Uncovering Officer Smith (The Discovering Trilogy #2) (36 page)

That nurse was right; I need to figure out what I need.

Becca is a distraction. She’s keeping me from what I should be doing. There is a ticking time bomb over here at NCU and I mean to find him – them.

Now, that we have a last name it should be easier to track at least one of them down. Matt and I walk into the North Commons Admissions Office with our subpoena. We don’t know the last name of the second guy, so it is only for the address of the one named Pat.

It takes them a few taps of the computer to tell us he is in a fraternity. I should have known. But that only means he has more avenues of distribution than we originally thought. With the address on Fraternity Row, Matt and I head back to the station. The less time I spend on campus, the better. Even the thought of running into Becca is a beautiful distraction – one I don’t need.

We got some back up together and a few drug sniffing dogs and headed off to raid the frat house. At the very least, we would definitely get some kind of drug conviction. This would not be a total loss. My fists are clenched the entire drive.

Matt let me take the lead on this one. I was the first in the house. All I recall are college kids flying everywhere, some hiding things, while others frantically called their parents. The last group runs.

We catch them all. They line up against the wall as the dogs search the house. The last on the line is a weasely kid. Big nose on a thin face, little arms, and two front-teeth that stick out just a little bit further than the rest. He’s one of the kids that had Becca’s unconscious body wrapped around his tiny little arms.

I grab his shirt and shove the kid into the wall behind him. “Pat, is it?”

“How… how… do you know my name?” he squeaks.

“We had a lovely talk with your mother.”

“My mom?” His eyes widen.

“I hear you like to slip girls the date rape drug.”

A few of his friends in line snicker behind us, but my eyes never leave Pat’s. He looks like he’s about to soil himself.

“Let’s take them all in.”

The precinct is buzzing. The dogs found a ton of goodies, including the rest of Pat’s GHB stash. We booked a few kids for possession, but Pat has been sitting in interrogation for about an hour now. I can’t seem to get the energy to go in there.

“Smith?” Chief Carson’s voice echoes behind me.

“Yes, Chief?”

“Let Todd take this one.”

“But—”

“You’ve done enough. You’re too close to this case.”

“I can do this.”

“Save it.” Her hand flies up to stop me. Matt slips past us and into the interrogation room.

Chief and I stand there staring through the two-way mirror as Matt begins. Weasely-Pat begins to cry. We have this kid right where we want him.

“You did good, Smith.”

“Huh?”

Chief turns to me. “You just had the biggest drug bust in this town in years. You caught the attempted rape suspect red-handed.”

“Not both of them.”

“Brett, his name is Brett Johnson,” the shrieky voice cries.

“Now you did.” She smiles at me. “I’m going to recommend you for that detective position, John – if that’s still what you want.”

With a deep breath, I respond, “Of course.”

We catch Brett a few days later. He is the one attending Oneonta College. Pat called him down for a weekend of ‘bitches and booze’ and he came crawling. We captured him on the parkway heading into town.

Brett doesn’t cry in interrogation like Pat did. He’s the stronger of the two. The only thing he calls for is a lawyer when we reveal we have him on video.

That’s when Chief Carson calls me into her office. We have to organize a line up. She wants me to call the victim. Well, here goes nothing…

My phone chimes, the screen coming to life under a few study guides I made. More than a few actually, it took me a while to get back on track. It appears I fell pretty far behind in only a matter of months.

“Ugh, what now?” My hand slips under the sheets and pulls out my beat up old phone. I’m expecting another overbearing text from my mother. She’s been checking up on me an insane amount lately. Instead, what I find causes my heart to race.

The name alone raises my blood pressure:
John

My finger glides across the screen, unlocking it. My hand twitches as it hovers over the green ‘Message’ icon. What can it say? Can I handle this? Hope springs in my chest, the possibilities gnawing at me.

Finally, I tap the button. My heart hammers in my chest as I click on his name and begin reading:

Your assailants have been arrested. We’re going to need you to come to the station for a line up.

I stare at the screen. I think maybe I’m waiting for more or maybe I’m still in shock. I’ve been dreaming and hallucinating about receiving a text from this man. But now I want to take all that time back. It’s so formal, so calculated. This man does not love me. I’m just a job to him, just another case to solve.

Meggie bursts though the door just as the tears begin to fall. Her laughter carries from the living room. Shopping bags are shuffling as she comes bounding in, only to stop short.

“Oh, Becca?” Dropping the bags on the floor, she says, “Let me call you back.” She hangs up the phone and tiptoes over to me. “Becca? What happened?”

I slide the phone over to her. She reads it. Then picks it up and reads it again.

“What a douche!” she exclaims on the third read.

A sob escapes my lips, and the tears come unbidden now. “I guess this is good news,” I try to rationalize.

“Yeah, you can put something behind you.”

I nod. We grow quiet again.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

I meet her eyes. “Yes, but Meggie this is it.” Her face scrunches. “I’m going to put this to bed and then I need to leave.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t stay here anymore. One text from him and I doubt my whole existence. My hands are twitching, craving a drink.
Things
are too accessible here.” I fight more tears. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Meggie and I walk into the precinct hand-in-hand. Her presence alone is enough to comfort me. I thought about turning around a million times on the ride here, but one look at Meg and she centers me again. I pause halfway down the walkway. A gentle squeeze of my hand is all she has to do before I take a deep breath and continue. She’s my backbone when I feel like jelly. I’m glad I brought her.

Butterflies have sprung up inside me. I had Meggie text him back, stating we would be there at three in the afternoon. A part of me isn’t ready to see John again. The other part wants to punch him in the face.

Meggie holds the door open for me, allowing me to walk ahead of her. With all the strength I now possess I walk through the threshold of the precinct. I keep my gaze down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, but I can feel him. His eyes speak to my soul. I lose control when I raise my head and see him; it's as though I can’t breathe. He has this control over me, one that I will never understand. His eyes are my weakness, my kryptonite.

Meggie attempts to squeeze my hand again, but I’m lost. The past few months are a blur. As if they didn’t happen, I want to run to his arms.

“Becca,” he calls from behind his desk. Climbing to his feet, his perfectly pressed navy blue uniform makes me bite my lip. “You’re early. Let me get things together. Stay right here.” He points to two chairs at his desk. His partner, Matt, waves at me from across the room. I shoot him a small wave back before sitting down to face Meggie.

“Are you okay?”

I shoot her a small nod. Too small: she’ll see right through the attempt. Despite everything that is happening, she stays by my side holding my hand. She even attempts to crack a few jokes, which I can’t fully process. That is, until John walks back into the room. I stand to my feet.

He walks up to me, eyes gleaming, and hands remaining in his pocket. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

I follow him, forgetting that Meg is even there. He guides me down the hall to a doorway on the left and opens it. Inside, is a small room with three other people inside. One looks to be his boss, the others are lawyers. I can tell from their suits and the arrogant way they carry themselves. As I glance at the lawyers, I realize I could never be like them. Being a lawyer isn’t for me anymore. Before me looms a huge dark window. I barely hear what his commander is instructing me to do.

All I feel is John at my side. “Take your time,” he whispers.

I glance up at him. His blue eyes peer down at me with compassion. I don’t understand. How can someone who has compassion for me treat me as he did?

I turn away before the tears can form. Slowly, the door opens and a line of men walk into the long room across the window. I know exactly who it is before they all walk into the room. The guy holding the number two is Pat—One of the guys from the bar. John found him, like he promised.

“Do you recognize anyone in there, Becca?” his commander asks me.

“Number two,” I croak. My voice is hoarse, finally speaking for the first time.

“And where do you know him from?”

“He and his friend bought me a drink at the bar.”

“Okay.” She nods to me before pressing the button on her walkie-talkie. “Bring in the next group.”