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“Give me fifteen minutes,” he said.
“Okay,” she replied. “See you then.”
He hung up and looked over at Dr. Lemmon, who was already placing her notepad and pen on the coffee table between them.
“Rain check?” she offered.
“I’m sorry, but yes,” he said, “duty calls.”
“You better get to it then,” she said.
He didn’t need any further coaxing. By the time she said goodbye, he was already halfway out the door.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jessie could tell something was up.
She’d come into LAPD’s Central Station fifteen minutes ahead of her scheduled 8 a.m. meeting with Captain Parker, hoping to catch up with the HSS team, but the bullpen was already abuzz with activity. Parker’s door was closed.
She wandered over to the HSS section of the bullpen, which was essentially six desks in close proximity, divided from the rest of the bullpen by multiple large but wobbly partitions. Detectives Karen Bray and Sam Goodwin weren’t at their desks, but the other two members of the unit, Detectives Susannah Valentine and Jim Nettles were hunched over their computer monitors.
Susannah Valentine, a voluptuous twenty-nine-year-old brunette with a sharp mind and a propensity to let her temper get the better of her, was still on desk duty, a result of internal injuries she suffered when a bomb went off at an apartment where she was searching for a killer. So was Nettles, who had been slammed into a wall by the force by the same explosion, causing multiple facial fractures that still had him wearing a protective mask that looked mildly terrifying. The elder statesman of HSS at thirty-nine, the injuries he suffered appeared to have aged the guy by about a decade.
“How’s it going, guys?” Jessie asked.
Both of them sat upright and offered warm smiles.
“I didn’t know you were coming in today,” Susannah said, getting up gingerly to give her a hug.
“Yeah,” Jessie told her. “I’m meeting with Parker to discuss the timetable for my return to work.”
“When were you hoping to come back?” Nettles wondered as he, too, embraced her.
“I feel like I’m ready to go now, but it’s not up to me,” she said. “I guess I’ll know more after we chat. Where are Karen and Sam?”
“They snagged a case yesterday evening,” Nettles told her. “A big time bank exec was killed in a home invasion and they’re looking into it. They’ve been out all night.”
“Is that what all the hubbub is about?” Jessie wondered.
“What hubbub?” Susannah asked, perplexed.
“You didn’t notice?” Jessie said. “Parker’s door is closed. Her assistant has fielded four brief phone calls in the two minutes that I’ve been here, and she looks seriously frazzled. Something’s up.”
“To be honest,” Susannah admitted, “I’ve been so focused on reviewing potential suspects in this bank exec murder for Karen and Sam that I’ve barely looked up all morning.”
“Same,” Nettles said.
“Let me see if I can find out what’s up,” Jessie said. “I’ll check back in with you guys later.”
She wandered over to the desk of Parker’s assistant, which was situated just outside the captain’s office. That was a change from when Ryan was in charge. He didn't have a formal assistant, and all his calls went through the officer at the front desk. Jessie waited for brief lull in between calls before speaking.
“Hi,” she said to the petite, young cop, “I’m Jessie Hunt. I have a meeting with Captain Parker at eight. Should I just wait here?”
“Hi, Ms. Hunt,” the assistant said politely, despite everything going on. “I’m Officer Shaniqua George, Captain Parker’s administrative aide. It’s nice to meet you. Unfortunately, your meeting with the captain may have to be pushed. Something's come up, and I'm not sure if she'll be able to fit you in on time."
“What’s going on?” Jessie asked innocently.
“I’m afraid that I’m not at liberty to say,” she replied courteously, “but I’ll do my best not to leave you in limbo for too long.”
