AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They nodded silently.
“Well, let me fill you in,” he started. “As you know, Jessie is officially on medical leave after the events of last Friday. Because both Mark Haddonfield and Ash Pierce are at large, we’ve retained Mr. Grover Nix here to serve as her personal security officer for the time being.”
“Cheerio,” Nix said with a wave.
Jamil and Beth waved back uncertainly.
“Despite that,” Ryan continued, “Jessie is going to spend some of that leave reviewing material from a case that HSS isn’t involved in, and I was hoping you might offer her some assistance.”
The expressions of confusion on both researchers’ faces turned quickly into ones of intrigue. Jessie knew that Jamil, the twenty-five-year-old head of the department, didn’t need much prodding. He was usually game for new projects, the more difficult the better.
Despite his youth and unimposing demeanor, the kid was an unquestioned genius.Short and skinny with thick glasses, he was also an expert atfiltering through massive databases, sorting surveillance video into manageable buckets, or making complex financial records understandable, all seemingly in the blink of an eye.
Beth was equally willing to go the extra mile. Though she was the polar opposite of her supervisor in many ways, their dedication to getting the job done was—until recently at least—the primary thing that connected them.
Unlike Jamil, Beth wasa physical specimen. Over six feet tall with brown hair that she liked to keep in a ponytail, She was a former college volleyball star at UC Santa Barbara. Unfussily attractive, she almost never wore makeup.
She might not have Jamil’s pedigree, but since she was hired, she’d proven to be an invaluable resource to the team. Not only did she exude a sense of perpetual chill thathelped center her more high-strung supervisor, but she also had a razor-sharp mind.Anyone who underestimated her was making a big mistake.
Intriguingly, despite their differences, Jessie had noted a growing closeness between the two that seemed more intimate than just a work friendship. No one else in the unit seemed to have picked up on it yet.
As happy as she was to see the occasional giddiness they displayed in front of her, she was uncomfortable with the power dynamic and worried that if things went south between them, it could really affect the team. She’d been debating talking to them about reporting their status to Human Resources but so far, had held off. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could do that.
“What’s the case?” Jamil asked.
“Do you know about Gemma Britton?” Jessie asked.
Jamil looked over at Beth knowingly, who answered.
“Yeah,” she said. “When we heard about her death, I did a little preliminary research on her, assuming HSS would be taking the case. But we never got the assignment, so I set it aside.”
“It was never assigned to you guys because we’re putting all our resources into finding Haddonfield,” Ryan explained. “And I’m not assigning it to anyone now. Jessie is just going to be reviewing the case file from the detectives at Wilshire Station who are handling it.”
“May I ask why?” Jamil wondered.
“Britton used to be close to Janice Lemmon,” Jessie told him.
“Got it,” Jamil said. “So what can we do to help?”
Unspoken was his silent acknowledgement that Dr. Lemmon had helped him too. When he was weighed down by guilt at not being able to locate a suspect quickly enough to prevent the deaths of over two dozen people, Jessie had recommended he visit the psychiatrist. Her help had done wonders for him.
"For now, all I need is the case file," Jessie said. "Once I've had a chance to look it over, I might have a few requests for you, but I'll keep those to a minimum. I don't want to pull either of you away from the search for Haddonfield."
“All right,” Jamil said. “I can pull that up for you in a matter of seconds.”
“There’s something else,” Grover added. “We brought Jessie into your department clandestinely because the fewer people who know she’s here, the better. I get that a police station is supposed to be a secure place. But anyone who sees her might be a target for Ash Pierce. We know Pierce is willing to kidnap and hurt people to achieve her ends. If folks aren’t aware of Jessie’s presence, they can’t be forced to reveal that information to her.”
“Butweknow,” Beth pointed out.
“That’s correct,” Ryan said. “That’s why, rather than going home tonight, both of you will be escorted to hotels by officers for the foreseeable future. We want to take every precaution, just in case Pierce is lying in wait.”
Jessie didn’t comment on her suspicion that of late, the two researchers had been sharing time together at each other’s homes.
“What if one of the other HSS detectives comes in with a question?” Beth asked. “That’s certain to happen, and then they'll see her."
“Jessie’s going to set up shop in the adjoining private server room that Jamil insisted on when he became head of research," Ryan said with a bit of an edge, indicating that he hadn't forgotten the cost of that line item. "There's a little space in the back where she can work. Plus, it's dark, and no one other than you guys goes in there. That should keep her under wraps. Just make sure this room is clear of visitors when she needs to leave for food or bathroom breaks.”
“I’ll set up a workspace for you,” Jamil offered.
