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CHAPTER44
Gabe was almost to work when his phone rang. Activating the hands-free feature, he was surprised to hear Natasha’s voice.
“Gabe, where are you?”
“On my way to work, almost there.”
“Don’t come.”
He slowed. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t like what is going on here this morning. You were a hero last night, but talk is you will be suspended, pending termination.”
“What?” He pulled over and parked. “Why are you at work? You lost your home last night.”
“I’m only working a half day. It’s either this or stay at my mom’s and cry all day. Don’t worry about me. Madden is angry. I’ve heard the term ‘on the warpath’ used. She thinks you were investigating the Ramos shooting last night.”
“I can explain what I was doing at Barton Plaza—”
“I don’t think it will matter. If she takes your badge and gun away from you, you won’t be able to do anything. You’ll have to stop investigating everything now. It won’t matter if you get reinstated later.”
Gabe rubbed his creased brow. Normally he’d blow this off. He’d done nothing wrong; he had nothing to worry about. But Jess Ramos had done nothing wrong and where was he now?
“You still there?”
“Yeah, Natasha, I’m just thinking. I can’t hide. I don’t want a confrontation with the DA, but I don’t know how to avoidone.”
“I know. But what you’re doing now is important. I don’t think you want to be interrupted, do you?”
“I—” Gabe stopped, thought half-formed. “I talked to Curtis about the file you sent.”
“I see,” she said, and after a slight pause, “Could he clear the issue up?”
“Yes and no. There is a lot more here than meets the eye.”
“Mr. Curtis is not a bad guy.”
“You’re sure of that because...”
“Because I know Mr. Curtis. I helped him when his wife was ill; I was there when she passed. I knew something troubled him deeply. He is a tormented soul. When I saw the face sheet, I believed the accident was the problem. Weighing on his conscience maybe. You’ve taken it and run, hopefully to a resolution. I’m glad it piqued your curiosity.”
“It sure did.” He thought about the safe-deposit box key. Even suspended, he could still look into it. “Natasha, I can’t hide from my boss. Thank you for the warning, but I need to come to work and face the music.”
“I understand. You’re right of course. I do want answers to come for Mr. Curtis. I believe he’s a good man buried under years of regret.”
“And I believe I’m close to answers. I’ll be at work in a few moments. If I’m suspended, I should still be able to finish up with the Curtis case.”
“Thank you, Gabe. Thank you.”
He disconnected and continued to city hall. He arrived twenty minutes late and expected to hear from Madden. But her door was closed.
Gabe quietly slipped into his office. He sat and powered up his computer, wondering how long he had before Madden dropped the hammer. He had to stay busy until she called. He took the key out and studied it. “What were you hiding, D.K.?” he muttered under his breath.
Settling in to doing the work he’d been assigned, Gabe noticed how quiet everything was in the office. It was only quietlike this when the prosecutor was out. She was such a micromanager, always in everyone’s business, demanding memos for meaningless items, checking and double-checking cases.
After two hours of the quiet, and impatient to face off against Madden, Gabe got up and walked to her office. Her admin was busy.
“Where is the boss?”
He shrugged, looking flustered. “She was called out unexpectedly to a meeting with the mayor. She’s not answering her phone.”
“Odd.”
“I’ll make a note you wanted to see her and let her know when she checks in.”
Gabe went back to his office, now thinking about something other than the key. Her admin didn’t seem to be aware of anything negative concerning him. Where was Madden?
