Heads Will Roll – Chapter Fifteen

NOT EDITED

After dealing with Gerry’s particular brand of ‘compliance’, Bridget had texted a picture of his shoe treads to Bo, and she and Jeff had headed out to Tina Young’s house. Jeff had just shifted into park when Bridget’s phone buzzed with a text back from Bo. “They aren’t a match,” she said.

“Damn.” A pause. “Well… not damn. I don’t know. It’s hard to say if it feels like a good thing or not.”

“Bad that we still don’t have Bonnie’s kidnapper, good that it’s probably not the bus driver,” Bridget said.

Jeff nodded. “Yeah, I can live with that deduction.” He turned off the car and pulled the key from the ignition, letting out a breath. “I, uh… I think we should call Rick in for this.”

“Why?”

“When Tina reported Bonnie as missing, I tried my damndest to talk her into believing Bonnie had just run away, that she just needed a break and would be back soon. She was so upset about it. Rightfully so. And, you know, sure, I eventually took the report, but I should have just done that from the start. Or called Rick over to do it. They know each other better than I know her these days.”

“Was she in your grade in school too?” After a moment, Jeff nodded. “Were you an asshole to her?”

“No. I don’t think so, anyway. We just weren’t in the same friend group. But Rick, you know. Bonnie and his twins, Peter and Jenny — they hit it off basically as soon as they came down here from LA. Playdates, sleepovers, going out for food and movies and shopping trips. I shoulda called Rick over so she had someone who… who would have given her the immediate comfort and respect she needed.”

Bridget reached over to lay a hand on his knee. “I do think that Miss Young will see that you’re working this case, no matter what you thought when she came into the station with that report. But if you think it’s better for her to have Rick here? Then I’m with you. You go ahead and give him a call, and we’ll wait here until he comes in.”

“Thank you, Bridget.”

“Of course. It’s what I’m here to do, remember? To help.”

“I know, but still. I keep thinking of how this would be going if Pitman had sent Baker instead of you, and… and from what Rick’s said, I don’t think she’d be supporting me emotionally.”

Bridget lightly elbowed him in the side. “Or sexually, huh?”

Jeff rolled his eyes, shifting enough in his seat to pull his cell from his pocket. “You’re a whole different fucking breed of person, Decker.”

“And damn proud of it.”

***

“Austen.”

Bo stopped writing, lifting his head to meet Rick’s gaze. “Another… scene?”

Rick shook his head. “No. Thank God. Jeff and Bridget are at Tina’s house to collect the stuff you wanted, but Jeff doesn’t feel comfortable being the one to go in, so I’m heading over there. Do you want to come with, collect it yourself?”

“No, that’s all right. I trust that between the three of you, you can collect fingerprints and hair that meet my standards.”

“You’re sure?”

Bo smiled. “I have complete and utter confidence in you.”

“Great,” Rick whispered. “You got… anything new?”

“Nothing that’s helpful.”

“So you have something.”

Bo let out a breath. “I will tell you, I promise. But I’d like to get you to Miss Young’s house first. When you return with prints and hair, then we can talk. Just you and me, okay?”

“Ah, so it’s for the ‘underground’ part of our case, huh?” Rick asked.

After a moment, Bo nodded. “We can take lunch together or something, give Bridget and Deputy Briggs an excuse to take an early lunch together, as well. Does that sound all right?”

“That works for me. I’ll see you in a bit, Bo.”

“See you soon, Rick.” Bo watched him walk back out of the room before allowing his gaze to drop to his coffee mug. He needed another refill to carry him through to lunch, where he’d hopefully be able to squeeze in a ten to fifteen-minute nap after he talked to Rick about the case. He pushed himself to his feet, grabbed his mug, and headed upstairs. For now, he’d settle for the station’s cheap coffee and creamer. After lunch, he’d ask Rick to head to whatever little shop Jeff had gone to for a better latte. He tried not to be too picky, so long as it had caffeine and didn’t taste like literal poison, but nice coffee was always, well, nice.

Back in the basement, he froze before he even made it to the doorway. Perfume. Perfume that was always worn by one particular pain in the ass.

Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath before forcing them open again and taking a step forward. “Detective Baker.”

Kathy turned toward him, one of his notebooks in hand. “One hell of an archeological find you’ve got here, Austen.”

Bo crossed the room, clearing his throat as he set his mug down on the table. “I can only assume Mister Pitman didn’t send you.”

“Mister Pitman. God, do you always call him that? Even when he’s not around to hear you kiss his ass?”

“A little respect for people goes a long way, Detective. It isn’t kissing ass. If it were, I certainly wouldn’t offer you the same respect I do Mister Pitman.”

She snorted. “Yeah, you probably wouldn’t.” Bo reached for his notebook, rolling his eyes when she held it up above her head and out of his reach. “Not so fast.”

Bo sighed. “What is it that you want, Detective?”

“I’m trying to figure out why Jamal sent you and Decker instead of me.”

“Because Ellepath is a small town? Because a department with absolutely no resources is a little beneath you and your pay grade? Because they need a walking forensics lab, and you and I aren’t exactly a good pairing? Take your pick, I suppose.”

“Please. You’d work with anyone if it meant helping some poor dead soul.” She shook the notebook. “Or in this case, one decapitated soul and a missing teen. Looks like you’re not thinking runaway.”

“She’s a straight-A student, and we have plenty of evidence that she was kidnapped.”

“Evidence is a damn strong word, Austen. Who made that call? You?”

Bo jumped up and snatched the notebook from her hand before jabbing her in the chest with it. “Just because you’re Chief’s little girl doesn’t make you smarter or better than anyone else. Everyone involved in this case made that call. You know just as well as I do that I do my best to keep my damn mouth shut about my own thoughts and opinions on a case.”

One corner of her mouth lifted. “Except for in your little notebooks. You just let everything fly in there, huh? The full… Bo Austen experience.”

“What do you want, Detective?”

“I want to make sure this case is done right. And with you on it, well…”

“You fucking Travis doesn’t make him a better analyst than me. Arguably, his willingness to sleep with you makes him an idiot.”

For the briefest of moments, she looked angry before she burst into laughter. “Jesus, Austen. You’ve finally grown some balls.”

“I’ve always had the ability to tell someone off. I simply don’t often have the desire to.” Bo pointed at her with his notebook before squeezing past her to drop back into his seat. “Your presence often brings out said desire.”

“I have that effect on people.”

“Yes, I’m very aware.” Bo flipped through his notebook, simply to confirm Kathy hadn’t physically stolen any of the pages from it. Everything appeared to be intact. “Very convenient that you just happened to show up when Bridget and the others weren’t in the station.”

“I know, right?” She perched herself on the corner of the desk. Between the stench of the alcoho, the horrid perfume to try and cover it up, and the general Kathy Baker asethetic, her very presence was nauseating.

“Aside from calling Mister Pitman to drag you back home, is there anything I can do to get you out of my office?”

Kathy laughed. “ ‘Office’ is a hilarious term for this little corner of the evidence room.”

“Unlike you, their ability to treat me like royalty or not doesn’t determine how worthy they are of help for this case. You wouldn’t want to touch a town this size with a ten-foot pole if it weren’t for the fact that I was assigned to it. You’re just mad that I’m one of Jamal’s pet projects, and you want to be the only one, because if he only has you, it’s easier to treat him like a piece of shit and still get everything you want from him.”

“You don’t know anything about me, Austen.”

“I know you a hell of a lot better than I’d like to, Baker.” Bo finally lifted his head to look at the woman again. “Now, are you willing to be an adult and go upstairs on your own, or I do I need to call Jamal?”

Kathy rolled her eyes, but much to Bo’s surprise, she jumped off the table. “I’ll go upstairs and wait for Rick to return. I’m sure he’ll be glad to know this case has someone with real insight now.”

Bo snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure he will.”

“Watch your fucking tone with me, Austen.”

“You’re out of your domain, Katherine,” Bo said. “You’re in Ellepath. You’re over a thousand miles away from home. I don’t have to watch shit.”

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