‘now is the captain in?’ She wasn’t going to be brushed off that easily.
Joey studied her face coyly. ‘You really have an appointment?’ he asked. ‘The captain told me not to let anybody disturb him tonight.’
‘Ten PM: Saturday night,’ Jennifer nodded, ‘on the dot.’
‘Ok,’ Joey shrugged, ‘but be warned: the big guy’s in a bad mood tonight.’
He reached down and pressed the buzzer on his desk. ‘Captain?’
‘ What? ’
‘Uh Jennifer De Le Cruz is here to see you, she says she has an appointment.’
‘… Oh God damn it! ’
The line went dead for a second. Joey glanced up at Jennifer with a look that said he was glad he wasn’t in her shoes right now. A moment later, the captain came back on the intercom.
‘ Fine, send her in. ’
‘Yes sir,’ Joey said and flicked off the switch. ‘Good luck in there,’ he grinned to Jennifer, ‘and remember – if you need help there’s like, a gazillion cops just outside the door.’
‘Thanks Joey,’ Jennifer replied, ‘but I think I can handle it.’
She walked past his desk towards the Captain’s office as Joey Gonzales checked her out from behind, trying to be discreet about it but failing completely.
She pushed open the Captain’s door.
‘Captain Leahy.’
Captain Mick Leahy was the ruler of this little slice of Hades and the hardships that plagued the streets around his station showed on his face. He was only forty years old or so but he looked a little closer to fifty. He was still handsome, but his hair was silver and his face was lined. His eyes were stern and serious but he had a mouth that looked like it could have a wicked sense of humor from time to time. Though Jennifer had never seen it.
‘Miss De Le Cruz,’ Leahy greeted, without getting up from his desk, ‘please sit. What the hell’s the matter with you now?’
Jennifer sat down. The Captain liked to get straight to the point. That suited her just fine, because so did she.
‘James De Cali,’ she said, sliding a picture of a teenage boy beside a bicycle across the desk. Leahy didn’t pick it up.
‘Who?’
‘James De Cali,’ Jennifer repeated firmly, ‘he’s a straight-A student from a broken home. He works part time at Chang’s Convenience Store just down the street from here to support his mom and baby sisters. Right now, you’ve got him in lock up accused of grand theft auto downtown.’
The captain stared at her. He didn’t blink. ‘Well I guess he shouldn’t have done the crime then, huh?’ he said.
Jennifer sighed wearily and took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected it to go over easily, but did he really have to make everything so damn difficult for her? ‘Captain,’ she said, ‘if James hotwired that car, you think I’d really be here?’
Leahy shrugged. ‘Well you are, aren’t you?’
‘The kid’s innocent Mick,’ Jennifer said, ‘he was across town with his sweetheart in Strikes and Aces Bowling Alley when the crime went down. We’ve got scores of alibis, so there’s no question how this is going to go. Why not just let him out and save on all the paper work?’
‘Miss De Le Cruz,’ the captain sighed, ‘I trust my men. They say this kid did the deed, then I go with that. If they’re wrong then that’s for the courts to decide.’
‘Yeah,’ Jennifer asked, smiling knowingly, ‘but do you know who the arresting officer was? Liam Ryan.’
The captain tried not to let it show on his face but she could see it plain as day: that absolute Oh Fuck moment. Liam Ryan was the baddest bastard on the force, a near sociopath who did whatever the hell he wanted. At that moment he was currently embroiled in a corruption scandal involving payments from drug dealers, amongst other things. Word on the street was that he’d go down for it too and the only reason he hadn’t been suspended already was because the mayor himself was his uncle-in-law.
‘Like I said,’ the Captain repeated, ‘I trust my men. I know this
Joey studied her face coyly. ‘You really have an appointment?’ he asked. ‘The captain told me not to let anybody disturb him tonight.’
‘Ten PM: Saturday night,’ Jennifer nodded, ‘on the dot.’
‘Ok,’ Joey shrugged, ‘but be warned: the big guy’s in a bad mood tonight.’
He reached down and pressed the buzzer on his desk. ‘Captain?’
‘ What? ’
‘Uh Jennifer De Le Cruz is here to see you, she says she has an appointment.’
‘… Oh God damn it! ’
The line went dead for a second. Joey glanced up at Jennifer with a look that said he was glad he wasn’t in her shoes right now. A moment later, the captain came back on the intercom.
‘ Fine, send her in. ’
‘Yes sir,’ Joey said and flicked off the switch. ‘Good luck in there,’ he grinned to Jennifer, ‘and remember – if you need help there’s like, a gazillion cops just outside the door.’
‘Thanks Joey,’ Jennifer replied, ‘but I think I can handle it.’
She walked past his desk towards the Captain’s office as Joey Gonzales checked her out from behind, trying to be discreet about it but failing completely.
She pushed open the Captain’s door.
‘Captain Leahy.’
Captain Mick Leahy was the ruler of this little slice of Hades and the hardships that plagued the streets around his station showed on his face. He was only forty years old or so but he looked a little closer to fifty. He was still handsome, but his hair was silver and his face was lined. His eyes were stern and serious but he had a mouth that looked like it could have a wicked sense of humor from time to time. Though Jennifer had never seen it.
‘Miss De Le Cruz,’ Leahy greeted, without getting up from his desk, ‘please sit. What the hell’s the matter with you now?’
Jennifer sat down. The Captain liked to get straight to the point. That suited her just fine, because so did she.
‘James De Cali,’ she said, sliding a picture of a teenage boy beside a bicycle across the desk. Leahy didn’t pick it up.
‘Who?’
‘James De Cali,’ Jennifer repeated firmly, ‘he’s a straight-A student from a broken home. He works part time at Chang’s Convenience Store just down the street from here to support his mom and baby sisters. Right now, you’ve got him in lock up accused of grand theft auto downtown.’
The captain stared at her. He didn’t blink. ‘Well I guess he shouldn’t have done the crime then, huh?’ he said.
Jennifer sighed wearily and took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected it to go over easily, but did he really have to make everything so damn difficult for her? ‘Captain,’ she said, ‘if James hotwired that car, you think I’d really be here?’
Leahy shrugged. ‘Well you are, aren’t you?’
‘The kid’s innocent Mick,’ Jennifer said, ‘he was across town with his sweetheart in Strikes and Aces Bowling Alley when the crime went down. We’ve got scores of alibis, so there’s no question how this is going to go. Why not just let him out and save on all the paper work?’
‘Miss De Le Cruz,’ the captain sighed, ‘I trust my men. They say this kid did the deed, then I go with that. If they’re wrong then that’s for the courts to decide.’
‘Yeah,’ Jennifer asked, smiling knowingly, ‘but do you know who the arresting officer was? Liam Ryan.’
The captain tried not to let it show on his face but she could see it plain as day: that absolute Oh Fuck moment. Liam Ryan was the baddest bastard on the force, a near sociopath who did whatever the hell he wanted. At that moment he was currently embroiled in a corruption scandal involving payments from drug dealers, amongst other things. Word on the street was that he’d go down for it too and the only reason he hadn’t been suspended already was because the mayor himself was his uncle-in-law.
‘Like I said,’ the Captain repeated, ‘I trust my men. I know this
Similar Books
