Two feet away, I swing out and bury my fist in the center of his neck, flipping the fucker in a full rotation so one UGG flings wildly down the escalators and the second pops straight up into the air. He slams to the scuffed floor with a deep thud and a few chiropractic adjustments in his back, and then the force of his landing ends with a grunt of air blasting from his rancid-smelling mouth.
And a smalltootfrom the other end.
“Detective!” Uniform Number Two, the one who sprawled, hobbles across the bullpen, wheezing and rubbing his aching chest until, clumsily, he drops to his knees and flips his perp to his belly, revealing a pair of not-so-tighty-whities-anymore. “I’m so sorry, Detective.”
“You’re supposed to maintain control of the people you put in cuffs, Officer.” I straighten out again and shake my head at the other uniform, the one who’ll get the rest of today off, a medical certificate, and an ice pack to slap against his face. “He’s clearly pumped on something illegal. That makes him unpredictable and dangerous.”
“I know, Detective. I’m sorry.” He jumps to his feet and pulls his guy up with him. “We’re coming on the end of shift, and this one… he just…”
I lift a brow.
He shuts his mouth with a noisy snap.
Spying the name pinned to his uniform and vowing to never let Clay hang with Officer Manzio socially, I ignore Lieutenant Fabian’s door as it slowly creeps open.
I ignore the war room door, too, and the other three-quarters of my current team peeking through the gap.
Bringing my eyes back around to Manzio, I firm my lips and pretend not to see the tweaker tilting off balance. “If a kid got in his way… or a pregnant woman…” I glance over his shoulder at his officer buddy. “Ifanyoneelse was at the top of that escalator and he ran them over, it’s entirely possible they’d have broken something important.”
“Yes, Detective.”
“Like their neck.”
He gulps and drops his gaze. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter that you’ve been on shift all night. I don’t give a fuck if you’re tired. It’s your job to stay focused, because this,” I point to the tweaker whose left pupilmaybe larger than the right, “is what happens when you’re not.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you’ve arrested someone dangerous, put them in a cage. If they’re apt to run, chain them down. If they’re flying on something illegal and their actions are unpredictable, it’s still your job to look ahead and predict shit anyway!”
He jumps and trembles. “Y-yes, sir.”
“Now you’re gonna have to take him to the hospital.” I look at the cop with a shattered nose. “Get yourself checked, too. Then I want youbothto type up the sequence of events that led us here. From arrest to right now. Have it signed off by your CO, and then I want them on my desk so that when I arrive on shift tomorrow morning, I’ve got something to read with my coffee. Understood?”
Contrite, both officers—andtheir perp—nod.
“Good. Go.” I step around the trio and meet Fletch’s dancing eyes. But I feel Fabian’s glare, too. His questioning stare, so though I wish I could escape into my case, I verge right and meet him by his door. “Lieutenant.”
He simply lifts his chin. “All good over there?”
“Yes, sir. They lost focus, and now they’ll pay the price for it with six hours sitting in the ER next to a dude wearing soiled undies.”
He nods. Then he tips his head toward the war room. “How’s your case coming along?”
“I think I found my guy, sir. Just gotta prove it.”
“Youfound your guy? Or you and Detective Banks collaborated and came to a conclusion based on the evidence collected so far?”
“Me and Detective Banks.” I drop my gaze, because it’s my turn to be dressed down by a superior. “We’re hitting forty-eight hours since she was discovered, Lieutenant. Sixty hours since TOD. We’ve spoken with everyone close to her and excluded all those we deemed appropriate. On a personal level, you and I both understand why tension exists between us. But professionally, I feel Detective Banks is a credit to the department, and Officer Clay is fortunate to have been partnered with him. Banks is thorough in an investigation, detail-oriented, tactical, and sensitive when speaking to the families, and his intuitive questioning has led us to answers I might not have thought to seek if not for him.”Layer it on, Malone! That motherfucker is your best friend as far as Fabian knows. “I respect your decision in placing us together on this one, Lieutenant.”
No I don’t! I fucking hate it.
“That was a lot of gushing about a guy I thought you loathed.” He relaxes his stance and folds his arms. He doesn’t smile, exactly, but I swear I catch a small twitch of his lips. “Only two days since your vic was discovered, and already, you’ve figured it out. That sure paints you and Detective Banks as quite the dream team, don’t you think?”
Panic rears up and sets off small explosions in the back of my skull. “Sir?”
“It would seem foolish for me to keep you apart when, evidently, working together has proven so successful.”
