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Burke huffed. “Yeah, maybe.”
“It couldn’t have been easy for him. Either way that private autopsy came out, it was going to be bad news. His dad was either murdered or he killed himself.” She closed her laptop and leaned her elbow on it, propping her chin on her fist. “Any guidance? Where would you start?”
“Where you said. His old cases.”
“I have some of them, but I haven’t read very far yet.” She patted her laptop. “Antoine downloaded Rocky’s case reports for the last five years of his career. And no, nobody will know that we downloaded them. He set it up so that it would look like someone from NOPD Internal Affairs was looking. If anyone notices at all.”
“Somebody’s gonna notice,” Burke said darkly. “When I think about Cresswell saying that Rocky stole cocaine...” He looked down, seeming surprised to see that he’d clenched his hands into fists. Slowly he relaxed them. “This is why I didn’t want to take the case. I’m too close.”
“I take it that Cresswell is Rocky’s former captain?”
“One and the same.”
“Tell me what you know.” She opened her laptop, prepared to take notes, then saw the quirk of his lips. “What?”
“You. Taking notes like you always do.”
That stung more than she’d expected it would. “That’s me,” she said grimly. “Predictable.”
“Steady,” he corrected. “Your habits are the foundation of your attention to detail, and that’s one of your best qualities. Don’t change.”
Her irritation melted away. “Aw, shucks, boss.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you be gettin’ a big head, now.”
She mimed popping a balloon. “Head shrunk. Now tell me about Cresswell.”
“He’s rotten to the core, but very, very smart. Nobody’s gonna easily catch him.”
“Well, that sucks.”
He snorted. “Indeed, it does. I’ve suspected for years that he skims off the top, taking drugs from arrests and selling them back to the dealers he has on his payroll. Or that he’s blackmailed into servitude. He’s thick as thieves with a number of the New Orleans elite. Old money. Dirty money. If he’s not looking the other way in exchange for payoffs, he’s on their payroll. Either way, he gets rich.”
“You tried to prove it while you were on the force?”
“I tried. I failed.”
“Is that why you left and started the agency?”
“Let’s just say that my departure was mutually agreed upon. I couldn’t take the stink anymore and he wanted me gone.”
She leaned back in her chair. So this would be personal, then. Another good reason for Burke to recuse himself. “I’m surprised he didn’t just do away with you somehow.”
Burke grimaced. “He tried. He failed.”
“You mean that he just gave up? Let you go?”
“Nope. I kept a little souvenir. Nothing big enough to take him down, but enough to make him back off. He was cheating on his wife with a male prostitute. He’s a closet case. I don’t care, but he does, and that was enough for him to give me a wide berth.”
“So you think this Cresswell person could have murdered Rocky Hebert?”
“He could have without blinking. But I don’t think he would have. He’s not one to get his hands dirty. He would have farmed it out. If he was involved.”
“So it’s possible that he really thought Rocky stole the coke?”
“Possible. I mean, that’s what he does, and he’d assume other cops would do the same. So Cresswell’s not a slam dunk.”
“That’s clear as mud,” she said grumpily, and he grinned.
