Power by Debra Webb Page B

was not going away.
    “I’ll put in a call to Deputy Chief Hogan in Patrol and see if we can make that happen ASAP,” Harper said as he reached for his cell. “Frazier’ll be on shift here until two thirty. We should be able to have Cook in place by then.”
    Before Jess could thank him or open the passenger-side door of his SUV, a van whipped into the parking lot and stalled behind them, blocking any possibility of backing out of the parking slot.
    Channel 6
.
    After a nod from Jess, Harper walked away from the vehicle to complete his call. She turned to face the nuisance.
    Gina Coleman.
    Birmingham’s most beloved reporter.
    This made the moment truly perfect. Beautiful, talented, former lover of the chief of police, Gina strode determinedly toward Jess, her cameraman hot on her heels.
    Jess was several inches shorter than both Gina and Annette. She walked with the purpose of a man and she had wrestled numerous criminals. She’d even shot a few. No matter the designer label she wore or the time she took to apply makeup or style her hair, there was no way she would ever look like these women. Both far outclassed her in the beauty and style departments.
    Just one more reason she didn’t fit in Dan Burnett’s world.
    Her stomach knotted in protest.
    “Chief Harris, is it true you were removed from the Darcy Chandler murder investigation?”
    Apparently Jess’s shrink wasn’t the only one who could toss out trick questions.
    “Any questions you have about the Chandler case,” Jess said calmly, “you’ll need to take up with Deputy Chief Black.”
    Jess reached for the door handle.
    “So you were removed from the case?”
    Jess produced a smile. “Since my full attention is required on the Simmons case, I am not involved with the Chandler case. That’s true.” To say she had been removed carried a negative connotation. Coleman wasn’t getting that sound bite from her.
    This time she actually got the door open before the next question was hurled at her.
    “Were you assigned the Simmons case because of your past connection to his neighborhood? Have you spoken to your aunt since returning to Birmingham? Did you know she still lives in the same house?”
    Fury whiplashed Jess. She slammed the door and got in Coleman’s face. “Do you understand what you’ve just done?” The woman had just mentioned that Jess had family in the neighborhood where some of the worst gang activity in the city played out.
    Coleman held up a perfectly manicured hand and her cameraman backed off. “I’ll edit out that last part.”
    Jess wanted to like this woman. She really did. She doubted the feeling was mutual since she’d left Coleman holding the bag on a so-called exclusive story last week. But this was going too far.
    “What do you want, Coleman?” Besides a pound of flesh.
    “I want to know if Darcy Chandler was murdered.”
    “Like I said, you’ll have to ask Chief Black.”
    “I’m asking you.”
    What was up with these people? First the ME and now Coleman? The ME could cite his age. Coleman was as old as Jess for sure. She’d just opted for Botox so it didn’t show. In her line of work she could likely use it as a tax deduction.
    “You owe me, Harris,” Coleman reminded.
    “Off the record,” Jess made clear, “there are inconsistencies, but nothing substantial. Talk to Black. Ask him about Chandler’s shoes.”
    Coleman nodded. “I will. Thanks. Do you have an update on DeShawn Simmons?”
    Jess hadn’t released the rendering of Simmons’s mysterious female friend to the press. Maybe this would earn her some points with Coleman. She dug out her cell and forwarded the image to the number she had for Coleman. “We believe this young woman knows something about DeShawn’s disappearance. If anyone recognizes her they should call the tip line.”
    Coleman checked her cell. Clearly surprised to get any kind of heads-up, she passed Jess a business card. “Let me know if I can be of assistance to your