Two Girls Down(55)

“What about your team?” said Cartwright to Traynor. “They get anything from Marsh before he was killed?”

“Hollows?” said Traynor.

Junior sat at the opposite end of the table. He looked at something on the palm of his hand.

“Lieutenant Ralz spoke with the mother. She indicated she had no involvement.”

“Which is probably the case,” said Traynor. “What did Evan Marsh say to you?”

Hollows paused and glanced at Ralz.

“We didn’t speak with him.”

Traynor combed his mustache with his bottom lip. He turned his head halfway, in Cartwright’s direction.

“Let’s get two people to the mother’s house now to break the news and get the information while it’s fresh.” He turned back to the group at the table. “We’ll keep the team we have now at Marsh’s apartment and have them look for anything, specifically financial records and statements, get his phone and computer so we can get the tech in here. Miss Vega, Cap, you two,” he said, pointing to Junior and Ralz. “Stay two seconds with me, please. Everyone else, let’s move.”

The rest of the cops scattered and filed out the door. Vega watched Traynor and the Fed. Traynor gripped the edge of a chair and leaned down slightly. Nervous energy, she thought, but holding it together. The Fed’s face was round and red. He tapped a pen on his knee and watched the cops leave, moved his jaw like he was cleaning something out of a molar with his tongue.

The door closed, and Junior held his hands up, indignant.

“This is what we’re going on now?” he said. “This is the working lead?”

Cap laughed lightly. He’s used to it, Vega thought, this little fucker’s attitude and sycophantic bullshit that passes for work. Doesn’t make a move unless it makes things easier for him, less paper on the desk. Or, worse, he just can’t have anyone else be right first. Even cleaning five bloody, shit-stained toilets with her own T-shirt in Basic was better than working in a goddamn office with goddamn office people trying to climb a ladder, crushing knuckles along the way. Vega squeezed her hand open and shut around her pen.



Traynor shoved the chair into the table.

“Yes, Captain, it is one very viable lead seeing we’ve had an abduction and a homicide within four days’ time that appear to be related. Just so you can get a nice sleep tonight, we’ll still chase the five SOs and the father. That okay with you?”

Junior shifted in his seat.

“Yeah, Chief.”

“You sure? You sound a little depressed about it.”

Junior stopped moving, and Traynor stepped back toward the wall, crossed his arms. Vega watched him, noticed how he got relaxed as soon as Junior appeared to be getting nervous. She could see the cop in him then, could imagine him in an interrogation room firing questions out one after another before the suspect had a chance to think up a lie.

“It’s clear to me you and Miss Vega have met before, correct?”

“Yes, Chief,” said Junior.

“When was that?”

“Monday, Chief.”

“Did you discuss this case?”

“Yes, sir. She wanted to pool resources.”

“And what was your response to that proposal?”

Junior’s face contorted for a second. Sniffing bad milk.

“I told her we don’t work with civilians, Chief.”

“You said no thanks,” said Traynor.

“Yes, sir.”

“You turned down help from an experienced private investigator hired by the family.”

Junior rolled his shoulders back.

“Yes, sir.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Policy, sir. We don’t work with civilians, never have.”

“And you didn’t think this case might warrant a different approach, when we’re maxed out on manpower and officers are working triple shifts?”

Junior didn’t answer. Vega wove the pen through her fingers and stared at him, thinking he looked like a mouse that had just hit the glue.

“I take your silence to mean, No Chief, I did not think that because I thought I could handle this myself, and I’m too self-satisfied to admit I need help. Here is a fact, Captain: your pride was a useless thing to me before, but now that it has gotten in the way of this investigation it is a fucking abomination. After we find these girls we’re going to sit down and brainstorm about some methods you could utilize to improve your performance. Until then we, and by we I mean you, don’t sleep, take your meals and piss in a cup either in your car on the way to interview witnesses or at your desk with the paperwork so we don’t waste any more time. Got it?”



Junior slumped in his chair and cocked his head to the side, cracking his neck with no sound.

“Yessir.”

Traynor put both hands behind his head, ran them down to his shoulders.

“Now,” he said. “You and Detective Ralz can have the honor of telling Marsh’s mother her only remaining son is dead, and I want you there for however long it takes to get the name of every known associate she can spit out through her grief. Meantime, you can hope Miss Vega and Cap won’t be pressing assault charges.” He waved the two of them off with a stroke in the air, sharp as a salute. “Go.”