“It’s his sergeant I’m more worried about. Medina isn’t exactly known to be the best team player when it comes to… You know what? I’ll make the call.”
Collaborating with the FBI…?Sandra could only guess that was how he’d have finished his sentence. “Not a problem at all.”
“I’ll make that call now and have officers dispatched to Crawford’s son’s and her brother’s.” Neal swept out his phone and had it to his ear in one swift motion.
Sandra listened while Neal gave Medina the breakdown on the situation, the stakes involved, and how the answers were neededyesterday. There were lots of times Neal was cut off and left to pick up where he’d been interrupted. Eric didn’t mention his boss much, just that he was all business.
“Yes, the Hansons. I realize the optics.” Neal rolled his eyes for Sandra’s benefit. “That’s why we need our best people on this… It’s not just flattery, and no one is saying the Hansons did anything wrong. We just need to— Thank you.” Neal pocketed his phone. “He’s going to assign Detective Birch to look into this, with his reservations.”
“In other words, don’t get our hopes up,” she said.
“You got it.” Neal made his second call.
As she listened to him, she was having a hard time shaking one of his earlier words.Optics.She appreciated that playing well with others required diplomacy, but if it came down to it, there was no way she’d let justice be perverted or twisted, no matter what names were thrown around. Not on her watch.
SIX
11:40 AM
MPD Officer Cindy Moore pulled her cruiser to a stop in front of the blue rowhouse. The place was well-maintained and registered to Russell Crawford. On the way there, she couldn’t shake the feeling this was her chance to really prove herself. She had been riding on her own for seven years now, but at thirty, she was ready for the next step in her career. Her eyes were set on becoming a detective in the Criminal Investigation Division, ideally for the Homicide Branch. She knew it was a long shot she’d be selected. Most third-grade detectives started in property crimes or robberies—and she hadn’t made it there yet. Even after she’d jumped through all the hoops, including passing the detective selection exam a few months ago, she was still here on the streets. With hard work and dogged perseverance, she was going to use today to change that. Make the department see what they were losing out on by keeping her as a patrol cop.
She had almost dropped her phone when Lieutenant Coleman called. When he told her the situation, he used the words, “this is pertaining to an active high-profile incident.” Then he told her what he needed her to do and added, “Can I trust you won’t let me down?”
“You can trust me… Ah, tonotlet you down.” She shook her head at herself for the slip.
“I already put this past your sergeant, so see that you don’t.” With that, Coleman had clicked off.
So Levine knows…He was well aware of her aspiration to become a detective. Not that anything remained secret for long around First District. And her passing the exam circled like wildfire.
She ran a quick plate check on the truck in the driveway and confirmed it was registered to Russell. Coleman had already told her that Crawford’s background was clean.
You can trust me…She reiterated her promise to Coleman and called in her location. After receiving acknowledgment from dispatch, she got out of the car, smoothed her uniform, and walked briskly to the front door. There she rang the bell.
After no answer, she tried knocking. Just when she thought no one was home, footsteps padded toward the door.
The deadbolt thunked, and soon after, Cindy was looking at a handsome man. Russell Crawford. While his license told her he was sixty-eight, he’d certainly aged well. One could shave thirty years off that if they didn’t know his age. He was in excellent shape, possessing a lean runner’s body. His piercing green eyes assessed hers. “Can I help you, Officer?”
Russell wasn’t the man inside the Hanson residence, but he could still prove useful. Coleman had told her there was another person of interest related to Russell. “I have a few questions about your nephew, Ryan Crawford.”
“Ryan? You’ve come to the wrong place. I haven’t seen that kid… well, since he was a kid. I guess he must be, what, near forty by now?”
Cindy’s heart sank at Russell’s response, but she was never one to back down or give up. Her parents taught her that by their example. “He’s thirty-eight, but you still might be able tohelp me.” After all, he could know more than he realized about his nephew. Even if not, he could have something to say about his sister’s accident all those years ago. From her phone call with Lieutenant Coleman, she deduced that Susan Crawford’s accident may have been the initial trigger for today’s events.
“Not sure about that, sweetheart, but?—”
“It’s Officer Moore.” Never one to tolerate any man calling her things likesweetheartordarling, she always swept in with an immediate correction.
“Well,Officer, as I told you, I’m out of touch with my nephew, so if you have questions about him, I can’t help you.” Russell started to close the door.
Cindy stepped forward. “With respect, I’ll need to be the judge of that. Just a few minutes of your time, sir.”
Russell sighed but stepped back to let her inside. As she entered, she sized up her surroundings. Staying alive while in uniform required living with one’s head on a swivel.
“Is anyone else with you?” Even if there wasn’t, she had to weigh the risks.
“Nope. Just little ol’ me.” He smiled, and she cringed. It didn’t matter how handsome he was; he was older than her father. But she wasn’t reading sex offender vibes from him.
“If you could show me to a room where we can sit down…?”
