Chapter Seventeen
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By the time David and the others walked back into the conference room, I was ready to go home. I'd seen enough on the video screen to know I was really glad I'd become a doctor instead of a police officer. I didn't know how David and the rest of his team dealt with so much bullshit on a daily basis.
"Are you ready to go?" David asked.
I snorted. "I was ready a long time ago."
David winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. Unfortunately, this was a process we had to go to so that everything was above board. IAB really does not like the fact that we're friends with Carlos and Vinnie. If they could catch them on anything, they would, but Sal has made it a practice to be as open with them as possible. It's the only way to keep everyone out of trouble."
"It's all ridiculous if you ask me. A man should be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."
"And in a dream world, that's the way it happens, but this isn't a dream world. It's the real one."
"No, I know." As a doctor, I understood that. Every day I saw the damage people could do to other people, and it was horrible, but there had to be a balance somewhere, or what reason did someone have for getting out of bed in the morning?
I almost melted when David drew me into his arms. He might be a few inches shorter than me, but he still felt like safety to me.
"I'd like you to come back to the estate with me tonight," David said. "We're still not sure if all of this shit is connected or if Jean is truly after you. Until we know, I'd feel a lot better if you were with me."
"I would too," I admitted.
"We still haven't located Burnett, and I'm worried that he'll try something in retaliation for having gotten caught before he could carry out his little plan."
"What exactly was his plan?"
That might be the one thing I truly did not understand.
"He had to know he'd get caught."
"I don't think he did," Burke said. "I think he truly believed Sal was dirty and he planned to bring everything to his superiors after he had Sal in custody."
"You really think he was after your SWAT unit?"
"Not the entire SWAT unit." Burke shook his head. "If you looked at the pictures, you'll notice that Sal was in every single one of them. We were only in a few of them. This was a vendetta against him, not the rest of us."
I shivered as a cold chill crawled up my back. "I guess I just don't understand that kind of hatred."
"It's not hatred, Doc," Burke said. "It's some asshat thinking his dick is bigger than it actually is."
Back to that dick-measuring competition.
I didn't understand that either.
"Jerry has people out looking for Burnett and questioning all of his friends and family. We'll catch him." Burke's grin was pure evil. "And I really hope our team is the one sent in to arrest him."
"The thought is nice," David said, "but you know it will never happen."
"Yeah, I know, but I'd give just about anything to get my hands wrapped around Burnett's neck. Did you see Lany and the kids when Sal took them out of here?"
David nodded.
I didn't. "What happened to Lany and the kids?"
"Lany lost it."
"I saw that part, but—"
