Credo's Run, page 22
Sighing, Kate knelt and put an arm on my shoulder. “I’m sorry your friend’s hurt, Alex.”
I turned and elbowed her arm off me. “Hurt? Did she look hurt to you? Because she fucking looked dead to me!”
Knowing I didn’t want to be touched right then, she held her hand up and away. “She wasn’t dead when I passed them in the parking lot. They were working on her, and I heard one of them say they had a pulse just before they loaded her into the medic truck.”
I looked into her eyes with laser-like focus, trying to process what she’d just said. “She had no pulse. Casey and I couldn’t get a pulse.”
“They got a cardiac rhythm and were able to use the defib on her. They got a pulse. You and Casey bought her time. Maybe gave her a chance.”
That calmed me even further, and I twisted my neck to loosen stiff shoulders.
Kate noticed the change and moved back to lean on the tombstone. “Okay. Who is she, and how do you know her?”
I’d been squatting and shifted over to sit with my back against a gravestone. My face felt stiff and crackly and when I rubbed it, flakes of dried blood floated down to my lap. I stared at my legs and then fiddled with some strings hanging loosely down my bare leg. I tried to piece together why my pantleg ended at the knee.
At my puzzled expression, Kate filled in the blank. “Judging by the even cut, you must have cut off the pant leg to staunch the bleeding.”
I blinked several times and then remembered pulling out my knife and cutting my pants. Nodding, I looked up as my mind began putting together the events of the last hour. I put my head back on the stone and breathed out to release some more of the stress. “She’s just a homeless vet who’s been worried about the kids getting drugged. Her name’s Pipes.”
“Pipes? Is that a nickname?”
“I guess. I’m not sure.”
“What’s her last name?” Kate had her notebook out and was taking notes.
I stared at her pen a second and then shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“She’s a person of interest in the case, and you don’t know?” Irritation crept into her voice. “All you know is a probable street name and no last name?”
I blushed, not because I didn’t get her name for the case, but because I didn’t ask her name as a friend.
“How is she connected?”
I rubbed at my arms, trying to scratch off some more blood. “She sometimes talked to Tiffany whenever she was sitting by herself near the fence.” I looked up at her, “You know, out in the playground.”
“Did you report that to the principal?”
I shook my head. “Dr. Kumar already knew about it, and she had Lak watching them. The kid was lonely and depressed and needed someone to talk to. Pipes was that someone.”
“How do you know Pipes, a homeless woman living on the streets, wasn’t the one who gave her the drugs? And why the hell didn’t you mention her to me or put her in any of your reports?”
I glared up at her and snapped, “It wasn’t her.”
Kate raised her brows. “How do you know?”
It might have been melodramatic, but it was the best way I knew to describe how I felt. I pointed to my heart, tapped my chest a couple of times, and growled low in my throat, “I know.”
She watched me a minute and then nodded slowly. She understood gut instinct better than most and had seen my instincts lead me to conclusions that were often the polar opposites of where the rest of the crowd was heading. “Okay, then. Why did someone attack her? Was she investigating things on her own? Was she reporting back to you?”
Guilt washed over me when she put it that way. I shook my head. “She’s a watcher by nature. She watches people and sees things that others might miss. I asked her to call me if she ever saw anything that might pertain to the case.”
“And did she?”
“Yeah. She called me this morning.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Before our briefing?”
I rubbed my head, not needing this added stress right at the moment. “Yes. She knew Diesel and Pete by sight because apparently, they were so inept everybody knew they were narcs.” I held up my hands to forestall the reaction I knew I’d get from that. Kate didn’t tolerate people bad-mouthing other cops or commanders, even if the description fit them to a tee. “Her words, Boss. Although I have to say I agree with her wholeheartedly as far as Diesel is concerned.”
“And? What did she see?”
“Remember I told you about Colin Resnick? The guy who might be Jane March’s boyfriend?”
She nodded.
“Last night, Pipes was bored, and she was walking downtown. Resnick just about knocked her over when he came barging out of the Weasel’s Pass. He was with Diesel.” I looked to my right as I thought of something.
“What?”
I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t hear her at first.
She stepped to me and knelt. “Alex. What did you just remember?”
“Just that Diesel was drunk, but he recognized her. He said he’d seen her in the bar when he was drinking with Pete. He said he’d know her ugly face anywhere.” I cocked my head, “You don’t suppose….”
She stood and held up a hand. “Don’t go there. First, you are not working on this assault case. If she lives, Aggravated Assault will take it. If she dies, it goes to Homicide, understood?”
I stood so we were eye-to-eye. This was my case and there was no way she was taking it away from me. I glared into her eyes and growled through clenched teeth, “No. Not understood.”
She stiffened, and a hard look came into her eyes. Nobody talked to Kate like that, especially not one of her detectives.
Knowing I should heed the warning and keep my mouth shut, I continued anyway. “Pipes was involved in our case. She might have been attacked because fucking Diesel saw her and recognized her.” I jabbed my thumb into my chest. “It’s my case. I’ll find out who fucking shot her. Not fucking agg assault. Not homicide.” I didn’t usually glare back at Kate when she gave me that particular look, but this was different.
She stepped to within a foot of me, never taking her eyes from mine. Her fists were locked onto her hips, probably to keep from decking me.
I tried not to look away, but her silence unnerved me, and I eventually looked down.
She spoke in the quiet way that always brings me up short and makes me take notice. “You may be upset, Alex, but don’t you ever speak to me like that again….”
I’ve seen Kate angry, and God knows she’s been livid with me before, but I could tell I’d overstepped myself this time. That thought brought some sanity back to my swirling, clouded mind. I covered my eyes with my hand, shook my head, and let out a sigh, “I’m sorry.” I was shaken and angry and worried about Pipes, but none of that excused me from talking to her like that. I didn’t even try to justify myself. I repeated softly, “I’m really sorry.” The words caught in my throat and tears came to my eyes. I fought to hold them back.
She let out a long breath and stepped back. “Alex. Look at me.”
I swiped the tears from my eyes and looked up.
“I am giving you a direct order. You will stay away from this case. Do I make myself clear?”
I nodded. All the fight had gone out of me, and I just felt tired. “Yes, ma’am.”
She sighed. Her stiff jaw told me she was still pissed as she pulled out her cell. “Let me see if there’s any news on her condition.” She walked a distance away while she spoke to someone at the hospital.
I ambled around the cemetery, reading the headstones and absently calculating people’s ages when they’d died as a way to get a grip on my feelings. A noise off to my right caught my attention. Even though there were enough police officers in the immediate vicinity that I doubted the suspect would return, I still moved with caution as I made my way toward the sound.
I walked a few rows down and didn’t see anything. I waited, and when I didn’t hear the noise again, I figured it had been a rabbit or some other animal running through the dry weeds. I started to turn away when I happened to see a green feather lying in the overgrown grass. “Oh, no.” I was afraid to walk to it for fear I’d find Sage’s body torn up and broken. I wasn’t sure I could handle that right now.
On the other hand, what if the little guy was hurt and needed my help? I owed it to Pipes to find him and take care of him if I could. Steeling myself to what I might find, I walked over and picked up the feather. There was no body and I softly called out, “Sage?”
Something moved in the weeds. I didn’t immediately see anything, so I knelt and put the side of my head to the ground to get a different angle on the brown, tangled bush. The first thing I saw was a beak. As my eyes followed the upward curve, I saw white with three black lines circling below a round, frightened eye. “Hey, buddy. Are you okay?” I remembered Pipe’s warning about the damage a macaw could do with that beak, so I didn’t immediately reach out to him.
This whole time, I’d forgotten about Captain, who’d apparently been waiting patiently out of sight. He moved up beside me and leaned into my leg. He was staring at Sage as well, and I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt. Sage had met Peanut and had seemed to like her, but I didn’t know what a frightened Macaw’s reaction would be to a strange dog. Without me saying anything, Captain moved forward on his belly and laid his muzzle on the ground.
I moved up next to him and called again, “Come on, Sage. It’s okay.”
To my surprise, the blue and gold macaw slowly emerged from the weeds. He tilted his head, staring at us out of one, round eye.
Captain didn’t move, except for a minuscule wag of his tail.
Turning his head upside down, Sage tried to look behind the grey curtain of hair covering Captain’s eyes. He eventually hopped over to him and croaked, “Good girl.”
It was what he’d called Peanut, and I smiled. “You mean, good boy.”
Just like he’d done with Peanut, he made a fist with his claw and gave Captain a friendly chuck on his chin.
Behind me, Kate said quietly, “Who’s that?”
I didn’t want to scare Sage, so without turning, I said, “This is Sage, Pipes’ Macaw.”
Sage straightened and studied Kate, who slowly moved forward and knelt beside me. “Well, hello, Sage.”
Sage bobbed his head up and down but didn’t say anything.
I remembered Pipes patting her shoulder when she wanted the bird to come to her, so I patted mine. “Come on, boy. Let’s go.”
Sage studied me a moment, and then, without warning, flew up to perch on my shoulder.
I wasn’t used to birds, and out of reflex, I flinched and closed my eyes to protect them.
Chuckling softly, Kate said, “You can open your eyes, Alex. I don’t think he means to hurt you.”
I had my eyes screwed shut, and it took a lot of willpower to open them. Pipes had said Sage could hurt someone if he didn’t like them, and she’d also told me the jury was out where I was concerned. I kept my head facing forward and peered at him out of the corner of my eye.
He saw the movement and kind of bowed before twisting his head, so he was looking up at me from somewhere down near my chin.
Casey walked over to us and bent down so she was on eye level with him. “Who do we have here? Is this Sage? I didn’t have time to look for him after he flew after the suspect’s car.” She gently scratched his cheek, and he made a kind of chittering sound I hadn’t heard before.
“If you’re pissing him off, could you stop? I like my eyes.” I squinted and moved my head away.
She straightened. “He’s not angry with you, Alex. I think he’s still shaken from everything that happened. It’s actually amazing that he’d come out of hiding and fly to your shoulder. You said he’s Pipes’ macaw?”
“Yeah. You have parrots. Do you think you can keep him for a while?”
“Oh, hell no. Parrots are really territorial. Jose barely tolerates Bini; there’s no way he’d allow another male in the house. They’d kill each other.”
Kate unclipped the radio from her belt. “I’ll get animal control to come pick him up.”
I swung around and yelled, “No!” I moved so fast, Sage had to flap his wings to maintain his balance. I got a mouthful of feathers when his long tail brushed across my mouth. I spat and raised my hand to wipe off my tongue. At the last minute, I remembered the blood and lowered it again.
“No?” Kate’s voice had that steel quality again, and I looked up to see an angry set to her eyes.
Remembering our earlier conversation, I backtracked a little. “I don’t mean, no, you’re wrong, or no, I’m in charge. I mean, no, you don’t need to do that. I’d like to take care of him, that’s all.” I raised my brows, and even though it was probably over the top, I added, “With your permission, of course.”
That seemed to mollify her somewhat, and she reattached the radio to her belt and crossed her arms. “Have you ever taken care of a parrot before?”
“Well, no, but Casey has, and she can tell me what I need to do.”
“And what if Sage gets angry at Captain and injures him?”
I knelt and called Captain to me. “He won’t. Sage likes him.”
As if to prove my point, Sage bent down and preened Captain’s hair above his ear.
“He really liked Peanut, too, when I met Pipes at the church.”
Casey, who never wanted to send anything to animal control, put in her two cents. “I think it’s a good idea for her to keep Sage close, Sarge. Parrots have excellent memories, and he was attacking the guy who shot Pipes when we ran out to the cemetery.”
“He what?” Kate stepped closer and examined Sage’s claws. “He was attacking him?”
She lifted a hand to touch them, and Casey laid a hand on her arm. “Not a good idea to touch their feet. They usually don’t like that, and you’re a complete stranger.”
“Could there be DNA on the claws?”
Casey shook her head, “I don’t think so. The two times I saw Sage getting close to him, the guy waved a coat or something and batted him away.”
“Did anyone chase the shooter?” Kate looked from Casey to me and back to Casey again.
Casey nodded. “I did. Man is Peanut fast. I think if I’d have let her off the leash, she could have caught him, but the guidelines specifically say not to have them apprehend anyone. That’s a skill left to the police K9s, but she was sure pulling me along.”
That seemed to remind Kate about Captain. She looked down at him and then up at me. Her brows rose and she asked, “Leash?”
I blushed and reached up to scratch my head, a habitual gesture I’ve developed whenever I have to do a song and dance to explain something to Kate she probably isn’t going to want to hear.
Sage screeched in my ear and flared his feathers, giving me an unmistakable warning not to move so fast around him. He pushed off my shoulder and flew to a low branch of a nearby tree where he tapped his feet several times.
Hoping he’d distracted Kate from the leash thing, and because I was anxious to know what she’d found out, I asked, “What did you hear about Pipes?”
“She’s in surgery. Where’s your leash?”
Yeah, that never works with Kate.
Casey stepped in for the rescue. “It’s in her car. The scene was so fluid she didn’t have time to attach it. Our directions said if it’s a life and death situation and we don’t have time to attach a leash, the dog’s training should be good enough that they’ll obey as if we have one on them. I think Director Crawford will be pleased we had a situation where that theory could be tested.”
Kate turned suspicious eyes on me. “It’s in your car?”
I hesitated because I hadn’t grabbed it off my desk, and I didn’t want to lie to her. On the other hand, I knew Casey wouldn’t lie to her either.
Again, Casey answered for me. “Yes, ma’am. It’s on the floorboard on the passenger side.”
Once again, Kate looked from Casey to me and back to Casey again. Honestly, you’d think she didn’t trust us or something. Well, that’s not true. There was no doubt she trusted Casey implicitly. It was me she often had her doubts about. I was just hoping she didn’t ask who had grabbed the leash because it should have been me and wasn’t. “Okay. After you two give your statements to the detectives, you can take the rest of the day off.”
This time I did scratch the back of my head. “Um.”
Kate cocked her head at me. “Um?”
“Could I give my statement and then grab a quick shower and change of clothes at the station? I have a set in my locker. I set up an interview with a witness in the druggings, and I’d really like to talk to him. Honestly? I don’t think I’d be comfortable sitting at home doing nothing.”
Casey knelt and pulled Peanut close to her knee. “Same goes for me, Boss. I wanted to go with her to see what this guy has to say.”
Kate held her hands up in surrender. “Fine. Who’s this witness?”
“I finally got a hold of Charlie Carter. Tommy Carter’s dad. We’re meeting him at three at his office downtown.”
Checking her watch, Kate said, “You’d better hurry and talk to the detectives then.”
I was a little worried that Sage wouldn’t come to me again. I patted my shoulder and looked at Casey when he stayed in the tree.
She shaded her eyes and glanced up. “Hopefully, he’ll follow us when we walk back to the church. It’s gonna be interesting getting him into the car, though.”
“Pipes said he’s used to riding in cars. I guess we’ll find out.” The three of us made our way to the church parking lot, with Casey and I checking over our shoulders to see whether Sage would follow. When Kate headed into the church, I hurried after her. “Hey, Boss?”
She stopped with a hand on the doorframe. “Yeah?”
“I, uh, I’m going to visit Pipes later this evening, just to check on her. Not because of the case or anything.”
She had an amused look in her eye, probably thinking I might be trainable, after all. “I expected you would. You’re friends, right?”
