Jake knocked on the open door to Chief Rambone’s office. “Sir, the captain said you wanted to talk to me?”
Rambone looked up from the paperwork on his desk. He pushed it aside and said, “Yes, please have a seat.” He flicked his hand indicating the seat next to his desk.
Jake looked at the seat across from his desk and really wanted to sit there. Sitting next to the desk at the side made Jake feel like he’d gotten in trouble in elementary school. But he sat there, because who was he to argue? “Is everything okay?”
“As far as I know it is,” Rambone said. “I wanted to talk to you about Kim Vega.”
Jake felt the heat rise from his core and flush his neck and face. “Oh, Kim, what about her?” He almost choked on the words.
The very mention of her name made his insides squirm. He’d made so many mistakes the week he rode with Corporal Darby. He thought it was all behind him, especially since Kim remained in jail, but now this.
“I hear you two had a past.”
Jake nodded.
“She stayed at your house for a few days?”
The office smelled like stale tobacco, and Jake wondered if the chief had a nasty habit. Not that he had anything against chewing tobacco. Heck, they were in East Texas after all. He figured more people chewed than smoked tobacco. Or maybe not. But the smell wasn’t smoking tobacco. He knew that smell. With his dad being a jockey, he swore every other jockey, along with his dad, smoked. Something to keep them occupied so they didn’t eat. And in that profession, they obsessed about weight as much as any supermodel. He knew he was deflecting by thinking of other things. Thank goodness he heard the chief’s question before he had to ask it again.
“No, sir, she just stayed the one night. The first night was when she went back home, then arrived here at the station the next morning.”
“Okay, I see. You two still close?” Rambone picked up a pen and wiggled it between his middle and forefinger.
“We were friends when I was like twelve or so. I hadn’t seen her in years. I guess I felt bad things had gone so wrong for her since I saw her last. But goodness, she’s changed. And she prefers lies to the truth.”
“Bless her heart,” Rambone drew out the words.
“Anyway, she won’t be an issue for me. I learned my lesson. From here out, I’m steering clear of that girl. And I’m going to remind myself, using Kim as an example, not to let it get personal.”
“Well, that’s harder than you’d think. But I’m not worried about it. You’ll make plenty of mistakes in this job. As long as you’re doing your best and don’t get anyone fired, hurt, or killed, it’s usually something we can move on from.” Rambone took a deep breath. “I’m wondering what Kim may have told you.”
“Told me? Like what?” Jake leaned forward, now curious as to what Chief Rambone wanted.
“Did she say anything about the night of the raid? Like if they knew the cops were coming? Anything about being tipped off?” He’d gone from wiggling the pen to tapping it on the desk, sliding it through his fingers, then flipping to the other end, tapping and repeating the movement.
Trying to stay focused on the conversation, and not the pen, Jake said, “I don’t recall anything significant.”
Rambone slapped the pen down on the desk. “Think, son. Did she mention any names? We’re just wondering why almost no drugs were found at the house, when we know they were dealing large quantities from that location.”
“She didn’t mention anything about the raid directly, or that she knew about it. And almost everything she said, she’d turn it around and have another story two hours later. I didn’t know what to believe.” He wasn’t sure what else to tell the chief to make him happy. He didn’t know anything else. “Like I said, I learned my lesson. I’ve wiped my hands clean of that girl.”
Rambone frowned, then picked at something in his teeth. “Don’t walk away just yet. We may need you to get close to her. I need you to get her to trust you, in case we need more information.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what is the truth and what’s not with Kim. So I’m not sure what good I’d be.” This wasn’t what Jake expected at all when Rambone brought up Kim’s name. And he wasn’t sure he liked where this was heading.
“She knows something she’s not saying. For right now, don’t ask any questions, just go visit her when you have time off. Let her know you’re on her side, even if you are a cop.”
Jake cringed. He wanted nothing to do with Kim, and now he was being told to visit her in jail. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, sir.”
Rambone slammed his hand down on the desk, and the pen he’d been playing with bounced off the edge, falling on the floor. “I’m the one who decides what is and what isn’t a good idea. And I think Kim needs to think she has a friend. Obviously, no one has come to bail her out this time, so she’s been abandoned for the moment. You can be her savior.”
Jake opened his mouth to speak, but Rambone held his hand up.
“Be gone. I’ve got a lot on my plate today. Just make the time to visit that girl.”
As Jake walked down the hall to find the captain, he wondered what had happened to the person who bailed Kim out the first time. And was even more curious as to who it was.