“She described the killer as a big man and when we asked her if she thought she could remember the face of the man who’d done it, she told us she’d try. She described the man as very big, looking nothing like the two men who assaulted the priest last night.”
“Okay,” I said, glancing down at the sketch of a face similar to Wes.” When I looked up at them, both detectives looked serious. “Yer sayin’ the girl described my friend, Wes? Ya think Wes is a murderer?” I felt my stomach fill with butterflies.
Cassidy nodded. “We’re not ready to say that yet, Patsy, but this is the police sketch of the man Marigold described. You must admit, the resemblance to your friend Wes, is too close to ignore.”
I stood and began pacing, crumpling the sketch in my hand as my mind raced. I could feel my heart beating so hard I thought my chest was going to explode. I forced myself to take a few breaths, blowing them out slowly as I heard Napoleon calling my name. When I looked back at him, I realized I’d pacedto the opposite side of the massive bullpen. I walked back when he beckoned, finding my chair, and dropping into it on shaky legs.
“So, yer here to tell me ya think my friend is goin’ about killin’ people?” The two men said nothing, but the stern look on both their faces said volumes. “Bollocks! Yer both off yer rockers,” I shouted, feeling my face flush with anger. The gentle giant of a man I knew would no more kill someone or associate himself with thugs who beat up a priest, than I would.
“Now, listen here,” Mike said icily. “We only came to you with this because he’s your friend and we thought you deserved to be put on notice that we’re bringing him in for questioning.”
I felt white hot rage as I sat forward. Before I could punch the older detective in the nose, Napoleon covered my forearm in a firm grip, making me think twice. I glared at him as I yanked my arm out of his tight grasp.
“Patsy, settle down,” Nash said.
My other teammate had gotten up from where he’d been sitting several feet away and walked over to join us. I glared up at him too. “Fuck off. What they’re sayin’ can’t possibly be true, Nash. Weston Chaudry is a nice, peaceful bloke. He’s not a killer! He wouldn’t do somethin’ like this.”
“Whether he is or isn’t, has yet to be determined, Patsy,” Cassidy said. “All we want to do is talk to him.”
I looked at him skeptically. “Just because he’s homeless, you’ll treat him like every other cop!”
“Just what’s that supposed to mean?” Cassidy thundered as he rose to his feet.
“Because I thought ya were mates. It’s why I called ya and not 911 last night.”
“Wearefriends, Patsy.” He didn’t wait for me to dispute that before turning to his partner who stood beside him. “We made a mistake coming here first, Mike.”
“What the hell is going on here?”
Napoleon and I got to our feet as Candy strode into the bullpen with a fierce expression on his face. “I can hear the shouting all the way back in my office.” He looked at the two detectives and acknowledged them with a nod. “Cassidy… Mike…it’s nice to see you. What’s happening?”
“We came here to ask Patsy if he knew where we could find Weston Chaudry,” Cassidy said, thrusting the paper in his direction and pointing down at it as Candy took it from his hands. “That’s an artist’s rendering of a suspect who killed a man and then sent men to threaten a little girl and her mother by way of their priest. We only thought of Chaudry because we met him last night at Father Gilmartin’s residence after he was assaulted. We wanted to know if Agent Good knows where we can find him since they’re acquainted. Like I said…it’s why we’re here.”
Candy stared at the two detectives for a second before looking back at me. “This does look like your friend, Wes.”
“I know it bloody does!” His frown deepened. My hands clenched into fists as I tried to calm down. “Sorry, boss,” I said quietly, doing my best not to go crazy. I knew Wes had nothing to do with something as heinous as a murder. He didn’t have it in him. He was a kind, gentle soul, but as I stared at the paper in Candy’s hand, I couldn’t help feeling like my world was suddenly fraying at the seams.
I took a deep breath. Though I didn’t know Cassidy Ryan and Mike Williams well, I trusted them. I knew they were good at their jobs. They’d worked with Lincoln Snow’s team for yearsand they were considered friends with most of the people in the office. I ran a hand through my hair as I tried to calm down.
“Look…I’m sorry I yelled…it’s just ridiculous to think that Wes could have anything to do with Father Gilmartin’s assault, much less a murder.” I turned to Cassidy. “Do ya even have a body?”
“She took us to an alley where she says the murder happened and as it turns out, a manwasfound dead there last week.”
I frowned. “This is an open homicide case?”
Cassidy and Mike both nodded. “Yes, but it’s not our case which is why it didn’t immediately ring a bell. Once we pieced two and two together to confirm a homicide had happened in that same alley, we contacted the detectives working the case.”
“And what did they say about it?” I asked.
“We haven’t heard back from them yet,” Cassidy said. “They work out of the Hollywood division.”
“So, if I understand, you two are workin’ a case that isn’t even yours.”
Cassidy exchanged a long look with his partner. “No, but upon deeper scrutiny, it turns out that the victim has ties to a case Mike and I are working.”
“Deeper scrutiny?” I asked.
“We ran the name of the victim and read the report of the body found in the alley, Patsy,” Mike said. “You know that cases overlap sometimes. Criminals don’t pay attention to what division they commit crimes in.” I hated the way he referred to Wes…suggesting—once again—that he was a criminal. “Patsy, you must understand that we need to talk to Chaudry to find out what he knows about this.”
