BEHIND MY WORDS

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Blake

“Grab the body!” I screamed at my partner through the raining debris while sparks flew from an outlet. I raced across the floor and scooped up the tiny boy who lay under a table. His lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling as I cradled him in my arms and said a silent prayer. “I’m sorry.”

“Detective,” Sergeant Peters greeted me.

I was never more grateful for an interrupted thought. “Sir.”

He offered me a handshake before he stepped back and allowed me to examine my new office. “I hope the move wasn’t a problem.”

“It wasn’t.” I set my box on the wooden desk and glanced at my view of the city. I had actually pushed to get this move after a bad breakup and a soul damaging case. Though it wasn’t far from home, it was far enough for now.

“You have one of only three offices on this floor that has a view of the city.” He gave a huff after he said it, so I could tell he wasn’t impressed either. “That’s Creek Park, and over there,” he pointed over a sea of brightly colored trees, “is Whiskey Lake.”

I looked where he had pointed then nodded and started to pull my belongings out of my box. I wasn’t sure why I needed an office. Detectives were normally never in their office, but I appreciated the gesture, nonetheless.

“Things run a little differently here than New York City. Hope you don’t get too bored.”

“I welcome it.” I tried to muster a smile so I didn’t seem too cold. I didn’t want to turn anyone off on my first day. I was known for being introverted; it was something I worked on.

“Sarge.” A man poked his head in the door and granted me a polite smile. “Sorry, but I have the file you asked for, the Jackins murder.”

“Officer Tom Benny, this is Detective Blake Daniels.” He plucked the file from Benny and started to scan it.

I offered a nod, and he gave a wave as he came into the office.

“You coming tonight?” Sarge asked me as he pulled out his phone.

“Where?”

“Barbecue at my place. I have one once a month, and my wife insists that you all come.” Sergeant Peters gave me a look that meant no was not an option.

“Sounds nice, thanks.” I went back to unpacking, and Benny left the room. I noticed the sergeant didn’t leave with him. Instead, he dropped the file on the desk and slid it over to me.

“Homer Jackins, age fifty-three, three stab wounds to the neck. Housekeeper found him in the shower. No suspects, no weapon, no witness.” He waited for me to pick it up.

I scanned the info and let it filter in and break into a pattern as I did whenever I reviewed a new case.

“First thought?”

I flipped the page to the crime scene photos. I studied the background of each photo, then the obvious things like the height of the smudges on the glass doors, the angle of the stab wounds, the fact that the house hadn’t been broken into. I quickly scanned the last few pages and closed the file and handed it back.

“The daughter.”

His eyebrows pinched together. “Why?”

“Father worked late nights, mom was depressed, daughter was away at college but wasn’t seen at any of her normal classes the night of the murder. Friends commented that the daughter seemed stressed and was spending more time with her mother. The angle of the wounds matches the height of the daughter. She was a rower, so she’d have the strength to tear the muscle down and over.” I plucked the photo from the file and held it up. “The mother had a sprained wrist, so there’s no way she could have inflicted the stabs with her right hand. My guess would be he was cheating, mom found out but was too weak to leave, so the daughter attacked him. Stabs are a sign of passion, but not all passion has to be sexual.”

He gave me a smile. “Nice. A photographic memory, I see.”

“Helpful tool.” I started to stack my books.

“You can come in, Benny,” he called.

Benny laughed from wherever he was hiding outside the door.

“Fine.” The sergeant hit my desk with the file. “I owe you a beer.” He turned at the door. “I’ll text you my address, and I’ll see you tonight.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Three cases landed on my desk that day, and all but one were easy. I spent the afternoon pinning the information on my wall and connecting as many dots as possible with a dry erase marker. I would move this home later, but for now, I wanted the visual where I could see it.

I stepped back and studied the board in front of me.

A child was taken from his mother during a robbery. Most times, the perp would take what they wanted and get the hell out, so why take the kid? My first thought was maybe it was the father, but his father had a strong alibi. The child was missing for four days before he was found sitting at a McDonald’s, scared to death. He hadn’t spoken a word since he was reunited with his mother, but thankfully, there were no signs of abuse. This was an odd one.

I rubbed my head and leaned against the desk to rest my eyes.

“Ready?” Benny popped his head in the door while he fixed his jacket. He had changed out of his uniform and was now in jeans and a polo.

“Wait.” A man with a mail cart came up next to me. “Detective Blake Daniels, right?” He read my name off a large envelope.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He got me to sign off on the package. I couldn’t help but notice his candy stash and the Christmas lights that blinked around the sides of his cart. “Name’s Fitz. Been working here since I was eighteen, so you need anything, you come to me.” He handed me a card that read The c*******n – Ext 1225.

“Good to know.” I held up the card as a thank you.

“What kind of fudge do you like?”

“Ah…” I stumbled and tried to remember the last time I had fudge. “Chocolate?”

“Nah, you look like a pistachio kind of guy.” He tapped his head and kept moving.

“Nice meeting you, Fitz,” I called, and Benny chuckled under his breath.

“Fitz loves Christmas. Did you notice his extension number? That was Sarge’s Christmas present to him three years ago.”

“Wow.” I tucked the card in the top drawer of my desk and closed my laptop as Benny kept talking.

“He’s a good man. Lives with his mother, who used to own a candy store.”

“Okay.” I tried to feign interest as I watched Fitz drop mail on someone else’s desk. “Yeah, interesting guy.”

“You ready?”

“Yeah.” I grabbed my jacket and phone then switched off the light behind me. Sarge had given me a key to lock my door, so I did before I followed Benny down the hallway and into the cool night air.

“Meet you over there. I want to change first.” I waved him off as I raced down to my car.

Sergeant Peters lived ten minutes from my new place. I liked that I didn’t have to travel far and how there was hardly any traffic. A big step up from New York City.

Later, I pulled up in front of the address I was given. Old-fashioned streetlights lined the walkway up to a bright red door. The sound of laughter from the back yard carried a sense of warmth. My parents were great, but they were both pretty uptight, and as both of them were judges, they had never had much time for fun. I only remembered their comments about boring functions and politics. Laughter didn’t come easily. It must have been a disappointment to them that I was better out in the field digging up clues and chasing the bad guys than behind a bench. Not that they ever gave me grief about it.

I knocked on the door while I balanced a bottle of wine and a case of beer in my arms. The autumn wreath shook when the door swung open.

“You must be the new detective.” A small woman in her late twenties gave me a devilish grin. “Please come in. Everyone is out back.”

“Thanks.” I stepped into the large lake house and looked around. Paintings covered every wall, and an impressive display of World War One rifles would warrant another look later.

“Oh, I hope you like red.” I went for a friendly smile as she took the wine from me and held it up to read the label.

“The detective has good taste.” Her eyes gave me a very slow once-over.

I went for another smile and wished I knew where the guys were.

“I’m Zoe, the sarge’s wife’s first cousin and very single,” she added without a moment of shame. She flipped back her blonde hair to show off her plunging neckline.

I offered her my hand as something to do. “Blake.”

“So, is that Detective Blake or…” She fished for more information.

“Just Blake is fine.”

Benny entered with an armload of empties and made a face when he saw who held me hostage in the kitchen. “Blake, come meet some of the guys.”

Thank God.

“Nice to meet you, Zoe. I’ll see you around.”

“Oh,” she bit her lip, “you will.”

I fished a beer from the box I brought and hurried outside with Benny

“You need to watch that one.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning last month’s party, I went to the bathroom, and when I was halfway through a piss, she showed up. I caught her reflection in the mirror. Scared the rest of the piss right out of me. Missed the bowl like a little kid.”

“Who’s the badge bunny?” An officer I had seen earlier in the day joined in the conversation. Benny nodded, referring to Zoe. “Detective Daniels, right?”

“Yeah, but Blake will do.”

“Jackson.” He pointed to himself. “Last Christmas party,” he jumped right in, “Sarge asked me to play Santa for the kids. What? Was I gonna say no?” His eyes bugged out as he shrugged. “All the little kids came and did their thing, told me all the stuff they wanted and whatever. Well, I was just about done when Zoe came out of nowhere and sat on my lap.” His shoulders tensed as he went on. “She made all kinds of s****l comments, and normally I’d play along, but s**t, there were kids there. Anyhoo, I got her to move on, but when I went to grab my coat at the end of the night, she full-out attacked me in the bedroom. Said she wanted me to stick my candy cane in her mouth.” He shook his head repeatedly. “I don’t mix business with pleasure, and I certainly don’t mix crazy and family.”

“Only one guy ever played the game with her,” Benny chimed in.

“And which one is he?” I glanced around, curious as to who wouldn’t see how bad of an idea that was.

“Not here,” they both answered at the same time.

Jackson sipped his beer, a crazy expression in his eyes. “She told Sarge some version of the story, and, well, I’m pretty sure he’s now a clerk for the LAPD.”

“She-devil.” Benny half laughed.

“Listen to them.” Fitz, the old mail guy, popped out of nowhere, and I nearly dropped my beer. He leaned in to be heard over the laughter. “She has no boundaries, trust me. Age and job position mean nothing to her.” He made a face before we all broke into quiet laughter again. Jackson tapped his bottle to Fitz’s before he moved back to his friends.

“Good to know,” I muttered before the sergeant joined us.

“Glad you could make it, Blake.” He greeted me with a firm handshake then checked the time. “Anyone see Spencer yet?”

“No,” Benny looked around, “not yet.”

“Well, let me know if you do. It’s not like her to be late. Blake, I want you to meet some more people.”

I was reeling with information overload and now had to meet a bunch of new people. I thought I should have brought some Jack Daniel’s because the beer wasn’t cutting it. I’d never been a people person but knew I had to tough it out.

“Sure.” I nodded for him to lead the way.

I met fifteen people, all with very different personalities, and one made me wonder if he even cared to work with the Syracuse Police Department anymore. He seemed burned out and was more interested in my background in shooting than anything else. As soon as I could manage it, I slipped away for a refill.

“So, you worked SWAT?” Zoe caught me on my way out from the bathroom.

Christ! She was a like one of those snakes that dropped on you out of a tree.

“Pardon?” I kept my pace toward the kitchen, but she followed hard on my heels.

“You were telling Jackson about your time on SWAT.”

Holy hell, where the heck was she standing to hear that?

“Emergency Service Unit is what we call it in New York, but yes, it’s our version of SWAT.”

She twisted a piece of her light blonde hair around her finger. “Were you like Colin Farrell in that movie with Samuel Jackson?”

“No.” I took the top off the beer and tossed the cap in the trash. “It’s nothing at all like the Hollywood movies.”

Her face twisted. “But, like, you wear all that gear, right?” You could practically feel the lust that poured off her. That was my problem with women like this. They didn’t really get it, and they couldn’t see past the uniform to the person underneath. A woman like that would never understand the heaviness we held inside because of the work we did. We tried to keep that side away from the people we cared about, let alone the general public.

“Sure.” I should have stopped there, but I couldn’t resist. “Although the last time I wore my gear, I came home covered in blood from a nine-year-old who was so brainwashed she let her uncle strap a bomb to her chest then sent her to school.”

She blinked and shook her head before she started to laugh like she thought I was making a joke. “Wasn’t that like from a movie?”

My jaw dropped as I stepped back and let the realization sink. This chick was so dumb, I had nothing to worry about. The next time she cornered me, I would just feed her some bullshit line about SWAT and let her chew on it while I slipped away.

The door was flung open, and a woman awkwardly carrying a box stumbled inside. “Sorry! I know, I’m late.”

“Oh, shit.” Benny nearly flew from the couch, grabbed the box from her, and set it on the table. “You’re forgiven. You have the meat.”

She flipped the hair out of her face and scowled playfully. Her tight pants hugged her slim frame, and her slender neck strained as she licked her lips. “Yeah, and why was I in charge of that? Carrying a cow through Costco wasn’t my finest hour.”

“I’m sure you looked hot.” Jackson kissed her cheek but snagged the box and announced the food had arrived.

“And, Spencer,” she added with a huff. “Men.”

“Who’s that?” I asked as the gorgeous woman in front of me let her frustration go and smiled while she dug through her purse and sauntered away.

“You mean Spencer?” Zoe shifted to study my face. “Sergeant’s wife. Well, second wife, but still wife.”

Wait, what? I felt a ping of disappointment. Spencer was incredibly sexy, and the way she held herself was the exact opposite of the way my ex did. Plus, she seemed to be a few years younger than I was, so way to go, Sarge.

“Where’s G?” she called.

“Outside.” Zoe pointed the direction with her head. I gathered she wasn’t a fan of the sergeant’s wife, given the glare she graced her with when Spencer caught sight of me standing there.

“Hey.” She shrugged off her coat and hung it neatly on the back of the chair. She extended her slim hand toward me. “Spencer Peters.”

“Blake Daniels.” I gave her a firm squeeze and tried not to notice how soft her palm was.

“Ah, yes.” Her smile reached her eyes. She seemed very genuine, and her mannerisms were calm and direct. “The detective.”

“That’s correct.” I nodded politely. “And you are?”

“Late!” Zoe burst into our discussion and pushed Spencer toward the sliding doors. “You know how G gets when you don’t check in.”

“Excuse me,” she said over her shoulder with a scowl at Zoe.

“No problem.”

I watched her over the next couple of hours while the people I met became a blur. Spencer was constantly surrounded by others. Clearly, she was close with the other officers, and I liked that. In order to do our kind of job, you needed to surround yourself with like-minded people. It was the only way to feel a sense of normalcy. Spencer seemed to easily fit that mold.

I made my way over and joined the group she was with to listen to their conversation.

“If that was me,” Benny jumped in over Fitz’s story, “I would take her to a restaurant, get her all full, and ask her to take a walk with me around the lake.”

“That is if you had a girlfriend?” Spencer asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” she smiled playfully, “just making sure we all know that this is a purely hypothetical situation, because we all know you do not have a girlfriend.”

“Mess off.” He shoved her shoulder, and she laughed harder.

I couldn’t help but be impressed with the way she handled herself with the guys. There was no doubt Spencer could hold her own.

“Dinner,” a woman I hadn’t met called from the doorway. Spencer waved and rushed toward the woman, wrapping her in a huge hug. I couldn’t help but notice how the evening light reflected off her long, glossy hair. I felt like I was seventeen with the emotions she stirred in me, and I needed to snap out of it. I needed to be respectful.

I sat back and watched everyone and tried to learn their likes and dislikes. Without meaning to, I profiled. It had been such a part of my life, I found it helped me understand my co-workers too. There was a lot you could learn about someone when they didn’t know they were being watched.

“I’m glad you came.” Sarge came up next to me after everyone was finished with dinner. “You get a chance to meet all the guys?”

“Most of them, I think. I appreciate the invite. It’s been a good first day.” I cleared my throat. “The guys seem nice, good sense of humor. I met your wife. She seems friendly.”

“Oh, you got to meet her?” He beamed with love. “She normally hangs out in the kitchen until after the food is cooked, then she comes out and mingles.”

“Where did you two meet?”

“She was in college.” He took a swig of beer. “I was working that block, and she got herself into a situation, and I just happened to be driving by. One thing led to another, and here we are.”

I wanted to ask about the age gap, but I knew that wasn’t wise. He didn’t need someone else pointing out the obvious.

“My niece was around here somewhere. I wanted you to meet her. I swear, I blink, and she’s gone. She’s not always that social. She likes to hibernate a lot.”

“Now, that, I understand.”