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The day will be what you make it,
so rise, like the sun, and burn.
William C. Hannan
Commissioner Eddleson approached the microphone as the press corps edged closer. There weren’t many reporters, many were already assigned to the tech conference at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center. The reporters knew something was up, but the commissioner’s staff kept a tight lid on the information, so they didn’t have a clue what it was.
“I’m sorry to announce that Councilman Adrian Adams of the Fourth District was found savagely murdered yesterday. His wife, the socialite and fund raiser, Martha Adams, is missing and believed kidnapped.” He glanced into the crowd and let the simple statement sink in before continuing. “The murder was horrific. Rather than get into unpleasant details, let me lay out what we’re doing.
“This attack on Councilman Adams wasn’t a single violent assault. Instead, an abundance of conflicting clues signals it was carefully staged to mislead the investigation. This wasn’t the murder of a single man. It was an orchestrated assault on the voters of New York, an attempt to undermine the voters’ voices in the governance of the city. I’m convinced this is a politically motivated crime against the people of New York.
“Councilman Adams was leading many important City Council projects, including the Economic Development committee. It’s not hard to guess it was the direction he was leading the city which got him killed. As a result, I will not waste your time detailing the grisly details. Since it appears to be a blatant attempt to refocus blame, I’ve appointed a special investigation team. These officers, Detectives Emma Rules and Doug Wei, have no other task than to root through the evidence and determine which clues are legitimate. Their only job is to catch the perpetrators of this crime. To ensure they’re not distracted, I’ve given them carte blanche. They can investigate any aspect of the case they feel warrants it. No one is above reproach in this matter. Not me, nor any politician, and certainly not any corporate interests. Whoever did this in the hopes of silencing this man’s voice will be sadly disappointed. Let me warn them, the people of New York will not stand for such an obvious assault on the choices of voters in this city.”
Mike Eddleson took a breath, steadying himself as he scanned the crowd, making eye contact with several of the reporters. “We’ll get to the source of this attack, and we’ll do it quickly. We won’t waste time with political committees or sending out hundreds of police officers working at cross purposes. Since this is a crime against the people of New York, we’re dedicating ourselves to solving it as efficiently as possible.” He made a broad sweeping gesture, indicating Em and her partner. “Now, I’d like for the two detectives to explain their plan of attack.”
Em glanced at Doug, cleared her throat and stepped forward. Doug hesitated a moment before following, standing slightly behind, letting her take the heat. After all, this was her investigation.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, as you can imagine, this is an unusual case. Despite the head start the attackers have, we’ve set up watches at the airports, bus stations and bridges. As Commissioner Eddleson said, we’re convinced those behind the attack are firmly entrenched in the political activity of the city. Thus we doubt they intend to flee. Given the abundance of faked clues, it’ll take time to separate the real evidence from the false. Yet we believe we have enough to proceed. Our biggest hope is in locating Martha Adams, as her life is likely in jeopardy even as we speak. We need the public and media to be our eyes and ears. We’re asking anyone who thinks they may have seen her to call the Tip Line. The mayor has authorized a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for any information resulting in a conviction. Your help is essential in locating Martha before something happens, and in identifying those responsible for this attack.
“Commissioner Eddleson granted us unprecedented leeway in this investigation. He’s given us the authority to operate on our own, to ensure that no political figure, city official or campaigner can sideline this case. Neither the Mayor nor the Commissioner can influence where or what we investigate. When we convene a grand jury, we’ll present our information so our decisions will be transparent, but we won’t bow to outside pressures. Like the Commissioner, we’re convinced this isn’t a simple case of homicide. However, we’re not ruling out any theories, evidence or suspects. Our findings will be laid bare for the jury, and they’ll evaluate the truth of our conclusions. Following this press conference, we’ll interview the Mayor and Commissioner. We hope to identify whether there are any outstanding political actions which may shed light on what occurred.”
Em tapped her prepared speech against the stand, signaling she was done before stepping back. “We’ll now take any questions from the press,” Mike announced.
“Commissioner! What time did the attack occur?”
Em approached the microphone, leaning in to ensure she was heard. “AS WE STATED— Oops, excuse me. I’m not used to these things. Is this better?” When several reporters nodded, she continued. “As we’ve stated, we’re trying to eliminate false clues. At this point, we need to examine each detail. We can’t confirm or deny any specific piece of evidence, including the estimated time of death or who was present.”
Mike stepped forward, taking over the microphone. “If you don’t mind, we’d prefer if you kept the questions focused on the investigation, not the crime itself.”
“Is Martha Adams considered a suspect, since she hasn’t been located?”
Em glanced at Mike, noticing his neck muscles stiffen at the inquiry, but his expression didn’t change. Acting quickly, she retook the mic. “No. At this point, given the circumstances, we consider her a potential victim. However, we plan on searching the city, monitoring everyone who entered or left Councilman Adam’s neighborhood and watching for any clues of her whereabouts. If she’s found unhurt, we’ll reevaluate our approach, but for now, there’s no direct evidence she’s involved.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll explain how you came to your decision?” someone asked.
Em cocked her head, staring at the reporter. The other reporters chittered, finding his predicament humorous and the question was abandoned.
“Was Councilman Adam’s residence covered by video surveillance? Can you determine who was responsible from that?”
Em started to step forward again, but Mike stepped in front of her, taking the question himself. “It’s city policy to not identify where cameras are located to prevent criminals targeting areas without observation. However, the NYPD Domain Awareness System was monitoring traffic in and out of the area. We’ll soon have a list of suspect vehicles which we can track.”
“Do you have any leads at this point?”
“It’s too early,” Em responded. “We’re still evaluating the evidence. There’s so much, much of it highly inconsistent, that we’re questioning which was planted and what is legit. Our focus is on locating Martha Adams and determining who took her. Those actions will be conducted by the larger New York Police Department. Doug and I will focus on identifying who had a vested interest in seeing the councilman killed, and following any financial or political motives to their ultimate conclusions.”
As Em stepped back, Mike nodded approvingly. Her cheeks flushed a cute pink, but not enough to be noticeable.
“So essentially there’s nothing you can supply us with?” a voice called out from the back. The Commissioner addressed the question.
“No, we have photos of Martha, their car, license plate and what she was wearing when she was last seen. We’ll also release any information about suspect vehicles in the area so the public can inform us of their location. This portion of the investigation is focused on finding Martha Adams, and we invite our citizens and the press corps to be a part of it. The sooner we find and return her to safety, the faster we’ll identify who was behind this horrendous attack. Since there don’t appear to be any more questions, we’ve prepared press kits featuring the relevant information, including photos of both victims.”
With that, Mike motioned Em and Doug back. They took his advice and backed away from the podium. That left the Commissioner to address any further issues as policemen began passing out the press kits. As Em and her partner headed back into One Police Plaza, Nicole Summers intercepted them.
“I wanted to congratulate you on your excellent delivery and wish you luck in your investigation. This is important to Mike and could either make or break your careers.” She clasped Em’s hands, leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before backing up, motioning them into the building.
Doug waited until they were inside before saying anything. “What was that about?”
She smiled playfully. “What do you mean? Can’t a girl wish a fellow cop well?”
“Please, I can spot a pretense a mile away. I saw her slipping you a note. What the hell did she pass you?”
Em lost her grin and pulled him into a side corner away from anyone else. “This is a delicate balancing act for the Commissioner. Clearly, he can’t be seen interfering with the investigation, especially if his involvement comes to light, so he’s got to keep his distance. When Nicole and I first met, Mike explicitly told me she’s gay. I of course told him I wasn’t interested, but we each laid out our positions.” She stopped the explanation there, waiting for his response.
“I don’t get it. He wants you to date someone in his office?”
Em grinned, but shook her head, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “No. It’s an elaborate ruse. Given our history, it won’t take long for the press to notice us palling around and jump to the obvious conclusion. Tonight, I’ll meet her in a cop bar before moving the discussion somewhere private. That gives me a chance to comment on how the investigation is proceeding, allowing Nicole to casually mention it to Mike. That way, no one can be forced to testify they explicitly asked or said anything about the case, other than as an aside. What’s more, the press may gossip about our involvement, but aren’t likely to guess its true intent. Mike can track the investigation without us having to call each other, which would turn up in any subsequent investigations. By the way, we never had this discussion. Understood?”
Doug grinned. “What conversation? I’ve got no gaydar and can’t spot any flirting I’m unfamiliar with unless someone points it out to me. I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about.”
Em put her arm around his and led him back into the people milling through the building. “That’s why I appreciate you, partner. You know enough to stay out of my private life and not ask embarrassing questions.”
“I’m sorry, but Mayor Rosen has a busy schedule and can only spare a few moments.”
Em turned and shot the officious aide a dubious glance and shrugged. “If he’s unwilling to grant us a few minutes, we’ve little choice but to regard it as obstruction. We’ll consider him a prime suspect in an ongoing criminal enterprise. If that’s how you’d prefer the mayor spend his time, feel free explaining it to him. We’ll certainly drop your name if and when we file charges against him.”
“You ... you can’t do that? He didn’t commit these crimes.”
“No, but he’s actively helping them escape justice by obstructing our investigation, which makes him guilty of the same crimes they’ve committed.”
The rosy-cheeked young man with dimples looked like he’d walked out of an Ivy League graduate program straight into a prestigious job. He set Em’s teeth on edge. The man glanced at the closed door before turning back. “I didn’t say he wouldn’t help. I was just cautioning that he has a busy schedule.”
“I’m sure Councilman Adams did too, but things turn up. The only ones who schedule a murder are those who orchestrate it.”
Knocking on the door to give his boss a warning, he opened the door for Em and Doug. “I don’t mean to be difficult, but I’m responsible for his schedule.”
“Then plan on us being here until we’re satisfied we have whatever information is relevant.”
“Detectives Rules and Wri?” Mayor James Rosen stood from behind his ornate desk. “Please have a seat. Never mind Peter, he means well, but if it were up to him, he’d time how long I’m allowed to pee.”
“The name is Wei, as in ‘Curds and’,” Doug explained.
The mayor was an affable fellow, with dusky skin and a close-cropped afro. However, he couldn’t pull off the military haircut, mainly because it was too short and fashionable. Instead he’d worked his way up as a federal prosecutor turned defense attorney specializing in civil-rights cases. A darling of the liberal left. “Of course, excuse me. With as many Chinese-Americans as we have in the city, you’d think I’d have such basics ironed out by now. I still slip up occasionally. No offense, I hope.”
“None, but it helps if you get things straight from the onset.” The detectives sat in front of the mayor’s desk. The mayor turned to his partner.
“The commissioner has wonderful things to say about you, but never hearing of either of you before, I’m a little at a loss.”
Em shrugged again. “Hopefully you won’t hear much more in the future. We’re hoping to wrap this up as quickly as possible and allow everyone to get on with their lives. I’m not used to this much attention. Most of what I do is behind the scenes, far from the glare of spotlights.”
The mayor laughed. “Yeah, intense scrutiny changes how you approach your job. It can be a little overwhelming.”
“Well, seeing how busy you are, let’s get to work. Can you think of anything Commissioner Adams was working on which may have triggered a violent reprisal?”
The mayor smiled. “He was in finance. His planned tax cuts upset a lot of people, including your NYPD. You’ve probably suffered enough departmental cutbacks to be pissed yourselves, but I doubt you’d kill for it. There wasn’t anything he was involved with where killing him would change the outcome. Most everything was well-established and would continue whether he was there to push them or not.”
“In that case, let’s focus on anything under the radar. Say something he might have been working on which wasn’t common knowledge. Potential issues which removing him would solve.”
“Ah, an interesting premise, but of course he wouldn’t have told me before they were ready to submit to the entire council. Have you tried his chief-of-staff? Simon Schmitt?”
“I spoke with him this morning,” Doug said, pulling out his notebook and flipping it open to a specific page. “If you don’t mind, we’ll read out his various projects and you tell us anything which might be a game changer worth killing over.”
James Rosen smiled and nodded, enjoying the opportunity to dish political dirt one-on-one with people unlikely to leak it to the press.
“Proposed changes to the retirement age of teachers?”
“Retirement age or when they can access their funds?”
“Uh, the latter,” Doug replied, smiling, happy James was already aware of the issue.
The mayor shrugged. “There might be some protests, but no one’s been killed each time we’ve screwed instructors and schools before. The problem with education is that teachers teach for the kids and won’t punish them by standing up for themselves.”
“There’s a proposal to do the same with the pensions of city workers.”
“The idea is to implement it in stages so it pays out lesser amounts while the people are still working. That reduces double-dipping. The full pension is only implemented after five years.” Here James shrugged. “The government officials would cause more trouble, but they’re afraid a big stink would ensure a Republican sweep, which often leads to a complete denial of pensions. They’ll protest, but they’ll back down as soon as the tide turns against them. No one likes taxes, and the public doesn’t like the idea of non-workers spending their tax dollars. That’s why the public doesn’t really protest the military’s treatment of vets.”
Doug scowled, but Em jumped in before he could say anything. “What about union officials?” Em pressed. “There’s always been a strong mob influence in the unions.”
James leaned forward, opening his hands against his desk. “The Mafioso are old school and unlikely to rock the boat. The big gangsters are all old men now, and the new guys are interested in finances and siphoning union dues. They have no clue how to hire out violent acts anymore.”
Em smiled. “OK, you’re using the ‘criminal element is too incompetent to cause trouble’ theory. I’m not sure they’d appreciate it, but I’ll accept it—for now.”
Doug flipped over another page. “There was also something about a new anti-gun policy?”
The mayor brushed the concern away. “Oh that, it’s a sugar cube for our base.”
“A what?”
James waved his hands. “A sugar cube, a red herring.” Seeing he was getting nowhere, he leaned back, his eyes unfocused as he remembered a vision in his distant past. “When I was young, a friend had a Norwegian grandmother. Whenever I’d stop by in the morning and the adults were talking, he’d ask his grandmother for coffee. She’d smile, pick up a sugar cube from a sugar bowl, put it on a silver spoon and dip it in the coffee. The cube would soak up the coffee, after which she’d take it out and give each of us one to suck on.
“It was an unnecessary gesture. I mean, a kid’s gonna love nana whether they get caffeine or not, but we loved it. After all, it was pure sugar, but it had the taste of the forbidden, and we could tell our friends we drank coffee. That’s what I refer to as ‘sugar cube’ issues. They’re items we throw to our constituencies, understanding they’ll never pass. Adams would submit it, I’d announce it and New Yorkers would get excited we were doing something about the gun problems in the city. But as soon as it’s announced the NRA would start raising funds across the country to toss the ‘gun-hating liberals’ out of office. Faced with that opposition, it would be soundly defeated the first time it came to a vote. Yet our base would be pleased we took a stand. Politicians of both stripes would claim they stood their ground and New Yorkers would have the forbidden taste of gun control. Everyone’s happy, everyone raises funds for their future campaigns, but nothing changes.”
“That’s a pretty cynical view,” Em pointed out.
The mayor shrugged. “Politics is what it is. You can’t combat unlimited pockets without access to funds. Every politician needs money to remain in office. All you can hope is to fire up your base with political posturing, pass enough real-world issues to keep the city functioning and move on to the next battle.”
Doug tapped his notebook, refocusing everyone’s attention. “OK, there’s one last item, something about limiting campaign contributions for city offices?”
The mayor shrugged again. “It’s not quite another sugar cube, as it needs to be done, but it won’t affect much. The Supreme Court tossed out many of the Watergate era financing laws with its Citizens United v. FEC decision. There’s a strong voice here to, once again, take a stand. We’re hoping to institute a limited campaign finance law which only applies to local offices—the mayor’s office and state houses are exempt, of course. It pokes the city’s collective thumb in the Supreme Court’s eye. We’re hoping it’ll catch on, provoking a ground swell of opposition to the decision, hopefully forcing them to reconsider their stance. It was never a well-considered legal position. It will never pass if it threatens anyone’s political future.”
“What about those few affected by it?” Em pressed.
“Most of them are facing local elections where either their constituents know them, or they’re the only Democratic candidates in a heavily blue city. That’s why we drew the line in the sand where we did. Each candidate who loses can file a lawsuit contesting the rule. Since it’ll receive national attention, we’re hoping it fast tracks a ruling, though the Supreme Court prefers punting awkward decisions.”
“So you don’t think the losers might take offense over the results?”
James waved the concern off. “There’s little chance they’ll be elected anyway. Besides, this will be a high-profile judgment. Anyone losing can ride the lawsuit to a showdown with the courts over it. That’ll win them national recognition, huge speaking fees and positions in their national party. There are no losers in this case.”
James turned and considered Doug. “Is that it, Detective Wei?”
“Yeah, those were all the things his assistant said he’d been working on.”
“Was there anything else which might have angered someone? Did he have any beefs with anyone? Were there any threats against him?”
“I’m not aware of any. He was a fiscal Republican in a solid Democratic city, so there were people who liked to denounce him. But he knew what he was doing, got the city’s finances in working order and was political enough to keep on everyone’s good side. I can’t see anyone taking a disliking to him. Aside from sleeping with some gangster’s girlfriend, I can’t see why anybody would want to hurt him.”
Doug shot Em a meaningful glare, but she ignored it and stood. “Well, thanks for your assistance. If nothing else, it eliminates the more obvious motivations. Frankly, I’m glad, as it’s difficult tracing a politically motivated assault based solely on unapproved financial measures. Now we can concentrate on either the criminal element or crimes of passion.”
“Well, if I can be of further assistance, ask. While Adrian and I weren’t exactly buddies, he was a decent guy who was good at his work. I’d hate to think he was killed for doing his job. Everyone knows, no one gets fired in this city for not accomplishing something—aside from not anticipating snow storms that is.” The mayor laughed at his own joke as Peter returned to escort the two detectives out of the mayor’s office.
Em opened the commissioner’s outer office door and walked in like she owned the place. “Good morning, Stefanie. We’re here to see Mike.” Doug hung back, afraid of pissing off the man who made all the decisions concerning the NYPD. “Doug, this is Stefanie Gadlel. You’ve already met Nicole Summers.”
Stefanie nodded to them both, though her eyes followed Em. “Pleased to meet you, Detective Wei. The Commissioner is waiting for you.”
Nicole stepped forward to shake Doug’s hand. “Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, but I figured you wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.” With that formality out of the way, she leaned in and gave Em a respectful kiss on the cheek. “And I’m always happy to see you, even if it is work-related. Any chance either of you would like to stop for a drink after work.”
Both Em and Doug smiled, but it was Em who fielded her question. “Where are you thinking? We don’t normally spend much time in this neighborhood.”
“I think you’d love Jeremy’s Ale House. It’s by the Seaport. It’s the local cop hangout and is far enough you’re unlikely to meet your old boss. Luckily Mike doesn’t show up much because it upsets the cops who congregate there.”
Em glanced at her partner, winking at him. “Today’s out as we’ve been meeting people all day and have to return to our old precinct. What about tomorrow?”
“That’s terrific. I’ll buy the first round.”
“Do you mind if I show up?” Stefanie asked, just to tease.
“Sure, the more the merrier,” Em announced, waving to indicate everyone on the floor. If they were going to do this, they needed plenty of witnesses.
Stefanie waved at them before they left. “Oh, by the way, Mike didn’t want to influence your work. He set up a separate office for you on the eleventh floor. The room is eleven-twelve. I think you’ll like it. It’s not quite as nice as this, but it’s better than what you’re used to.”
Doug laughed. “Believe me, if it’s got pens and paper, we’ll be overjoyed. With all the cutbacks, we have to scramble for everything.”
“Then I think you’ll be overjoyed, for however long you claim it as a home.”
Doug waved as Em headed for Mike’s door. “Thanks, we appreciate it. I was afraid we’d have to prepare our reports in our cars.”
Em knocked to alert the commissioner and entered his office. Mike Eddleson looked up and glanced at his watch. “Right on time. I’m impressed. It’s not a long walk from City Hall, but it’s pretty nasty out. Still snowing?”
Em walked in and sat before the head of the NYPD, leaving Doug to close the door before following. “We finished with the mayor early and had plenty of time. Yeah, it’s still snowing, though it’s falling sideways and is more sleet than snow.”
“All right, now that the pleasantries are resolved, I’m sure you have more pressing questions.”
“Just trying to be polite,” Doug said, flipping open his notebook.
“Don’t forget, I served as a cop for years, as both a detective and an interrogator. Don’t worry about upsetting me, I know the process. Certain questions have to be asked.”
“You may not like this one, although it might improve your situation. Based on the account reviews you authorized us to examine, it seems Martha withdrew a large sum of cash from her account the day before her husband’s murder. The obvious conclusion is she either planned to run because she’s guilty or used the funds to hire someone to commit the crime.”
Mike cocked his head, considering the information. “How much?”
“Fifty-thousand dollars.”
“A single transfer?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s not much in today’s market. For as many funds as she had access to, you’d think she’d have taken more. Either to hire someone qualified or survive long enough on the run not to get caught. That amount is a pittance.”
“It may be a small sum for a professional, but she didn’t have the contacts for that. Paying another lover or finding someone desperate enough to take the money, it would be enough.” Doug spread his hands. “She might not have had many options.”
“Sorry, it’s certainly suspicious, but I’m not convinced. For a woman in her position, it doesn’t make sense. She wasn’t being beaten or abused, so if she wanted to do her husband in, she’d wait until she’d paid someone to do the deed. She wasn’t desperate enough to make such a stupid move.”
Em leaned forward, watching the commissioner’s responses. “Do you have another explanation for why she’d withdraw so much money?”
Mike cupped his chin, staring out the window. “How was it delivered and where was it picked up?”
“We haven’t been able to trace it yet. It was wired to the Cayman Islands and through a variety of countries. We lost track of it somewhere in Russia. They haven’t been as eager to cooperate with the United States recently.”
“Interesting.” The commissioner placed his hands before him, studying them. “Not a direct link, but still highly suspicious. You don’t wire money around the world for charity work. You do it to hide what you’re using it for. Yet, if she withdrew a small amount from each of her accounts, it wouldn’t trigger any alerts. If she didn’t arrange for me to monitor her accounts, you’d never know until you arranged for a court order.”
Doug tapped his pen on his notepad. “What’s more, she’d realize you were monitoring the funds, so either she anticipated you knowing when she did it, or someone else initiated the transfer. It’s also consistent with what we found at the crime scene. It was full of false clues, but apparently designed to lead us somewhere, though the evidence didn’t support it.”
Em waved her hand dismissively. “That’s an interesting conjecture, but it won’t supply any immediate answers. What we need now, is a tally of everyone who had a beef with you serious enough to present a risk.”
Mike laughed, leaning back and holding his stomach. “It’s going to be a long list. I’m responsible for turning the pressure up on neighborhood gangs, smuggling operations and a wide variety of criminals. I’ve also cut funding for multiple police divisions. Any one of those people might have it in for me. Adrian and Martha, though. I can’t imagine anyone having anything against either one. Adrian was a staunch Republican in a solidly Democratic city, so he frustrated people, but I can’t picture any of them going to these extremes.”
“What about death threats?” Doug asked.
Mike spread his hands. “Most were nonspecific, threatening the U.S., the Mayor, the entire NYPD and some unidentified random cop. But there aren’t many directed against me.”
“Most and many? So there were threats?”
“Yes, there are, though I take them as arbitrary moments of frustration, rather than a carefully orchestrated scheme. But what’s the line of thought here? You think Adrian was killed to implicate me?”
“It’s a possibility,” Em admitted. “The mayor and Councilman Adam’s secretary didn’t think anyone had a specific axe to grind with him.”
“How about a crime of opportunity? They both had access to substantial funds. Could it have been a simple robbery gone wrong?”
“No, the crime was too horrendous and the evidence too carefully arranged. This was planned by someone aware of what they were doing, and they planted multiple false leads.”
“Yeah, yeah. I realized that. But I had to ask.” He reached into a drawer and withdrew a thick file and dropped it on his desk with a resounding thud. “That’s a complete list of all the threats against the NYPD, me and anyone who may have had an issue or accusation. You’ll be wasting a lot of time investigating each one, but you’re welcome to it.”
“At the moment, without any other leads, we’re essentially beating the brush, searching for anything which jumps out.”
“You examined the traffic entering and leaving the neighborhood.”
Em shrugged. “As you’re aware, the councilman blocked camera installations near his house, so there’s no direct video evidence. They’re tracking movements in and out of the neighborhood, but so far we’re not getting much. Delivery men, cabs, residents and numerous unidentified guests. It’ll take time to track down each one, but no one stands out at the moment.”
“Good luck. You’ll need it with this case. The pressure will mount since I made such a big deal over it. If you’ve got nothing to show, the media is going to come down heavy on you. Luckily, tracking video evidence is below your current pay grade. We can easily assign that to someone else and have them report directly to you so you can decide what to do with the information.” The commissioner started writing his own notes. “I’ll make the arrangements with officers I trust. They may not cover for me, but they do good honest work.”
“Thanks,” Em said, picking up the complaints. “We’ll need all the luck we can get. But this is going to come down to plain old legwork, examining each and every clue until we discover threads leading to potential suspects.”
“Hey, look who the cat dragged in.” Everyone in the department turned to see who the detective was referring to. “I thought after being promoted to such a high-profile case, you wouldn’t associate with us common worker bees.”
One of the detectives Em planned to hand off her current assignments to spoke up. “Yeah, why should we get all your old cases dumped in our laps when we’re already overworked? Would it have killed you to sign-off on a few more low-value cases?”
Doug bristled at the hostility being heaped on his partner and surged forward as if to shield Em from the emotional barrage. However, she reached out a hand, restraining him.
“It was hardly a promotion, but it’s a time-sensitive investigation. If I’d taken the time to clear my case load, it would be dead before I could get to it.”
“Since when? Criminals don’t age out of the system, and chances are, it’ll take months to build the necessary evidence anyway. Face it; you wanted the assignment for the visibility.”
“Yeah, why are you grabbing someone else’s case? It’s not even in this district. You’re jumping into an area where you’ve got no connections and stepping over the people who live and work in the region. You’re a damn carpet bagger.”
“Actually—”
“Hey, cut her some slack!” Em twisted around to discover her old nemesis, Paul Simmons, defending her. His chubby cheeks glowed purple with the blood his emotions about the topic were pumping through his face. “You should be proud one of us escaped the rampant favoritism which locks detectives into their established neighborhoods. Her getting this assignment will raise the profile of the entire department.”
“Yeah, but—”
“But nothing, Samuel. Weren’t you just bitching about being turned down for an appointment to the 2-3 a few years ago? Something about ‘we’re only hiring from within the department’. Hell, the commissioner is breaking that barrier. If Emma is successful, it could open doors for the rest of us.”
“Actually, Sam, it’s not one anyone else wanted,” Em said. “It’s a powder keg, likely to blow up in our faces and sink our careers. I was talked into it because I’m too bullheaded to refuse.”
Doug nodded. “I can attest to that. Luckily, I’m only along for the ride. If this goes to hell, it’ll fall on her shoulders.”
That caught the other detectives off guard and their collective jabbering halted—for a moment at least.
Em sighed, holding her hands out. “It’s a case the whole city is watching and has the entire NYPD breathing down our necks. The slightest misstep and I’m history. I wasn’t selected because of my connections, but because I have none. I owe no one any favors, and no one has any claims on me. Since this investigation appears to be political, we anticipate a lot of pressure to shunt me aside and slam the case shut. I was chosen because I’m an unknown who no one has any dirt on.”
“We could always offer some,” someone from the back offered. For all his support, Paul nodded.
“Thanks, but my record already has enough complaints. My critics won’t need any assistance. I’m being set up for the fall if this investigation is aborted. It’s not an assignment any of you would want. In short, it’s a career killer.”
“Would any of you like to trade assignments?” Doug inquired, glancing around the room. He didn’t have any takers as the room descended into silence.
“Good, now we’ve been in meetings all day, so we don’t have much time. We’ve got a ton of material to go over and we’re stretched thin enough as it is. If we can’t cover the cases now, we probably won’t be available for some time.”
“All right, I’ll volunteer to go first,” another of the detectives suggested. “I’m intrigued about the Rodriguez case.”
As Em made her way to his desk, the other detectives shifted aside. As she passed Paul, she leaned in close. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Paul. I appreciate it.”
“Hey, don’t mention it. As you say, it’s your ass on the line. I can’t think of a nicer person to dump a case like this on.”
Em smiled as they split up. The fact Paul was willing to berate her showed he now considered her a fellow cop, rather than an obstacle to his own career objectives.
