At lunchtime, Isaac sat at Lt. Gavin Hayes’ desk eating a sandwich and reviewing monthly personnel reports. He also looked over the department’s yearly budget. They were things he wouldn’t have to deal with, being that he was only in the big chair for three days. But they were interesting to look at on his lunch break.
It also gave him a chance to wonder about how he would handle those types of things if he ever were the one sitting in the big chair for real.
He finished his sandwich and set the budget papers aside. Then he got back to work, picking up another piece of paper. One that he would be responsible for filling out for the next few days — the daily personnel reports. Gavin had gone over how to fill these things out with him just the other day, but it still felt weird.
He was in the middle of things when a knock came at the open door. He glanced up to see Mark Wheeler and Frank Walker enter the office.
“What can I do for you, Detectives?”
He felt like he was channelling Lt. Hayes.
“We seem to have hit a wall very early in this one, Sarge,” Frank Walker said.
“Is this the case I handed you this morning?” Isaac asked.
“Yes, sir.” Wheeler replied. “Our DOA is the father. Man was shot point blank to the chest. ME said it looked like the gun was probably pressed right up against him at the time. The wife suffered a GSW to the hip, but she’s expected to make it.”
“Okay. Which one of them was holding the gun?”
“We haven’t been able to sort that out yet,” Sarge,” Walker said, sounding tired. “Seems the couple have two teenaged sons, ages fifteen and seventeen, that were both home during the altercation. But neither one of them are talking. And I mean… they are as impenetrable as Fort Knox. Our usual intimidation tactics are having zero effects on these kids.”
“Not even a hint of either one of them breaking,” Wheeler chimed in. “We believe they know exactly what happened and how Dad died, but they’re not saying.”
Isaac sat back in his chair and tried to push away the nerves. What was it Lt. Hayes had said in that note he left for him? Trust his own instincts? He swallowed and licked his lips. Then he thought over the facts of their case and the things Wheeler and Walker had just told him.
“Where are the boys now?”
“They’re in separate interrogation rooms as we speak,” Walker said. “We’ve been questioning them both for the last two hours. We’ve had both of their hands tested for gunshot residue.”
“And?”
“Both negative. Hands are nice and clean though.”
Isaac studied both men. He knew Walker and Wheeler to be hard-working, smart detectives with decent closed-case records.
“What’s your theory?” he asked them.
Frank Walker shrugged a shoulder. “I think the boys are possibly protecting their mom. Turns out there’s a history of domestic abuse calls to that address. Maybe mom got fed up and shot the bastard. The boys are covering for her.”
Isaac nodded. It was a solid theory, but it overlooked something. “Doesn’t explain her getting shot in the hip though.”
“I think one of the boys is the shooter,” Mark Wheeler spoke up.
Isaac looked at him. “Why?”
“Like Frank said, there’s a history of abuse. I think dad went after mom with the gun. Maybe he shot her and the boys — one of them anyway — went into attack mode. Maybe he struggled with Dad over the gun and it went off. Dad ends up dead. And they’re not talking because they’re all relieved the bastard is finally gone.”
Isaac nodded again. “Dig deeper into those domestic violence reports. Maybe dad went after the boys too. Either way, a case could probably be made for self-defense or the defense of their mom. Try coming at the boys from that angle and maybe you’ll get a confession.”
Both detectives nodded, seeming to like that idea.
“That’s worth a shot.”
“Yeah, thanks, Sarge.”
“Sure. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
They left the office and Isaac let out a breath. That wasn’t so hard. Maybe he could get through this stint with no problem after all.
He got back to work on those daily personnel reports. Not ten minutes later, another knock sounded at the door. He looked up to see Lt. John Barton.
“Hey, Ike.”
“John. Come on in.”
“I went to your desk out there and one of your colleagues directed me in here. I didn’t know they had you at the helm today.” John walked in carrying a small stack of papers in his hand.
“Today and for the next two days actually. Lt. Hayes is in Atlanta with his girlfriend’s family.”
“Nice. How you liking it?”
Isaac grinned and shrugged a shoulder. “Not too bad so far. Whatcha got for me?”
“Oh, right.” He handed over the pages. “This is a printout of what I’ve found so far. This all came from Duke’s laptop computer. I found that he frequents several white supremacy websites and he belongs to a group called Pure Land.” John stopped and rolled his eyes. “They have chat rooms devoted to topics like ‘how to deal with race blenders’ and ‘what to do when the race wars begin.’ I’m telling you, they are out there.”
“Sounds lovely.” Isaac glanced at the papers and then looked at John. “Thanks for putting a rush on this, John. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. If it’ll help you find whoever shot Pete, I’ll do whatever I can. I should have more for you when I finish going through the cellphones.”
“Okay. Thanks again.”
When he left the office, Isaac started flipping through the printout he’d left, reading over the thoroughly horrible things found on Jasper Duke’s laptop.
Another knock at the door had Isaac wondering how Gavin Hayes ever got any of his own work done. He sighed and set the printout aside. When he looked to the door he saw the new Chief of Detectives, Roger Beckett, smiling at him.
“Captain.” Isaac stood and gestured him inside.
“No, no. Please sit.” Beckett stepped inside. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your work. I just wanted to come check in on you. See how you’re faring in your first day as Acting Head of Homicide.”
“Oh. Well, thanks for that.” Isaac smiled, but remained standing.
“You know, I’m still very much the new kid here myself, so I know what you must be going though.” Beckett’s words were polite enough, but Isaac got the feeling the man wasn’t quite comfortable in his new role yet.
The position had been made available after Captain Tom Brewster had chosen to take an early retirement rather than be demoted over the whole mess in the narcotics division. The brass decided that someone needed to take the fall, and Brewster was their unfortunate choice.
Chief Luther Branson first offered the position to Lt. Gavin Hayes, but Gavin turned it down saying he felt he had more to accomplish as head of the homicide division.
Isaac was more than happy to still have Gavin Hayes as his immediate boss, but he wasn’t certain what he thought of this new captain yet.
“Well, I appreciate your concern, sir. So far though I think I’m doing okay. But you can ask me that question again at the end of this three-day stint. I might have a different answer for you by then.”
Captain Beckett laughed. “I hear you. I appreciate you stepping in to cover Lt. Hayes’ personal time.”
“Well, he’s certainly earned it. I know for a fact that he’s worked his ass off this past year. And the man rarely takes a vacation.”
“You two seem to work very well together.”
Isaac nodded. “Yes, I suppose we do. But then again, we’ve been at it for a long time. He was my sergeant when I first made detective ten years ago. So we have a lot of history. A lot of trust.”
“Guess that explains it then.”
He seemed to be speaking about something specific, and Isaac felt his own brow scrunch. “Explains what, sir?”
“The confidence that Gavin has in you. I took the liberty of looking over your file when I realized Gavin would be leaving you in charge while he was away. There are numerous notations he’s made there about your skills… your, um… abilities.”
Isaac glanced away for a moment and sighed. Of course Lt. Hayes would make note of his freaky superpowers. Isaac met Captain Beckett’s gaze once more.
“I see. And you would prefer that I ignore those abilities on this job.” Isaac nodded. “I understand. And you should know that I don’t often put them on display, sir. At least not purposely.”
“On the contrary, Detective Sgt. I find tales of your abilities rather… interesting. Fascinating even. Not saying that I believe those tales, mind you. However there are a number of incidents that can’t be explained easily. And I did see in your file that you’ve just recently become a consultant to the FBI on psychic matters. Is that right?”
Jitters of unease skidded across Isaac’s skin.
It was a recent development, one that he had mixed feelings about. He loved adding ‘consultant to the FBI’ to his list of accolades. But he wasn’t thrilled about being a consultant on psychic matters.
“Yes, sir. It is,” Isaac said, his gaze never wavering from Beckett’s.
“That too is difficult for me to reconcile. The FBI doesn’t typically back something if it’s not legit, so...” He paused a shrugged a shoulder. “What do I know?”
Isaac wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Or even if he should, so he didn’t bother.
“My door is always open to you if you need any help while Lt. Hayes is away, Sergeant.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.”
Beckett left the office, and Isaac sat back down wondering exactly what was in his personnel file and what things Gavin had said about him and his abilities. And he wondered if it would be unethical of him to take a peek at it.