Authors: Andrew Hess
“Damn court sessions.” Claire hung up her phone and grabbed her things. There was only one other place she could go to vent. She wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but she needed to blow off some steam. She needed to let her anger out. There was only one place she could go to rid herself of the fear and anger that filled her every breath..
Exhaustion consumed me as I stumbled through the station doors Monday morning. Rodney wasn’t too far behind me and looked just about as out of it as I was.
“Morning,” Rodney grumbled as he took his seat across from me.
I collapsed into a chair and folded my arms over my head. Desperation for coffee was at an all-time high. I knew I wouldn’t make it through the day, let alone the next two hours, without it. I could feel my eyelids getting heavier until they shut tightly. Drifting into a peaceful sleep was exactly what I needed. But let’s face it, peace was never this station’s forte. The moment I let my guard down, a heavy door slammed against the wall. I sprung to life and searched wildly for the cause only to catch Rodney falling out of his chair. The station erupted in laughter, even Rodney and I smirked at his misfortune.
“Ryan, my office now!” The Lieutenant stood in the doorway to his office. His face was redder than an apple. Veins bulged from his neck and forehead. Seeing Rodney fall did nothing to change his attitude, and I knew I was the reason for his latest rage infused outburst. Ordering Rodney and Detective Thornton to go on an unauthorized stakeout was a big mistake, but felt it was necessary at the time. Of course it was going to blow up in my face, and I was prepared to face the music.
The funeral march music played in my head as I dragged myself to Esposito’s office.
Dum Dum De-Dum Dum De-Dum De-Dum De-Dum.
I crossed the threshold and closed the door behind me. “You wanted to see me Lieu?”
He didn’t make a sound. He didn’t flinch. It was almost like he was a wax sculpture of a middle aged Colombian man that happened to resemble my commanding officer. Without another word being spoken, I took a seat across from him and waited for Lieutenant Esposito to rip me a new one. He stood up and paced around behind his desk. The silence was killing me. I wasn’t used to him being so quiet, especially knowing he was pissed about something.
“You know why I called you in here?”
Because I sanctioned and carried out my own stakeout and involved Rodney and another detective from a different county.
It was the truth, but I wasn’t going to admit something that could be used to put me behind the desk again or some other course of disciplinary action. “No sir,” I mumbled.
He chuckled lightly to himself. I was getting more creeped out by the minute. “I know you, Rodney and Detective Thornton spent the weekend watching over Ambrose’s house.” He said Ambrose’s house, not Ambrose’s house and his secretary. “Who the hell told you to do that?”
I wasn’t going to back down or act like a little school girl being berated by the principal. I stood up and slammed my hands on the desk. I was nose to nose with the Lieutenant. “A.D.A. Reed didn’t give us the warrant we needed. She told us we had to wait until today. So we waited. But we made damn sure no one went near that house to possibly tamper with any evidence.”
He eyed me suspiciously. He knew there was something more I was hiding. “Did someone have eyes on Ambrose’s office or that secretary?”
Did it look like I was born yesterday? We both knew that was a trap. There was no way I was going to admit that one. “I plead the fifth.”
Esposito’s smile widened. “I figured as much.” He reached into a pile of paperwork that sat on his desk and slammed it down in front of me. “I believe this is what you’ve been expecting.”
I looked down at the paper. It was the warrant to search Blake Ambrose’s house. “What about his office?”
“There was not enough evidence to support a claim to go in there. Plus the whole attorney client thing is at risk.”
“Damn it,” I snapped while snatching the paper from the desk. There were so many that wanted us to catch Ambrose’s killer, but still allows the red tape to hold up the investigation.
“Be happy you got the warrant for his house. A.D.A. Reed had to push the evidence hard and had to really convince the judge to permit the warrant to go through.” He relaxed in his chair. “Take Rodney with you. I’ll call ahead to the DCPD and have Detective Thornton meet you there along with the C.S.U. team.”
“Great,” I sighed while exiting the office. The walk back to my desk was different than I expected. I thought the Lieutenant was going to yell, shout, threaten to make me scrub the toilets or demote me down to crossing guard, you know; his usual threats. Instead, there was renewed life in my step as I approached the sleeping giant in the desk across from mine. Rodney’s feet were propped up on his clutter filled desk until I swatted them. His legs kicked and thrashed in the air as he tried not to fall again. I grabbed his leg and put an end to his comedy routine. “Come on; get up.” I held up the warrant. “We got the go ahead to raid the asshole’s house.
**************************************************************
Blake Ambrose lived in a large white house with stone work siding. Massive bay windows lined the front of the house, making it easy for us to peek inside. Hardwood floors blanketed by beach, mountain, and nature inspired area rugs covered what I believed to be the dining, living, and entertainment rooms. It had the makings of a luxurious lifestyle that I was sure Ambrose enjoyed.
We pulled up to Rossway Road around ten in the morning and found half a dozen squad cars with Ulster County and Dutchess County insignias on them. Apparently we weren’t the only ones anxious to find out what kind of secrets Blake Ambrose was hiding. Detective Thornton was already there looking just as tired as Rodney and I were. To my surprise, he wasn’t leading the charge into the house. He sat nonchalantly on the hood of his car eagerly waiting for my arrival. A tinge of pink hit his cheeks the moment he saw me step out of the car. I tried not to notice him, or at least let him know that I noticed him. It was time to take control of this investigation.
“Okay everyone; listen up.” All eyes were on me. “In a minute, we’ll be opening the doors. I want everyone wearing gloves at all times, no slip ups. I want this search done by the books. Be on the lookout for any type of strange bottles of liquid, pills or medication that could be used for recreational purposes.”
Rodney followed me to the door. We knocked first, knowing full well no one was there. We had to be sure there weren’t any surprises waiting for us inside. When there was no answer, Rodney squared his massive frame and slammed his shoulder into the door, busting it open near the lock. The house was much more lavish than I saw from the window. White suede couches lined the walls in the living room with fifty inch flat screens were prominently displayed in every room.
“Alright, let’s spread out,” Detective Thornton commanded. “I want every room searched; leave no stone unturned. If this prick was hiding something, I wanna know about it.” For the first time since meeting him, I felt Detective Thornton gave a damn about the case instead of worrying about himself or getting laid. For a brief moment, my opinion of him changed, that was until he grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs.
“What the hell...”
“Just come with me for a minute Ali,” Thornton asked nicely. His eyes pleaded with me to listen. I wanted nothing to do with him after he showed up unannounced on Saturday and nearly blew my cover. If this was his attempt at an apology, I wasn’t in the mood for it. Yet for some reason, I still let him take me away from the group.
“What is it? What do you want from me?”
“I just wanted to...”
“Save it. I’m not in the mood for an apology. In my opinion, it never happened. Let’s just forget about it and get to work.”
The confident suave mask he wore was ripped away. I saw the hurt in his eyes. He bit his lip, partly in anger. “Look, I fucked up all right. I shouldn’t have messed up your stakeout.” He turned to walk up the stairs.
“That’s it? That’s all you’re sorry for?” I stomped up the stairs after him. I grabbed his hand and spun him around. “That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
“What else is there?”
“The kiss,” I whispered. “You kissed me.”
Thornton’s finger traced my jaw and settled on my chin. “Ali, that’s one thing I don’t regret, and I’d do it again.”
I swatted his hand away. “You ever kiss me or touch me again, I’ll burn your lips off with acid.”
“Feisty, I really like that about you.” He reached for my hand, but I pulled it away. I could hear footsteps ascending the stairs behind me. I turned and saw Rodney making his way up to us.
“What’s going on up here?”
“Nothing, we were uh...” I was still at a loss for words.
Thornton stepped into Rodney’s view. “We were just about to check out the bedrooms up here. You wanna help?”
“How many we got up there?”
Thornton tossed his head from side to side. “I’d say we got about three rooms and a bathroom.”
Rodney nodded. “Hey Reyes,” he shouted to the first floor. “Get your ass up here. We can use an extra pair of eyes.”
My eyes silently pleaded with Rodney to pair Reyes with Thornton. He must have read my mind because he motioned for the kid I once called rookie to follow the man I could not stand being in the same room with. Rodney and I split from the others took the rooms to the right. The first had the look and feel of a movie theater. Black leather chairs sat next to each other in unison, each with their own cup holder. They faced a screen much larger than we found downstairs. This one spanned the width of the room. Rodney pushed on the chair and saw it reclined. He sat down in it and lounged back in it.
“I think we’re supposed to be working not relaxing.”
He rolled his eyes at me. I hate when people roll their eyes at me. It’s so disrespectful. It was just what I needed for me to release some of my pent up anger. My foot slammed between Rodney’s legs. I didn’t hit him, but the placement of my heel was enough to make him jump up with a very worried look on his face.
Rodney’s hands covered his manhood. “What the hell’s your problem?” He saw my hands were clenched and the anger that was taking over me. He stepped behind the chair as if his question was about to provoke me to take another shot.
“We’re here for a reason. Let’s just rip these rooms apart, find what we came here for and get the hell out.”
We checked every crevice of the room, even the mini concession stand that sat in the back of the room. But we never found anything, not even a cornel of un-popped popcorn was out of place.
“What’s going on between you and James?”
“James? Who the hell is James?”
“You know, Detective Thornton.”
I flashed Rodney another angry look. “Nothing is going on between us.” I looked around the room one more time, satisfied that there was nothing there we could use as evidence. “Let’s move onto the next room.”
Rodney stepped in front of me. His massive frame blocked me from exiting the room. “Oh no, something’s off between you two. What happened?”
“Nothing, now get out of my way.”
“No way Ali, I know when you’re lying to me. Something happened and you’re holding out on me, now spill.”
“Rodney, I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Shit, something really did happen? What’d he do?” The memory of Saturday night replayed in my head. I could feel my finger trace my bottom lip as if it could still feel Thornton’s lips there. “He kissed you.”
“Shut the hell up,” I snapped while shoving him against the wall. My forearm pressed against his chest forgetting he was a lot taller than I was. I backed away feeling more tense and stressed than I did on the stairs. “You wanna tell both departments?”
“Did you guys...you know?”
“Ew Rodney, no we didn’t. I would never.”
“Well you kissed him.”
“No, he kissed me and I pushed him away.” I cleared the hall to make sure no one else was listening to us. “Let’s go before your big mouth gets us in trouble.”
The last room we had to check was a bedroom. We thought it was the master bedroom, but with the way Ambrose had it set up, it looked like something designed from a horrible porno. A large queen sized bed sat at one end of the room. Next to it was a nightstand and an empty metal trash can with a plastic liner in it. The nightstand had two large boxes of condoms.
“Ali, I think we’re in his...” The thought had me dry heaving. I held up a hand to stop Rodney from finishing his sentence. “Sex room.”
“Get the analysts up here now. I want them to go over this room with a fine tooth comb.” Rodney moved to exit the room and clicked on the lights that illuminated the rest of Ambrose’s playroom.