Millie Walker loved being a cop.
Not because of the badge or the feeling of power, not even the camaraderie of being around other cops, being around people that understood and knew they were living something that other people could never understand from the outside, those things were great on their own but not why she loved the job so much.
She loved arresting scumbags.
She kept a scrapbook of every major case she worked and every major arrest. The mug shots and the details went in the scrapbook, and when she was having an off day or when she felt like the pension wasn't worth the slander from people who didn’t know what they were talking about, she went home and flipped through that book. All those faces were put away because of her. Looking at them staring at the camera and knowing they were screwed chased away whatever negativity was haunting her.
But Millie was also a realist. She did her part, but there were certain cases that were never going to be solved, and Benny Alvarez’s was one of them. Sure, at first, it had seemed simple, but Maria was too good to fall for an elaborate frame job, which was what it had been. Someone had gone to great lengths to make Jackson look guilty.
It was a little depressing to think of how many detectives probably would have been content to take the easy arrest and let the prosecutors deal with the fallout. But not Maria. Even knowing the political pressure that was going to come on this case, even still grieving for her father, who most cops still talked about like he was some avenging angel sent to crush the souls of criminals, even with all of that, Maria still couldn’t let go of the case until she was sure she knew what was going on.
But Maria also didn’t know when to back off. She just pushed and pushed and pushed, and she didn’t care about surviving the pushback. She was like all truly righteous people, sure that the consequences would always be worth the effort.
If Millie could just get her in line, she could ride Maria right to the Captain of Homicide and Sex Crimes. Deputy Chief of Investigative Services wouldn’t be far behind. The problem was solving crimes and putting bad guys away only got a cop so far, and when Les Hilton asked to take her to lunch, Millie knew that someone important didn’t want the Benny Alvarez case solved.
Millie didn’t know how much money Les got for these hit pieces he wrote, but she’d heard it was substantial. They were called “Les jobs” and were a very reliable indicator of who was in and out of favor with the local business interests. The thing was, everybody had secrets in Vegas. Too much vice, too much opportunity to make a little extra here and there, too many options for a man or a woman who was looking to stray, and Les was the guy who publicized those secrets when you pissed the wrong person off. Just last week, a vice captain had been relieved of duty because Les had published an article about the Captain’s patronage of a high end Japanese massage girl. The article had leaned heavily on the irony of a vice captain taking part in the vices that he investigated and then wondered how a police officer could avoid such a high end service on his salary. Les was an expert at making all the right insinuations without crossing the line into outright slander.
Millie wasn’t worried about her vices coming out into the light. She kept her predilections out of Las Vegas, regular trips to Miami and Punta Cana to blow off steam before returning to Las Vegas to walk the straight and narrow, and besides, if she was the target, Les wouldn’t have called her. No, his target was someone else.
And who else could it be but Maria?
“Thanks for meeting me.” Les looked like all people who lived dishonest lives looked, as if their soul was slowly being sucked out of their body from within.
“I’m not big on opening pleasantries,” Millie said.
“I assume you know who I am,” Les said.
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are. I hear a great deal about you, by the way. A real up and comer with a bright future.”
“Are you trying to derail that future?” Millie said.
Les raised his hands chest high, palms towards Millie, a surprised look on his face, as if he couldn’t believe she would think that of him. The act faded quickly though and was replaced by a self-satisfied smile. Les was pleased that she knew exactly who he was.
Pride, everyone’s weakness.
“I am investigating one of your detectives.”
“Which detective? I have eight working under me,” Millie said.
“Maria Varela.”
“Maria? Why are you investigating her? All she does is work.”
“I hear rumors of discrepancies between Maria’s testimony the night of her father’s death and the existing evidence. I have heard from a very well-placed source in the FBI that there are doubts she is being candid and people are wondering what really happened,” Les said.
“I have no contact with the team investigating that, so I would have no knowledge of this.”
“Yes, yes, walls of silence and integrity and all that good stuff that plays so well in court.”
“You’re starting to piss me off, Les, so why don’t you get to your point?” Millie said.
“My point is that Maria Varela has gotten on the wrong side of some people. Matter of time, really. Young woman doesn’t really understand the world, does she? Not like how you do.”
“What the fuck do you want?”
“Me? I don’t want anything. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you aren’t surprised when the shit hits the fan. I would hate it if you got hit by the splatter.” Les said.
“You came here today just to give me a warning,” Millie said.
“You can never have too many friends in this town, and I’m always looking to make new ones,” Les said.
Millie thought about what he was saying, more about what it said about her prospects and less about him. He didn’t seem like the type of man you could trust to give you honest directions to the corner store from a block away, but maybe she could get something out of this.
“I don’t think the discrepancies that you’re interested in will be worth your time,” Millie said.
“Why not?”
“Because they’re easily explained away. She had just been through a traumatic experience and lost some time. No one could keep all the details together on a day like that, and to be honest Les, her father is considered the patron saint of cops around here, so if you start slinging mud at him, all those big business interests won’t be covering your back when cops start aiming at it,” Millie said.
Les’ smugness disappeared much faster than Millie anticipated. This man was nothing more than a facade of toughness, but he was also much more self-aware than expected. He knew exactly how shallow his support was. There was a pressure point there, waiting to be used.
“Now Les, we both know that the minute you become an issue, all those rich guys will drop you for a new reporter faster than a hooker gets out the door once she’s earned her money. But there is something that did happen with Maria and none of the shrapnel will go anywhere near her father, nor will it blow up me,” Millie said.
“Who will it blow up?”
“Moyer. He covered up the arrest of Maria’s girlfriend. Made it all go away. It’s not clear that it was even a good bust, but people don’t need to know all the details, and that’s a story that will satisfy your bosses and keep you out of trouble,” Millie said.
“And why are you telling me about this incident?”
“Like you said, Les, you can never have too many friends,” Millie said.
Well that, and it would make it damn near impossible for Moyer to come back from his vacation leaving a Lieutenant position open, and it would also give Millie the chance to “stand up for Maria,” and in the process put Maria in Millie’s debt. Win wins all around as far as Millie was concerned.
Les eyed her from across the table. He may be a slimy bastard, but he wasn’t dumb.
“Story like that might also clear you for another promotion,” Les said.
“Probably not, I just got there, but then again, you never know, and I would certainly be grateful to whoever helped me move up the ladder,” Millie said.
“Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened?” Les said.