“My partner is flying in fromDamascustomorrow. We’ll be working it in the morning. We just wanted to know who the contact is at your localSan Juanpolice precinct to see if there were any more victims like this.”
Lucas was to the point.
“Adrian Marrero is the contact at the local police station,” he offered. “He’s the homicide captain, but he’ll also jump in and help with Vice situations. That’s what he did before his promotion, so he’s familiar with both.”
Well, that was good.
“Thanks for the name.”
Lucas was to the point.
“The whole office isn’t going to be happy that we can’t handle this.”
Gene was aware.
“I would be, too, if I were in your situation,” he offered. “That’s normal. If I had it in my power to pass on this one, trust me, I would be.”
That seemed to calm the man down.
“Really, he’s in good hands.”
Oh, Lucas hoped so.
“Since he was my friend, is there any way that we can help? I know I speak for all of us when I say we want to see this from start to close, even if he was just boating and fell overboard. That’s our friend, and this needs to have closure.”
The second he said that, the ME looked up.
“And did the fish draw all these symbols on him? Like I said, I’ve seen them before. I just need to do some research to find out, but I’m going to hazard a premature guess and say he wasn’t just practicing tattooing with some greasy paint.”
The man laughed.
“It was an example, Doc. I know he wasn’t getting his rocks off by doodling on himself.”
Gene actually laughed.
The man was funny, and it was clear he’d been to the ME rodeo a few times himself.
“As for helping, let’s see how difficult this is going to be. Like I said, my partner is arriving tomorrow, and we’ll give you the courtesy of staying in the loop as we work it. If we can handle it on our own, you’ll be able to keep working the things already on your plate.”
Lucas sighed.
“Thank you for that. We greatly appreciate, at least, being kept in the loop.”
Honestly, it was the least Gene could do. If they did need backup, it would be nice to have some readily available.
He continued.
“I’m going to need a gun. Mine is back inPhiladelphia. I have my badge. Is there any way I can borrow one?”
Lucas nodded.
“I can get you that. We keep a spare locked in the car in case backup is needed. I can’t issue one to the detective,” he said, pointing at Corbin.
The man smiled.
“Not the gun I wanted to handle on vacation,” he joked, giving Gene a little piece of payback from earlier.
He stared at him like he’d lost his goddamn mind because clearly, he had.
