“Thanks for your concern, Ely, but Tara is fine.” Kasper smiles at me again, but this smile differs from the first one. There’s something ugly and sinister about it, and I almost shudder involuntarily. Instead, I raise my mug to him with a nod.
“Good to hear, detective. Good to hear.”
Kasper says nothing more as he takes his mug and shoulders past me. I feel the hate and anger pouring from his body as he leaves, and I want to stop him, to wheel him around and put my fist into that pretty face of his.
“Hey, Sarge? You’ve got a phone call on line two.” Behind me, our office manager Melanie pokes her head into the lounge, looking harassed, as usual, like she has so many other better things to do than working here for a bunch of dumb cops.
“Thanks, Mel.”
“Don’t thank me. Just come answer the damn phone,” Melanie says with a sigh, and I chuckle.
“On it, boss.”
3
JAMI
I spend the rest of the day at the hospital, seeing patients when needed and finishing paperwork in the lounge. Sleep doesn’t come easy to me, so I’m more used to running around on a mere few hours of sleep than a good night’s rest. Life of social work, I guess.
Around noon, when I’m about ready to fall asleep at the table, my best friend and ER nurse Renee Bates comes into the lounge carrying a stack of pizzas and a few liters of soda.
“Eat up,” she says with a grin, depositing the box onto the small dining table. “Eat here and keep me company. I love when you work in the ER.”
“Thanks, Ren.” I get to my feet and grab some paper plates and plastic cups out of the cupboard, then pour Renee and me some Dr. Pepper. She slides a piece of pizza in my direction, and I take a bite, savoring the spice of pepperoni blended with the sweet pineapple chunks. I wipe some sauce from my chin and look at Renee. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask … what do you know about Tara Hill’s case?”
“Tara Hill,” Renee muses, looking thoughtful as she goes to the fridge for some parmesan packets. She tosses one to me and sits back down. “Tara Hill has been admitted to the ER almost five times in the last year,” she says. “Every time, it’s the same story, but with different variants. A fall down the stairs, body caught in a slamming door, etcetera, and so on.”
“But the wounds aren’t consistent with her story, right?”
Renee shrugs, pursing her lips, and I can tell she doesn’t want to say it aloud. But she does. “No, they’re not. So unless she’s beating the shit out of herself, she’s not falling down the stairs and running into walls.”
“Has her husband been here every time?” I ask, and Renee nods.
“He escorts her everywhere. I don’t think she’s been here without him even once. If you know what I mean, everything seems to happen to her under his watch.”
“I wish she’d just say it.” I lean back in the chair and fold my arms across my chest, fuming. “All she has to do is ask for help, and we’re there. We can protect her. So why won’t she justsay it?”
I already know the answer. And so does Renee. But she says it anyway.
“Fear,” she says. “Fear for herself and her daughter, most likely. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Kasper has used Madison against her. That’s how these men work, you know. Use the most important thing to the mother as a threat, as a form of control, and she’ll be too afraid to stand up to him, even if the threats are unfounded.”
I close my eyes and take a breath, thinking of the little girl and her innocence, and I know it’s only a matter of time before Madison doesn’t come back from this. It will stick with her for the rest of her life if she survives in the household for that long.
“I couldn’t do it,” I say finally, chewing on my lip. I don’t realize I’m doing it until I can taste the metallic blood pooling inside my gums. “I couldn’t stay in a relationship like that if I had a daughter at risk. My concern for her would outweigh my fear for him.”
“Maybe,” says Renee with a shrug. “But this guy isn’t your average Joe, Jami. He’s bad news. He has power and pull. She’s just trying to do what’s right by her daughter by not provoking him.” Her voice drops a bit, and she leans in like she’s about to tell a dirty little secret. “I’m betting that half of Denver PD know his stories are bullshit, but they’re not going to say anything because many of them are as corrupt and power-hungry as he is.”
“That’s a generalization,” I point out. “Jake isn’t corrupt and power-hungry, is he?”
“Nah,” says Renee. “He’s good at his job, and he loves it. But Jake isn’t high enough in the ranks to say anything without possibly facing a backlash. He can’t risk his career on a hunch, especially if Tara Hill has no intention of calling Detective Hill out on it. There’s nothing anyone can do until Tara steps forward, and that’s the reality of it.”
“What about Madison? What if she told the truth?”
Renee shrugs, her face falling. “It would spark an investigation, probably, but Madison would most likely end up in foster care while it’s being investigated. And even then, thanks to the badge Kasper Hill wears, it might not even go anywhere. Honestly, it could make things worse for them.”
I groan and toss the remainder of my pizza aside. A migraine tugs at the corner of my eyes, and I work on massaging it away, but I know it’s no use. It’s a stress headache; my life is just one smoldering ball of stress.
“I’m sorry about everything,” Renee says, watching me. “I know it’s hard. I learned early on that some things are out of my control, especially when it comes to law enforcement politics. People have tried to bring the shit down in the past, but it never worked in their favor. Hence why it’s still happening every day, and no one can do anything about it. We want to, but we can’t.”
