It wasn’t like her to be wishy-washy. She’d done worse things. She needed to just come clean and take the heat for her actions.
“Hey, I think I found him.” Jarek’s voice was excited. “Does the name Brian Stewert ring a bell?”
“Not even a little.” She quickly returned to her seat to see who he was referring to. There was a police report up on the screen. “He has a criminal record?”
“Oh yeah, drug possession with intent to sell.” Jarek tapped the screen. “Looks like he was arrested four months after Levine’s weapons charge. He did a six-month stint in jail but then was released.”
“Only six months for drug possession with intent to sell?” She frowned. “Seems light.”
“Yeah, well, unfortunately we have more criminals than room to house them all.” Jarek sounded annoyed. “Trust me, as a cop I don’t like this anymore than you do.”
“I can imagine. It’s hard to know that people you’ve worked hard to get off the street are back at it after a few measly months behind bars.” She hadn’t realized how good cops were fighting what seemed like a losing battle. Her past experience aside, she felt bad for Jarek. He was clearly one of the good guys. “Do you have a known address for him?”
“Same one as Levine, which as you know is no longer valid.”
“I guess that young mother was right about Levine and Stewey being pals. They must also have been roommates.” She glanced at Jarek. “They probably moved to a different place deeper into gang territory after their respective arrests. Especially considering Stewey served six months in jail. I can imagine that forced Levine to find a cheaper place to stay.”
“Strong possibility.” He worked the keyboard for a moment and enlarged Brian Stewert’s mug shot on the screen. “Does he look familiar?”
“I wish.” Stewey had greasy blond hair and light-blue bloodshot eyes. His mug shot didn’t do him any favors. He looked as if he’d spent the entire night drinking prior to being arrested. “I haven’t seen him before.”
“Okay, I have one more thing to check.” Jarek went back to work, pulling up the DMV website. “This is interesting. Stewey doesn’t have a car registered under his name.”
“Do you think that means Stewey and Levine shared the vehicle? If so, it makes sense that he was the one driving the beige Chevy.”
“Seems logical. It’s not as if Levine needs it anymore.” Jarek stared at the screen for another long moment, then pulled out his phone. “I’ll call dispatch and request a BOLO be issued for Brian Stewert and for the beige Chevy. His known association with Levine is enough to bring him in for questioning.”
“That sounds good.” She hoped the patrol officers found him soon. She sat back in her chair, realizing they’d done what they could with the evidence they had.
Except for the cell phone in her pocket. Bracing herself, she pulled the device out and set it on the table between them. “You’re going to be angry, but this is Gilbert Levine’s cell phone. I took it from the scene of the initial shooting before you got there.”
Jarek’s blue eyes flashed hot. “You tampered with evidence?”
She forced herself to nod. “Yes.”
Jarek jumped up and stalked away, raking his hands over his hair. She bit her lip, knowing she deserved his anger. Yet that didn’t stop her from mourning the loss of their earlier closeness.
And deep down, she knew if Jarek was upset about how she’d broken the law by taking evidence, she could never share the truth about her past with him.
That was a secret she’d take to her grave.
Di had stolen evidence from a crime scene! Jarek felt as if he’d been sideswiped by a semitruck. How could she have done such a thing? And worse, he was now complicit in her crime!
He battled waves of anger, heading outside through the back door where he could stare up at the ominous sky. How could she have done this to him?
Not to him, he forced himself to acknowledge. She’d swiped the phone before he’d arrived on scene. But that would have been a nice time to admit what she’d done. Not after they’d spent the better part of the evening working the case together.
What else had she done? Was there other evidence she’d tampered with?
He forced himself to take several deep breaths to get his anger under control. The biggest problem he faced was how to get this phone into evidence. There was no reliable chain of custody for one thing, and he didn’t relish the idea of telling Andrews about how Di had stolen evidence from the crime scene.
He resented her putting him in this position. Why on earth did she act as if the rules didn’t apply to her? It was tempting to slap handcuffs around her wrists and walk her into the precinct to face the music. But even as the image of tossing Di behind bars brought a sense of satisfaction, he knew he couldn’t do it.
Maybe his brain was as warped as hers.
When fat raindrops fell from the sky, he forced himself to back inside. Di was still sitting at the table, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.
She glanced at him, her expression guarded. “I’m sorry.”
