Page 40 of Devil's Hour
“There are times I wish I kept hard liquor in my desk,” she said when he entered her office and shut the door. “The mayor is furious that we don’t have any leads or answers for her. She’s accused me of not taking it seriously and stated she’s personally calling the FBI because these vigilante bullies have hacked their phones and computers. I think her world is imploding, and it’s easier to lash out at me since she can’t get at The Purists. I didn’t remind the mayor of her blasé attitude when I informed her about the site.”
“Sorry, Chief. I feel like I’ve let you down.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Locke. It’s damn hard to fight an invisible enemy, so I didn’t bring you in here to chew your ass. I want to discuss strategy going forward. Until the FBI physically shows up to take over the case, we’re proceeding as normal. A thought occurred to me while the mayor was lamenting that this wouldn’t be as big of a deal if she were a guy.”
“What’s that, Chief?”
“We need to take a closer look at the mayor’s enemies. This seems especially personal to me. I want you to look at the former mayor and the city council members who oppose her at every turn.”
“And Skip Goodwin,” Royce added. He couldn’t shake that there was something more going on there.
“Yes,” she agreed. “What does Skip know about Lynette and Ryan’s relationship, and when did he know it?” Chief took a deep breath and released it. “If you’re a praying man, request divine intervention to help us keep this site quiet until we get it shut down. I know the mayor is hedging her bets that people won’t stumble across it, but—” Chief’s words cut off when she saw Royce’s grimace. “What is it?”
Royce blew out a breath and told her what Kelsey had discovered. “I’m not a computer geek, but it looks really bad.”
“She’s finished,” Rigby said.
“I don’t even know if that’s the extent of the damage because you called me in just as we discovered it.”
“The Purists could’ve linked it to any type of porn search or even how local governments work,” Rigby said, sounding stunned. “It won’t be long before the newspapers and radio stations pick up on it. I need you to get out there and beat the pavement. Pull all personnel who aren’t working priority cases.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Let’s find out if Blue has any updates for us,” she said, hitting the speakerphone button and dialing his number.
He answered on the second ring. “Hello, Chief.”
“I have Locke with me, Blue. We’re checking in to see how the investigations are coming along.”
“We just started the third location, Chief. There isn’t a lot of physical evidence remaining, but the origin and burn patterns are identical to the first two locations. We’re looking at the same arsonist. We’ll wrap up the third location and report back to you, ma’am.”
“Thanks, Blue. I want the two of you back here to compare what you found to the fires from convicted arsonists. I have three potential suspects I want you to look hard at. Locke’s team will conduct neighborhood canvasses at all three locations.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Blue said.
They said goodbye, and Rigby disconnected the call. “You have your orders, Locke.”
“Ma’am,” he said with a curt nod. “What about surveillance of our three suspects tonight?”
“I’m going to need something stronger than speculation before I can authorize it,” she said wryly. “Call your team together, debrief them, and assign interview responsibilities.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I want updates. Lots and lots of updates. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to call the commissioner.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, then quickly left her office. Sawyer glanced up when he approached. “Call Jonah and give him the latest information. He can plug that nightmare video into Stella and see what else we get.” Glancing around the bullpen, he saw that all eyes were on him. Word had gotten around because everyone was present except for a few of the vice detectives who were undercover and unavailable to go knocking on doors. “Listen up, grab something to drink and meet me in the conference room for a debriefing so I can pass out assignments.” Energy buzzed through the bullpen as the team members reacted to his command.
Royce felt Sawyer staring at him, so he turned and met his gaze. Sawyer blinked, clearing the emotion from his eyes, but not before Royce saw arousal in their dark depths.
“You’re so good at this,” Sawyer whispered.
Sawyer liked it when Royce flexed his authority, and Royce liked that Sawyer liked it. At least the day wasn’t a total shit show.
Chief wanted them to beat the pavement, and they did. Royce split them up into teams; some were interviewing the mayor’s enemies and others were canvassing neighborhoods where the arsons took place. Sawyer was in the first camp, and Royce was in the latter. As the day wore on, Royce realized they were facing an uphill battle. The three arsons were committed in some of the poorest neighborhoods where cops weren’t respected or trusted. Royce chose the first fire scene, sending Ky to the second and Ashcroft to the third. He encountered a variety of reactions—none of them flattering or surprising. Some slammed the door in his face, an elderly woman told him to get fucked, a few remained polite but said they hadn’t seen anything, many demanded to know why the police suddenly took an interest in their neighborhoods, and three refused to answer their doors even though Royce could see them sitting inside their living rooms through the screen door. When Ky and Ashcroft called to check in, he learned they’d encountered the same reactions.
Interviewing the people who would gain the most from Goodwin’s resignation yielded nothing. They were good and fucked. Jonah didn’t have anything new to add either. Stella hadn’t found any similarities between the stuff on the flash drive and the two communications from The Purists. Royce’s update to the chief was the low point of his career. He might as well have said, “I got nothing. I know nothing.”
His lack of sleep the night before and battling the hot sun and humidity had taken its toll on him. The chief sent him home to rest up so they could take a swing the next day. He wanted to swim in Sawyer’s pool, preferably naked, and follow it up with cold beers, good food, and sex. So much sex. Royce would’ve forgotten all about Holly coming over for pizza if she hadn’t called to remind him to order a side salad.