The Forsaken (10 page)

Jude made it to them before Chase could pull any real questions out.

“Not so tough now, are you, princess?” Jude scoffed, driving his foot into the man’s stomach. He pulled the body up and handcuffed him. Then he turned to the reporter. “What are you doing here?”

“I had him!” Rachel said defiantly, at length catching up. Her cheek was beginning to swell.

Jude cracked his spine. “Right. Look, Vallace, I asked you a question.”

“This is public property, Detective. You can’t stop civilians from checking out all the local scenery. I kinda like these parts.”

“Is that right? So you weren’t following us?”

Chase twitched his jaw, silent.

“As for you,” Jude began, heavily breathing in the face of his new suspect, “if you try to get cute again, you won’t piss right for days. That’s a promise.”

“Nice bruise,” Chase said to Rachel with a wink.

“Keep your distance. I know who you are.”

“Did your partner go and ruin our first date? Shame on him.”

“Just figured she had the right to know the real you,” Jude gloated.

Chase held up his hands in defense while he licked his teeth clean of any entrails left behind from the Snickers bar he had ingested moments earlier. “It’s a good thing you had a nice, strong partner to watch your back,” he said to Rachel. “But he might not always be there.”

“Are you threatening an officer?” she quipped, gun still in hand.

Chase noticed the weapon. “Pulling rank? You guys don’t play fair.”

“Don’t start, Vallace,” Jude sneered. “We’ve got enough on our hands.”

“You’re defending this slice already? Man, you really haven’t changed a bit. Still headstrong and insipid as ever.”

Jude began walking away, guiding his suspect back to his car.

“Need I remind you that you practically died? Do you really think you’re the right man for all of this?”

“Leave it alone,” Rachel said sternly.

“I love a woman who takes charge,” Chase added, making several perverted noises.

“I got my rights!” the suspect shouted.

“Shut up!” Jude tightened the cuffs.

“Is he hurting you?” Chase asked the suspect. “Be sure you get a good lawyer because this one’s a scary piece of work.”

“Get lost, Vallace, before—”

“Before what, Detective? What are you going to do? Plant some evidence in my apartment? Knock me around? You got nothing. But I got the world on you. You can hate me if it tickles you the right way, but I’m just here to do my job. Like you. Funny how that works. I want the story. And I’ll get it.”

Jude felt his molars grinding. “There is no story. You followed me for nothing. This poor excuse for a citizen,” Jude shook his cuffed suspect, “was caught dealing to minors. Who knew?”

“Man, that’s a lie!” the runner clamored. “I bought some, sure, but this ain’t right. I was set up to take the heat, I swear!”

“Yeah, yeah, princess, whatever you say.”

“Let’s hear him out,” Chase interjected. “Might be worth our while.”

“He’s coming with us,” Jude said. “Alone.”

The reporter tossed a stick of gum into his mouth and began to chew it obnoxiously. “Life could be a whole lot easier for you if you let me in. We could work together. Yin and yang.”

“I’d rather be euthanized,” Jude sneered. “I don’t work with bottom feeders. Take a hike before I drag
you
to the department too.”

“Empty threats. Rather pathetic.”

Jude clenched his fist and kept walking.

Rachel added, “Leave, unless you want this to get nasty.”

Chase studied her body intimately. “I’d like nothing less, sweetheart.”

Before he could blink, she punched him hard in the jaw, and her knuckles crunched. The gum flung out his mouth and rolled against loose rock and gravel.

“Looks like you got a story after all,” Rachel said in a domineering tone. “Perv gets slugged by a girl. Has a nice ring to it.”

Jude and his suspect exchanged looks of surprise with her.

“Gave him a chance,” she said in defense.

Jude grinned. Sparing no more time, he shoved the suspect into the backseat. Then he and Rachel got in the car and left the reporter hunched over on the ground.

13

THE DRAB WALLS OF
the interrogation cell surrounded them from all sides. A table sat isolated in the center, with two chairs on each end, and a manila folder placed on top. Jude paced the floor.

“So, Jerome White,” he said. “Wanna tell me why you ran?”

Jerome festered. “Man, I’m not sayin’ nothing ’til you people get me a lawyer.”

The detectives stared at each other.

“You know, this is one of those things that can go easy or get all kinds of complicated. Why don’t we skip the foreplay and you can just tell us what we want to know. We already had a team sweep your apartment.” Jude arranged and rearranged the evidence on the table. Drugs, a few guns, the usual. “But this isn’t news-breaking stuff. Not here. Why would my,” Jude scanned his brain for the right word, “
colleague
here get a call this morning about a petty hustler like you?”

Jerome sat tightlipped.

“I don’t like messy. Not one bit. Tell you what, though, I guarantee it wasn’t to tell us all about your community service.” He pointed to the drugs. “So who’s got a grudge, I wonder? And what do they want?”

“You’re a real stupid mess if you think I’m gonna spill anything to a honkey pig like you.” Jerome spat across the table.

“Take it easy! Ever hear of the word respect?” Rachel added from the corner.

“No, ma’am, why don’t you come over here and teach me a lesson,” he mocked.

“You have no idea why you’re here? Why we searched your dump of a home?” Jude asked in a low tone.

“Maybe you brought me in here to dress this place up a bit. What am I, the new interior decorator?”

“Funny. Let’s try this again. Detective Sutherland received an anonymous phone call from someone this morning. The caller gave us your address. We just so happened to have stumbled on a body last night. We figured we might as well open up a new case, see what all the fuss is about. Now, let’s cut to the good part. Suppose we find something on you?”

Jerome swore under his breath.

Jude tossed several photographs taken the night before on the table. “Was this guy a friend of yours? Business partner, maybe?”

“Never seen him before.”

“Really? Well, maybe I’m just reaching here, but somebody took off like a bat out of hell a few hours ago. A guy like that must be hiding something or protecting someone.”

“Fool, I’m out to save myself. This skin don’t wear so well in a jail cell.”

“Then tell us what we need to know,” Rachel said, arms crossed.

No response.

Jude rolled up his sleeve, took a sip from his coffee, and released a frustrated sigh. “You keep this up, clown, and a jail cell’s gonna be the least of your problems.”

“City cops always deal in threats?” Jerome bit back. “If you ask me, you’re the one hiding somethin’. I seen that mark before, the one on your left arm. That tattoo means you’re one of us. Used to be, anyway.” Jerome lifted his left arm and showed it to Rachel, almost gloating.

Jude scanned his arm, blocking the memories that sought to remind him of when he’d gotten it as part of his initiation. “The kid who got this brand is dead. Died a long time ago.” Jude dragged his sleeve down and concealed his arm.

“You can’t never kill who you really are.”

“This is not about me! You don’t even know me.”

“Funny. Yet you seem to have me all figured out.”

“Because I’ve seen scum like you before.”

“I’ll bet you have. Well, so has he.”

Jude went cold. “Who?”

Jerome glowed, satisfied by the reaction. His eyes grew wide as he whispered, “The

Devil Man.”

“Don’t play games with me!” Jude shouted, denting the table with his fists.

“Temper, temper,” Jerome snickered. “Looks like you was one of us after all.”

“What do you know about me? Who are you?”

“You’ll understand it all, I suppose, once the beast is done with you.”

“Who! Tell me who! Did Victor set this up?”

Jerome laughed a sick cackle. Jude’s face blistered a furious shade of red. He lunged for the throat. “Listen to me, you ghetto trash. You’re playing a very dangerous game. You will lose.”

“Somebody’s already checked out, huh? Man, you really have lost it.”

How could this creep claim to know so much about him? His mind didn’t like where this was going. But he believed he was still in control, for the moment.

“Detective, calm down!” Rachel said. “Let him go.”

Slowly, he released Jerome from his grip.

“You ain’t got nothin’ real on me, fool. Nothin’ I ain’t faced in the past. And you know it. Burns you up, I think.”

“Judges may have given you a slap on the wrist before. This time will be different, I promise.”

“Why? ’Cause you say so?” Jerome nearly roared. “Shoot, you ain’t nothin’ but a paper tiger trying to make me all jittery so you get what you want. Hell, I’m safer in here than my own hood.”

Jude calmed himself some. “Maybe we can both get what we want.”

“And what’s that?”

“You talk. Then we work somethin’ out.”

Jerome sat rigid in his chair. He slid his tongue behind chapped lips and crooked, yellow teeth. “Like a deal? Come now, whatchu think I want from you?”

“Play nice and you get to go back home, alone. Beats sleeping huddled up next to a cold wall with some guy named Lucy breathing down your neck.”

“Forget you, man. That don’t scare me.”

“Who’s after you?”

“You wanna keep riding this carousel, do ya? Told you, the Devil Man. Might as well be, anyway.”

“I need a name.”

“Give me a reason to tell you. You see a lawyer? Then I ain’t sayin’ nothing to nobody.”

Enough. If this filth wanted to play games, he was going to play by Jude’s rules. “Rachel, leave!” he demanded.

“Why? What are you going—”

“Now!”

She wasn’t about to fight him in the mood he was in, so she stepped outside. Immediately, Jude locked the door and turned to his suspect. He flipped Jerome’s chair on its back and dragged his knuckles through his face. After swinging several times to little more than snickers and laughter, Jude shook his fist and repeated the motion. Blood crawled underneath his fingernails, the way he liked it, the way he’d wanted it to earlier.

“Tell me!” Jude kept screaming. “Who are you working for? What do they want?”

Jerome choked up red.

“You smug—” Jude bashed his forehead into the man’s jaw and suffered the endless vibrations seconds later. Still, his beating did not cease. When would the gods outside the interrogation room bust in to stop him? How long did he have to tear information out from this weak flesh?

“You’ll lose…every…thing,” Jerome said, spitting a red vomit. One tooth slipped out onto the floor.

The banging on the door from the outside started. They wanted in. They wanted to stop the violent tactic at once. He knew they’d see it as only madness. He couldn’t let them in, though. Not yet.

“Do it,” Jerome taunted. “Finish me off. You want to. Do it! He’d want you to do it!”

“What does Victor want? Why did he come back! Does he have an accomplice! Are you working for him!” Jude screamed. Blood dripped from his hand and onto Jerome’s cheek.

“You’re doin’ everything right. Everything right, brotha. Just like you s’posed to. Just like I done.”

“Did Victor Sedeiko set this up? Answer me!”

“You want the truth, cop? You…want…truth?” A long pause. “We are what the Devil Man makes us. He’s gonna make you nice and slow, see. You ain’t gonna know what hit ya.”

“Tell me what I need to know, or I swear you’ll never walk again. Do you get me?”

“It’s already gone, man. Your life. Ha-ha-h-ha-h-ha. Your power don’t mean jack. Shoot me, if you got the balls. Bleed me. Men out there, they’ll take your badge. Speed this motha up, you’ll see.”

Jude released a scream and broke one of Jerome’s ribs. Rage took root behind his eyes—a dark motivation. He returned to bashing his blood-drenched knuckles into the man’s fleshy mouth and bruising face. “This is personal, you scumbag. If one more person dies because you don’t tell me what I need to know, I’ll come for you.” He leaned in close. “And your family.”

Jerome swung at him sporadically, while he could. He could barely swallow. A curse-filled, struggling breath came out.

In a matter of seconds, Rachel, Mike, and two others spilled into the room. But it was like Jude couldn’t hear anything. No noise around him. No whispers. No commands stifled with accusations. He hadn’t followed the book, not by a long shot. And he didn’t care. The blur of what followed took his mind away from here. What did Jerome know, he wondered, about him, his past? And who was his informant?