"His home is supposed to be the one place Lany can be Lany, the one place where he and the kids are safe," David explained. "If someone came at them at the house, like last winter when they were attacked and Lany was shot, Sal always had a fallback. He was a cop, and cops protect the families of other cops. But if it’s cops attacking them, what happens to that fallback?"
I rubbed my stomach when it knotted. "I see your point."
"It'll be interesting to see what happens the next time we're sent out on a call," Burke said. "I get that most of those guys were rookies fresh out of the academy, but what about the ones who weren't? The rookies can be taught. I'm not sure about the veteran cops."
"I'm not worried about the veteran cops. We've pulled their asses out of the line of fire enough times to have their respect. I think that is another reason that Burnett went for the rookies. The veterans would have told him to go fuck himself. The rookies didn't know any better."
"Are you guys going to be safe out on the streets?" I'd sewn a couple of them up once or twice, but I'd be devastated if any of them came in with anything other than a simple wound, especially David.
"Once we catch Burnett, we will be," David said. "I'm more worried about you."
"Me?"
"Jean is still out there."
I grimaced. "Don't remind me."
The man was a menace.
I jumped when the door opened and then felt like an idiot when Jerry walked in.
"Go home," Jerry said. "There's nothing more you guys can do right now."
"We still have to find Jean," David said.
"And we will, but I think everyone could use a little downtime." He held up his hand when David opened his mouth. "Don't argue with me. You're lucky. I still have to deal with IAB, get someone to question the rookies, and find Burnett."
"What can we do to help?" Burke asked.
Jerry sighed as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. "At this point, I don't know if there is anything you can do. You can't be a part of the investigation into Burnett because of your involvement."
"If you need any contacts at the FBI, give me a call."
"Thanks, Burke."
"We're going to head back to the estate," David said. "Despite the hole in the wall, I still think that's the safest place for us at the moment. If you need us, you have the number."
Jerry nodded. "Keep looking for that Jean guy. I might have to pull you off the Burnett case, but I don't have to pull you off that one. I want him caught before he hurts the doc."
I was in favor of that.
"We'll get on it first thing in the morning," David said. "Right now, I think you're right. We could use some downtime."
"Then get out of here," Jerry said.
I couldn't walk out of the conference room fast enough.
Word must have gotten around about what had happened. More than one police officer stepped out of the way as we walked through the station. Others nodded respectfully. No one tried to stop us, which I was grateful for. I just wanted to get out of there.
When we got outside to the car, David held the door open for me. I climbed in and put on my seatbelt. The second David climbed in and did the same I scooted as close as the seatbelt allowed. I knew I'd done the right thing when David's arm settled over my shoulders.
"Do you think we'll need to stay at Lany and Sal's for very long?"
"Just a few days, babe. Just until we catch Jean."
"You think we'll catch him in a few days?"
David nodded. "We'll catch him."
