Shake Down Dead by Diane Morlan Page B

the job. I tried to reason
with her, but she said she figured that I had made my choice. She
walked out and the next thing I knew I was being served with
divorce papers. Then I did the stupidest thing I ever did in my
life. I went to our house to beg her not to leave me. I told her
I’d quit the job when this case was closed and I’d find a
nine-to-five job and be home every night.
    “It took almost losing my family to
open my eyes to what was most important in my life. She forgave me
and I spent the night with her, playing with my son for the first
time in weeks.”
    “I went back to the apartment I shared
with my partner the next day. I told my partner about my decision
to leave the department when we closed the case we had worked so
hard on for the past eight months. We were going over our notes
trying to figure out how soon we could bust the gang bangers when
my cell phone rang. It was my supervisor, the Deputy Chief of
Detectives.
    “He ordered me to come in on the
double. I figured that someone had made us and the case might be in
jeopardy. We hightailed it down to our precinct. When I got there,
I knew something was terribly wrong. The chief wasn’t alone. The
police chaplain and a woman I didn’t know were there alongside
him.” His voice broke and he sat down again swallowing and trying
to get control. He put his arms around me and his head on my
shoulder.
    He was crying when he sat up again and
continued. He took a deep breath and again ran his hands through
his hair. “My wife and son were dead. At first, I thought they had
gotten into a car accident. Then the chief told me that they were
killed by the gang I was investigating.” His eyes glistened with
tears when he looked at me.
    “It was all my fault. They followed me
to my house. I still can’t believe I was so stupid. I knew
better.”
    “That must have been horrible for you.
Is that why you quit and came up here?”
    “No, I went on leave and buried my
family. Three months later, I went after the goons who killed
Victoria and Junior. I found the creeps who usually did this kind
of dirty work for their boss. I put them both in the hospital.
Three days later the gang leader was found dead under the “El” on
Roosevelt Road and Wabash Ave. That case is still open.
    “My superiors decided that maybe I
should resign and start over somewhere else. The deputy chief knew
Jacobs from a conference they attended in St. Louis so he gave
Jacobs a call. And here I am.”
    “Oh, Jerry, I’m so sorry for you.” I
reached over and hugged him. Again, I could feel his tears on my
shoulder. We stayed that way for a while, and then Decker pulled
away and wiped his eyes. I didn’t ask who had killed the gang
leader. I didn’t want to know.
    “I’ve wanted to tell you about it for
some time now, since we’ve gotten so close. The time just never
seemed right. I think Whitney might have found out about it. That’s
probably why my name was on the list. I think she was getting ready
to blackmail me. And I think she has already hit up several people
for money.”
    “Do you know who those people are?” I
asked.
    “Yeah, sort of. When I found the list,
I copied it before I gave it to Jacobs. Once he saw my name, I knew
I’d be off the case. He put me in for personal leave, just to keep
me out of it without anyone knowing why. He’s a damn decent
guy.”
    “Yes, he is. Thank goodness he knows
the story and you didn’t have to go through it all with him. Do you
think you’re a suspect?”
    Decker’s head jerked back as if he had
been slapped. “No way! Jacobs knows I’d never do anything like
that. I think.”
    “Of course not,” I said, thinking that
Jacobs was way too professional to drop a suspect without evidence
that the suspect was innocent. “Okay, then, let’s get to
work.”
    I dug around in my purse and came up
with my little notebook. “Whose names were on that
list?”
    Decker looked at my spiral notebook,
grinned. He reached into his