you need. But please keep me in the loop.” Byron Chambers took a notepad the chief offered and wrote furiously for several minutes. “This is everyone I can think of. I’ll check with her mother and see if she can add anything.”
Chief Lancaster stood and moved around his desk toward the door. “We should probably be going, Councilman. The press conference starts in five minutes. Hopefully someone will come forward after we’ve made the appeal. Alex will keep us both informed every step of the way.”
Alex knew the chief’s last statement was not just a reassuring comment for Byron Chambers’s benefit but an indirect order to her. After shaking hands with both men, she headed back to her office and poured a fresh cup of coffee. As she sipped she went over the names on the councilman’s list. Stacey Chambers was obviously a very popular and well-connected woman. Her register of contacts resembled a who’s who of Granville politics and society. It would take an entire team of officers weeks to interview everyone. She decided to let the homicide glory boys handle the legwork and her guys would take any really promising leads.
Unfortunately, no one on the list stood out. Her next hope was that someone Stacey worked with or counseled at the Granville Drug Rehab Clinic would have some worthwhile information. Once she had the names from every other statement, she could cross-reference them with known associates of the other victims. Maybe there would be a connection. And just maybe, if they were really lucky, someone would respond to the councilman’s appeal for information.
*
Alex’s desk phone buzzed and Shirley’s sharp tone reverberated against the predominately bare walls in her makeshift office. “Lieu-ten-ant?” She pulled the word out like hot taffy. “Sergeant Price is here. You remember her, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure. Refresh my memory.” Her secretary knew she and Beth had attended recruit school together and remained best friends.
Beth opened Alex’s door and shot her the bird. “Does this refresh your memory?”
“I’ll take it from here, Shirley,” Alex said into the speaker. “And hold my calls for a while. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Beth closed the office door and dragged a worn fabric armchair next to Alex’s. “I’d know that tone of voice anywhere. You’ve already gotten a call from the soul-sucking bitch. Right?”
“She left a message on my machine last night, but I didn’t listen to it.”
“I told you, Alex. It’s not going to work. Helen’s not a team player. She’ll either try to take over or she’ll blow the whole case with her petty power plays. Just remember what she put you through on that other task force, and there wasn’t nearly as much at stake.” Beth shook her head. “She’s just aching to ride you down that dark road again.”
“Thanks. I promise to keep her at arm’s length.” A Helen-induced uneasiness crept into Alex’s mind. Distracting herself, she slid a handful of M&Ms from the mason jar turned candy dispenser on her bookshelf. “Want a hit?”
“No, thanks. Do you have some names for me to look at?”
“I’ve narrowed it down to a dozen, but that’s as far as I can get.” Alex pushed the files in front of Beth. “You’ve been in Vice/Narcotics for a while now and you’ve been a field sergeant. You know how things work.”
“Guilty on all charges.”
“So tell me what you think.”
For the next few hours they discussed the pros and cons of each officer, reviewed their previous work assignments, evaluations, Internal Affairs jackets, and field performance. They narrowed the list to four names, two male and two female.
“All right, boss, I’m tired of looking at paper and I’m hungry as hell,” Beth said. “Can we continue this over lunch? And you’re buying.”
“Sounds good to me.” Alex welcomed the break to erase Keri Morgan from her mind. She kept resurfacing as the number one choice, even
Chief Lancaster stood and moved around his desk toward the door. “We should probably be going, Councilman. The press conference starts in five minutes. Hopefully someone will come forward after we’ve made the appeal. Alex will keep us both informed every step of the way.”
Alex knew the chief’s last statement was not just a reassuring comment for Byron Chambers’s benefit but an indirect order to her. After shaking hands with both men, she headed back to her office and poured a fresh cup of coffee. As she sipped she went over the names on the councilman’s list. Stacey Chambers was obviously a very popular and well-connected woman. Her register of contacts resembled a who’s who of Granville politics and society. It would take an entire team of officers weeks to interview everyone. She decided to let the homicide glory boys handle the legwork and her guys would take any really promising leads.
Unfortunately, no one on the list stood out. Her next hope was that someone Stacey worked with or counseled at the Granville Drug Rehab Clinic would have some worthwhile information. Once she had the names from every other statement, she could cross-reference them with known associates of the other victims. Maybe there would be a connection. And just maybe, if they were really lucky, someone would respond to the councilman’s appeal for information.
*
Alex’s desk phone buzzed and Shirley’s sharp tone reverberated against the predominately bare walls in her makeshift office. “Lieu-ten-ant?” She pulled the word out like hot taffy. “Sergeant Price is here. You remember her, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure. Refresh my memory.” Her secretary knew she and Beth had attended recruit school together and remained best friends.
Beth opened Alex’s door and shot her the bird. “Does this refresh your memory?”
“I’ll take it from here, Shirley,” Alex said into the speaker. “And hold my calls for a while. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Beth closed the office door and dragged a worn fabric armchair next to Alex’s. “I’d know that tone of voice anywhere. You’ve already gotten a call from the soul-sucking bitch. Right?”
“She left a message on my machine last night, but I didn’t listen to it.”
“I told you, Alex. It’s not going to work. Helen’s not a team player. She’ll either try to take over or she’ll blow the whole case with her petty power plays. Just remember what she put you through on that other task force, and there wasn’t nearly as much at stake.” Beth shook her head. “She’s just aching to ride you down that dark road again.”
“Thanks. I promise to keep her at arm’s length.” A Helen-induced uneasiness crept into Alex’s mind. Distracting herself, she slid a handful of M&Ms from the mason jar turned candy dispenser on her bookshelf. “Want a hit?”
“No, thanks. Do you have some names for me to look at?”
“I’ve narrowed it down to a dozen, but that’s as far as I can get.” Alex pushed the files in front of Beth. “You’ve been in Vice/Narcotics for a while now and you’ve been a field sergeant. You know how things work.”
“Guilty on all charges.”
“So tell me what you think.”
For the next few hours they discussed the pros and cons of each officer, reviewed their previous work assignments, evaluations, Internal Affairs jackets, and field performance. They narrowed the list to four names, two male and two female.
“All right, boss, I’m tired of looking at paper and I’m hungry as hell,” Beth said. “Can we continue this over lunch? And you’re buying.”
“Sounds good to me.” Alex welcomed the break to erase Keri Morgan from her mind. She kept resurfacing as the number one choice, even
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