Page 12 of Heat of Justice (Duty #3)

Cody was home and sound asleep when the call came. She rolled over to grab the phone, grunted a terse ‘Yeah’ into it, and came fully awake with her next blink. She was used to being called out in the middle of the night. Sometimes, the request would come from regular dispatch; at other times, it might be her lieutenant. More often than not, this type of wake-up call meant that a dead body, or more than one, loomed large in her future.

“Yes, this is Miller,” she prompted when no one spoke and frowned at the sound of rapid breathing on the line. “Hello?”

Then, it came.

“She’s drowning!”

Okay, then. Not Quinn, who might go with ‘Yo, Miller’, or often no greeting at all, before she gave her an address to get to ASAP and a one-sentence summary of the situation. Also, not dispatch, whose seasoned operators would not sound so out of breath and distressed.

“Who is—” Cody started, then it hit her. “Kim?”

“Yes! Cody, she’s drowning!”

“Who? Where are you?”

“It’s Cassie!” The name came on a gasp. “I see her! She’s not breathing anymore!”

“Are you having another vision?”

“Please. No. You have to come!”

Hard to make sense of what she was saying. Anyway, Cody was already up and pulling on clothes.

“Stay home, Kim; I’m on my way to you now.” She grabbed her badge off the dresser, her car keys, and clipped her Glock-19 in its holster to her belt. “Kim, did you hear me?”

“Yes, I hear you. I’m right here, Cody.” From sounding like she was drowning too, in obvious panic, only two seconds ago, Cody now heard the cool and controlled tone of the unshakeable lawyer. “Meet me at the docks,” Kim requested. “I think she’ll be there.”

“I’ll meet you at home,” Cody retorted. “Wait for me.”

“Can’t, I’m already driving.”

“For God’s sake, Kim—”

“It’s okay, just come quick.”

Cody pulled on her boots and rushed out the door, down the stairs of her apartment building.

“It’s two-thirty A.M., Kim,” she reminded her. “The docks aren’t safe at this time. At least wait for me in your car when you get there. You got that?”

Another silence greeted her words.

“Kim!” Cody growled.

“She’s under the bridge.” Again, her voice wobbled.

As she jumped in her car and shot out of the underground garage, Cody got the real sense that she may be in and out of a vision. Definitely not in control. From what she had observed the other day, it would be like being drunk, or even worse, under the influence of a powerful drug.

“Stay on the phone with me,” she instructed.

“Cassie… She’s so cold. So afraid!”

“I’m on my way there now.”

“There’s no time. I have to help her!”

“Kim, listen to me.” Cody spoke in a calm voice, hoping to get through to her as she flicked on her emergency lights. At the upcoming junction, she slowed down just enough to check that the way was clear, then blew through the traffic light on red at sixty mph. “Do not go walking outside on your own, okay? Wait for me. I’ll be with you in ten minutes.” Quicker if I can. “Kim? Are you still with me?”

But Cody found herself talking to silence. Shit! She kept her line open and just dropped the phone onto her lap to be able to grip the wheel in both hands. She kept her foot down and overtook a slow-moving delivery truck. It was a good thing the streets were almost empty at this time of the morning, but also not surprising, given the fact that she was racing away from the heart of the city. The docks were part of a large industrial area on the west side of town. Many construction and manufacturing companies were headquartered there. As such, it was not inherently a dangerous part of the city, and the bridge that Kim mentioned, no longer in use, would be a helpful landmark to help locate her. At the same time, it was also a clear marker of a much more dangerous zone. In recent years, the area around and under the bridge had turned into an unofficial campground for the destitute. Long-term homeless people built their own encampments. Thanks to the mayor’s shocking Laissez-Faire attitude, which was nothing short of criminal as far as Cody was concerned, the whole place had become a slum that existed outside of the system. Cops rarely ventured into ‘Docktown,’ as it was known, unless it was for a sanctioned bust, with lots of guns and plenty of backup. The place attracted addicts and interested dealers. Prostitutes, either daring or desperate, on the hunt for a beneficial hook-up, along with their sordid clients. And the odd murderer after a spot to dump a body; Cody knew this last one from another case she had worked. Would Cassie Winters be discovered here tonight? She picked up her phone again.

“Kim, can you hear me?”

Unnervingly, there was only silence on the open line. Cody raced toward the bridge in the distance, keeping a keen eye out for the woman. The only other car in sight was a white Model S, parked close to the chain link fence on the open side of the road. A former defense lawyer seemed like the type to drive a Tesla. Cody also knew it wasn’t likely to remain untouched for long in this area. She stopped next to it and jumped out of her own unmarked Subaru, leaving the red and blue grille lights on. As soon as she started to advance under the bridge, the signs of people living there were obvious. Tents, cardboard dwellings, and all manner of creative shelters were erected along the sides. She clocked three men, sat in front of a fire burning inside a metal drum. Two of them had their eyes closed, leaning against a piling. The third one was busy pushing a syringe needle into his forearm. He looked up when Cody walked past, staring expressionless into her eyes while he injected his poison. His mouth soon went slack, and he, too, slumped against the concrete piling. She kept going, every sense on alert, and with her right hand lightly on the butt of her weapon. Gravel crunched under her feet. People could be heard talking in the distance, and even the odd bark of laughter. A woman’s voice sounded.

‘I need my fucking pills, Jimmy!’

Rough. Angry. Definitely not Kim. Damn! Where was she? Cody moved the beam of her flashlight, catching bits and pieces of the same sort of thing. More shabby tents, piles of trash lying around, the signs of down-on-their-luck humans who had given up on hope. Desperation hung in the air like a cloud of dust.

“Kim?” she allowed herself to call.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Her weapon was in her hand before the words even fully registered in her brain, and she swung around to face whatever threat may be there.

“Whoa,” the woman half-laughed and half-shrieked. “Take it easy, stranger. I’m no threat to ya.”

Taking the measure of her, Cody realized it was probably true. At first glance, the woman looked as old as time. Missing her two front teeth and with tanned leathery skin, she was dressed in cut-off jeans, unlaced sneakers, and a dirty T-shirt. In spite of her feral appearance, her blue eyes shone surprisingly bright in her ancient face. Cody slowly re-holstered her weapon.

“Hey,” she nodded. “How’s it going?”

“Good! I didn’t mean to scare you, friend, but you really shouldn’t draw attention to yourself around here.” As her gaze fell on her badge, the tip of the woman’s tongue darted out to touch her top lip. “Don’t you know it’s not wise for an agent of the law to be here alone?”

“I’m not alone,” Cody replied, thinking it wouldn’t hurt for her, or anyone else listening, to believe that. “I’m looking for a woman. Dark-skinned, golden-brown eyes, black curly hair.”

“She doesn’t belong here.”

“Did you see her?”

“Saw her, warned her,” the old one stated. “Find her before they do and get outta here quick, cop. Shoo! Shoo! Don’t belong with us. Get out while you can. Shoo!” She used both hands to make a sweeping, dismissive gesture.

Something was not quite right with this one, Cody understood. She had gone from friendly to threatening in less than a minute, and the slightly unhinged look in her eyes now triggered a tiny shiver down her spine. Not that she was scared, but the whole thing was a little eerie. She did not ask who ‘They’ might be and moved on under the bridge toward the water. Hushed murmurs in the shadows. More improvised campfires. Though they were hiding, she could feel a bunch more people’s eyes fixed on her. Watching, tracking her progress. A big rat scurried past. A bit further on, another lone junkie was poking at the insides of a dead seagull on the ground. Cody glanced at him, then did a quick double-take when she saw him bring his fingers to his mouth. Urgh. Was he eating that thing? She clenched her teeth and picked up the pace before he could see her. Kim, where the hell are you? Just past the next pillar, she came to the water, and now another worry took hold. Surely, she would not have gone any further… With a renewed sense of dread, Cody glanced to her right. Nothing there. She looked left and finally let out the anxious breath she’d been holding. Right over there, on the edge, the woman stood on her own.

“Kim!” Cody hissed.

◆◆◆

In jeans, a pair of sturdy boots, and a white t-shirt, the blond-haired, blue-eyed police officer looked startlingly like an angel when she emerged from the shadows. She exuded raw, vital energy and brought with her a tremendous sense of safety and normality. Death seemed to lurk around every corner under this bridge, but the detective walked through it like a beam of light slicing through the doom and gloom.

“Cody.” Kim gasped in relief.

She had been the one to initiate an embrace the other night. Shocked herself down to the bone with that gesture and a bit more when she was unable to forget it in the days that followed. Pretending that she’d only been wanting to comfort the woman after Cody revealed her painful story did not work. It was like she told her at the time; everything about her hit differently. Seeing her again, even in such weird and unusual circumstances, only reinforced the feeling. So did the way Cody grabbed her by the shoulders when Kim reached her, the gesture at once a little rough and fiercely protective.

“Are you okay?” she snapped.

“Yes...”

“Are you sure? You’re not hurt?”

“No, no,” Kim nodded in reassurance. “I’m fine now.”

“Now,” Cody repeated, blue eyes flashing in concern. “You don’t look too fine, actually. Your face is white as a sheet again, and your pupils are too wide.”

“I had another vision.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“It was so strong… It led me here.”

“This place is like murder central, in case you didn’t know. Dammit, Kim!” Cody sounded a mix of furious and relieved to be reunited with her. “I can feel you trembling. Are you cold? Have you been sick?”

“No, I’m just running on pure adrenaline. I don’t remember leaving home and starting to drive. I was almost here when I felt like…”

“What?” Cody prompted when she trailed off.

“Well, when I settled back into myself, you could say. And I called you.” Kim wrapped her fingers around her forearms as Cody kept hers on her shoulders. She held her gaze. “You came for me.”

“Of course, I—” The sound of glass breaking, not too far in the shadows, made Cody turn and stare hard in that direction. Somewhere, a man started to laugh. It sounded like a scream. “Let’s get out of here, okay?”

“Wait.”

“Stay close to me and keep going.”

“No, please.” Kim held her back, even as the detective took her hand and pulled. “Cody, wait.”

Impatience, then realization, flashed across Cody’s eyes.

“Oh, man,” she grunted. “She’s here? You found Cassie?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I—” Kim shivered as the previously slight tremor in her body grew in intensity. A vivid image of the missing woman’s face floated back in front of her eyes. Help me. It’s cold. Please…

“Breathe.” Cody squeezed her hand when she struggled to do so. “It’s okay, Kim. Stay with me.”

Kim managed to take a deep breath. She kept her eyes on hers, using Cody as an anchor.

“There’s something in the water over there.”

“Where?”

“Next to the pillar on the far side. I can’t tell what it is, but the vision in this particular spot… The feeling right here, it’s—” Again, Kim shuddered. “It’s bad here, Cody. There’s fear.”

“Okay.” It was Cody’s turn to lay her hand on her cheek in a gentle, steadying gesture. “Show me.”