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CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Jessie wasn’t out for long.
When she came to, she was lying on the exam table in the room where she’d been moved to. According to Captain Decker, who was standing over her with a worried expression, she’d only been out for about ninety seconds.
“How’s Hernandez?” she asked, ignoring her aching jaw.
“They’re checking him out now in the office. He’s conscious but woozy. The EMT said the cut on his head isn’t that deep. How are you?”
“Sore.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a good thing you texted me the exact address and suite number of this office or we’d still be looking for you and your head would be split open like a melon.”
Jessie tried to sit up but felt mildly nauseated and lay back down. She took a deep breath and when she was sure she could speak, she replied.
“What’s the deal with Kallas?”
“The doctor with the disturbing cutlery collection? He’s being transported to Cedars-Sinai to get that eye looked at. You really did a number on him. I’m assuming he’s your top suspect in the Penn murder and that’s why you brazenly disobeyed direct orders.”
“He claims to have a video of the killing,” Jessie said, trying not to rub it in. “We should get people on that ASAP. And that’s not the only reason I disobeyed orders, Captain.”
“I’m all ears,” he replied with raise eyebrows.
For half a second, Jessie debated whether to confide in him. But ultimately, if she wanted to keep herself and the people she cared about safe, she had no choice.
“I need you to shut the door for this,” she said quietly.
Decker looked more surprised than she’d ever seen him. But without another word, he walked over and closed the door.
She sighed deeply, and then began.
*
Jessie pretended her head wasn’t splitting in half.
She popped another ibuprofen as she watched Richard Kallas through a two-way mirror in the observation room. He sat cuffed to a bolted-down metal table in a Central Station interrogation room. His left eye was bandaged, though the doctor had said it would eventually heal. He was missing a tooth but nothing had been done about that yet.
It had been three hours since the attack at Kallas’s office and the world seemed very different now, though still not as safe as Jessie hoped. Since she didn’t know when she’d be free, she had called Kat Gentry, who had just returned from enjoying a multi-day date with Deputy Mitch Connor, the Lake Arrowhead liaison for the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.
She asked if Kat could relieve Garland Moses on the Hannah-watching front. But Garland instead offered to let her crash at his place. Jessie didn’t mind, as the more people she trusted around Hannah, the better.
Ryan was still at the hospital. Doctors were confident he could be released soon but wanted to keep him overnight as a precaution. They’d wanted her to stay too but she insisted on discharging herself to conduct this interrogation. She promised that she would return afterward and spend the night there so they could keep her under observation.
The Butters situation still weighed heavily on her mind. She wanted to talk to Kallas with a clear head but wasn’t sure she could until she got an update on that situation. As if on cue, Captain Decker stepped into the observation room and asked the camera tech to step out for a moment.
“What have you got for me?” she asked him hopefully.
“I can’t get into specifics,” he said quietly. “But it’s happening as we speak. We’ll know more by tomorrow.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s all I can share at this point,” he insisted. “The less you know right now, the better for you. Just trust that people are taking it seriously. You just focus on Kallas right now.”
“You sure I’m authorized to conduct this investigation? No one’s going to drag me out on a disciplinary charge in the middle of it?”
She knew it was a cheap shot but she’d held her tongue for this long and just couldn’t contain herself any longer.
“Don’t push it, Hunt,” he warned, though not unkindly. “Department policy requires that a detective be involved in any formal interrogation, so Trembley will be in there with you. But he knows that you’ll be taking the lead and won’t step on your toes.”
