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“I think the job is catching up with me.”
“Rich, too,” she said. “Me, too.”
I let Cindy do all the talking while I made food disappear. She had news on the book front. Sales were going through the roof. Thank God something good had come of all this. I asked to speak with Rich.
“He’s out cold.”
“Okay. I’m calling Brady.”
Brady picked up on the first ring. Rich and I both loved him. A former Miami Vice top dog, Jackson Brady had rotated through homicide when he came to SFPD. He’d partnered first with me, then Conklin, and with our former lieutenant, Warren Jacobi.
Years later, Brady had taken the job of homicide lieutenant—commanding officer of our squad—and we were better for it. Brady knew when to be hands-on, when to oversee from his office and he and I had stood shoulder to shoulder during deadly shoot-outs, including one in recent memory.
“I called you about six hours ago,” he said.
“Brady. Give me the fricking day off, will you? I’m this close to a nervous breakdown.”
“I didn’t know. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Don’t you dare hang up. Did you talk to Marin PD?”
“Yep. ME found nothing on Hammer’s body that would lead to his killer. But she found something interesting.”
“No. Do. Not. Make me beg, Lieutenant.”
“Silicon Valley prototypes. Before you say ‘what,’ it’s what it sounds like. Plans for pricey tech items not yet released to market.”
“What do you make of that?” I asked.
“Besides that I want a look at the future? Likely, thedocuments are stolen. Hammer was a thief. CSU is still going through the bags of merch in his car.”
“So, he stole Cindy’s book. Case closed.”
“Whatever you and Rich did last night, I got a thank-you from Captain Breevoort at dawn.”
“Glad we could help,” I said.
“And thanks from me. Go back to sleep.”
“Copy that, Lieu. See you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 10
EARLY MONDAY MORNING I was still dreaming. A mission was about to go down. We were in a corridor that was lined with SWAT units, ready to take on whatever we found behind a door.
I was wearing tactical gear, a loaded semiautomatic in my hand. Rich was standing beside me, his gun drawn, too. Behind the door was the answer to—everything.
“Get ready,” I said to Conklin.
I’d raised my leg and was ready to kick down the door when a body landed on me.
The dream shattered and I saw that Julie had landed on me again and this time there was an old dog involved.
“Hold it,” I said. “Julie, you’re too big to jump on me.”
“I am?”
“Here’s what to do. Let me see your arm.”
