Joey remembered waking up at this time of day to catch the school bus. This was back when he still went to school, before his father got killed and he'd dropped out to support the family. It was up to him to knock on Nate's door, get him out of bed and dressed, and make sure he was fed before he walked him to the bus stop. Nate was only ten, and Joey was barely fifteen, but he'd lied about his age to get the job at the garage.
Nate dragged his feet, but Joey didn't let him fall too far behind. "C'mon. Bus leaves without you, I gotta walk you all the way to school. That'll make me late for work, and Mr. Starr might take a harder look at my application. You want him to do that? Want me to get fired?"
"No." Petulant and pouting, just like Joey would have been at that age. It was barely six, which meant all Nate had to look forward to was sitting on a cold bus for an hour, and then waiting in a drab common room until the first bell rang. Joey sighed.
"I'm movin' fast as I can, jerk!"
"I'm not sighing at you, Nate." He punched his brother's arm in a playful way and then slid his arm around his shoulders. "Things are going to get better, kid."
He heard footsteps behind him and tensed. He casually tucked his hand into the pocket of his coat and gripped the small gun he'd hidden there. His friend Roscoe had called it a lady's gun, but it was small enough to hide and it was just as deadly at close range. He twisted to look behind him to see if whoever was coming was a threat. His eyes widened and his eyebrows knit together in confusion as he pushed Nate off the sidewalk.
"Hey! We're goin' miss the bus."
"Sh. Shut up." He covered Nate's mouth with his hand and held him close, trying to disappear into the brick wall of the alley.
The woman passed by the mouth of the alley without a glance in their direction. She wore a white hood pulled forward over her face and her hands were clasped in front of her chest. Her robe obscured her feet and made it look as if she was gliding a few centimeters above the pavement as she walked.
Joey had heard about these women at the garage, but until now he'd never actually seen one. According to one of the other mechanics, they were badass nuns or something. Anyone who tried to hurt one of them ended up in the hospital. And that was only if they were lucky and didn't get a one-way trip to the morgue. So far he'd only heard of two people who ended up on a slab. The rest of the heavies in No Man's Land weren't willing to take the chance.
Joey didn't trust them. Religious people were the ones you had to watch the closest. Hypocrites, the whole lot of them. He waited until the jujutsu nun was out of sight before he pulled Nate out of the alley. "C'mon, squirt."
They had barely reached the corner when an old-model sedan pulled up to a stop sign. It idled at the stop sign as they approached, which was unnecessary considering there was no opposing traffic. Joey tensed again.
The passenger door of the car opened and a man climbed out. He was dressed much nicer than most people who came to this part of town, and he looked pissed. The part that made Joey most nervous, however, was the fact the man was white. Well-dressed white guys never came to this part of town unless they were planning something.
Joey tightened his hand on Nate's collar and turned him around. "You ain't going to school today."
"What?"
"Use Mr. Green's computer to look at Wikipedia. It'll make you plenty smart." He was practically running now, and Nate was tripping over his feet to keep up.
The gunshots echoed, and Nate screamed. Joey wrapped his lanky body around his brother and forced him down, ducking his head and covering it with his hand. As if fingers could protect his head better than his skull could. They cowered against the brick wall of the nearest building, both of them waiting to feel the tear of bullets through their bodies. Joey risked looking back and saw the well-dressed man was now bleeding from two holes in his shirt. His left arm was held across his wounded stomach and his other hand brought up a gun. Joey covered Nate's head as the guy shot at the car he'd just gotten out of.
Tires screeched as the old car pulled away from the stop sign. The shot man tried to run off the street, but the car clipped his hip and made him twist through the air. Joey was cursing under his breath as he pressed Nate's head to his shoulder so he wouldn't see the body land. The car slammed on its brakes, reversed, and Joey knew that he would never forget the sound of impact for as long as he lived.
The car's engine revved again and it sped away. There was a thumping sound and Joey realized with a lurch that the body was being dragged behind it.
Joey held Nate for a long time after the sound of the car's engine faded. He realized he was crying, and his brother's body was quaking.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. You kinda hurt my shoulder."
Joey sniffled. "Don't be a baby."
He looked over his shoulder. There was a gory trail in the middle of the road, but that wasn't what caught his attention. The white-robed nun was back, standing near the stop sign. She had apparently been drawn by the sound of gunfire. She looked at Joey, meeting his gaze for a long moment before she closed her eyes and bowed her head in prayer. Without her there, Joey knew he could have just moved on and tried to forget what he had just seen. But now he would wonder what the nun would think of him if he didn't do something.
"No school today," Joey said again. "C'mon. Back home."
He hustled Nate to his feet and hurried him back the way they had come. He would use the common phone in the lobby to make the call.
#
The body was found five blocks away from the initial impact sight. Patrol officers were trying their best to keep the scene preserved, but it was next to impossible thanks to the morning commute. Several streets were confined to a single lane, while others were catalogued and photographed as well as possible before the evidence was obliterated. Riley and Priest went to the initial crime scene first and met with the first officer on the scene, a pale young man named Patton.
"Witness was Joseph Tidwell. Car pulled up to the stop sign, sat for a while, and then Don Draper gets out. They argue, Mr. Suit starts to walk away, bang bang bang--"
Riley held up a hand to pause the story. "Three shots? The witness counted?"
Patton shrugged. "No idea. He said he was pretty sure Mr. Suit was hit twice, but he said he thought he heard at least three shots. Whether there really were three, or he just heard an echo of one, who knows?" Riley motioned for him to continue. "The guy returns fire, and the car takes off. Hits him, backs up to hit him again, then takes off south." It wasn't necessary for him to point; the rising sun had made the disgusting trail in the center of the road unavoidably visible.
"Make and model of the car?"
Patton checked his notes. "And I quote: 'Some old sedan. Maybe dark red.'"
"Sounds open and shut to me." Riley grimaced and scanned the opposite side of the street. If the shooter was sitting in the car, he would have been shooting toward the waterfront. The hypothetical missed shot would have gone into the water and disappeared with the tide.
"Okay. Let me know if you get lucky on the scene. Body is..."
"Five blocks that way." Patton pointed again and smiled. "Enjoy your walk, ladies."
Riley smiled tightly and walked away. Priest followed behind with her attention on the bloody asphalt.
"It could be worse," Priest said as she fell into step beside Riley. "It could be raining."
Riley smiled and checked the sky. Police cars with their lights flashing were parked every half-dozen yards, and police were looking for the weapon the witness had seen the victim using.
Riley looked back toward the initial crime scene and then looked ahead. "Five blocks is a long way to walk. Even longer to be dragged on your face. Where was this guy's guardian angel?"
There wasn't anger in the question, but Priest still looked down at her feet. "We can't always stop every bad thing that may happen. I've told you that before."
"Yeah, but... you'd think it would be okay to just pluck the guy from the bumper once he was dead. Save him a little dignity."
Priest looked at the trail. "Maybe that's what happened. It could have taken him five blocks to die."
Riley shuddered at the thought. "Bad, bad way to go."
They walked in silence until the blue-and-white van from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner came into view. This portion of the crime scene was completely closed off to traffic, but the patrolman either spotted the badge on Riley's belt or recognized her in time to move the barricade to let her through. Gillian was crouching next to the body when Riley approached her from behind.
"I can save you the trouble," Riley said. "Clearly this man died of diabetes."
Gillian tilted her head to the side. "I thought I told you to stay off my crime scenes, Sherlock."
Riley gave the body a wide berth so she could see the face. She immediately wished she'd left it to her imagination. Not a lot could turn her stomach, but this man had definitely not survived five blocks. She shuddered and focused on the body. His clothes were shredded and the skin underneath was scraped various shades of red from his impromptu journey.
"Three fingers on his left hand are broken; I assume that happened when he lost his gun. I found two bullet wounds in the abdomen, which would likely have caused his death given a few minutes. The actual cause of death, though, is... apparent."
"So the killer fatally shot him, then hit him with the car, then dragged him five blocks. Maybe we can get him on three counts of murder."
Gillian held her hands out palm-up.
"Any ID?"
"Nothing in any of his pockets. I took images of his fingerprints with that new scanner thingamajig they gave us. We'll see if it does any good."
Riley sighed. "You get new gadgets, and yet we're still brewing coffee in the first Mr. Coffee off the production line."
"Whine, whine, whine," Gillian said under her breath as she bent down to continue examining the body.
Riley knelt down and twisted her neck to look at the dead man's wrist. "Jill, what's the tattoo?"
Gillian looked and gingerly lifted the arm. "Looks like a stylized letter H. Two daggers with the hilts forming the crossbar."
Something tickled the back of Riley's mind, but she couldn't place it. "Okay. I'm going to go talk to the witness and see if he can tell me anything new. Priest, maybe you can help the officers look for the missing weapon?" She raised an eyebrow.
Priest read the hidden meaning. "I think I could speed things up a little."
Gillian watched Priest go and checked to make sure her assistant wasn't close enough to eavesdrop. "Scavenger hunt?"
"Priest has seen the body, felt the chakras or whatever she does. She'll have a better chance of finding the gun now."
Gillian shrugged and stood up. "I'll give you a call when the fingerprints come back."
"Okay." Riley said, "Do you have my phone number?"
"Yeah. It's written on the stall of the bathroom at the precinct. 'For a good time, call...'"
Riley shook her head. "Don't blame me. You're the one who wrote it." She blew Gillian a kiss and started toward the witness' address. She was on the front steps when her cell phone rang. "Could have just shouted," Riley muttered, but the display showed a different number. She stopped at the doorway and turned around to take the call before she went in. "This is Riley Parra."
"Riley. It's Briggs. Where are you?"
"Work."
"What? What time is... shit. Sorry. You got a call?"
Riley moved back down to the sidewalk. "Yeah. Where are you?"
"I'm... home."
"Everything okay?" She looked back to where Gillian and her assistant were loading the victim into a body bag. Briggs had been a mess for the past few months, since Riley hit the 'reset' button and changed everything. She felt responsible. "I could leave Priest in charge if you need--"
"No. No, work the case. I won't be in today."
Riley sighed. "Boss, you have to tell me what's going on. We can help you."
"I'll let you know. Wait. There's something you can do. When you get to the office, there might be someone there waiting for me. I need you to get rid of him as... politely as you can."
"Sure, boss. What's he look like?"
"Six foot something, long nose and a thin face. Blue eyes, dark hair. Probably dressed in a nice suit." Riley glanced toward the OCME van with growing dread. "Just tell him I won't be in. Whatever you have to do to get him out of there."
The OCME van neared Riley, and she stepped toward the street with her hand raised to stop it. The van pulled to the curb.
"Boss, we may have a situation here. Stay on the line."
Gillian rolled down the passenger side window. "Everything okay?"
"I need you to open up the back."
Gillian got out of the car and followed Riley to the back of the van. She opened the door, and Riley climbed inside and knelt next to the body bag.
She gestured for Gillian to unzip the bag. "This guy you suspect might be at the office. Does he have a tattoo on the inside of his left wrist?" The buzzing silence on the other end of the line went on long enough that Riley thought they'd been disconnected. "Boss? You--"
"He's dead?" Briggs' voice was raw, emotional.
"Yeah."
"Where are you?"
Riley looked at Gillian. "We're taking him to the morgue right now. Who is this guy?"
"Sean Hyde."
Riley closed her eyes and sagged against the side of the van. She covered her eyes with her hand, wishing she had just stayed in bed after all. Sean Hyde, a member of the Hyde family, twenty percent of the Five Families that ruled No Man's Land under the banner of Marchosias. He was also Lieutenant Briggs' ex-husband.
"Maybe you ought to come into work today after all, boss."
#
Riley stayed in the van for the ride back to work, calling Priest on the way to let her know about the new developments in the case. When they arrived at the garage, Riley climbed out of the back to let Gillian and the assistant take their new client out on a gurney. "I'll bring the lieutenant in for the identification. Everything you heard in the van is strictly need-to-know."
Gillian nodded. "I understand. I'll sign him in as a John Doe. But as soon as his fingerprints come back, it'll be out of my hands."
"Do what you can. Hopefully by then I'll know Briggs' side of the story." She pecked Gillian on the cheek. "Be safe."
Gillian held on to Riley's wrist. "Tell me it's need-to-know again."
"You'll be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I am very serious about this, Dr. Hunt."
"Ooh." Gillian shuddered visibly and rolled her eyes back in her head before she let Riley go. "So sexy when you're in charge."
Riley winked and went to the stairs. She reached the lobby at the same moment Briggs stepped in from the street. She wore little or no makeup, and her hair was limp and unwashed. She had forgone her usual business-casual for a gray sweater over a T-shirt and black leggings. She looked unbelievably broken and vulnerable.
Riley whistled and motioned her over, and Briggs crossed the lobby in what could only be called a death march. She spoke in a whisper as soon as she was close enough for Riley to hear. "It's him."
"We don't know that. I remembered where I saw the tattoo before; every male member of the Hyde family gets it for their eighteenth birthday. Until we know for sure--"
Briggs stopped Riley by brandishing her cell phone. "It's him. Alan Hyde called me himself to let me know."
Even though she was fairly sure she knew the answer, she asked anyway. "And how does Alan Hyde already know?"
Briggs glanced over her shoulder as a pair of uniformed cops strolled by. She rubbed her neck until they were gone, then gestured at the elevator. "We should do this someplace a bit more private."
"Of course we should," Riley whispered. She gestured for Briggs to lead the way and followed her to the elevator.
They rode up in silence, even though they were alone in the car. Riley drummed her fingers against her arm, trying to brace herself for the revelations to come. When they reached the right floor, Riley stepped out of the elevator to see Priest had just arrived. She eyed Riley and Briggs and started to rise, but Riley motioned for her to stay where she was.
Briggs went into her office and Riley followed, shutting the door and ensuring the blinds were closed before she spoke. "So you and your ex got back together?"
"Yeah."
"How long?"
Briggs sat behind her desk and withdrew a bottle and glass from the bottom drawer of her desk and poured herself a drink.
"Just a few months. He showed up not long after Gail Finney shot up our lobby. He called to check up on me. At first I didn't want anything to do with him, sent him away. But then he did something I didn't expect." She took a drink, her hand shaking enough that it rattled against her teeth. "He left. He didn't try to make me see his point of view, he didn't insist on being there for me. He just wanted to make sure I knew he was there if I needed him. I think you know how comforting that is."
Riley thought of the nights she'd glanced over to see Gillian sitting on the couch, legs tucked under her, quietly reading. "Yeah. I know exactly what it feels like."
"Once I was convinced he was authentically worried about me and not just trying to get into my pants, I called him. We had dinner and drinks, and he was a perfect gentleman. In the end, I was the one asking him to bed.
"We were good for a while. Like the old days. But then I came home one night to find Sean in the kitchen with his brother Timothy. Apparently one of their sisters had been arrested, and they wanted to know what I could do about it. I kicked Timothy out, and Sean and I had a pretty big fight. He said it was nothing major, that she would probably get off even if it went to court. I was just saving them some time. I kicked him out."
Riley made a 'get on with it' gesture with two fingers. "I think you can skip to the end."
"When it became apparent I was repeating history, I got scared. That's one of the reasons I sent you to traffic. That, and you deserved it."
Riley shrugged. "What happened last night?"
Briggs took another drink and held the liquor on her tongue for a long moment before swallowing. "I gave Sean an ultimatum. Either we go our separate ways, or he cut ties with his family. I refused to be his tool."
"Wow."
"He said yes."
Riley's eyes widened. "I think I wasted my 'wow.'"
Briggs shrugged, her eyes locked on a spot on the wall beyond Riley. "I was surprised, too. He said he'd been pining for me since our breakup. Now that he had me back, he wasn't going to risk losing me again. He proposed." Her voice broke. "I said no, and he insisted that he was going to do it right. He said he would take my name so he wouldn't be a Hyde anymore. I kicked him out." She touched her knuckle under her eye and looked down at her feet.
"So you thought maybe he'd show up here and make trouble."
Briggs nodded. "Apparently he decided actions speak louder than words. Alan Hyde stopped just short of admitting it when he called me, but he implied that Sean stopped by and they had a disagreement about his 'mistake.' He apologized."
"Did you think he was threatening you?"
"With him? It's hard to say."
Riley considered the possibility. "Okay. For now, we'll keep you out of it. Gillian ran the prints, so it shouldn't be long before we have an official ID on him. Priest and I will check it out and keep the connection to you as quiet as possible. Where was Mr. Hyde when he called?"
"His restaurant. It's where he always is this time of day." Riley stood up to leave, but Briggs stopped her. "I appreciate this, Riley." She looked at the glass and put it on the desk at the outer edge of her reach. "I've been really horrid to you during this whole... mess. I owe you an apology."
"It's fine. I'll let you know when we have anything solid to report."
"Thanks, Riley."
Riley left the office to find Priest leaning against the wall next to the door. She motioned for Priest to follow her and started toward the stairs. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough. It explains her unease and state of undress when Gillian and I visited her at home last week."
Riley twisted to look at her. "You and my wife were in Lieutenant Brigg's apartment, and she was undressed?"
"Only partially." Priest realized what Riley was saying. "It was innocent. We were looking for you."
Riley let her off the hook. "I'm pulling your leg, Cait. Gillian told me about it. Apparently Briggs has really great legs." They took a detour into the morgue and found Gillian preparing the body for the examination. "We came by for the official ID."
"Fingerprints confirmed it. Sean McIntosh Hyde."
Riley flinched as if someone had thrown a punch. "McIntosh?"
Gillian shrugged. "Don't blame me. I didn't name him."
"So now we have a name. Any surprises on your initial examination?"
"Nope. Shot, run over, dragged. It's still up in the air about which one actually killed him, but that's just for the paperwork."
"Okay. Let me know if you find anything."
Gillian looked wary. "And you'll be...?"
"Dealing with the Hyde family."
"That's what I was afraid you'd say. Be safe, Riley."
Riley touched two fingers to her heart and held them out toward Gillian. Gillian snatched it out of the air as Riley left.
"Did you find out anything at the scene?"
"I spoke to the witness and calmed him to the point where he was able to remember more details about the car."
"Calmed him. You mean you hypnotized him?"
Priest shook her head. "That's a parlor trick. I merely erased his anxiety and unclouded his mind so that the information was available to his recollection. I compared his description online while you were speaking with Briggs and came up with a match. The car was a Chrysler LeBaron, probably from 1979 or so."
"Wow, that is late-model. Did you do a registration search?"
Priest smiled as they crossed the lobby. "On a whim, I decided to see if Alan Hyde happened to have a car like that registered in his name. He didn't."
"Let me guess. He has two?"
"Four, actually."
Riley smiled and patted Priest on the shoulder as they left the building.
#
Hamlet Lane was a short alley that mainly served to connect two other streets. The only business with an address on that street was an exclusive restaurant that was also called Hamlet Lane. The door was shaded by a blue awning that prevented Riley from seeing the bouncer stationed in the atrium. He came outside as Riley parked at the curb and assumed the position of gatekeeper with his hands clasped loosely behind his back. He had ten inches on Riley, both vertically and horizontally, and wore a white dress shirt tight enough he had to have been sewn into it. He gazed at the badge she presented without interest.
"We open at six. Cops don't eat free."
"Good to know. Detectives Parra and Priest. We're here to see Alan Hyde."
He rolled his shoulders in a disinterested shrug and scanned the street to the north of them. "Anything could happen, I guess, if you stay here long enough. Might catch a glimpse when his car leaves."
Riley unclipped the badge from her belt, making sure her jacket opened enough that he saw her gun as well. "Maybe you have problem reading from a distance. Maybe it's the big words that trip you up. This is an all-access pass."
"Not here."
Riley moved to step around the bouncer and he moved to block her. It put him in the awkward position of resting his weight on his left foot. When he grabbed her arm, Riley brought up her foot and stomped on the back of his left knee. He made a strangled noise as he went down, and Riley grabbed two of his fingers and twisted them back. His strength seemed to evaporate as Riley slung her free arm around his neck.
"I know you didn't mean to put your hands on a police officer, because the difference in our sizes means I'd have to take that as an act of aggression. You wouldn't want me to think that, would you?"
"No... Detective."
"In retrospect, gentleman that you are, I think you were just going to open the door for me. Is that right?"
He grunted a response and Riley relaxed her grip on him. He stood and Riley took a step back in case it was just a ruse. He glared at Riley, avoiding Priest's gaze as she was a witness to his humiliation, and stepped past her to open the door. Riley smiled sweetly as she entered with Priest, pushing through the inner door without the bouncer's help to enter the main dining room.
Alan Hyde seemed to believe he lived in a mobster movie. He reigned from a large table at the back of the room, with doors to the kitchen on either side of his seat. The rest of the tables were set up so that other diners in the restaurant were unwitting extras in his power play. He was a king and the meal was his feast. The bouncer brushed roughly between Riley and Priest in a lame attempt to reassert his dominance even as he massaged his sore fingers.
Currently, Hyde's table was the only one occupied. Riley recognized two of the men as members of the family, but the other two were unknowns. Alan Hyde himself was seated in the center of the table, a tortoise in a tailored suit. He wore thick-framed glasses and lifted his gaze as the bouncer approached, leaning to one side to see around him to their uninvited guests.
"Bailey, we didn't invite these women. Please escort them out."
Riley kept her voice low enough that only Bouncer Bailey could hear her. "Yeah, Bailey, you wanna give that a shot?"
He ignored her. "Detectives Parra and Priest, Mr. Hyde. They said they just want to talk with you."
Hyde sat up straighter. "Parra? Yes. I think I've heard the name. You're dismissed, Bailey." The bouncer turned to leave, but Hyde wasn't finished. "By which I mean you are no longer employed at this establishment. Police or no police, I should have been informed they were here before you allowed them inside. Your final paycheck will be mailed to you."
Bailey was frozen in mid-turn for a moment, but he finally nodded. "Yes, sir, Mr. Hyde. My apologies."
Riley watched him go and then looked at Hyde again. "That was a little harsh, don't you think?"
"Let him be an example to the next one. Now what can I refuse to do before I throw you out of here?"
"We're here about the death of your son, Sean Hyde. We were hoping you might be able to shed some light on the circumstances surrounding what happened."
Alan picked up a napkin and thoroughly wiped his fingers with it. "A tragedy."
"Sure it was." Riley eyed the other people at the table. It was impossible to tell if they were armed, but she wasn't taking any chances. She rested her hand on the butt of her gun as a show of readiness. "And it's come with quite a mystery. Care to explain how you knew the victim's identity before we did?"
"Your medical examiner used a Portable Print Scanner at the scene. The results of that test were flagged when a member of my family was identified. It helps to have friends in the right places, my dear."
Riley said, "A late-model Chrysler LeBaron was spotted at the scene. Would you mind letting us have a look at any cars you might own that match the description?"
Alan smiled. "Do you happen to have a warrant, Detective Priest?"
"I'm Parra. She's Priest. And no, we don't have a warrant."
"Then we're done speaking. I would like to be informed when my son's body is available for funeral services." He looked at Priest. "Send her. Despite your celebrity, I dislike speaking to minorities and avoid it whenever possible."
Riley bristled as she took a card from her jacket pocket and leaned forward to flick it onto the table. "Choo dealin' wit' me, papi. Deal wit' it." She turned and motioned for Priest to follow her out of the restaurant.
Priest waited until they were outside to speak. "That didn't accomplish much."
"We know that he has access to the PPS. That needs to be investigated. And we kicked the hornet's nest. Now we can sit back and watch what happens." Riley saw a shadow on the sidewalk coming up fast from behind her. "Priest, take a big step to your left, please."
Priest did as instructed and Riley spun on her heel. She curled her fingers against her palm and thrust her hand up, the meaty heel of it impacting Bailey's chin just before he was close enough to grab her. She shot her other fist into his gut like a piston, realizing only as he was falling that he had both hands in his pockets. She didn't feel guilty as he hit the ground; he'd already attacked her once and he was approaching her at a fast clip. He cried out as he hit the ground, his hands coming up in a defensive pose. The seams of his too-tight shirt had popped when he fell, and the resulting look was purely pathetic.
"If you want to make me pay for what happened in there, I'd suggest you just let it go. This won't end well for you."
Bailey stayed on his back but looked toward the restaurant to make sure no one was looking. "No. I, uh, it... no. Hyde's always been a bastard. He was just looking for an excuse to kick me loose." He sat up, cupping his jaw in one hand. He looked like an overgrown toddler who had just fallen off his bicycle. "I waited because if that prick ain't loyal to me, no reason I should be loyal to him. You're here about Sean, right?"
"Yeah. You happen to know anything about that?"
He sighed. "I know enough. But I'm not going to talk about it here."
Riley held out her hand. "Sorry. You understand my confusion."
"Sure. Whatever." He took her hand.
"Come on. My partner and I will give you a ride to the unemployment office." It took nearly all her strength to keep from toppling over when Bailey pulled; he was a hefty boy. She brushed off the back of his shirt, the closest she would come to an apology, and glanced over her shoulder as Priest walked him to the car.
A man she hadn't seen at Hyde's table was standing at the front door of the restaurant. The door was propped open against his right foot, and he held a lit cigarette outside so that the wind would catch the smoke. He had dark eyes and shaggy yellow-blonde hair, his lips pursing in the center in a way that reminded her of a lion.
Riley saluted him with two fingers, and he responded with an upward toss of his chin. She walked around the back of the car and got behind the wheel.
"Got bad news for you, Bailey. No matter what you tell us, your boss is going to know you talked."
"Screw him. He brought it on himself."
Riley glanced at Priest, shrugged, and pulled away from the curb. When she glanced back, the smoking man was no longer standing in the doorway.
#
They drove to a diner outside the amorphous boundary of No Man's Land, and well outside the Hyde Family territory, and Riley escorted Evan Bailey to a booth near the back. She sat facing the door, and Bailey seemed desperate to fit his bulk as close to the wall as possible. "You can relax, Mr. Bailey."
"Are you kidding? You think we're safe just because we drove a mile or two? Mr. Hyde has eyes everywhere."
"I didn't mean to imply he wouldn't find out. I'm telling you to relax because he already knows you're talking to me. One of the Hyde brothers saw you leave with us. Blonde guy, kind of looks like a lion."
Bailey looked confused for a second and then rolled his eyes. "Ah, cripes. Danny Falco. He's not a brother. He works for the big cheese."
Riley met Priest's gaze. "Big cheese. Guy named Marchosias?"
"Nah, the Marquis." He rubbed his face. "Well, if he saw, then it's really all over for me. I might as well go and jump off the waterfront myself."
The waitress brought over three water glasses, but Riley waved her away when she offered menus. She folded her hands on the table and leaned forward. "Well, if you could tell us what you know before your swim, I'd be greatly obliged."
Bailey pulled his lips back against his teeth and drained his water like a horse drinking from a trough. When he was done, he wiped his mouth on the cuff of his sleeve and leaned back.
"Sean Hyde called his dad last night and they had an unscheduled meeting. That's about as odd as if the President walked in here right now and ordered chocolate chip pancakes. I drove Mr. Hyde to the meeting--"
"Which Mr. Hyde?" Priest said.
"The father, Alan. I drive... drove him wherever he needed to go."
"When and where did they meet?" Riley asked, hoping he would say it was the waterfront around the time Joey Tidwell saw the shooting.
Bailey took Priest's water without asking and downed it as well. "Close to midnight at that shut-down mall on Franklin. Just in the parking lot. They had words, it was acrimonious."
Riley couldn't help laughing.
"What?"
"Sorry. Acrimonious?"
Bailey showed his hands. "That's what Mr. Hyde said it was. If it's the wrong word, laugh at him, okay?"
Riley shook his head. "Okay, so after their acrimonious meeting, what happened?"
"Mr. Hyde, uh, Alan... he told Sean that if he wanted out of the family, it could definitely be arranged. Sean said he didn't care and he was done. He walked away. Alan was totally thrown by that. I mean, no one walks away from him. So he called after him and said that he was no longer his son. Sean didn't even react; he just got into his car and drove off."
"And what did Alan Hyde do?"
Bailey shrugged. "Got back into the car and sat there for a long time. He didn't tell me where to go, so I just sat there with him. Finally he told me to take him home. I did."
"He didn't make any calls? No Chrysler LeBarons came into the picture?"
"No. I mean, he might have called from home once he went upstairs, but I stay on the ground floor after hours. And boss has a couple of LeBarons, but last night we went to meet Sean in a town car."
Riley took a drink of her water before Bailey could take it as well. His information wasn't the smoking gun she hoped it would be, but it still filled in a lot of blanks in the timeline of Sean Hyde's death. "All right. Let's go."
"Huh?" Bailey looked at them both. "Where are we going?"
"We're not going to just turn you loose with someone like Alan Hyde gunning for you. We'll get you some protective custody."
Priest slid out of the booth to let Bailey up. He cleared his throat and nodded past Riley. "You mind if I, uh, visit the little boy's room?"
Riley rolled her eyes and hooked her thumb over her shoulder. "Hurry up." When he was gone, Riley lowered her voice and stepped closer to Priest. "What do you think? Is he telling the truth?"
"I'm pretty sure he's telling the truth as he knows it." She was watching the bathroom door the former driver-slash-bouncer had gone through. "I can feel some kind of barrier in his mind, but it's small. It may be something as simple as his will to forget something rather than outside influences. Do you really think he knows anything useful in Sean Hyde's death?"
Riley shrugged. "It's possible he doesn't even know what he knows. But even if he can't help us find Sean Hyde's killer, as Alan Hyde's driver, he'll know enough to justify protective custody. Hell, he might even get Witness Protection."
Bailey came out of the bathroom daintily wiping his hands with a paper towel. Riley led him out with Priest bringing up the rear of their group. Riley called Briggs before she started the car. "It's me. Are you still at the office?"
"Yeah. I decided I might as well make myself useful."
"We're bringing in Alan Hyde's driver. He may be able to shed some light on the victim's last few hours."
Briggs exhaled sharply. "Well, that's a relief. Thank you for calling."
"No problem. We'll take him to Interrogation Room One when we show up."
Priest had gotten into the backseat with Bailey, and she put a hand on his shoulder when he tried to lean forward. "I'm not... I'm just making sure... you're not arresting me, are you?"
"Not yet. But the day is young. Buckle your seatbelt."
The drive to the station was spent in silence, with Bailey brooding in the backseat. The intimidating bouncer had all but evaporated and, in his place was an overgrown elementary school child. Riley was less afraid of him overpowering her than she was dealing with him if he decided to start crying. She stopped herself before she started feeling bad about hurting his hand; he'd definitely been asking for that at the time.
They took the elevator and Riley used the ride to explain what was expected of him. "The more you can give us about the Hyde family and their activities, the more we'll be inclined to help you out. You've already spilled the beans about one thing, so they're already mad at you."
The doors opened and Riley preceded Bailey into the main room. Briggs was coming out of Interrogation Room One and spotted her, changing direction to meet with her instead of returning to her office. "Boss, this is--"
Bailey punched her in the neck, throwing his full weight behind the rabbit punch to the spot where her skull met her spine. As she dropped, he reached into her jacket and removed her weapon. Priest slammed into him from behind but he elbowed her in the gut and twisted. He pressed his hand flat against her face, muttered a phrase in a foreign language, and Priest twisted away from him with a shout of pain.
Briggs was halfway across the room with her own gun drawn by the time Bailey returned his attention to her. "Meddlesome bitch." He aimed at her head.
Riley managed to clear her head and threw herself at Bailey's right leg. When in doubt, take out the knees. She twisted his leg the wrong way and Bailey dropped to one knee. His shot went wild and Briggs took her shot. The bullet hit Bailey in the chest but didn't slow him down. He cocked the hammer again and bared his teeth.
A black woman dressed in rags was the closest person to Bailey other than Riley and Briggs. She brought her gun up in a mirror image of Bailey's move, but she was faster on the trigger. Her shot took off the top of his head, and the big man finally went limp. He fell backwards, his shirt soaked with blood from Briggs' shot. Riley pulled herself away from the man as he went down. She clutched the back of her head where it felt as if he'd rammed a spike through the skin.
"Riley, you okay?" She nodded and Briggs looked toward the elevators. "Priest?"
Priest had one hand over her eyes, but she waved off their concern.
The apparently homeless woman broke her firing stance and joined Briggs and Riley over the body. Briggs nodded to her. "Nicely done, Detective Kane."
Wanda Kane exhaled and rubbed her wrist back and forth over her forehead. "The one day I come in to do paperwork, there's some actual excitement."
Uniformed officers appeared at the top of the stairs and Briggs held up her hands to let them know the excitement was over. Riley had recovered enough from the surprise blow to kneel next to Priest.
"Are you okay? What did he do?"
Priest's eyes were red and overflowing with tears. "Sulfur. I'll be fine, but it hurts very badly. Are you all right?"
"Comparatively."
"No," Briggs said. "Have someone check you out, even if it's only Dr. Hunt. The way he hit you, and the way you went down, I want to make sure there's no damage."
Riley nodded. "All right. I'll take Priest down to get checked out." She paused. "Boss, I don't know what to say. If he'd shown any sign--"
Briggs stopped her. "I'm sure it's a long story and you'd rather not go into detail here. We'll debrief later in my office."
Riley nodded, thankful for the reprieve. She ushered Priest into the elevator as Riley, Briggs and Wanda Kane handed over their weapons to another detective according to standard procedure after a shooting. Riley looked at Priest again, checking her eyes. "Sure you'll be okay? They look pretty red."
"It's the equivalent of blowing cinnamon into someone's eyes. Enough to briefly incapacitate. My eyesight is already coming back."
The doors pinged as they opened, and Riley helped Priest out into the corridor. There were three bodies laid out in the morgue, and Gillian was in the midst of examining one when Riley entered. She pulled down her mask, almost successful in hiding her anxiety.
"Detective DiMarco said there were shots fired. Shots. Fired."
Riley crossed the room in fewer steps than she would have thought possible. "We're okay. The bad guy is the only one who got hit."
Gillian held her hands out to the side, unable to hug Riley with her scrubs, apron and gloves on. Riley put a hand on either side of Gillian's face and touched their foreheads together. They held the position until Gillian whispered, "Okay," and turned her head to kiss Riley's palm. "What's wrong? You look fish-eyed."
"I got hit in the back of the head. But you should check out Priest first--"
"I'll be fine. Riley's head--"
"Quiet," Gillian snapped, her fear dissolving into anger. "Either one of you, on the table. Now."
Riley knew better than to argue with that voice. She walked to the empty exam table while Gillian removed her gloves and put on a fresh pair.
"So what happened?"
Riley explained about their visit to Hamlet Lane. When she got to the part about Bailey going crazy, Priest took over. "I felt a black spot in his mind and thought it was just his attempt to block painful or traumatic memories. The moment he saw and recognized Lieutenant Briggs, however, it shattered. It was a trap set by the demon he mentioned, Danny Falco."
Gillian said, "Shouldn't you have felt that? I don't mean to cast blame, Caitlin, I'm just--"
"No, you're absolutely correct. If he had added something substantial, I would have found it in a heartbeat. But he formed his mousetrap out of Bailey's existing aggression. He wrapped it up like a spring and filled it with just a touch of demonic energy. It's what gave him the ability to disable me so effectively. That's why Bailey was acting so conspicuously..."
"Infantile," Riley suggested.
"Yes. His mind was only partially present during our talk at the diner. The rest of him was coiled around the trap waiting to be sprung. All the violence of his soul was unleashed in that moment, combined with the demon's aggression and his humiliation over what happened at the restaurant."
Gillian said, "You provoked him?"
"No more than anyone else trying to kick my ass." She squeezed Gillian's forearm. "There was going to be violence either way. I just made sure I got in the first blow."
"Well, then. Good girl." She pecked Riley's lips and stepped back. "I diagnose you with minor whiplash. I can give you some painkillers and keep an eye on it."
"Do you make house calls?"
"At your house, I do." She stepped back and gestured for Priest to take her place. "Next patient."
Priest shook her head. "I'm fine--"
Riley cut her off. "Don't even try. Get on the table, Caitlin."
Priest gave in. "What's our next step?"
"We go back to Hamlet Lane and I'll take Alan Hyde into custody. Whatever the cause, his bodyguard just opened fire on a police officer. While I'm doing that, you can have a conversation with Danny Falco. Between the two of them, we should be able to get some semblance of the truth about what happened to Sean. Do you think he knows about Falco's... real connections?"
"Anything's possible. We should tread lightly when we return."
Gillian looked at Riley. "Very lightly. Feather lightly."
"Yes, dear." Riley kissed Gillian's cheek. "Is she cleared for duty?"
"Considering her eyes were healing as I looked at them, I'll say yes." She aimed her finger at Priest's face. "Keep an eye on her, Caitlin. Tell me if her whiplash gets exacerbated."
"Great. My guardian angel is tattling on me to my partner. C'mon, Cait."
Gillian swatted Riley on the rear end before she got out of reach, and Riley ushered Priest out of the morgue. Priest said, "She took that well."
"She hides it well." Riley's smile faded. "It'll come out tonight."
"Oh."
"It's okay. I'll be there to hold her." She snapped her fingers and pointed at the elevator. "Let's go confront a mobster and a demon."
#
Riley parked two blocks away from Hamlet Lane so her car wouldn't be spotted. She and Priest both wore bulletproof vests, although Priest's was mainly to keep up appearances, and covered them with their jackets to reduce the amount of odd looks they got as they walked to their destination.
Instead of going to the front door, she and Priest cut through the alley that ran behind the restaurant and found the kitchen entrance. She had her badge ready when she knocked, and she made sure the cook who answered saw it before her weapon. His hands went up, and Riley gently pulled him out into the alley.
"We're not here for you. We just want Mr. Hyde and his people. All you have to do is step aside and let us into the building. Can you do that?"
The cook nodded and stepped aside. Riley nodded her thanks to him and led Priest inside. The other cooks and the wait staff that was loitering all tensed at the sight of Riley and her weapon, but they left silently when Riley motioned at the door with her head. She stopped the last one and said, "Anyone else out there besides Hyde and his cronies?"
"No. It's the slow period."
Riley nodded. "Thanks. Go on, get out of here." To Priest, she said, "Is Falco going to be a problem?"
"Not for me."
Riley smiled. She peeked around the corner and saw Alan Hyde sitting at his table with a laptop in front of him instead of a plate. Only two men at the table were eating. Falco was lounging in a booth by the front door with his eyes cast down. Riley held up her free hand to show Priest there were five people present just as Falco's head snapped up and he spotted her.
"Hands where I can see them." Riley stepped into the room and took position behind Hyde's table. "Gentleman... hands on the table, palm down. Reach for the opposite edge of the table and don't move a muscle." The men reluctantly did as they were told, their chins on the table as their arms stretched forward. The only one who didn't comply was Alan Hyde, while Falco was still in position by the front door.
"Mr. Falco, hands on the back of your head, please."
Priest stepped around the table and approached him with her gun drawn. Their eyes met, and Falco's lips curled into a smile. He showed her his palms and casually put them on top of his head. Riley turned her attention to the back of Alan Hyde's head.
"Are you armed, Mr. Hyde?"
"Why would I be armed? I have so many people willing to dirty their hands for me, Detective Parra. Is this still about my son's death?"
"Indirectly. Your former doorman, Evan Bailey, attempted to murder a police officer after he left here. Your comment about people dirtying their hands for you makes me wonder if he was just following orders. So we're going to have a conversation about that."
Hyde looked at the man next to him. "Oh-oh. They're going to take me downtown."
The men chuckled, which was made difficult by their positions.
"Stand up slowly and put your hands behind your back, Mr. Hyde."
Falco cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt, but I may have some information that could end this entire matter without further humiliating Mr. Hyde."
Riley looked at him. "Yeah? Maybe we should take you downtown, too. We have a special Cell to put you in."
Falco's smile widened. "I've heard about that Cell of yours, Detective Parra. Managed to get many of my kind into it?"
"Not really. It's easier to just kill them outright."
Falco turned his eyes to Priest like a predator sizing up potential prey. His hands were still on his head, but he seemed more relaxed than submissive.
"Sean Hyde was the heir to this family. He was going to take over when Alan here finally kicked the bucket or retired. The news he was going to turn his back on his birthright was not well-received."
Alan finally showed emotion. "Danny, what the hell are you doing?"
Falco said, "The police are here, Alan! They have us dead to rights!" His uncharacteristic display of emotion faded as quickly as it appeared, revealing it as an act. "Alan wanted to convince Sean that he was making a mistake, so he took him for a drive around his fiefdom. When Sean refused to hear reason and tried to walk away, Mr. Bailey was ordered to kill him."
"Shut your--" Alan Hyde suddenly choked on his words, gasping and sputtering as he tried to force them out anyway. Riley hadn't seen Falco do anything, but she knew it was his doing. He watched Alan for a moment and then continued his confession.
"Mr. Bailey was also ordered to eliminate Sean's former wife. She knew far too much about our operation to be allowed to roam free."
One of the men sitting beside Alan Hyde rose to his feet with an enraged roar. He pulled a gun from under his jacket, but Falco nodded at him. The man shouted, "You son of a bitch!" Then pressed the barrel under his own chin and pulled the trigger. The rest of the men at the table hit the ground, and Riley grabbed the back of Alan Hyde's chair and pulled it backwards. Her actions saved him from catching a bullet in the temple.
She managed to roll his bulk and shoved him toward the kitchen door. By the time they were safely inside, the gunfire had stopped. Riley kept her hand on his shoulder to keep him from running as she peeked into the dining room.
"Priest?"
"I'm fine." She was at the table, kneeling to examine the men who had just opened fire on each other instead of Falco. "They're dead."
Alan Hyde gasped in horror. "No. They can't be."
"Falco?"
Priest glared at him. "Never took his hands off his head."
Riley rose and saw Falco shrug. He was the picture of cooperation. "Feel free to take me to your Cell, Detective Parra, but you may want my testimony on file. Without it, you may find Alan Hyde's prosecution rather difficult. The choice is yours."
Riley looked down at Alan Hyde. His sons were dead. Putting him in prison would create a power vacuum. Riley met Falco's gaze and read the calculating grin on his lips.
"How hard did you push? How much power did you exert to make this happen?"
Falco smiled. "You mean how much did it take to convince Alan Hyde to order the death of his eldest child? None at all."
Priest moved closer to the demon. "That wasn't your doing at all. You couldn't convince these men to kill themselves until they drew their weapons on you. You didn't affect Alan Hyde at all. You affected his son."
Falco winked at her.
"Which son?" Riley said.
"Sean Hyde. Falco found the love he had for Lieutenant Briggs and reignited it. That's why he seemed so different with Lieutenant Briggs. His love was brought out the same way Bailey's aggression was suppressed. Everything else, Alan Hyde did of his own free will."
Falco sighed and shook his head in wonder. "Free will. Such an amazing trait. You see, Zerachiel, anyone can make a person pull a trigger. The real joy comes from making them want to pull the trigger." He rose and looked at Riley. "Have you made your decision yet, Detective Parra? Alan Hyde's prosecution and the crumbling of the Hyde Family in exchange for my freedom."
"The money and power of the Hyde family has to go somewhere," Riley said. "I assume you'll be taking control of it?"
Falco raised an eyebrow. "Well, I've been a very close friend to the family for years now. Alan trusted me. And when Sean began to turn his back on the only family he'd ever known... I became like a son to him."
"You're taking control of everything Hyde controlled?" Priest said. "But if Marchosias wanted someone else in charge--"
Riley interrupted her. "He's not working for Marchosias. We saw a demon working for one of the Five Families, so we assumed he'd been put there by the big boss. But that's not it is it?"
Falco winked at her and chuckled. "A demon once owned a bar in Tallahassee, Florida. It was one of his minor projects; he probably forgot about it decades ago. But I walked in, proved that I was a demon, and let the owner assume I had been sent by his employer. I took the profits of that bar for ten years before anyone caught on and then, well... alcohol is so flammable and accidents do happen."
"And now you're setting your sights on Marchosias."
He shrugged. "He's in the game, and yet he refuses to play. A champion to oppose you should have been chosen weeks ago, and the longer he waits the stronger you get. Either I will succeed and evil will have a truly motivated hand on the tiller, or Marchosias will have a fire lit underneath him and start working toward waging a proper war. First I'll take the Five Families from him, and then I'll use them to wrest the throne from his feeble grip." His face hardened and his eyes become smoldering bits of charcoal. "And then I will come for you, Riley Parra, and you will know an enemy the likes of which you have never seen."
Riley returned his stare unflinchingly. "Come on, Priest."
"Riley..."
"We have a prisoner to process." She looked down at Alan Hyde, who looked like he'd aged ten years during the conversation. "Let's go."
Priest backed away from Falco, who finally took his hands from his head.
"We'll see each other again, Mr. Falco. Soon."
He winked again. "Count on it, Detective."
Riley holstered her weapon and pulled Hyde to his feet. She handcuffed him and read him his rights as she ushered him out of the building.
Priest kept her voice steady. "We can't just let him go."
"We're not. We're giving him time and space. If Marchosias and Falco want to waste resources fighting each other, it's no skin off my noise. Let them erode their own forces for a while."
"And the collateral damage?"
"That's what we're here for, Priest."
Priest considered that and finally nodded. She looked over her shoulder at the restaurant. "We exchanged the human head of a criminal organization for a demon. I only pray we're not setting Marchosias up for a fall only to have something worse take his place."
Riley didn't say anything, but the thought had definitely crossed her mind.
#
Riley knocked on Briggs' office door, entering only when she finally answered. "Hey. I thought you would want to know. Alan Hyde is being processed as we speak."
"Thank you, Riley." Briggs was still dressed in her day-off clothes, her hair in a ponytail. She still had the bottle of liquor on the desk, and the level was much lower than it had been that morning. "Have a seat. You're almost off-duty. Have a drink with me."
Riley thought about refusing, but she decided a drink might hit the spot. She shut the door and Briggs poured her a glass. Riley tapped their glasses together before she took a seat.
"Are you okay?"
Briggs closed her eyes. "A demon convinced my ex-husband to recommit to me as part of a plan to have said ex-husband killed by his father. I'm not even sure how to begin processing that."
"You look at the bright side." Briggs looked at her, incredulous, and Riley shrugged. "You got to reconnect with Sean, just the good stuff. The stuff that made you say yes the first time. Right?"
"I suppose."
"And you got to have great sex for a few weeks."
Briggs laughed. "Well, I don't know about great. But what it lacked in quality, it made up for with quantity."
Riley smiled and they drank in silence for a while.
Finally Briggs put down her glass. "I'm resigning first thing in the morning."
"What?"
"I've been compromised twice. Fool me once, fool me twice... I feel I shouldn't gamble on a third time."
Riley shook her head. "The Hyde family is essentially gone now, boss. They won't come after you again."
"Can you guarantee that?"
"As much as I can guarantee anything when demons are involved. Maybe you let your heart call the shots one time too many, but you're a good cop."
Briggs shook her head. "I let bad guys get away. I looked the other way. There have to be consequences."
Riley leaned back in her chair. "You leave, I guarantee you someone ten times worse will take over your job. Priest and I will have our hands tied up again in secrets, and we won't be as effective in No Man's Land."
"So I can't retire because it would be inconvenient to you."
Riley smiled. "You can't retire because you're the best person for this job. You're the only person for this job. You got a little smudge on your conscience, but that'll only make you work harder to do right."
Briggs shook her head. "I don't know."
Riley put her glass on the desk with great deliberation and folded her hands together. "About three years ago, right before I realized what was really happening in No Man's Land, my partner Kara Sweet got paid off by a demon to stop an investigation. At that point I didn't even know angels and demons were real, but I knew my partner was holding a gun to my head. We fought, the gun went off, and she died. Your predecessor, Nina Hathaway, knew the entire story. She agreed to help me cover up what happened, kept me from being suspended or worse, in exchange for oral sex."
Briggs was holding her glass against her bottom lip.
"I did it, and she held up her part of the bargain. I never..." She lowered her head. "I was never held accountable by the law, or by Kara's family. I keep in touch with them. Kara was sending them money, so I keep that up, too."
"Why?" Briggs' voice was raw. "Why tell me that?"
"Mutually assured destruction. I know something bad you did, and now you know..."
Briggs scoffed. "So it's a wash? We can both call ourselves good cops now?"
"Sure. Comparatively."
"That's a slippery slope, Detective."
"We can't always be punished for the bad we do. We're not saints, and trying to be one guarantees we'll crash and burn. Just be the best cop, and the best person you can be. Learn from your mistakes. If that's not enough, then you can decide to resign. But give it time."
Briggs said, "For you?"
"No. Because if something bad happens and I get taken out of the game, I want to know someone like you is still around keeping things under control."
Briggs laughed. "Honestly, Riley. If you're dead, I'll have already been dead for a very long time. But I get your meaning."
Riley picked up her glass again. "To good cops. Flaws and all."
Briggs stared at the glass before she clinked her glass against Riley's.
#
Riley did paperwork until Gillian was finished downstairs, and then they drove home together. They stopped to get takeout for dinner, and Riley served it onto plates when they got home. They ate in the kitchen, with only the light over the stove turned on, and then adjourned to the living room to watch the news. Riley leaned back against the arm of the couch with Gillian lying on top of her. During the commercials, Riley flipped through the channels with one hand while playing with Gillian's hair with the other.
Gillian moved her hand up and lightly touched the back of Riley's head. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Riley nodded and kissed Gillian's forehead. "Yeah. But I'll let you give me a full check-up later on so you can convince yourself."
Gillian smiled and slid down to rest her head on Riley's chest. Riley tangled Gillian's hair around her fingers and went back to the news. The day had been endless and the night was going by far too quickly. She held Gillian tighter, determined not to let the minutes slip away from her.