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Chapter Twenty-Two: Rose
My first day on the job as a nurse wasn’t even hectic. I remember having one patient. A little boy who had an allergic reaction to peanut butter. It was so normal yet scary at the same time. He almost died because he had a Reese’s cup and didn’t know he was allergic to peanut butter. I remember obsessing over how crazy and unfair it was. But he was also lucky to have had such a good teacher. He was only four at the time.
I met Dina few days later and the days just got crazier. The patients more violent and the cases more interesting. But everything stayed the same. My job was to help people in their biggest crises, yet I couldn’t even get myself out of a crazy situation.
I had no idea how long I just stood there, off in my own world. I barely noticed Max and Nate showing up. I just knew the three of them were standing behind me, and another lawyer I didn’t even recognize. I knew it was the suspect’s, because he looked like dirty criminals paid his bills and he got them off. I don’t know how I knew that, it was just a look.
But that wasn’t the main thing.
Sometimes, I could remember things from years ago based on a certain smell, or something I see that would take me back to a moment; any moment. It didn’t even have to be important. I would see a kid in a blue shirt, and I would think of that kid from my first day who was allergic to peanut butter.
All it took was that goddamned triangle on his hand to take me back there. I could smell the air from that day; smoke from the train and exhaust from the restaurants nearby. There was the pine of the trees too, and the sap from the evergreens. I was in a small, aluminum box yet I could smell the nature fr
om that day. I felt the sidewalk under my feet and the rise in my breath from the sprint I took after Parker.
I didn’t even have to look at his face to know it was him. I felt it in my bones. The other detective had them all say something, but I barely even listened. I felt his deep Irish accent stuck in my ears and I knew I would never forget it, but that didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that I knew I was looking at the killer. And possibly the man that attacked so many others. I wasn’t worried about him being the wrong guy because I was certain. All I worried about was myself—the Irish mob wasn’t a joke.
If they found out I named him, they would come after me. I considered lying. That lawyer would no doubt tell them, and it would be the end of me. Max, Alex, and Nate would no doubt protect me until the very end, but from all the pop culture and documentaries I saw, three cops wouldn’t stop the mob.
I could lie and never sleep well again, or I could tell the truth and have a limited amount of days. Only one thing would let me live my life the way I wanted, whether it was cut short or not.
“Number four. It’s number four.”
Chapter Twenty-Three: Nate
I couldn’t remember ever caring about something as much as I cared about Rose. I was so afraid for her, I just felt nothing but unease whenever I was around her, or when I knew she was alone. I watched that interrogation like I was studying it. Like it was the first one I had ever seen.
That was years ago. I was a rookie cop that just busted someone for possession. I brought the woman in for processing, thinking it was an easy arrest with minimal paperwork. I was thirty minutes into it when the fucking DEA and the FBI came busting into the precinct. Apparently, I had taken down one of the freaking ring leaders. I watched behind the glass for the seven hours it took to break her into giving up every one of her partners. I would never forget her for that reason alone. I had seen many more interrogations after that, but this was the only one making my blood boil.
I watched the asshole sink back in his chair like he owned the place, and like he didn’t do a damn thing wrong. It was all such bullshit, and I had to actively keep myself from busting in there. I distracted myself with Rose, sitting right by me. She was being so strong, and I wondered what was really going on in her head. I wished she would open up to me more, but I knew it just wasn’t in her nature. Being around her reminded me a lot of myself growing up. Reserved, but willing to take anyone down who got in my way. Rose was really holding her own and I wished she would just relax. But there was a criminal just a few feet from her, someone she watched in the middle of a crime. That wouldn’t be easy on anyone.
“How long do you think it will take?” she whispered after an hour of silence. I had gotten her some coffee, but she hadn’t had any of it to drink.
“I don’t know. Alex is pretty good at a shake down, but this guy seems hard core,” I answered, looking down my nose at her.
“What about Max?”
I shrugged. “He’s a little tougher to get around. Mostly because the people he usually interrogates are creeps—child molesters and kidnappers. So, he treats almost every suspect like that,” I told her.
She nodded and leaned her head on my shoulder. We were sitting in the private viewing room, and no one else was around. We all decided to keep this on the down low. If he was part of the mob, we definitely didn’t want them getting word of it. That would blow the entire thing up and then they would all get off on so-called technicalities with the crime lab.
“We’ve got your prints on three different crime scenes. How do you explain that?” Alex leaned over the desk, up in the guy’s face.
He was built like a wrestler, the kind on television that take enhancements and shit. His face was all rugged like he got beat up at least twice a week, and nothing ever healed right. He had the sleeves of his white tee shirt rolled up, and he was covered in tattoos and scars. According to Rose, only one of those tattoos mattered. They started off with that, asking if it was some kind of branding. He didn’t even budge. He had a thick accent that told me he hadn’t been in the states long. If anything, he got here just in time to do the damage on all three victims.
“I don’t believe you,” he said. Which he was right to, because there was no evidence left behind. The only thing even putting him in that room was Rose’s ID, and we all trusted she was good for it.
We just had to get it out of him.
“Okay. How about you just tell us why you went after one of the biggest investors in the city? I bet you didn’t know he was ex-Navy, which is why he knocked you on your ass.” Max was sitting in front of him, staring him down like he had a personal vendetta.
I guess we all had one. He was directly putting our Rose in danger, and sitting there all smug about it too. We weren’t going to have it anymore and our patience was running thin. The only reason I wasn’t in there was so I could sit with Rose. I didn’t want her going home alone, and I couldn’t leave the station to watch her.
They went back and forth for a good while.
“Is the coffee not good? I can have someone make a Starbucks run.” I nudged Rose. Her slender fingers were wrapped around the cup tightly. The only calm thing about her were her sky blue painted nails. She was shaking her leg like it had done her wrong. I rested my knee against her and she stopped.
