbed Maggie’s arm, trying to ignore the
spark of attraction that flared when she saw Jack. He’d been on her mind a lot lately, and now, with all that had happened, she realized she wanted to talk to him, hear his perspective. “It’s Jack and Ben. Let’s go join them.”

They left the concession line and walked to where the detectives were sitting.

“What are you guys doing here?” Brinna asked them both but focused on Jack. He looked good in uniform, but he was downright heart-stopping in a suit and tie. “Was there a homicide last night?”

Jack shook his head. “We were here earlier, hoping to talk to that girl you saved from the river. They told us to come back and we just got here. Now we’re waiting on a translator.” He turned to Maggie. “Sorry to hear about Rick. I understand the best neurologist in the country is working on him now.”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“I saw Molly upstairs,” Ben said. “I’m buying the coffee; have a seat.” He stood. “How do you take it?”

“Black.” Brinna sat next to Jack and wondered if she should remind him about the lunch he’d mentioned.

“I’ve had enough coffee; how about a Coke?” Maggie asked as she sat down.

Ben held a thumb up and went to get the drinks.

“That happen the other night?” Jack asked, pointing to Brinna’s left arm.

Brinna nodded, warmth spreading inside from the concern in Jack’s voice and eyes. “I got banged up a bit, is all. I’ll have to go to occupational health and see how long this will
keep me off work.” She leaned forward, eager to change the subject before her face flushed red. “Why are you here about the girl? Does she fit into a homicide?”

“Not sure, but she’s connected to Alice in some way.”

Brinna sat back. “Connected to Alice? How?”

“She has the same tattoo on her hip. Remember the rose? And they think she’s Bulgarian.”

“I saw that tattoo,” Maggie said as Ben returned and set down the drinks. “The dead girl had the same one?”

Jack nodded. “Sergeant Rodriguez made the connection. She’d seen a photo of the tattoo on Alice’s hip and then the practically identical one on this girl.”

“We heard you pulled her out of the water, Brinna. Bucking for a position on the swift-water rescue team?” Ben asked.

Brinna sighed. “I went into the water accidentally, nothing heroic. Then I blacked out, and the next thing I remember, I was in an ambulance.”

“Accidentally?” Jack said. “And here I thought you were exhibiting signs of firefighter envy.”

Maggie snorted. “At least he didn’t consider that you’d exhibited signs of craziness.”

Brinna shook her head and explained. “When I saw the girl, adrenaline took over. I tried to get close enough to the edge to grab her and fell in. It was stupid.”

“Hear, hear.” Maggie held her soda cup up. “She and Rick were connected by a leash. When Brinna lost her balance, so did Rick. They both went into the water, but he hit the rocks. Matt and Jeff grabbed him; then all of a sudden there were
firemen everywhere. They had been en route; their timing was impeccable.”

“So who did save the girl?” Ben asked.

Maggie sighed and frowned. “I think she grabbed hold of Brinna, because I remember seeing them come out of the water together. The rescue divers pulled them out at the same time. The poor thing was practically blue. She’d lost most of her clothes in the water, and that water was cold.”

“Was she conscious? Did she talk?”

“She seemed delirious. What I did hear sounded like a foreign language,” Maggie said. “After I saw that Brinna would be all right, I followed Rick’s paramedic rig to the hospital. Other than the paramedics trying to assess her condition, I don’t think anyone talked to the girl.”

“We hope to get answers from her, find out who she is and where she came from,” Jack said.

“I’d like to be there when you do,” Brinna said, holding up her cast. “Since I don’t have to go to work today.” She glanced at Maggie, who gave a noncommittal tilt of the head.

“I still want to see Rick. But I don’t want to take any time away from family visits. If nothing else, I hope to be able to sit with Molly for a while, provide moral support.” Maggie turned to Ben. “You saw Molly where?”

“Second-floor surgery waiting room,” Ben said. “I don’t think Rick will be allowed visitors. Molly said that the surgery he’s having is tricky, and when it’s finished, he’ll be in ICU for a while.”

“I’ll go up and see if she needs anything.” Maggie stood.
“I hope the girl can tell you what happened.” Maggie nodded at Brinna, then left the trio staring after her.

Brinna watched her go, frowning.

“Something wrong?” Jack asked. “I mean, besides Rick?”

“Rick is most of it. She’s very worried about him. And I think she blames me for him getting hurt.”

“You?” Jack choked on some coffee.

“Yeah, I shouldn’t have gotten so close to the river’s edge. If I hadn’t slipped, Rick wouldn’t be in this predicament. The swift-water rescue team was close; I should have waited.”

“Did you
know
they were close at the time, or is this hindsight?”

“Well, hindsight, but
 
—”

“Then don’t blame yourself! It’s unfortunate what happened to Rick, but you didn’t slip on purpose. You could have been hurt just as badly.”

But I wasn’t,
she thought. Brinna looked away and sipped her coffee, wondering what this escapade would say to the little girl who idolized her.
Have I let her down?
she wondered.
Will the reports call me reckless, and is that a good example to set for an impressionable mind?