Justice in the Shadows Read Free Page B

through the rear fire door on the first floor and headed toward the elevators. “They could be reorganizing the whole operation, too—changing personnel, switching out the kids, relocating the studio right now. We’ve got to get as much as we can as fast as we can.”
    ———
    “You want to tell me how you managed to come away empty from an operation that you were supposed to be coordinating, Sergeant?” Captain John Henry’s voice was level, but his mahogany face was a shade darker than usual with barely suppressed irritation.
    “I was hoping you could tell me, sir.” Rebecca’s eyes were winter grey and her voice colder still.
    “Sit down, Sergeant.”
    “I’m fine, sir.”
    “That wasn’t a request.” He hadn’t raised his voice, but his formidable shoulders bunched with tension. “Your paperwork is still incomplete. No psych eval. I could pull you put of the field and sit you behind a desk until you grew roots.”
    “Whitaker must have forgotten to send the report,” Rebecca replied.
    “Nice try, Frye. Whitaker says you have a final meeting before he signs off.”
    She gritted her teeth. “I guess there was a miscommunication.”
    “I’m sure.” Henry tipped his chin toward the chair. “Now sit your ass down.”
    Rebecca sat. Despite her concern that Henry might be behind the leak that had led to the attack on Sloan’s life, he was her commanding officer, and he held all the cards.
    Henry sighed. “Did you come away with anything from the operation at all?”
    “Other than a civilian in the hospital?” Rebecca rarely disclosed all the details of her investigations to anyone, even her captain.. “Not much. We know there’s an Internet porn ring broadcasting live sex videos in the area. The guy the feds snatched from us last night is a part of it.”
    “Connected to organized crime?” Henry asked almost eagerly. “It would be big if we could tie Zamora and his crew to this.”
    “Nothing solid.” Rebecca watched him for some sign that his interest was more than just that of a cop wanting to clean up the city and advance his own career at the same time. If he were the mob’s inside man, his questions might give him away.
    “Have you got anything working on the streets that might pay off?”
    “Soft stuff. Nothing hot.” She leaned forward almost imperceptibly. “Look, Captain. If you give me a little room to work this, I know I can break something open. I still have the whole team. We know almost as much as the Feds, and they don’t have the contacts I do.”
    He leaned back in his leather chair, the only concession to comfort in the room, and steepled his surprisingly elegant hands in front of his chest. His heavy lids appeared nearly closed. “I have no authority to approve that kind of operation.”
    Rebecca said nothing.
    “I think it might take Whitaker another week or so to finish his report,” Henry mused. “Until he does that, you can’t go into the regular rotation.”
    Rebecca knew that he was giving her the unofficial green light to keep hunting for the leaders of the porn ring, and anything else that she might turn up. Unofficial meant unprotected, too. He was out of the loop and unaccountable. She’d be alone, without department sanction. If he were dirty, it was a perfect way to set her up. Much the way Jimmy Hogan had been set up. A cop working outside was easier to dispose of.
    “I’m sure he’ll want to see me another time or two, yes sir.” She needed the freedom to pursue the case, and this was the only way she’d get it.
     “Sergeant,” the captain added before Rebecca turned away, “you can have a man or two to assist.”
    “Watts,” Rebecca said immediately, ignoring the faint look of surprise on Henry’s face. Firmly, she said, “And the uniform—Mitchell.”
    “I’ll see to it.”
    Rebecca had almost reached the door when she heard the quiet words, “Good luck, Sergeant.”
    She didn’t answer as she stepped through and closed the