George groaned. “I hate this.”
“That we probably won’t be able to get him?”
“That too. No, the fact that one of the theories we discarded as too unlikely turns out to have been accurate.”
“We didn’t know, we couldn’t know, and we followed logic. Logic isn’t always right, as we both know.” Andi wasn’t happy about the turn of events either, but there was no way they could have approached the case differently, and if Gartner was as thorough as Andi suspected, it wouldn’t have done them any good. The outcome would have been the same.
“Let me ask Shireen if she has found something else. If not, I suggest we drive by Dominic McHill’s house to see if there was foul play involved in his death or if we can leave it to Narcotics.”
George was in agreement, and after Shireen had told him to have a little more patience, they drove to Thrasher Drive. Dominic McHill’s house was still taped off, which didn’t hinder Andi in the slightest. One quick dip into the minds of the arthropods revealed McHill had indeed been alone when he had taken the lethal dose of heroin. Nobody had forced his hand, nobody had been there, and Andi wondered who would mourn his death. Somehow he didn’t think Sophia McHill would be overly sad. He closed his eyes for a moment, wondering how this tangle of toxic ties they had unearthed during their investigations would resolve itself. He wasn’t very optimistic it would do so at all.
“Nobody was here when he died. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t murder, doesn’t mean the H he bought wasn’t laced on purpose. Nothing we can prove one way or another. The report from Narcotics says his dealer is known for diluting his merchandise. I’m inclined to write this off as a tragic accident.” Andi shrugged. “Well, a foreseeable accident. Let’s call it a day. Our own reports are mostly done, Gartner won’t go anywhere, he’s too experienced to panic, I have no desire to see the chief again today, and I’m hungry.”
George nodded. He seemed almost relieved that there wasn’t a new lead to be found. Andi could relate. “Let’s get takeout at that Indian place and have a nice meal on your veranda. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect.” Andi grinned happily.
THE CURRYwas wonderfully spicy, the mango lassi cool and soothing in comparison, the raisins in the rice easy to find and remove, and the paneer just the right kind of soft. Andi leaned back in his lounge chair, completely sated and ready for a nap. George reached for his beer, staring into the garden.
“We have to decide what we’re going to do about the chief.”
Andi sighed. “I was under the impression you already knew what you wanted to do.”
“I do. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to discuss it with you, especially since it’s probably going to affect you more than me, depending on how things go.”
“Explain.” Andi had a pretty good idea what George meant. He just thought it a good idea to have it all spelled out once before he decided to bring even more drama into his life—and drama it would be, there was no doubt.
“This was the second time she basically told us to tamper with a case to make her look good. During the Castain case, she even took the case from us. I have it all in written form, our latest interactions a lot more detailed than what happened before. Plus we have the official reports, so there’s little she can say to get out of it. Things are pretty clear-cut in our favor, but Chief Norris didn’t get to her position by being stupid.”
“Could have fooled me,” Andi interrupted, which earned him a grin from George.
“Granted, she hides it well. Anyway, she has the means to make things ugly for us, depending on who IA is going to believe more.”
“Which means there’s a good chance they’re going to look into all our cases.”
“And not just ours. If things go really south, they might start sniffing through all your cases.” George took a sip from his beer. “Are you absolutely sure they’re all above suspicion?”
Andi hesitated, thinking back on all the cases he had solved. Most of them had ended with the culprits behind bars, and only a few had been too flimsy for the DA to succeed.
“They won’t be finding anything in the reports, if that’s what you mean. I’ve always been extremely careful.” He hesitated. “And I think the accumulation of instances where my gut instinct was spot-on can be explained away with me being very intuitive, or so I hope.”
“Sounds solid.” George was playing with the label on the beer bottle, ripping tiny pieces of paper off the glass. “Or as solid as it can get.”
“You’re not sure what to do?”
After a long silence, George answered, “No. I want to get rid of her because at this point this isn’t merely about you and me anymore. She’s willing to tamper with cases for her personal gain or out of spite against us, which is not a desirable trait in somebody who’s in charge of an entire precinct. Her inability to differentiate between personal and professional life makes her unfit to be chief. And then there’s you.” George sat up in his chair and stared directly at Andi.
“Me?”
“Yes. I feel responsible for you, not just because you’re my partner, but also because I really like you, which has never happened to me before, and because you need somebody in your corner.”
Andi opened his mouth to object, but George wouldn’t let him. “You’ve helped so many people at great personal cost, and I can see how it’s getting worse. I don’t want to add to that burden by starting a war with the chief.”
Andi snorted. “In case you haven’t noticed, weareat war with the chief. And I’d rather do the final battle against her with the prospect of things getting back to normal afterward than stay in this precarious situation we have now where everything we do can be potentially used against us. You said it yourself—she’s not stupid, and I bet you my house she’s already gathering evidence against us. If you think we have enough to get rid of her before she can launch an attack, I’m all for doing it.”
“I never realized you can be so violent.” George raised his bottle in Andi’s direction. “Grumpy and antisocial, yes, but not downright violent.”
“I only let it out when needed. Too much hassle, usually.” Andi shrugged. His belly was comfortably filled, demanding to rest, and George’s presence helped him keep the world of arthropods at bay. As far as Andi was concerned, the evening couldn’t get any better.
