Heads Will Roll – Chapter Five

NOT EDITED

Almost two thousand miles away, in California, Bo Austen lowered himself into one of the chairs in front of LAPD Chief Jamal Pitman’s desk. The older black man offered a smile. “I know being in the West Department makes you a bit uncomfortable, and I’m sorry for that. But I didn’t want to pull you aside at East and make people start talking about you.”

“I appreciate that, sir,” Bo said, his voice soft. Quiet. “Is everything okay?”

“Absolutely. But I have a proposition for you, if you’re willing to hear it.”

“I’m still not willing to work at West, sir.”

Jamal chuckled. “Oh, I know, kiddo. I’ve long since given up on that dream. No, I wanted to talk to you about being… leased out to another department in need of someone with your skills.”

“What department?”

“When you transferred to West for a bit after the Mammoth case, do you remember working with Rick Downs?”

After a moment, Bo nodded. “Briefly, but yes.”

“He was good to you, wasn’t he?” Jamal asked. Bo only nodded. “He’s in Iowa these days, at a small sheriff’s department. They don’t have a lab or a lab tech. Evidence has to be sent out to be analyzed. Normally that’s not a big problem, but right now, they’ve got a teenager missing, and they’ve pretty much ruled out the possibility that she ran off on her own.”

“When did she go missing?”

“Yesterday after school let out, it sounds like.”

Bo lifted his left hand just enough to get a good look at his watch. “I’ll go. She still has a very good chance, and I’d like to help further improve that if I can.”

Jamal smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. Do you want a detective with you?”

“I… It doesn’t have to be Miss Baker, does it?”

He snorted before shaking his head. “Of course not. If you want someone with you, the ‘someone’ is entirely your choice. But if you’d like suggestions, I was thinking you might like to take Detective Silver or that blonde officer you like. Decker, I believe?”

“I can’t take Dallas off of a case, and I can’t…” Bo shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Bridget isn’t a detective. She’s an officer. She’ll never have what she needs to be promoted if she doesn’t get cases to work.”

“She’d be working a case with you. The location of the case doesn’t matter, as far as I’m concerned. What matters is she works one and sees it through. Where that happens doesn’t change if she’s deserving of a detective’s shield or not.”

Before Bo could respond, the door to Jamal’s office opened. Katherine Baker stood in the doorway, one hand on her hip, the other clutching a travel coffee mug. Jamal couldn’t help but wonder what the ratio of coffee to booze was today. God, if only her father could see her now. He wasn’t certain who he’d be more disappointed in — Katherine for turning out this way, or Jamal for allowing it to happen.

“Where’s he going?” she asked.

“It’s none of your concern, Katherine,” Jamal said. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Bo shrink into his seat, seemingly trying to disappear like a turtle into his shell.

“If the fucking basement geek is going somewhere, I am going somewhere. Where is he going?”

Jamal sorted through the files on his desk with a sigh. He grabbed the one Franklin, his bodyguard, had drawn up for him almost immediately after Rick had called him. He held it out to Katherine, who stalked across the room and snatched it from his grip. “It’s a body from over seventy years ago. They found it encased in concrete. They want Bo’s help identifying the victim and determining if it was an accident or a homicide. There’s no one to question, no cameras to check, no scenes to canvas. It’s lab geek work.”

She flipped through the folder. “Than why the hell is he taking Decker with him? And who the hell is Decker?”

“She works at the East Department, which also makes her none of your concern. Bo works well with people he already knows, and I want to make sure he has a familiar face at his side.”

She rolled her eyes, tossing the file at Bo rather than Jamal. The man flinched, but he managed to catch it against his chest. “Whatever.” She walked back out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

Jamal closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a breath. As he forced his eyes open, he blew out a harsh sigh. “I’m sorry about that, Mister Austen.”

“It’s all right.” Bo cleared his throat. “Thank you for… this. Instead of, you know, the truth,” he said quietly.

Jamal nodded. “Of course. So. Decker?”

Bo’s affirmative nod was short. “Yes, please.”

“Perfect. I’ll get everything arranged, and Franklin will take you and Miss Decker to my plane. You’ll be in Iowa very soon.” Jamal pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. “Thank you, Bo. Your help in Ellepath will be incredibly appreciated.”

“I’m happy to help wherever I’m needed.” Bo offered a smile. “Except for the West Department.”

Jamal chuckled. “I know, kiddo.” He rounded the desk and gave Bo’s shoulder a tight squeeze. “Go on back to East and collect what you’ll need. I’ll call you when everything’s ready.”

***

Though Jamal had told him his people wouldn’t need a ride back from the airport, Rick couldn’t help but feel like not being there was very un-Midwestern. Rick had only been outside for ten minutes when two blondes walked out of the airport. The woman was dressed in a standard police uniform, and the man was dressed in a flannel and blue jeans. Though it’d been a long time since he’d seen the kid, Rick still recognized him instantly.

Rick pushed himself away from the cruiser. “Bo. Looks like you grew an inch or two.”

Bo rolled his blue eyes, but a faint smile tugged at either corner of his mouth. “Just a hair. Hardly worth mentioning.” He moved his camera case over to his left hand and held out his right, which Rick promptly grabbed and gave a good shake. “This is Officer Bridget Decker. She’s my… Well, ‘babysitter’ is the word that comes to mind.”

The woman laughed, bumping Bo’s shoulder with her own. “Bo’s the genius lab geek, and I’m his people person.”

“Ah, so you’re still a little shy, huh?” Rick asked as he shook Bridget’s hand.

Bo seemed to consider the question a moment before simply lifting his shoulders. “I expect to be given a relatively hard time no matter where I am. Bridget helps mediate that a little.”

“Good. To the mediation part. Being given a hard time is less great.” Rick pulled open the back door of the cruiser. “We’re only about twenty minutes out from Ellepath. I brought along Bonnie’s case file in case you wanted more of a rundown on the drive, but there isn’t much in there right now.”

“That’s all right. I generally work from nothing and build from there,” Bo said before ducking into the car.

Bridget laid a hand over Rick’s on the door. “If anyone is going to find this girl, it’s Bo. I promise.”

Rick offered a smile before she slid into the car. He closed the door, blowing out a harsh breath. He hoped Bridget was right. That Jamal was right. That Jeff was right. Bo Austen was their best chance at finding Bonnie before it was too late, and every damn second that passed was a second closer to her kidnapper turning into her killer.

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