Missing: The Body of Evidence Read online

  ‘Ahem.’ The woman from personnel opened her file and took out a pen from her purse. ‘I’m Ms. Sanchez, Detective Roberts. We asked you to come here to help internal affairs with their enquiries.’ She pointed in turn to the internal affairs agents. ‘Detective Cole and this is Detective Brogan.’

  The back of Nancy’s throat tightened and she gripped the armrests of her chair. Cole looked to be in his early thirties, but Brogan had the air of a seasoned campaigner and was in his fifties.

  ‘Nothing to be alarmed about,’ Brogan said and smiled. Nancy ignored his attempt at empathy. ‘Just a few background questions.’

  The sweaty hand of the union rep gripped her wrist with a squeeze and let go. Nancy kept her gaze firmly on Brogan.

  ‘I see from your record that you were well thought of down at South Los Angeles. Looking at your address, that’s a good neighbourhood. Tell me how long have you lived at your apartment?’

  ‘Eleven years.’

  ‘Does it come with a mortgage?’

  ‘No.’

  He made a note on a pad, tapped the table with his pen, and looked to be waiting for her to expand on the answer to his question.

  ‘How are you doing financially?’

  ‘Better since I made detective. Why?’

  ‘I’ll come to that in a minute.’ He gave her a supercilious grin.

  ‘It must have taken some doing to clear the mortgage on your apartment?’

  His line of questioning sounded ridiculous in her mind and he may just as well have asked her what the weather was like outside. She hated the intrusion and chose not to be overly helpful. Resentment stirred inside at him not getting to the point.

  ‘Not really. Look, I had bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning; does that help your enquiries? Now what is it you really need to know?’

  He opened a file at the side of his notepad, took out a photograph and passed it over the table. Nancy picked it up and studied the mug shot. She glanced across at Brogan and back to the photograph.

  ‘And, your question is?’

  ‘Do you recognize him?’

  Nancy stared long and hard at the picture, when the answer hit her.

  ‘Yeah, it’s Dean Jacobs. We arrested him last week at the Piru Street gang’s house, but we had to let him go. The place was clean.’

  Brogan shuffled some papers around in his file.

  ‘Have you had dealings with him before?’

  ‘Yeah, I’ve pulled him in a few times for petty theft.’

  ‘And his mother?’

  Nancy tried to think if they would know that she knew Dean’s mom.

  ‘Yes, I know his mom. She’s a God fearing woman. His mom helps out at the local church in South Compton.’

  ‘Tell me about when you pulled him in for shoplifting.’

  ‘He stole a carton of milk when his mom’s food stamps were delayed. The shopkeeper didn’t press charges and his mom paid for the milk.’

  Brogan pulled out a statement sheet.

  ‘It says here, you asked the shopkeeper to drop the charges.’

  The audacity of his question and the direction he was taking caused her cheeks to flame, more out of anger than embarrassment. She started to answer.

  ‘That’s...’

  The union rep gripped her arm.

  ‘You don’t have to answer that.’

  She pulled her arm from his firm hold.

  ‘Yes, I do, and it’s true, I asked the shopkeeper to drop the charges. His probation officer thought he could be turned, Dean was about to start a new job and my sergeant said to go for it. Listen, get to the point, I have nothing to hide.’

  ‘Let’s get back to your apartment. If you have no mortgage, how did you pay for the property?’

  Nancy let out a snicker.

  ‘For goodness sake, I bought it with money from the trust fund my mom left me for when I reached the age of twenty-five. My papers are held at the bank and with my attorney.’

  ‘Talking about banks, how much do you reckon you have deposited at the bank?’

  ‘I have Fifteen-thousand in a deposit savings account, and my last pay check less expenses in my checking account. Say a thousand dollars or so.’

  ‘And you can provide statements for the last... say five years.’

  Nancy laughed and leaned forward.

  ‘If you have the time and an internet connection, I’ll show you now.’

  ‘In good time. Tell me, at the meeting before the Piru gang bust, did you go into McDonald’s?’

  ‘Yes. I used the bathroom.’

  He fished in his file, took out a compliment slip sized piece of paper and slid it across the desk. The realization it was a bank deposit slip made out for ten-thousand dollars and payable to her account on the Friday just gone, sent waves of shivers through her body. Another photo slid across to her from Brogan. The picture was clearly from a security camera in her local branch with a time and date stamp that matched the date of the deposit slip.

  ‘I believe that’s your Dean Jacobs.’

  The union rep interrupted and stood from his seat

  ‘Okay, that’s enough. I don’t think Detective Roberts needs to answer and I’m advising her to get an attorney.’

  Nancy took hold of his arm.

  ‘Sit down a goddam minute. There has to be an explanation, I have nothing to hide. Where in hell’s name would Dean get ten-thousand dollars? More to the point, I want to know as much as you do why he would pay the money into my account.’

  Nancy rested her elbow on the table and cradled her forehead with her hand. She thought back to that last encounter with Dean.

  ‘I’ve got it. When we arrested him, he threatened me. He said, ‘you’ll get yours bitch, I know who you are.’ The sergeant from the gang team and Bill heard him.’

  Brogan didn’t look phased, but simply fired back.

  ‘You admit going into McDonald’s, we have the phone records from the payphone and a call was made to the target at the time you were in there.’

  Her head began to swim as she thought back to the events at McDonald’s. A picture of Bill talking with a guy at the door and then arguing with him flashed through her mind. Instinct told her to throw in Bill, as a plausible red herring, but jumping to conclusions, she had learned of late, did no one any good. She knew if she dragged Bill into this, it could lose him his pension. However, visions of her being locked up brought logic into play.

  ‘How do you reckon he got your account details?’ Brogan asked.

  ‘You tell me.’

  She needed time to think, before they got to the point of reading her rights. Looking at the deposit slip and the photo at the bank, she began to wonder why they hadn’t already booked her. Her head began to throb. She touched the area at the side of her head where she felt the pain and groaned.

  ‘Damn, I need a break. I need to take my medication.’

  Thoughts that she had gone from hero, to zero and from happiness to total despair, in the bat of an eyelid, made her wonder if there was a way out of the situation. She glanced at Logan and they locked eyes. Nancy hoped for his support, surprised to see him stroking his lip and doing the pensive thing again. Logan remained silent. His expression gave nothing away.

  She knew that she was in a heap of trouble from more than one direction as a migraine developed and her legs weakened as she stood to leave the room.

  Logan pushed his chair back and stood. He shook his head as if he had already found her guilty of taking a pay-off.

  God almighty, what do I tell Kyle?

  Chapter 41

  The union rep wrapped his arm around Nancy’s shoulder. She had a mind to cringe, but the strength to resist deserted her as he consoled her. Frustration, anger, embarrassment, all circled in a cauldron of emotions. John gave her two hugs with his arm, released her and then faced Brogan.

  ‘Come on, give her a break. You know full well what she’s been through this weekend. I doubt she should really be here, but she obviousl
y wants to help with your enquiries.’

  For once, the personnel woman looked to have some sympathy.

  ‘Twenty minutes, then we’ll meet back here. But only if you feel well enough,’ Sanchez said.

  Brogan sighed and looked annoyed. He reached out and gathered the photos and the bank slip, placed them in the file and snapped it closed. The union rep must have taken his actions as approval. He didn’t wait for an answer. Taking her arm, he helped her towards the exit.

  ‘Twenty minutes it is,’ said the union rep and escorted her through the door.

  They made their way to the canteen. The union rep was constantly talking, but most of it passed her by as she tried to overcome the shock of how the meeting had turned out. They sat down at a table in the canteen.

  ‘Do you need some water for your medication?’

  ‘No, just a strong black sweet coffee. I don’t actually have any medication. I lost my prescription drugs in the lake.’

  ‘Good thinking. Just be thankful he didn’t call your bluff and ask to see the tablets.’

  ‘I wasn’t bluffing, my head’s that scrambled. I forgot I didn’t have the tablets the doctor prescribed. They’re in my baggage at the bottom of the lake.’

  ‘If you take my advice I’d conjure up a faint and walk away until you’ve had time to consult an attorney.’

  ‘If I wanted to be an actress, I’d be working at serving tables over in Beverly Hills. Like I said, I’ve got nothing to hide.’

  He shrugged his shoulders and wandered off to get the coffees.

  She knew she had been set up big style. But ten-thousand dollars seemed to be a large amount to settle a score by a petty drug dealer, and for what? Even then, she couldn’t work out why she was the target, and not the drug sergeant, or maybe Bill. None of it made sense. The only part that made sense was that the amount would be reported by the bank under money laundering legislation. There again, she imagined it would take more than a weekend to filter down the channels. Someone must have phoned it in on the day for internal affairs to visit Logan on the Friday.

  ‘Oh Christ, what the hell will Kyle think?’

  Nancy sank her head in her hands.

  ‘Pretty much the same as I would think,’ Logan said.

  He pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

  ‘And what would that be?’

  ‘That you’re up the creek without a paddle and the waterfall is looming.’

  ‘Is that your idea of being funny?’

  ‘No, it’s the truth. What’s the summary of your take of the situation?’

  ‘I’ve been set up. Why, I don’t know. Someone wants me out of the way, that’s for sure. As if I’d be so stupid to tip off the gang about the bust and then ask them to deposit money for the favour in my bank account, knowing the amount involved would be reported.’

  ‘Money laundering?’

  ‘Exactly. I don’t think this has anything to do with the drug bust.’

  ‘Do tell.’

  ‘It could be you for a start.’ He raised his eyebrows, and looked amused. ‘You’ve been pretty keen to stop me investigating the connection of the janitor to the death of the professor. Maybe you and your friends at the CIA are setting me up, because I kept digging. I think they tried to kill Tracy at the CSI lab, and maybe they had a hand in the wildfire this weekend. I think the set up with the deposit was a fall back just in case the fire didn’t do the job. I wasn’t the only one in McDonald’s, Bill was there and two of the gang team.’

  ‘Maybe, but it was your account that had the money deposited.’

  ‘Yeah, and who has the where-with-all to hack into my computer for my bank account details?’

  ‘And you think internal affairs will buy all that? Bit of a stretch for a conspiracy theory, unless you’re setting up an insanity plea. Hackers can have criminal connections. The simple answer is; you could have given them the details. That’s what internal affairs will say.’

  The union rep joined them and placed a coffee in front of her and two headache tablets. Logan leaned over the table.

  ‘Stop thinking and talking like a guilty suspect. Stick to what you know.’

  Logan stood and moved to a table at the far side of the room. She noticed him take out his cell phone and make a call. He kept glancing over to her as he continued with the call. Nancy swilled the headache tablets down with her coffee.

  ‘How are you going to play it? You know they’ll suspend you unless I can talk them into letting you go on sick leave.’

  ‘I don’t know, but let’s get it over with.’

  On the way back to the conference room, Nancy worked out they must have already spoken to the sergeant of the gang team, and maybe he confirmed the threat made by Dean. There again, maybe it was Dean who had called them and they had his voice on tape. Whatever the reason, there had to be something on file preventing them from charging her, and that they would have to supply to her attorney.

  The union rep held the door open for her and she entered the conference room. Logan followed them, still clutching the phone to his ear, but he closed the call as he entered the room. They all sat with a shuffle of chairs echoing in her head, and making her headache worse.

  Brogan opened his file.

  ‘Where were we? Ah yes, you admit to having been in McDonald’s after the briefing.’

  ‘Yes, and there were three others.’

  Brogan and his partner exchanged glances.

  ‘Who were they?’

  ‘Two of the swat team left as I entered McDonald’s and my partner for the day, Bill was there; I followed him outside.’

  Brogan made notes and fumbled through his file.

  ‘Which two were the swat team members?’

  ‘Not a clue, I didn’t take any notice apart from the fact that they opened the door for me. But also, let’s not forget the place was full of felons I’ve arrested over the years, and what with the swat trucks and the team swarming around, I’m sure some of them could come up with what was going down. As for Dean, you’ll need to ask him why he took it on himself to deposit the money. Like I said, Bill and the sergeant heard the threats.’

  ‘Excuse us for a minute,’ Brogan said, and he and his partner stood.

  Logan uttered his first words in the meeting.

  ‘Bill is on vacation fishing, he won’t be back for two weeks and he never takes his phone with him and Dean’s gone to ground, we can’t find him.’

  Nancy threw Logan a look as Brogan and his partner left the room. Fishing? They were only out of the room briefly and when they returned, they asked Nancy to wait outside in the corridor.

  She could hear raised voices, but it was difficult to make out what they were saying. The union rep appeared, opened the door and joined Nancy.

  ‘Sorry, I tried, but we only partly won. We came up with a political solution that suits everyone.’

  The two internal affairs detectives walked out through the door and down the corridor without even a backward glance.

  ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘Let’s get this over with,’ said the union rep.

  ‘I don’t even know your name, what did you say your name was?’ Nancy replied as if in a trance.

  ‘John.’

  He took her arm and guided her into the room. Sanchez passed her a printed form from the printer.

  ‘I need you to read and sign this. You’re to be placed on administrative sick leave suspension and on full pay, pending further enquiries. You must have no contact with anyone employed by LAPD, or the press. You can’t attempt to contact any other material witness, or any party to the investigation. You’re to be available at all times through Mr. Logan, and...’

  ‘Yeah, yeah. Okay, she can read,’ said Logan. ‘I’ll take it from here and drop the form at your office.’

  ‘Wait a minute, does signing this mean I can’t go into my bank branch. I need new cards to replace the ones I lost in the lake.’

  Sanchez couldn’t get out of the ro
om fast enough as Logan answered her question.

  ‘Your bank account is frozen until tomorrow. But, your deposit account is suspended until the investigation gives you the all clear. The ten-thousand dollars is now in a suspended account. The manager told me this morning that your credit card will be suspended, but they’ll issue a new debit card to replace the one they’d put a stop on, so you can get your salary.’

  Nancy thanked God for small mercies, but felt annoyed the outcome must have been pre-determined.

  ‘Badge and firearm.’

  He held out his hand. Nancy took the gun from her holster and slammed it on the desk. She took her badge from her pocket and tossed it at Logan.

  ‘How can I be on sick leave and yet be suspended at the same time? I’m not signing that, what about Kyle?’

  ‘The sick part enables us to ward off the press and saves everyone embarrassment, as John here pointed out. You have to sign it, or they don’t have to pay you.’

  ‘I don’t give a shit about the money, but I can’t not talk to Kyle.’ Tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn’t care that she was showing weakness.

  ‘Leave us,’ said Logan and looking directly at the union rep. He didn’t need Logan to ask twice and scurried out of the room. Logan tossed her his handkerchief.

  ‘Pull yourself together, for God’s sake. Look at it as purely sick leave. As for Kyle, if you care for him and by the looks of it... you do, if you have any feelings for him, you won’t screw up his career; or any future with him you’re hanging onto, by trying to contact him.’

  The words penetrated, although her mind was somewhere else. But what he said was like a vibrating echo rolling around the room. Her whole essence seemed to fall apart as she flushed from hot to cold and her head pounded with the onset of a migraine.

  ‘I’ve bought you two weeks before they can interview you again, after they have talked to Bill. In the meantime, we’ll try to track down Dean, and maybe get his mother to sort him out; after all, she owes you. Now sign the damned form. But get this, if there is any dirt that clings to you when we get your bank statements, make no bones about it, I’ll finish you for good and throw away the key.’