The man straightened his dress blues, and he, too, was red around the collar.
“I didn’t get a report from the detectives, so I came here, trying to figure out what was going on. This is Detective David Campora, who worked the grave robberies. We wanted an update.”
She didn’t care if he wanted a reach-around in a prison cell. This wasn’t his circus, or his rodeo.
“On top of that, we did get an autopsy report from our ME, and the eyes in the jars were embalmed. Somehow, we didn’t hear that from you.”
Yeah, well, she wasn’t shocked that the man was going to play this game. She’d told him off in his office yesterday, and there was no doubt he was stewing in his own juices.
Too.
Damn.
Bad.
When you danced with this devil, you sometimes got your feelings hurt.
“Oh, they were? Yeah, I was just coming in for my update. Did you also get the update about the new victim last night? And how that person was tied to this? The FBI, and by FBI, I mean me, believes that the person taking skulls and eyes is also killing them, so before you do the‘this is my jurisdiction’dance, it’s not.”
Frank didn’t like her.
“You’re problematic.”
She laughed.
“Oh, my God! You’re just figuring that out? Well, you’re late to that party. Let me guess. You think I got my job because of my truly spectacular oral skills?” she said.
He sputtered.
“Or was it my tits? Ivan, which is it usually? It bounces back and forth. I’ve lost count?”
Ivan played along.
“It’s fifty-seven for homicide captains who think it’s tits, and only fifty-two for blowjobs. We did have a hand job, and some witchcraft thrown in, but they barely broke double digits.”
Tora actually laughed.
Then, she tried to cover it with a cough, but the captain wasn’t having it.
“You think that’s funny?” he asked.
She shrugged.
“I mean, yeah. As a woman who’s harassed daily in your division, I find it amusing when people like us,” she said, pointing at Elizabeth and her, “call that misogynistic bullshit out. She just does it amusingly.”
Elizabeth had to hand it to David Campora. He was sayingNOTHING.
That was probably smart.
“You can get into my office, and we’re going to have a conversation.”
Tora paused.
Then, she went there.
“Actually, no, I’m not going to do that, you over-inflated jackass. You give me shit cases, and when I do get a good one, and I solve it, you take the credit in a media junket. You tell me to make your coffee, like I’m your housekeeper, and you talk down to me like my IQ is lower than yours. I’m not going in there, so you can talk to me like I’m your child. I’m not your fucking child, my dude, and you can take your ego, bend over, and shove it up your ass.”
He gasped.
