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The girls break into smiles. The guys are still thinking I’m crazy. Zeke simply takes my hand and holds it to his chest.
“Okay, baby. We’ll send him a thank-you, after we put him behind bars,” he agrees.
THIRTEEN
Proof
JASMINE
Istarted off sleeping on the cot, but after my third time getting up to check on Zeke, he had enough and pulled me in beside him. I’m careful not to place my head on his chest and lean on his shoulder instead. Zeke fell into a deep sleep, and so did I.
Last I remember, Caleb was in a chair in the corner. After the others left, Caleb told us he was going to be down the hall making calls. I think he was giving us time alone. He’s had the phone glued to his ear for most of the evening, getting updates and barking orders.
It’s clear that Caleb takes his role as lead detective seriously. He has a sense of duty to the police force, but it goes deeper. His father was an officer, and from what Zeke tells me, he was a damn good cop. Caleb had a great role model, and I think in some ways, it makes it harder for Caleb. Having a father who’s got a solid reputation in the precinct means that Caleb’s expected to meet or exceed those same expectations. Add to that one of your best friends is a recent victim of a crazy man who tried to run him into traffic and get us both killed, and that’s got to be weighing on his conscience.
Alex and Damian are under similar pressure. Alex is more determined than ever to find out who’s responsible. Damian is all about following the clues to wherever they lead. Caleb is about the bigger picture. I overheard his conversation. I think it was with Damian, asking if he was able to meet with Christie or Paris. Then he swore a lengthy line of expletives, which I assume means he was not able to see them.
It took a while, but when I looked over in the middle of the night, I saw Caleb had finally closed his eyes.
* * *
Caleb
Jasmine’s unsettled. She’s continually checking on Zeke, then glancing over at me. This was affecting her greatly from the beginning, but now that Zeke’s been drawn into it, she’s carrying a heavy load in her heart. This means we need to get answers, and soon.
It’s not until Zeke makes her lie down next to him that I notice they’re both relaxing. Zeke’s breathing becomes even, and he falls asleep. I probably know Zeke better than the others, mainly because I recruited him to our team. He’s understated and lets his work speak for itself. He doesn’t ask for recognition and doesn’t expect praise. He deserves it, though, and we give it to him. Being the youngest of nine kids means that he got lost in the shuffle at times. But in the long run, it served a purpose, because Zeke follows his own path.
Family means everything to Zeke, just as it does to Alex, Damian, and me. When Alex lost his father, Damian’s father and my own gave us another brother. Alex might have lived with Damian’s family, but in the end, we were together so much that our parents each thought they had three boys. When Zeke came onto the team, he had a hard time finding his rhythm.
The three of us were so connected that we assumed Zeke was adjusting to our team. When it was pointed out that he didn’t feel like he was fitting in, I sat him down and told him what he meant to us. Not only as a detective, because he’s a damn fine one, but as a person. He’s our brother, at work and out.
Today, Zeke saw this in the biggest way. He’s relying on us to keep Jasmine safe and to catch the people responsible for causing her distress. I’m still kicking myself for not taking her seriously when she first came to the station. It’s not the first time we’ve had people come in with vivid imaginations that resulted in wasting our resources and chasing down situations that weren’t a problem at all. I let it taint my judgment. I got sloppy, and if it weren’t for Zeke being with Jasmine the day of the drive-by, she wouldn’t be sleeping next to him right now.
Christie and Paris’s lawyers refused to allow Damian to ask any questions without their legal counsel, even though Damian specifically told them it had nothing to do with their obstruction of Madden’s will. Tomorrow, they’re due to come in midmorning, and I’m going to be with Damian while Alex takes Zeke and Jasmine home.
The results of Madden’s autopsy and the conversation with his doctor are incongruent to his death. Madden knew he had cancer and only had months left, yet he died of a massive heart attack. I had our coroner request the information and any blood and tissue samples they had so we can run our own tests. I have a feeling someone wanted Madden gone before he changed his will.
I also looked into Constance and her accidental death, which I also believe was not an accident. Constance was an extremely ill woman and wanted to clear her conscience before her death, according to Madden’s lawyer. Yet she never showed up for the meeting with Madden, and he later found out that she died in the hospital from a complication of her medication.
I’ve since reached out to gather all documentation surrounding Constance’s death and am waiting for it to be personally delivered into my hands. I’ll get Alex on that. If Zeke is feeling up to it, we can get him set up at home, and he can do some digging as well. Knowing Zeke, there’s no way he’s going to be out of the loop.
This got personal. Zeke’s one of ours, and Jasmine too. We need to find commonality and proof.
FOURTEEN
Home Sweet Home
ZEKE
The pain is worse today than it was yesterday. The doctor told me not to be a hero and take the pain pills, but I’ve always hated those things. I don’t like the brain fog that comes with them. Then Jasmine walks over and opens her hand to show two little pills sitting in her palm.
“You need to take them,” she says. “The body heals better when it’s relaxed and can do its thing. You’re not doing yourself any favors. Take these, and if you don’t take any more until you go to bed tonight, I won’t bother you,” she says.
It’s her expression of concern that convinces me to concede. I take them from her palm and gulp them down with a glass of water she has ready for me. “Sit with me,” I tell her.
“I need to get some food in you.”
“Please.” I give her my best wounded puppy dog eyes. They work every time, including now, and she slides in next to me. “I know you’re worried, baby, but it’s just a broken leg. It’ll heal, and we’ll move on.” I put my arm around her.
