Power (16 page)

“I cannot divulge my source.” She shook her head, that lush mane of black hair bouncing around her slender shoulders.

As anticipated, that was exactly what she’d said three times already.

“You and Deputy Chief Harris have made quite a team.” If he hadn’t been so pissed off, he would have recognized the envy in that statement before he stupidly uttered it.

The abrupt change in Gina’s expression made it worth the damage to his ego. “You think Jess Harris is my source?” She laughed. “Like I would take her word for anything after she used me to announce her fake resignation.”

The move had been a brilliant one. Jess had wanted the Player to believe she was on her way out with the BPD. The ploy had worked. Obviously Gina was still unhappy that Jess had left her holding the bag, so to speak.

“What you did last week,” he confessed, “contributed to saving at least two lives.” His was one of them. His side ached with the memory of the Player’s knife sliding deep and then twisting.

“Glad I could be of service to the Birmingham PD by looking like a fool.” Gina stood. “I am glad you’re okay. Really. Even if you didn’t bother calling so I wouldn’t have to read it on my teleprompter.” She squared her shoulders, accentuating the way the dress molded to her body. “Nice to see you, Chief.”

He stood but before he could pull together a proper way to smooth over the incident she executed an about-face and walked out of his office.

Until about two weeks ago he and Gina had enjoyed a good relationship. A nice, mutually gratifying arrangement with no strings and no frustration.

What the hell had happened?

Jess
.

Every aspect of his life had been tilted out of control since her return to Birmingham.

You needed her
.

Yeah. He had needed her. He’d called and she’d come. Then he’d made sure she had every imaginable reason to stay.

A smart man would admit when he’d made a mistake. Dan chuckled under his breath. Maybe he just wasn’t a smart man. Because he simply couldn’t consider any aspect of Jess staying a mistake.

Speak of the devil, she opened the door and walked in. There was no way Jess and Gina could have missed each other in the lobby. What he would give to have been a fly on the wall.

“I don’t know what you said to Coleman”—Jess hitched her thumb toward the door—“but she’s not happy right now. She didn’t even say hello.”

What
he
said to her? “Did you ponder the idea that maybe her attitude has something to do with your faux resignation last week?”

An
oh
expression claimed Jess’s face; then she shrugged. “I guess some folks like holding grudges.”

“Sit,” Dan directed.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

“Please.” Jesus Christ. He really needed to get his frustration level under control. Personal feelings had no place in this office. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the chair Gina had vacated a couple minutes ago.

Jess sat. The ivory skirt she wore slid up her thighs as she crossed her legs. She hadn’t mentioned having taken up running but he couldn’t remember her legs looking that amazing even back in high school.

She cleared her throat.

Dan snapped his gaze up to hers. Which didn’t help a whole hell of a lot since all that gorgeous, thick blond hair framing her face made him think of how it felt slipping over his skin when they made love.

Resuming his own seat, he gave himself a quick mental kick in the ass. What the devil was wrong with him? He was mad as hell about this damned leak and yet he couldn’t keep his head on straight.

“Whoever is responsible for this leak is jeopardizing the just and speedy closure of this case.”

“Unless Ms. Coleman had getting even on her mind, she surely told you I had nothing to do with that. I’ve been a little busy with gangs and a missing young man.”

“This leak has turned the entire investigation on its ear.” Dan intended to say his piece before letting her off the hook. “Chief Black is exploring every aspect of the Chandler case. He has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate Darcy’s death was anything other than a tragic accident. This sort of buzz in the news doesn’t help solve the case; it only hurts the family.”

Jess folded her arms over her chest. “He’s ignoring the bruise on her leg? The one that could only have been made by the second-floor handrail as she was tossed over the side?”

His distraction with her hair and those gorgeous legs vanished as his frustration amped back up. “Funny you mention that. Somehow my mother obtained knowledge of the ME’s preliminary examination of Chandler’s body. I can’t imagine how that happened. Though she might have mentioned having lunch with you.”

Jess held up her hands. “Your mother invited me to lunch and I accepted. As weird as that sounds, you cannot possibly believe I shared sensitive information with her.” She scoffed or maybe coughed to prevent choking at the mere idea of sharing anything with his mother. “Whatever problems you’re having with the women in your life, Chief, have nothing to do with me.”

He didn’t doubt her word but something was up where his mother was concerned. She’d asked about Jess and the case and suddenly there’s a leak. Chief Black had already warned him that the Chandler family was not happy with the way he was leaning but no one wanted a public scandal.

This was exactly why chief of police was as close to politics as Dan ever intended to get.

“When did you discuss the preliminary results of a case that isn’t yours with someone in the coroner’s office?” Jess wasn’t Gina’s source; of that he was certain. And, as she pointed out, the odds that she had given his mother anything other than a hard time were slim to none. Yet she wasn’t being completely straight with him. He knew her too well.

“That question is irrelevant. Why were her shoes set aside? What about the way she had to hike up the skirt of her dress? Feels like a lot of prep work for accidentally falling over the railing. And the bruise she got near the time of death matches the width and pattern of the handrail. So unless she climbed on something before jumping and then that something somehow got moved before we arrived, there is no way she jumped. Why aren’t those questions being asked?”

Oh yeah. She had spoken to Schrader. That was the only way she could know about the bruise. He and Black had had a lengthy discussion about each of the inconsistencies she’d named. Dan was well aware of how the situation looked. But charges could not be levied unless they had evidence and motive. Speculation would not win a case in court.

“We’re a team, Jess. All of us. You, Black, me… the whole department. I understand you reached certain preliminary conclusions about this case but the case is Black’s. If you have assessments or gained knowledge that would be of use, then by all means, share that knowledge with Black. But don’t walk around with this you-against-Black or you-against-me chip on your shoulder. That won’t help us get the job done.”

“I think maybe you need to have this conversation with Chief Black. I have my doubts as to whether he’s interested in hearing anything I have to say. And, frankly, it sounds like the case is already closed.”

Dan held up his hands in surrender. She was more right than she knew.
Keep the peace
, he reminded himself. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe Black doesn’t care what your assessments are, but I do.” He settled his hands on his desk. “Give me your latest thoughts on the Chandler case. I’m listening.”

She stared at him for a moment as if assessing whether he was merely patronizing her or not. “What’s the motive? Evidence alone isn’t enough. We both know that. And when there’s no evidence, motive is everything.”

“Since we don’t have any evidence,” Dan argued, “and no clear motive, we don’t exactly have a case for anything other than accidental death.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Well, now, Chief, that depends on your definition of evidence and motive.”

“Touché,” he capitulated. “There are obvious inconsistencies that may or may not fall under the usual evidence categories, but those haven’t led us anywhere. As far as motive, Chief Black has dug deeply into all those close to the victim. There’s a sizable insurance policy the husband is set to gain, but he has an alibi that is confirmed by his cell phone records. He was, as he stated in the initial interview, at the Botanical Gardens when he and Darcy spoke last and during the time frame of her death.”

“He could have paid someone to do the deed,” she countered.

“Chief Black found no evidence to indicate that was the case.”

“What time did that final call end?”

He picked up the file on his desk and reviewed the list of calls made from Mayakovsky’s cell. “The last call ended at twelve thirty-one.”

During the hesitation that followed, Dan could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She was calculating the time it took to drive from the Botanical Gardens to the Chandler home.

“Fourteen minutes,” he said, relieving her of having to deal with the math. Chief Black had provided a Google map of the most direct route from the gardens to Chandler’s home. “Sufficient time for him to have removed the battery from his phone so that it didn’t reach out to any towers—or just leave it at the meditation garden until he returned—drive to Cotton Avenue, throw Darcy Chandler over the railing, and drive back without being seen.”

“But you don’t believe that,” Jess challenged.

“I do not.” Like Jess, Dan had some pretty good instincts of his own. Mayakovsky might be lying about a lot of things, but he was telling the truth when it came to how much he loved his wife. That, of course, didn’t mean he hadn’t flipped out and committed an impulsive act, but proving that would be almost impossible without some sort of evidence.

“What about the affair she was having? Was that avenue pursued?”

How the hell could she know about that? “What affair are you referring to?”

She shrugged. “It’s probably just a rumor. I heard she was having an affair this go-around instead of the husband. Maybe the Russian didn’t like having the tables turned on him. Maybe that insurance policy started to look better and better. Or maybe the guy involved in the affair rubbed him the wrong way.”

“As I said, Chief Black has investigated all areas of both Mayakovsky’s and Darcy’s personal and professional lives. If Mayakovsky was having an affair, we found no one who could corroborate those rumors. And, just so you know, the prenuptial agreement provided for a settlement that’s equivalent to the insurance payout, so money is not a viable motive.”

“What about the dance moms? There are those who would do most anything to ensure their daughter’s position on the competition team. Corrine Dresher certainly seems the type to go to great lengths to get what she wants. And her daughter was the one who found Darcy
and
the one wearing the white boa.”

“Chief Black is on top of it, Jess. He has given due consideration to anyone at all close to the victim. Darcy Chandler spent a lot of hours with her dancers that morning, including Katrina and her white boa. You need to trust him and me on this.”

“I’m really trying, but—”

The intercom on his desk buzzed. Damn it. This was not the time for an interruption. He’d asked his secretary to hold his calls.

“Are we done here?” Jess stood. “I have work to do on the Simmons case. And that might be important.” She nodded toward the phone on his desk.

“That can wait. I need to know we’re on the same—”

The damned intercom buzzed again.

“We can finish this another time.” She turned and strode toward the door.

“Jess, wait.”

Ignoring him as she so often did, she opened the door and came face-to-face with Annette.

His secretary, Sheila, tried to peek beyond the two women. “Chief, I—”

Instead of moving aside, Annette and Jess started talking at once. Sheila shook her head and walked away.

“I’m sorry for the interruption,” Annette was saying.

“We were finished anyway,” Jess tossed back.

He’d spoken to Andrea not two hours ago and she’d seemed fine. Had something else happened that Annette felt couldn’t wait?

The door had scarcely closed behind Jess and Annette was already around his desk and in his arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“What happened?” His impatience and frustration wilted.

She burrowed her face in his jacket and murmured, “Brandon is leaving me and I don’t know what to do. I need you, Dan.”

If Jess were really lucky she would escape the building without running into any more trouble. Being called before the boss once a day was plenty. Running into his ex-wife in his office was just icing on the cake.

Things felt strange between her and Burnett since he’d showed up at her motel room way after hours with Annette’s perfume on his jacket. Maybe the whole strange thing was her imagination running away with her. Or his way of keeping the necessary distance on the job. But it felt like something more complex than simply being discreet.

Annette just kept showing up in the mix. Jess didn’t want to be jealous of her. If Annette needed Burnett’s help with Andrea, Jess certainly understood. But it hadn’t felt like Andrea was having real problems related to her abduction when she and Jess met earlier to view the video. Sure, the kid had reason to be all screwed up, but she’d seemed more determined than anything else. A little sad, yes, but mostly determined to help solve the mystery around her dance teacher’s death.

Maybe Annette had decided she wanted Burnett back. A massive knot immediately formed in Jess’s gut. Annette and Brandon could be falling apart again. It had happened before.

Jess couldn’t slow down to consider the concept or why she felt as if she’d swallowed a bag of rocks one by one. She needed off this floor and out of this building. Fact was, she didn’t want to analyze those confusing and abrupt feelings she suffered way too often of late. Burnett’s love life was no more her business than Annette’s was. Jess had made it clear with her rules that her relationship and Burnett’s was more like an adult version of friends with benefits.

God, had she just thought that?