Brutal (5 page)

I ain’t no rookie, I’ve seen my fair share of shit, but nothing, and I mean nothing, could prepare me for what was done to her as a kid. Where I fucked myself was I read the file, then looked at the photos. Should have never looked at those photos. Her unconscious, tiny body in that big hospital bed with tubes coming out from all over, stitches up and down her sides, tubes of all sizes between her little legs. I’m man enough to say I chucked in my garbage can.

Now she’s sitting here eating pretzels. Looking at the file, I can’t figure out how she got from there to here.

Rafe brings the shark of an attorney, Julian Perret, in while the Captain heads back to Venessa to release her. This is really fucking backwards. Even being in the same room with Julian Perret makes my skin crawl. This is the kind of guy you see coming, and you turn and walk the other way. I stay in the shadows, observing. The people he gets off are the same people I’m trying to lock up. Except for her, of course. The second the attorney starts yapping, I know we’re fucked. Having him here on her behalf is not good, not fucking good at all.

“Mr. Gallo has plans with Ms. Cross this evening, so you have only moments to inform me of the charges that were brought against Ms. Cross, Captain Frisk,” he says, as the Captain prepares to leave the room.

“I’m aware, Mr. Perret. We have ourselves a misunderstanding. It’s being corrected as we speak. You will be able to speak with Ms. Cross in a moment. Until then, wait here, please,” he calmly states and excuses himself.

The Captain makes his way to Venessa, and I can’t help but notice how tired she looks. She works nights, so I’m guessing the stress of the events is wearing her out. I’m worn out myself, wondering what the fuck the Captain is doing, wishing I could be in there with her because she needs a champion whether she knows it or not.

I
know what you’re thinking: serves you right, Venessa. But, seriously? We all have issues. My ass is numb, these tights are crawling up, and my feet are swollen. I’m sick of sitting here eating pretzels one at a time, and the Captain’s reasons for bringing me here are bogus, and we both know it. Why would he have me arrested instead of just talking to me?

Just as I prepare to stand and pick my tights from my ass, the Captain walks in looking tired and worn. God, I missed that man. He was a brilliant detective, and a second dad to me. Now he’s the big guy, the Captain, which we all knew was coming, even back then. True story: I started calling him Cap when I was ten because I knew he would be the big guy one day so, whatever excuse he’s about to give is fine with me, as long as it ends with “you’re free to go.” I’m a lot of things, but a fool isn’t one of them. I know he has an agenda. I grew up with cops. I’m pretty sure in school their first class was Agendas 101.

I may love and miss him, and even though not a day passes that I don’t think of him, I can’t show him I’m vulnerable. The loss of my parents and sister affected his family, too. The fact that I’m alive and breathing is a constant reminder of what they’ve lost, and no one needs that reminder shoved in their face. The Captain, Diane, and Gary I know wouldn’t be proud of me, or understand why I’m driven to do what I’m doing. So, to be fair to them, I stayed gone.

It’s been right about ten years, and I still wonder if Gary cleaned himself up, or if his parents gave up on him. Knowing the Cap and Diane, I don’t think they ever would give up, but the last I saw of Gary in passing, he’d lost so much weight I’d hardly recognized him. He was my best friend, my first crush and he broke my heart.

Letting them all go was like losing my family all over again, but even today I stand behind my decision. Being here is seriously difficult. The looks of pity, these people thinking they have an idea of what I’ve been through. Yeah, they don’t. That’s why I stayed away from here too; poor little Venessa. Poor little Venessa, my ass,.I turned out just fine.
You do what you must to survive.
I remind myself of that, and of the pain I see on the Captain’s face when he walks in. So I do what I always do to protect those I love and ensure my own survival. I shut that shit down.

S
tanding in the back corner, hidden but aware, I watch her cock her head to study the door, knowing the Captain is on the other side. I look over at the Captain, seeing the agony on his face knowing she’s on the other side, too; he misses her, and this is killing him. I’ve memorized her file; one of the items highlighted was her short stint at the Captain’s house after she got out of the hospital. She was tight with his son, raised together, too, but he got into bad shit and the Captain never speaks of him, ever. The day she became legal she left, and never came back.

Looking at the timeline, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. She left the Captain’s family, refused professional treatment, then – according to the owner of Lush – started working for him about three years later, but was a regular prior to that, even though she was a minor. She was just a kid getting over losing her family and almost her own life; she went from the girl next door, to the club scene.

Lush isn’t your average club, its hard core. She’s tight with the owner, Gallo, and several other unsavories, and the two men who ‘allegedly’ brutalized her wound up dead in the alley behind the club she works at. Staring at the file under my arm, then looking at her perfect face, it just doesn’t make sense. But the truth of it is, it does make sense. I just refuse to believe it.

I’m so fixated on her, it catches me by surprise when I see it. What I saw was more than just the woman sitting patiently in room 2b, waiting for the Captain to release her. I can actually ‘see her’, and when I stilled myself and really fucking paid attention, I realized I can see it clear as day. Looking past her beauty, which is unquestionable, there’s a coldness about her that she’s trying really hard to hide. But it’s there, this woman Venessa, or Kharma – well, fuck, both are straight up everything I’d hoped she wouldn’t be, but she is. It’s there, you just have to look for it. It’s not hard to see it when you know what to look for. I should know, I see it myself every time I look in the mirror.

She’s as ruthless as I am.

The Captain throwing the door open cuts me off from the path I was on, so I focus on what comes next instead, and that would be turning on the speaker.

“Venessa, I want to apologize for what happened tonight. You aren’t being charged. Due to lack of evidence, we can’t hold you. Your hair was found at the scene of a crime, but until the warrant was issued, we had not realized that the crime scene and your place of employment were one and the same. So your hair being on the scene makes sense. We’re still going to look into the case, but not with you as a suspect,” states the Captain.

This makes no fucking sense to me. I just heard the guy not twenty minutes ago telling her how the guys go there to check on her and watch her perform. He knows where she works. Where is he going with this? If I had hair I’d be pulling that shit out right now.

“Also, Mr. Gallo’s attorney is here, waiting for your release, but before you go, I was hoping you and me could catch up over a cup, friend to friend? I know you don’t like being here, but seeing you again made me realize how I’ve failed you. I’m worried about you, and the people you run with Venessa. These people are dangerous. You know what? No more shop talk. Let’s talk, just you, me, and a cup? Whaddya say?” The Captain smiles, and I have to say the old man impressed me tonight. Venessa impressed me even more. She knows something’s up and isn’t showing her hand. But she’s curious, I can tell. I’m fucking curious, too.

I
’m exhausted. My ability to be polite and stay seated should win an award. I just want to go home, and forget tonight ever happened. Seeing the Captain again is a punch in the gut, being charged then not charged for a crime is a kick in the face, and the whole Tony thing is messing with my head. The only thing keeping me here is curiosity. You don’t make Captain by being a push over. He’s up to something and dammit I
am
curious and just a tad pissed. More than anything, I feel a presence, it’s hidden right now, but it’s there watching me, and I need to find the source.

“The attorney is here? Does he know I’m free to go?” I ask politely

“He is, and he does. Do you want to speak with him?” asks the Captain

“Yes. I also need my cell returned. Your officer took it out of my pocket and I need it. Oh and Captain? Don’t worry yourself about the company I keep. They’ve been my family for years, and you know how I feel about my family,”

The Captain nods and opens the door to allow him in.

“Ms. Cross ,I’m Julian Perret, Mr. Gallo’s representation, and now yours. You are free to go, Ms. Cross. Mr. Gallo is waiting for you back at the club, and has a driver here for you to use at your disposal,” he says smoothly.

“Thank you, Mr. Perret. Once I get my cell back, I’m going to call him, and let him know I’ll be there after I speak with the Captain. He’s um…well, I’ve known him since I was a kid, and I told him I’d have a cup before I go. I haven’t seen him since…in a long time. Then I’ll head back to the club and meet up with Tony after I settle a few things
here,
” I say with a bite. I’ll do what I want, when I want to do it.

“If that is your wish, Ms. Cross. As your representation, I advise you to take care of matters and then leave,” he says.

“I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary, you can bet your ass on that. I’m going to let the Captain know that, and then I’ll be in that car. Do you need to wait for me?” I ask.

“We trust you implicitly, Ms. Cross. Call Mr. Gallo. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to hear the news,” he says.

“Thanks, I will,” I say heading toward the door. Just as I turn to leave I say quietly, “Mr. Perret, I want to apologize for disrupting your night, but thank you for being here.”

“Ms. Cross, Mr. Gallo was quite adamant that I be here for you in his stead. Any friend of his is a friend of mine. For him to even ask me to be here on your behalf speaks volumes. And in this case, I am happy to deliver. The DPD has a lot to answer for regarding this stunt. Between you and I? They’ve made some very powerful enemies tonight. We’ll talk soon. Here’s my card, and if you need my help, use it. Until we meet again. Goodnight,” he says.

“Goodnight,” I say, taking his card.

Wishing I could be anywhere but here, I gather what’s left of my courage and head toward the Captain’s office. I swear to you it was just like yesterday that I was here. It hasn’t changed a bit. It looks the same, and even smells the same. The only notable difference is that the Captain has more pictures on his desk since my last visit. I look over and see the photos of Gary and I, when we spent our summers up at Lake Michigan, playing in the dunes together. We would race our quads, and sneak out at night to swim. He was my best friend then, before everything went to shit.

Suddenly sad, I remember all over again those I left behind. I set the photo down with care, wishing my life was different. That I was normal. I wonder if the Captain was right, and that my dad wouldn’t be proud of me. Exhausted and heart sick, I sit in the hard plastic chair and prepare to call Tony while I wait for what’s coming. I’m not getting out of here that easily, I know it.