Page 15 of Don't Say a Word

He had several reasons for leaving the force three years ago.The primary factor was a shift in morale. The weight of being a cop had taken its toll on Jack. The anti-cop sentiment and push from the top was intense, and with the added pressure of his divorce and his dad’s situation, he needed to step back.

Sometimes, he regretted his decision, but he liked being a private investigator. While he didn’t make as much money as when he’d been a cop, he could set his own hours, and that meant more time with Austin. Occasionally, he was offered a private security gig for a VIP, which paid well. He liked working with his family, and with his dad in prison, his mom needed him.

Ten minutes later, he learned that Rachel King was in the field, and Jack’s old partner Wendy Lopez was on vacation.

Drug crimes were generally the purview of the Drug Enforcement Bureau, though they often worked in tandem with VICE, where Jack had worked for a few years. He headed toward the VICE wing, mentally running through who he knew that was still here. Fortunately, he didn’t have to think too hard. As soon as he entered the squad’s suite of cubicles, a booming voice said, “Hey, Angelhart!”

Jack turned as his former commanding officer, Lieutenant Hank Thomas, walked toward him. “LT, good to see you.” Jack extended his hand. Hank took it and brought Jack in for a slap on the back and hug.

“Damn good to see you. Whatcha doin’ in the building?”

“I had to deliver a couple subpoenas, thought I’d come up and see if you and a few of the others were in while I wait for a deadbeat down the street to get back from lunch.”

The best lies were couched in truths.

Hank motioned for Jack to follow him through the bullpen and into his office. “Sit, tell me all.”

Hank had worked VICE most of his plainclothes career. Though Jack had worked under Hank before he was promoted to command, everyone knew Hank was on the fast-track to management. He was smart, a good cop, and didn’t play office politics. Hank didthe job right: made clean arrests, put bad guys in prison, and stood by his people.

“Not much to tell,” Jack said. They chatted about family, he showed off Austin’s sixth-grade school picture, and Hank showed off his new family portrait—Hank, his wife Abby, and their six kids, ranging from sixteen to three.

“How’s the PI business? I heard you were involved with that arson investigation a few months back, Desert West Financial.”

Jack gave him the nuts and bolts about that case. Then he said, “Well, no beating around the bush—I came in partly because I’m working on another case where King is lead detective. She’s not in right now, so I just wandered around until someone had time to chat.”

“I have a few minutes. What case?”

Jack told him—including that he was hired by the family—then said, “King closed the case, but there are some holes so we’re working it.”

“Drug related? Those cases usually cross my desk.”

“It was ten days ago. Might not have made it up here yet. The kid was a senior at Sun Valley High School in Sunnyslope. Honors student with straight A’s, no suspensions, no known drug use.”

“Do you have a case number?”

He glanced at his phone—Margo had texted him the information earlier—and he rattled it off for Hank.

Hank typed into his computer, read.

“Hmm. Seems King slapped at a cop—Morales. One of yours?”

“Yeah, my cousin.”

“After King closed the case, she got calls from the mother, the school, a friend of the victim. It may end up on my desk eventually if there’s a pattern.”

“So you have no open investigation,” Jack said to confirm.

“On this? No. I don’t have anything open that touches the school. Sun Valley has their problems, but no major drug-related issues since my team took down a coach who was dealing.”

“I read about that. Football coach, right? His wife was also involved?” It happened around the time Jack left the force so he didn’t remember many details.

“I’ll print you the file. We did a damn good job taking the bastard down. All the kids involved would have graduated by now, since it was three years ago. Coach is serving ten-to-fifteen. If in the course of your investigation any of these names pop or you see a similar operation in play, let me know.”

“I will,” Jack agreed.

Hank typed rapidly on the computer, then pulled a large stack of paper off the printer, grabbed a file folder, and put the papers inside. “Enjoy the reading.”

“Thanks, Hank.”