Somewhere else in the city...
A man sitsin a room filled with photographs of the Blackbird murders.Carefully arranged limbs, naked in death, surrounded by feathers.The room has a sour, smokey smell.The man is a silent sentinel, sitting with his head bowed in an almost reverent state.The silence shrouding him is broken by an infrequent, hacking cough.
An old-timer wakesbefore dawn and rubs his bleary eyes.His dreams are a long parade of faces that belong to people now long gone.Old friends, victims in cases he never solved.But as sleep recedes, the vivid images fade to muted colors.By the timehe’s walked from his bedroom to the kitchen to start making coffee, the memory of his dreams is all a muddle.Only the lingering sense of horror and sadness remains.
Three bikersin skull masks race up the road.They swerve toward the police precinct, and the middle rider dumps the bundle draped over his lap on the sidewalk before they all speed away.
Silva, walking in with his chai, hears the groans and rushes up to the writhing bundle.It’s a man, bound and gagged.A press badge clipped to his shirt reads, “Ted Raider.”
“Damn,” Silva says and waves to a pair of uniforms to help him get the poor prisoner untied.
Rex
My car dashboarddisplays the feed from cameras in front of the police precinct.I watch Fraternitas dump Ted at the front doors, right on schedule.Satisfied that Bonds has his witness, I lean back to enjoy the ride back to the Manor.
“Call Hamish,” I order.
“She’s still sleeping,” Hamish reports before I say anything.He knows this will reassure me, even though I have Alfie monitoring her.Still, I switch the camera feeds to show Inara’s sleeping form.
“I’m on my way back.”
“How did the meeting with the good detective go?”
I suppress a smile.I enjoyed the encounter more than I thought I would.The sneak approach, the disappearing act at the end.I have a touch of theater kid in me.“It went well.”
Hamish says nothing for a moment.I’ve learned to parse his pauses like a language of their own.Sometimes, they’re disapproving, and sometimes they’re thoughtful.This time, I think it’s the latter.“Do you think it’s wise to involve him?”
I picture Bonds’ weathered face, lit by the glow of his cigarette.“He’s involved in the case.We need a way to loop him in.”I know what Hamish is really asking.Do I trust Bonds?“I trust him to do his job.We need all the help we can get.”
Hamish doesn’t argue.He knows as well as I do that the killer’s still out there, and he won’t stop until he has Inara.
Inara
Monday,I drag myself to the police station.Rex told me that Bonds has already been brought up to speed on the whole Ted debacle, so I don’t have to explain.
Bonds takes one look at me and sends me to my desk to follow up on random leads called into the department.He doesn’t say that I look like crap.He doesn’t have to.
I do my penance, reviewing the leads and returning calls to get the statements.Most of the “tips” are crank calls or useless leads from retirees who just want to report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.By mid-afternoon, I’m finished, and my brain is soup.I could return to Bonds to get more work, but I know when I’m being banished.
I’m picking at my lunch when my phone rings.
Burgess, the screen reads, and I recoil.I saved my partner’s phone number when we were assigned to each other, but I don’t think he’s ever called.He’s been avoiding me, which suits me just fine.Technically, we’re still partners, but we’ve come to a silent agreement that we both work better alone.If what Burgess does can be called work.
I take a deep breath and answer.“Ramos.”
“Hey.”It’s Burgess.“I heard you found Ted.”
“Yeah.Dead end.”
“You busy?”
I don’t bother lying.“No, what’s up?”
“Got a call out.Someone called the station saying they found a dead body with a bird on display.I’m heading to the scene now if you want to come.”
I rise from my chair, ready to leave, but darkness passes over my vision, leaving me dizzy.Something is coming.Another body, another clue, maybe even a break in the case.I need to be ready.
When the shadows clear, Burgess is still talking.“Ramos?You there?”
