Read Chapter One of MISDEED
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Reese
Two weeks after the explosion, Reese Milo was more determined than ever to get back to work. There was too much to do to sit around, and precious time was wasting. Besides, he had to finish what he and Sallie started.
Just when he and Sallie had made up and he had finally gotten permission to look into Kay Havelin’s involvement with the murders of Finch, Crawford, and Davenport, his world came screeching to a halt.
Reese could still smell the smoke when he thought about the car bomb. He could taste the grit from the dust he’d inhaled when he ducked for cover. It was like he was still at the scene.
He’d never forget how it felt when he had finally gotten to Sallie and he was unconscious. Reese wanted to help him but was quickly pulled away for his own health to be assessed. While he had suffered a bit of tinnitus from the concussive sound of the explosion, Sallie had taken almost a direct hit. And he knew it couldn’t be good.
Glass and metal twisted around him in his truck, and it had taken paramedics a while to get him out of the wreckage. Reese had thought he was dead for sure, but the man was stronger than he gave him credit for.
As Reese walked down the hall of the station, he couldn’t help but think of Sallie, who was still in ICU and in a medically induced coma with little hope of a full recovery. The doctors had agreed to make him comfortable, but each day passed with less hope for improvement.
Before Reese could make it to Chief Riles’s office, the chief’s voice rumbled down the hallway behind him. “I’ll be damned,” he said. “Aren’t you supposed to be at home?”
Riles wasn’t happy to see him back, but he was ready to battle if necessary. Guilt was going to be a powerful tool against his chief this time around. “I know you’d rather I stay on the sidelines, but I can’t. I need to be here. I need to work.”
Riles groaned and looked displeased as he motioned for Reese to follow him into his office. “No one has been through as much as you have over the past two years, and yet, you’re just as stubborn as usual.”
“It’s not easy watching from the bench while everyone else is in the game. You should understand that better than anyone. They attacked one of our own. This is an all hands on deck situation. All I’m asking for is a chance to be helpful.”
Riles wordlessly offered him a seat, and Reese sat down across from him.
The chief settled into his big black leather chair with a stormy expression. The man had never appreciated Reese’s will to press forward. And Reese didn’t expect that to change.
Riles shook his head. “I just think it’s best that you lay low until they figure out who tried to kill you. There’s a target on your back.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Reese said.
“I like your spirit, but it’s not just you who might get hurt.”
Reese nodded. “All the more reason to find who did this and bring them in.”
“Let me explain something that should be obvious,” Chief said. “I don’t like good officers getting hurt under my watch—even stubborn assholes like you.”
“Well, I’m safer here than I would be sitting at my house. Unless you’re afraid that they’ll blow up the building?”
“I think whoever did this was trying to send a message to you and everyone here. And I can’t let you anywhere near the investigation, if that’s what you’re thinking. You’re going to have to trust that it’s in good hands and leave it be.”
“I’m not worried about the bombing. I’ll leave that to the FBI. But I do want to look into the situation with Kay Havelin. Sallie had just given me permission to investigate her, and I’m asking you to allow me to finish what we started.”
Riles sighed. “How is he? Any better?”
Reese gave a grim look and shook his head. “Still out of it. They don’t know if he’s going to make it, but I think he’ll fight.”
“If I know Sallie, he’s going to do just that.” Riles didn’t sound as if he believed it. It was more like he was trying to convince himself.
“We were neck deep in something big before he got hurt,” said Reese. “I need to get back to work and figure out how all the pieces fit.”
“I talked to Sallie about what you’re proposing with Kay Havelin, and I have to admit, it’s some pretty compelling accusations. I hope you remember that I allowed it on one condition.”
“I know. No Eddleman. You don’t have to worry about him. I won’t bring him into it.”
The chief nodded. “I hope you understand why.”
“Of course. He’s not the reason I’m looking into her. Yes, I’d be lying if I said he didn’t point me in that direction, but I’ve seen enough evidence and coincidence that I can’t just ignore it.”
“Well,” said Riles, letting go of a sigh that seemed to take all the resistance out of him. “You certainly had Sallie convinced. And I have to admit that the whole case file thing was a little fishy when it came to the hammer evidence. There’s some kind of fuckery afoot.”
Reese laughed. “Ahh yes. That famous Sherlock Holmes quote.”
“Welcome back to the team,” Chief said. “Don’t fuck this up.”
“Thank you,” said Reese, letting out a sigh of relief. “I kind of thought you were going to say no.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you over the past year, it’s that you’re a pain in the ass and you never give up.”
Reese frowned. “That’s two things.”
“No, in your case, it’s the same thing.”
“Well, let’s hope I rubbed off on Sallie. The surly bastard needs to pull through. I want him to be around when I solve these cases and get justice for these families.”
Riles gave him a somber look. “Are you sure you’re okay? You know, he might not make it, Reese?”
“I know. I’m just glad we made friends again before then, and I hope that whoever did this to him is caught. And that they pay.”
Riles nodded. “Since you’re here, I’ll tell you something. As you know, the device was linked into your remote key.”
“Yeah,” said Reese with a nod. “I heard about that. That whoever programmed the detonator set it to trigger when I unlocked the door. I guess they figured I’d be a little bit closer to the blast.”
He could still see Sallie getting into his truck. The idea of anything being out of the ordinary seemed impossible. It was just an ordinary day. And he pushed the button to unlock his car like he had a million times before then. Only this time, it triggered the explosion that might be the end of his friend.
“They told me that they will be following up on some leads. It seems they have been tracking the technology, as well as the components, to see who was in the market for it and where they might have gotten them. So hopefully, they’ll get to the bottom of it soon enough.”
“Thanks. They told me a little when they questioned me. But they aren’t as forthcoming as I’d like.”
“It’s understandable, Reese. I wouldn’t take any offense.”
“I don’t. It’s just weird being on this side of things for a change.”
“Yeah, I heard you had no idea who it could be. Has anything rung a bell?”
Reese shook his head. “No, but with all the cases I worked in Vice, and with the trouble I’ve had, they were looking into every option. The detectives are convinced that it has something to do with an old case.”
Maybe someone Reese helped put away wanted to get their revenge. But he wasn’t sitting on his thumbs while he waited for them to be caught.
Riles cleared his throat. “It’s possible. Anything is after all the cases you’ve worked.”
Reese had thought of everything that had happened over the past few years and who it could be. Part of him even wondered if Kay Havelin had something to do with it. If she ever found out about him, who he was, and that he knew Eddleman and suspected her, she would want to eliminate him, for sure. Had that been her way of trying to stop him? Time would tell. Regardless, he was going to stay on her tail and find out what she was up to.
Riles leaned in a little closer, resting his elbows on his desk. “I need you to understand something, Reese. If any of this starts getting to you, I want you to promise me you’ll come to me. I won’t make you sit this one out, but I will insist that you take me up on that offer if you need it. And I’d like you to consider continuing your counseling.”
Reese had gone to enough counseling in his life to know he didn’t want to go to any more. “I will consider it, thanks. And I appreciate you allowing me to come back to work.”
“Where will you start?” asked Riles, as if it were a lot to handle.
But Reese had already given it a lot of thought. “Sallie and I had talked about getting a warrant for Havelin’s car. We wanted to look it over for evidence.”
“Yeah, he said as much, but that’s not going to be easy. You’ll have to find a judge who will agree that it’s worth the trouble. Someone who was a friend of Eddleman’s couldn’t hurt. Someone who might be sympathetic, if they exist.”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to bring Eddleman into this.”
“You’re not, and don’t. But still, there has to be someone who will hear you out. Someone who Kay Havelin hadn’t convinced fully. That’s the one you want to go to. Let them make the assumptions and connections. They won’t like it if you bring it up.”
“Well, honestly, I was hoping you’d do that for me.” He gave Riles a sideward look. “Sallie had already offered to help, and with him out of the picture, I had hoped that you’d be able to put some authority behind the request, considering you have more pull than me. I promise I won’t ask for much.”
“Sounds like you already are,” said Riles, who looked uncertain about the situation. Finally, he let go of a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do. What are you going to look for? I’ll have to tell them something. They’ll want to know what’s going on.”
“Sallie and I believed that Heather Crawford was drugged in her killer’s car. If Kay picked her up, there’s a chance they struggled in the car. And since Heather had a couple of bruises on her hand that were thought to be defensive wounds, we wanted to see if there was any damage or evidence inside the car.”
“Once you take that car, she will know you’re looking into her. Are you prepared for what her reaction will be?”
“I know it will change things, but maybe that’s what needs to happen. If she knows she’s being investigated, maybe it will shake her up a bit. Maybe it will make her nervous.”
“Well, I hope you know that when you corner a rattlesnake, you leave it no choice but to strike. Don’t be surprised if she comes back spitting venom.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” he said, wondering if Kay already had. “If you can get me that warrant, I’ll get to the bottom of it, I’m sure. And if I prove that she had anything to do with the murder of Lacey Davenport, we might just start a chain reaction.” All he could do was hope that it would shed some doubt on the Eddleman conviction. He didn’t have to drag Eddleman into it to help him.
“I hope you’re right.” Chief Riles eased back in his seat. “I’ll try to have it by the end of the day.”
Reese smiled. “The sooner, the better.” He was ready to get started and couldn’t wait to see the look on Kay Havelin’s face when they went to serve the warrant and impound her car.
He only wished that Sallie was with him to see it too.
