Page 27 of Defender
Maybe the conspiracy was real after all.
Six
“Okay, spit it out,” Finn said from the desk opposite Michael.
“What are you talking about?” Michael kept scanning the footage on his screen.
“I didn’t say anything when you arrived to work five minutes late. I didn’t say anything when you walked in with only one cup of coffee. And I didn’t push when you worked right through lunch. But scowling at the screen and not saying a thing is rather odd for you. So what gives?”
“We need a lead.”
“Well, yeah, and we’re working on it. We’ve hit dead ends before and worked through them. So why so grumpy?”
Michael finally looked over the back-to-back desks at his partner.
“The little boy we found at the convenience store? His name is Eddie. He stayed at our place last night. Maria couldn’t find an emergency placement until this morning.”
“He couldn’t have been safer then.”
“Safe? I doubt he feels safe anywhere. He won’t speak.”
“He’s nonverbal? No wonder we couldn’t get him to say anything.”
“No, he can speak, but he won’t. Not a word the whole evening. And his mom died last year.”
“Ah.” Finn leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “You’re not making progress on your mum’s case, so you’re going to kill yourself to solve this one.”
Michael kinda hated that his partner knew him so well. He hadn’t thought of it that way, but Finn might not be far off the mark. Still…
“The kid’s already lost his mother. His father is in a coma. They can’t find his aunt, who, according to the neighbor, usually helps take care of him. Eddie has no one else. Someone has to make this right.”
“We’re going to do everything we can, Mike. But you know nothing will make the situation right.” Finn leaned forward and dropped his voice. “And nothing will bring back the lad’s mum.”
The words poked at the raw and festering places inside. “If anyone understands that, it’s me. But it’s our responsibility to keep this boy safe and find out who attacked his father. That’s all I’m trying to do.”
Finn stood and came to Michael’s desk. “So did you find anything on the video footage?”
“Not yet. I’ve been over it a million times.” Michael moved the footage back to the beginning and let it play for Finn. “The men wore masks. We have no footage of the parking lot, so no idea of the vehicle make and model. The recording is so grainy I can’t see lettering or logos on their clothing. No distinguishing characteristics on the shooters. The weird thing is, they made a mess and beat the guy up, but they didn’t take anything but some cigarettes.”
“And they wore gloves, so no prints.” Finn squinted at the screen.
“Our best hope right now is that the owner wakes from his coma and can identify these guys.”
“What I wanna know is, what did this store owner do to tick these guys off?”
“Good question. I’m waiting on a warrant for his financial statements. Nothing flagged so far with the store.”
“Could we?—”
“Yo, Martinelli and Finn, the captain wants you.” Schafer yelled over to them from the other side of the bullpen.
Michael straightened his tie on the short walk across the bullpen to the captain’s office. Captain Salvador looked up from his monitor and across his immaculate desk. The man commanded a room effortlessly with his stern dark eyes, barely a wrinkle on his brown skin, and enough salt to his pepper hair to be distinguished and give him an aura of wisdom. He ran a tight precinct, which Michael appreciated.
“You wanted to see us, Captain?” Michael knew the drill. The captain wouldn’t say anything until they were seated. He and Finn took the chairs across the desk and pulled out their notebooks. Salvador hated repeating himself.
“We have lab results back from the jewelry store break-in. I wanted to go over them with you.”
That couldn’t be good.
