Irrefutable Evidence Part Twelve
By CN Winters
See part one for disclaimers. Email the author at cnwinters@hotmail.com
"Sgt. Wagner?" Angie called out across the station house.
Wagner stood next to Brenner’s desk and Angie silently patted herself on the back for perfect timing. She felt confident as she walked up to them.
"Van Cook will be calling to give me her new location today so hold any calls I get. I don’t want to speak to anyone else until I’ve spoken to her. Got it?"
"Yes ma’am," he agreed with a nod.
"If it’s important, take a message. Otherwise tell them to try again tomorrow. Oh and whatever you do, don’t tell Genar. He’ll pester me for her location and I have distinct orders from her not to tell anyone. The less Genar knows at this point, the better. Understood?"
"Crystal clear," he grinned.
"Good man," she replied. As Wagner started back to his desk she turned to Brenner. "What’s the status on that car jacker?"
"Judge set the prelim for the 29th," he replied.
"Ahhh, looks like we have another good man," she replied giving him a chuck on the shoulder, showing her approval. "If you need me, you know where to find me," she added as she walked away.
The words of her conversation came back to her. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. One of these men she just ‘praised’ was her enemy. Now DeVittem’s words made sense. I’ll do just that.
Everything was put into place. And as always, waiting was the hardest part.
Sara slept in. Denise considered waking her up so they could get moving but like Angie said, it would take awhile before an assassin would be put into place. Besides Sara needed her rest and Denise managed to doze off and on during the night yet she got no real rest.
Angie also had to put things together on her end and wanted to give her ample time. From the map in the phone book, Niagara Falls looked like an hour drive, tops. She didn’t want to arrive too early. Angie had a worm to plant with Wagner and Brenner to see who would catch the bait. Denise still found it inconceivable. She enjoyed working with both men. She respected both men as people. How on earth could they do this? What would drive someone to harm a fellow officer? Good gods! The things they face from the outside world were enough. You had to believe in the people that ‘watched your back’. Denise was certain however; it had to be one of them. Because if it wasn’t then the only one left was Angie. And she’d already traveled that path. She was certain that Angie wasn’t the one to blame in all this.
Denise looked away from the window to see Sara stirring. Slowly the blonde opened her eyes and yawned.
"Good morning," Denise called softly.
"Good morning," Sara replied, looking around. "What time is it?"
Denise looked at her watch. "9:30," she answered.
"Why didn’t you wake me up?" Sara answered putting her weight on her forearms.
"We’re in no rush," Denise replied. "Plus I want to make sure Angie has things in order. We’ll hang out here a bit, grab a bite to eat perhaps. If we get into Niagara around 1 p.m. it should be enough time."
Sara nodded before wiping some sleep from her eyes. "Do you want to get a shower first?" she asked.
"No. You can go ahead. I’ll go in after you," Denise answered.
Sara was on the verge of making another conserving water argument but fought against it. New rules Sara, she reminded herself. New rules. Instead she rose, not quite fully alert, and headed to the bathroom.
Once the water started, Denise’s mind took her back to the shower in Montreal. The way Sara looked, the way she smelled, the way she tasted. Denise closed her eyes against the memory. You know it was stupid to begin with. You know the two of you would never make it. Sexual attraction. That’s all. Nothing else. So get it out of your mind VanCook. With a deep sigh, Denise found a vacation brochure to occupy her thoughts for the time being.
After they were both ready, they packed their belongings and headed downstairs for some breakfast at the hotel restaurant. It was a quiet affair over some scrambled eggs and fruit. Neither woman was quite sure of what to say to each other nor how to begin a conversation. So comments about the weather was the key topic of the day.
Soon after, they were at the car rental station and on their way. Denise didn’t get much sleep on the drive to Niagara but she did manage to rest her eyes a bit as she had done the previous night. Her energy level was too high and her nerves a tad on edge with the thought of the upcoming conversation with Angie. She was unsure if the plan would be in place but she knew Angie would do everything in her power to make it happen.
Sara pulled into Niagara around 12:30 and they found a hotel. Denise explained the situation to the check-in clerk and she was gracious enough to let them use the hotel phone.
Angie heard the ring in her office and gave a little leap in her seat at the sound. Denise’s nerves weren’t the only ones wired this afternoon. She stood up to make it visible to the precinct that she was on the phone.
"Hello?" Angie said nervously, hoping it was her partner.
"Hello my darlin’. Hello my honey. Hello my ragtime gaaaaal," Denise sang into the receiver before starting to laugh.
"Well you seem awfully happy," Angie chuckled.
"Is there a reason I shouldn’t?"
Angie understood the question and all the implications of it. "No. Everything is in place and on schedule. They both know you’re going to call . . .and . . . right now Brenner is looking at me . . . Keep talking until Wagner comes in. Okay?"
"Sure," Denise replied. "What would you like to talk about?"
"How’s the weather?"
"The weather? It’s clear and sunny at 62 degrees with a 10% chance of showers later in the day," Denise answered mimicking a weatherman. "Humidity is relatively low at 20%," she added.
"Very funny," Angie grinned. "Did you have any problems last night?"
"You mean except for listening to Sara snore all night? No " she answered as she winked at the blonde. That comment earned her an elbow in the ribs.
"That’s good," Angie replied. She looked up to see Wagner walking through the squad room.
"Do you have any ideas on who it is yet?" Denise asked.
"No," Angie answered, "But Wagner now seems to be taking an interest in watching me . . . In truth I’m not making any assumptions until I see one of them standing in my office."
"You mean my office?" Denise teased.
"I’m sorry. I meant our office."
"It’s MY office," Denise countered again.
"Is not," Angie answered in a childish tone.
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too!"
"If it’s your office," Angie taunted, "Then why am I standing in it huh?"
"Ooh, touché," Denise replied.
Angie chuckled. Figured she’d give up after that one. "I’m glad you’re coming back today. I’ve missed you," the grateful smile evident in her voice.
"I’ve missed you too sweetcheecks," Denise added playfully. Her demeanor changed in an instant when she considered what lay ahead. "Please be on your guard today, okay? Anything could happen so just be ready."
"I will," Angie promised. "I’ll see you in a couple of hours."
"Take care," Denise told her.
"Yeah you too," Angie replied sincerely.
A silence hung over the phone for a moment until Denise spoke, "I know I don’t say it much but . . . I love ya Ang’. Be careful."
Angie could felt herself choke up at the confession and swallowed down any emotion. "Love you too Denise. See ya soon."
With that both woman hung up and Sara had to admit she was a bit baffled by the close. She knew that Denise and Angie were just partners, the best of friends. But something else lay behind it. Perhaps this plan was much more dangerous than she assumed. She didn’t want to question Denise about it. At least not now. So instead of grilling the officer she made a suggestion.
"Why don’t we get some lunch before we head back?" she offered.
"Told you that you should have had more than that bagel and cantaloupe," Denise grinned.
"I told you, I don’t eat heavy in the morning ‘Miss my cholesterol is so high I’m working on a massive heart attack’," Sara prodded.
"I like to eat real food in the morning," Denise retorted. "And as you can see my stomach isn’t the one growling right now."
"Don’t make me give you my pathetic puppy dog eyes," Sara teased.
Denise chuckled. "Oh Please!! Don’t let it get to that!" she said dramatically. "Come on. I’m sure they’ll have some restaurants or something on the strip out there."
As they walked down the street to Clifton Hill they took in the sites before finding a hotdog vendor. With their franks and drinks in hand Sara nodded toward the bottom of the street.
"Come on," Sara waved, carefully not to spill her soda. "Let’s go see the falls."
Denise looked around them but she didn’t pick up on anything. Oh what the hell, she figured. It’s only 15 or 20 minutes out of my life. "Have you been here before?" she asked.
"Nope. Never. And you?"
"Really?" Denise asked.
"No," Sara answered. "How many times have you been here?"
"This would make my. …hmmmm….let’s see….first time," Denise grinned.
"You’ve never been here either?! Silly goof. You made me feel like I’m the only one alive who hasn’t been here," Sara chuckled.
"I figured with all your money that at some point you folks came here," Denise answered. "My folks could never afford it . . . Well they could if Dad didn’t spend it at the bar," Denise grinned bittersweetly. "And I never had a ‘reason’ to come here – no honeymoons to speak of," she teased.
"Well Niagara Falls was far too touristy for my parents. It was trips to the Australian Outback or Venice or some little island out in the Pacific that no one who speaks English can pronounce," Sara replied. "I missed out on ‘fun’ stuff that kids do."
"Well maybe after lunch I’ll take you to the wax museum," Denise smiled.
"Oh really?! Really Mom?! Could we?! Could we?!"
"Not if you don’t calm down young lady," Denise answered, joining in on the fun.
They could hear the rush of water and a cool breeze from the East although the falls were nowhere in sight. They followed the sound and soon they could see a deep ravine. After a few more feet they could see the giant cascades across the river.
"Come on," Sara said putting her aluminum wrapped dog and soda in one hand and using the other to take Denise by the elbow. She picked up her speed pulling Denise along.
Denise loved the way Sara could see the world through a child’s eyes at times. The officer found herself paying more attention to Sara’s excited reaction, than her location. But then Denise looked up the river.
A sense of awe came over her – something that she hadn’t felt in years – perhaps something since the time she was a child. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She had gone on hiking trips and saw a few waterfalls in her time but nothing compared to this. Even the pictures Denise had seen of the ‘Horseshoe Falls’ paled in comparison to standing there.
"Isn’t that beautiful?" Sara said squeezing Denise’s hand. "Let’s go get a closer look."
As they began to walk toward the huge water mass, they nibbled on their lunch. With every step they took the thundering noise got louder. Denise was surprised. The railing that guarded the river wasn’t high at all. People looked over the edge but no one dared to lean too far over. As Sara and Denise finished their lunch they continued to walk through the tide of different nationalities – Asians, Indians and Europeans. The air was hum of many different languages – French to her left, Hebrew to her right. Families, lovers and individuals all flocked to the water's edge.
Sara and Denise finally made it to the edge of the falls. Mist sprayed up getting them a little wet so they decided to visit the large gift shop behind them. At least that’s what they planned until Denise felt something poking her back.
"Don’t move," a deep gruff voice said. "Don’t even breathe."
Denise glanced over at Sara.
"He’s got a gun in his pocket," Sara whispered.
"That’s right and if you don’t do as I say, I’m gonna splatter her heart across all that pretty water. Do you understand?"
Denise nodded silently. The burly man then proceeded to search and find Denise’s gun in her shoulder holster. He took it discreetly and stuffed it into his pant seam before covering it with his sweatshirt. With natural wonder around them, no one even noticed the action.
"Let’s walk," he ordered.
They began to turn around but Denise jumped, grabbing the thug’s arm that held the weapon. She pulled his arm from his jacket pocket to expose the weapon. She cracked his hand over her knee to relieve him of the gun but he punched her in the face with his free hand. His gun fell the ground. But so did Denise.
Tourists around them saw the commotion. They began to run and scream in different directions to avoid the confrontation. The attacker reached for his gun but Denise kicked it over the edge of the sidewalk and into the water. She got a boot to the stomach for her trouble and curled up on the cement as the explosion of pain flooded her gut.
The attacker reached for Denise’s gun but before he could get a shot off, Sara jumped on his back delivering two solid blows to his face. She didn’t give the action a second thought. All she could see was Denise in trouble and she reacted.
He flipped Sara over with easy however, and the blonde landed square on her back, knocking the wind out of her. He cocked the gun and pointed at Sara, his torso fully exposed. Denise saw the perfect opening. With his arm outstretched she charged before he could fire a shot.
She tackled him and the two of them tumbled to the ground, the weapon falling from his hands in the process. Denise was on top of him but he managed to backhand her. Blood dripped from Denise’s nose and eyebrow as she lay on the ground next to him.
"Run," Denise yelled to Sara who was now standing up, trying to breathe again. Sara knew the best course was to get help and explain who the good ‘guy’ was out there. When Denise turned to the blond the attacker had managed to retrieve the gun. As she looked back she saw him taking aim on Sara. Denise swiveled her entire body around on the concrete to kick the weapon from his hands, sending it flying out of arm's length. They both saw it. And they both glanced at each other before focusing on the weapon again. Both officer and attacker knew it – the race was on.
Nah ah bastard Denise thought. With both breathing hard, they struggled to their feet while trying to run at the same time. Neither of them could get traction and it appeared as if they were crawling. The attacker got his grip on the sidewalk first and kicked Denise’s head into the ground but not before she grabbed his leg, bringing him back down again. She climbed his body to inch closer to the weapon. With her foot on his hand she got her traction to stand up as he omitted a large howl of pain.
He tried to pull the same tactic on her but Denise hurdled his grasp. However in doing so she tripped. She was only inches away and stretched with all her length but came up just shy. The attacker dove over her. She waited until he had it in his grasp before kicking it away again. This time however it sailed toward the gift shop where Sara now stood after return from inside. Denise gave him a wicked grin as they both darted to their feet.
Sara picked it up and made sure it was uncocked. She tossed it to Denise in one easy heave. The attacker tried to intercept it but came up empty. Denise caught it with one hand and she took aim. He rushed her before she could get a shot off.
Denise tried to maintain her balance as the attacker pushed her backward. She could hear his scream of frustration and the sounds of sirens getting closer but the sound that was the loudest was the rushing water behind her. She dropped the gun as she tried to get her balance, stumbling toward the guardrail.
Denise’s back slammed against the stone embankment. The thug sent an upper cut to Denise’s chin; then a left hook. Denise tried to shield herself from another blow but suddenly she felt herself rise and opened her bloody eyes.
"Oh gods!" Denise heard one of the spectator’s yell. "He’s gonna throw her over!"
Denise grabbed hold of the man’s jacket as tight as she could. "If I’m goin’, you’re goin’," she yelled to him.
"Like hell," he shouted back as he pushed her over the edge.
Denise lost hold of the man’s coat but she managed to hook one of the iron railings with her arm. She fell hard against the cement protector and heard a loud splash. She felt her running shoes being sucked from her body as her feet dangled in the water. She was slipping fast and if more of her body fell she didn’t think she could sustain the current.
She looked up to find a way to crawl back up but all she found was the attacker pointing the gun at her.
"Let go," he ordered.
"Let me think about this a minute," Denise answered in her cocky style.
"Now!" he yelled.
Denise closed her eyes and ran through her options. If he fired at her, she would be dead. If she didn’t die, she couldn’t hold on and she would be dead. If she did as he asked she would go over the falls and chances were . . . she would be dead. She heard him cock the gun and made her choice as her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. She couldn’t leave Sara as long as she was alive. So she held on and waited for the inevitable.
"Freeze!" a voice said. "Police! Drop the weapon and turn around."
The man stared down at Denise. "I think I’d do what they say," Denise said struggling with her words and her grip. The current was getting stronger or she was getting weaker with each passing second. She tried to tighten her grip. She watched the thug drop the gun and put his hands in the air slowly.
Denise could only see feet rushing toward them. The attacker lay down as people crowded around the guardrail to get a better look at Denise.
"Can you reach my hand?" a cop asked Denise as he stretched over the side.
"I can’t let go," she struggled. "Current’s too strong."
"Okay," he said trying to keep her calm. "We’re coming to get you."
The cop stepped back as some park rangers showed up with an odd contraption. She noticed them in a brief exchange with Sara. One was suited up in what looked like mountain climbing gear. He climbed over the edge to Denise while three men held his line.
"Denise," he said, calmly. "We’re gonna get you outta here but we need your help. Can you lift your foot?"
"I think," Denise sputtered. "But no support," she nodded to the other side of them.
"Get a man over here!" the rescuer yelled. Within seconds another man was on Denise’s right.
"Okay," the ranger instructed. "Use Tony’s leg over there for support once you get your leg up." With that the ranger let go and fell back to try to get as far behind Denise as possible as his comrades on shore held his line.
Denise tried to hoist her leg as Sara looked on in speechless terror. "You’re too close!" Denise yelled.
Tony moved down as the first rescuer, reached under Denise’s arms. "Try again darlin’," he coaxed.
Denise took another shot at the cement and finally got her foot on Tony’s.
"That’s it," the first rescuer encouraged. "I’ve got you. Push on up. Push on up."
Tony didn’t move he stayed as still as he could so Denise wouldn’t slip. Three workers came over and grabbed at Denise’s limbs.
"On three," the rescuer told the group. "One . . . two . . . three!" With that they all pulled Denise up with their combined might.
"Arghhhh," Denise howled in painful determination. The rescuers leaned over the rail and grabbed the rest of her body as soon as they could. The cop caught her as she made her quick descent to the sidewalk.
Denise barely heard the cheering crowd. The pain in her arm and shoulder was too great. She figured it must have dislocated or sprained in the rescue. But soon she pushed the pain aside to a more important issue.
"Where’s Sara?" she asked, fearing the woman’s safety.
"Who?" the cop asked.
"The blonde I was with," she replied frantically. Denise tried to see past the emergency medics who were now examining her. "Sara?!" she yelled out.
"I’m here," Sara shouted, pushing through the crowd around Denise before dropped to her knees beside Denise. "I’m right here," she said before giving Denise a tender kiss.
"Are you okay?" Denise asked.
"Am I okay?" Sara replied, nearly starting to cry. You’re nearly tossed to your death yet you ask if I’M okay? "I am now that you’re safe."
"Shh," Denise coaxed seeing the tears come to Sara’s eyes. "I’m alright. My arm hurts like hell but I’ll be okay."
Sara nodded quickly and silently. She wanted to stay strong for Denise but as her adrenaline began to wear down she felt her emotions brewing and her nerves physically twitching in her right eye and her limbs. "I’m so sorry," Sara told her.
"Well what did I expect? All these little outings you take me on always go awry," Denise teased before mimicking her. "Let’s go to my office. Let’s go to the Bahamas. They’ll never find us in Montreal . . ."
Sara started to sob again which was the last thing Denise wanted. "Calm down," Denise whispered. "I was only kidding."
"But it’s all my fault. This whole trip has been my fault."
"Has the whole trip been that bad?" Denise asked sincerely.
Finally a smile crept to Sara’s face. No . . . it wasn’t all bad. Denise gave Sara a wink before the EMT’s began putting a neck brace on her.
"What in the world do you think you’re doing?" Denise asked, clearly annoyed.
"We don’t want to take any chances," the medic replied. "Can you lay down on this board?"
"No, I can not," Denise answered. "I have to be in Detroit in a few hours."
"If you’re lucky you’ll get to leave the hospital in a few hours," he told her.
"I’m not going to the hospital," Denise said starting to sit up. She put her weight on her bad arm and felt a shooting pain that made her cringe.
"What hurts?" he asked.
"Nothing," Denise answered. "Get out of my way."
Sara put a gentle arm on Denise’s shoulder, making sure not to hurt her but wanting to get her full attention.
"Please let them look at you," she asked softly. "Tell them what hurts."
Denise sighed and relented. "My arm and shoulder. I got pulled up a little too hard but other than that I’m fine."
"Take a deep breath," the medic told her.
Denise gave a little wheeze in the process.
"No arguments. You need to go to the hospital."
"Fine. But she’s going with me," Denise said pointing to Sara. "She’s not leaving my sight."
"That’s okay. She can ride in the ambulance if you like. However detective-."
"I’m a lieutenant thank you very much," Denise corrected him sternly.
"I’m sorry, LIEUTENANT," the medic answered. "In any event, you’re going to the hospital so lay on the board," he added firmly.
Denise did as they instructed but not without a roll of her eyes. When they got to the hospital Denise’s cooperation didn’t improve. When they tried to get some x-rays Denise refused to have Sara leave the room. "Put a lead apron on her if you have to but she’s not leaving my side." They soon realized it was just easier to let the officer have her way.
After two hours passed in the emergency room, where the police had already taken their statements and returned Denise’s gun, the doctor arrived. She was an older woman in her early 50’s perhaps.
"How are you feeling eh?" she asked conversationally.
"My arm hurts. I’m tired. And I want to go home," Denise answered.
"Sounds like someone’s a little grumpy or got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," the doctor countered with a friendly smile.
The bedside humor wasn’t flying with Denise. "See? That’s where you’re wrong. I didn’t get up on the wrong side of the bed because I haven’t been to bed in about 36 hours."
"Come on. It didn’t take me THAT long to get here," the doctor joked.
Sara could see Denise beginning to boil over. The doctor’s chipper attitude wasn’t helping the situation any either. Sara knew her growing smile would only fuel Denise’s irritability so she turned away and took a special interest in the cloth divider that surrounded the gurney.
"Look lady," Denise said gently grabbing the physician’s smock, "I’m only gonna say this once so listen carefully. I am an investigative detective, with the rank of lieutenant, with the Detroit Police Department. This woman standing to my right is a key witness in a murder trial. I’ve run from one side of this continent to the other. I’ve been in two different countries since this all began approximately two months ago. I’ve been awake the last 36 hours straight protecting her, not to mention that I nearly took a header over the falls today. So believe me when I say cut out the optimistic attitude and tell me the results of all those little test you ran to scam my insurance company."
Denise released her and straightened out her smock for her.
"Well," the doctor said nervously. "On the whole you’re fine."
"I knew that!" Denise said shaking her head in disgust.
"However," the doctor added, "You’ve got a separated rib. It’s not life threatening but it is extremely painful. It’s pressing on your lung which is why you can’t take a deep breath."
"Like she had to explain the pain aspect," Denise said, turning to Sara. "Just fix me up so I can go."
"Gladly," the doctor answered. "We have a chiropractor who’s coming in to straighten you out."
"Someone to make me straight," Denise grinned. "And just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse."
Sara had to chuckle at that remark that went over the doctor’s head.
"He’ll be here in about an hour," the physician replied.
"An hour?! I’ve already been here for two," Denise argued.
"Look lady," the doctor mimicked Denise. "I’m only gonna say THIS once. I could keep you here overnight because of the head trauma you sustained in that brawl but I’ve decided to release you after the chiropractor is finished. Now if you have a problem with that let me know and I’ll have the nurses get a room ready for you."
Denise didn’t reply. She watched the doctor slam the medical chart down on the end of the bed and walk out fuming. "He’ll be here in an hour," she repeated as she slammed the door shut on her way out.
After the doctor was gone, Sara turned to see Denise’s reaction. She just laid back on the bed, tapping her foot against the mattress in impatience.
"You have to admit," Sara began with a small grin. "She’s kinda sexy, especially when she let you have it."
Denise stared at Sara with a serious frown and bloodshot eyes.
"I’m kidding," Sara added. "I told you. I don’t like the Barbie doll types. It wouldn’t surprise me if she drove a pink corvette."
Denise tried to stay angry but ended up cracking a grin. "Don’t smile too much. You might strain that rib," Sara prodded with a wink.
Denise gave a light chuckle but it didn’t last to long. She clutched at her side almost immediately. "Please don’t make me laugh. It hurts to laugh. I just want to be home. We’re already four hours late as it is. And that’s IF the other doctor gets here on time."
Sara walked up and took a spot next to Denise on the bed. "I feel so guilty Denise," she whispered.
"Why?" Denise asked raising the automatic bed up a bit.
"If we hadn’t gone to the Falls, none of this would have happened. You said it yourself today."
"I was teasing," Denise replied in a calming voice. "Besides if we hadn’t gone to the Falls it could have been much worse," Denise countered.
"How?" Sara asked in disbelief. "You almost went ‘swimming’ today."
"Well since he was following us from Toronto he may have tried to run us off the highway later on. We wouldn’t have any back up or any cover. You have to stop blaming yourself for all this," Denise said reaching out for Sara’s hand. Without reluctance Sara took it. "Believe me, it turned out for the better."
"I just wish there was something more I could do," Sara sighed.
"You did pretty good out there today," Denise grinned. "It took a lot of guts to try to take on a guy that big."
"Well as you can tell I’m not the greatest fighter of all time but I can scratch some pretty mean eyes," she grinned.
Denise started to chuckle but stopped prematurely. "Look Sara," Denise began sincerely. "You’re time to shine will come. You will walk into that courtroom in Detroit. You will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And you will put that murderer behind bars."
Sara smiled again and Denise joined her enthusiasm but not for long.
"What’s wrong?" Sara asked sensing the chance in Denise’s mood.
Denise looked at Sara a few moments, "I wonder what Angie is doing right now."
Angie had ordered interrogation room two closed the night before until further notice. She said she had a hot lead on one of their cases that she and Denise had been working on. She said she wanted to make sure it was available since they were closing in on the perpetrator. Everyone believed her but they didn’t like the idea of Sgt. Michael’s pulling rank and having a ‘private room’.
Truth was she had a tiny camera in her office and a monitor inside the closed room. Angie’s flame, Steve, had come in the night before and installed it during the midnight shift. The squad wasn’t closed but rarely was anyone around so the timing was right. Angie sat watching the monitor. She waited. And waited. And then waited some more.
At 3 p.m, she told the squad she was going out and if she wasn’t back by 4 p.m. she was officially gone for the day. Of course she never left. She just went around the back and crept up the stairs without being observed. Angie yawned and looked at her watch – 4:06 now. And not a single movement had been made. She knew Denise would be arriving soon and she still had no idea who was leaking information to DeVittem. The longer she looked at the small screen, the more tedious the stake out became.
She just finished rubbing her eyes for the ninth time that hour when she saw someone standing behind her desk. She leaned closer for a better look. She watched as the man looked nervously around. He pulled out a pen and paper and began writing down the information from the caller ID.
"I’ll be damned," Angie whispered to herself as she watched him.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Angie thought she was going to have a cardiac. She jumped and turned to see Capt. Genar. "What in blazes is going on here?" he asked.
"Shhh," she said running to the door and pulling him inside before closing it.
"Look," she ordered pointing to the monitor. "He’s been leaking info to DeVittem using our caller ID. He’s been tracking Denise and our witness."
"Him? Are you sure?" Genar replied.
"Unfortunately, yes sir," Angie answered firmly.
"Are you sure he’s the leak?" he asked again to be certain.
"Yes," Angie answered just as convinced as the first time.
"Wait a second," Genar recalled. "You told me you didn’t know Lt. VanCook’s location."
Angie nodded. "I lied," she replied frankly before turning back to the monitor. "We couldn’t be sure who to trust . . . So what should we do now sir?" she asked her commander as she studied the black and white screen.
"Oh Jesus," he said shaking his head, watching her and the man slip from view. "Are you absolutely sure? We can’t just come out and make accusations."
"Denise and I set this up. Everything you just saw has been recorded. Denise called after a quick stop in Niagara Falls. Then she left to come back here. Only two people could have known her location. Wagner and Brenner. Lt. VanCook should be arriving any moment so I’m wondering if we should wait for her."
"No," Genar answered. "Let’s take him down now but get him outside. Who knows what might happen. Tell him you’ve got car trouble out back or something. I’ll wait outside to cover him from the front. Let him go ahead of you and cover him from the rear. Agreed?"
"Yes sir," Angie nodded.
"Okay . . . Give me five minutes. Then slip downstairs and meet him."
Capt. Genar left swiftly and Angie waited – impatiently. Finally she proceeded downstairs. She had to keep her emotions in check; not giving any hint of suspicion. She looked into the squad room and saw him standing in the middle. She could feel herself begin to perspire but she took a deep breath.
"I’m having a lousy day," she began as she walked up to him. "Not only did I lose my perp but my car is making a funny noise. I didn’t wanna chance going home so I thought I would stop here. You’re pretty handy. Could you come outback and give me your opinion?"
"Sure," he answered, giving her clearance. "Lead the way."
Angie walked out as he calmly followed behind her. Once outside, Angie stepped aside to let him move past her. That’s when he saw Capt. Genar near the bottom of the steps as Angie backed up a bit, blocking the door so he couldn’t reenter.
"We need to ask you a few questions," Genar said calmly.
Angie’s colleague turned around and saw the suspicion in her eyes. He knew he was busted. He dove down the steps and onto Capt. Genar, trying to flee.
"Don’t run!" Angie yelled. "It will only make it worse. We can talk about this."
She watched him stop and pull his weapon as he turned to face them. She didn’t want to die but she didn’t want to kill him either. She decided talking to him, trying to get him calmed down would be the best solution. As a sign of faith she left her gun in her holster.
"Don’t move!" he said paranoid, looking round him.
"No one’s gonna move," Angie reassured. "No one’s gonna hurt you. Just put the gun down so we can talk about this . . . I’m sure you’ve got reasons for what’s happening."
"What the hell would you know?" he began, "You and VanCook – you always get the right cases. You always get the honors and decorations. I get nothing. Year after year. Except for this time – this time I got three years salary for three phone numbers."
Angie was boiling mad but she didn’t want to show it. This situation could blow up intensely at any movement and she had to bring it to a close soon, somehow. She could see his trigger finger actually shaking. "Relax okay? So maybe you didn’t get all the glory but you’re a solid officer and a wonderful detective."
"Wonderful?! You think I’m wonderful?! I’ll show you wonderful you arrogant bitch," he yelled.
A single shot rang out. Angie didn’t even have a second to react. Detroit lost one of it’s finest. And unknown to Lt. Denise VanCook, she lost a dear friend.
TBC