Page 24

I had nothing to say after the way he read me like I was some random desperate woman on the street, and not his wife that he was supposed to grow to love.

What did these other women have that I didn’t have?

I was independent, smart, and I loved really hard.

I showed this man so much love that it should have been illegal with the way I cherished him.

All I had been met with was disrespect and reminding me why we were married in the first place. He told me to my face that he would never give me his children, then turned around and went on to give a fucking egg donor his child.

His phone rang and he aggressively snatched it from the table and went to take the call privately.

Since I had already soured his mood, I decided to allow him the moment alone.

We both needed a moment to settle our emotions.

A tear escaped down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away, trying to keep up appearances.

From the way he snatched that phone up and left me, wandering eyes looked at our table.

It may have started as blackmail, but I was in love with Rich and would do anything to keep that man.

Anything.

“Lucia, are you even listening? My new rookie partner waved her hand in front of my face, while staring down at the phone that was ringing on my desk.

When my captain came and introduced this proper pageant queen as my new partner, I wanted to spit in his face. How could anyone expect her to investigate when she would be too worried about her hair.

I was judging her before getting to know her, and I knew it was rooted in jealousy.

For a while, I had been the only woman in this precinct, so I was overprotective of my guys.

This new younger woman walking in here with her beautiful flawless face, thick New York accent and a body that caused for distraction worried me.

Snatching the phone from the receiver, I put it to my ear while side eyeing her. “Parker.”

“Detective Parker, I know the last time we sat down, I was preoccupied, so my apologies for that. You understand how demanding things can be at times.,” DA Fern chuckled into the phone, making light conversation like we spoke frequently.

“Yea… yes, I know exactly how that could be.”

She paused. “Exactly. I’m actually close by your precinct and can use a hot dog for lunch… how about we take a quick walk in the park and discuss whatever that was on your mind. You have my full attention this afternoon.”

Bitch was smart and purposely caught me off guard. I never expected to hear from her, not since King Inferno was murdered. How was she even back to work or conducting business like she hadn’t buried her brother-in-law.

“Um, well, I have?—”

“Perfect… I’m by the hotdog cart on the left… I have a red coat on, you cannot miss me.” She quickly ended the call, and I slammed the receiver down.

I was so caught off guard that I didn’t know what to say or do because she pulled a me on me. Showed up to my job, knowing that I couldn’t deny her.

“Everything all good?”

“No… we need to meet with someone.” I was going to drag the rookie, hoping that it would deter her, and throw her off as well.

She shrugged. “Any excuse to get the hell out of this office.”

Snatching my wallet and phone up, I came around my desk. “Me and Detective Hill are taking an early lunch.”

“Bring me something back!” one of the other detectives hollered, and I ignored him as we got onto the elevator.

As we exited the building, Detective Hill took a personal call. Since we were technically on a lunch break, I ignored her. “What are they saying about Beaky Smalls?” I looked over at her and rolled my eyes. “Just keep me updated, Syn.” She ended the call as we rounded the corner.

“Everything all good?”

“Yeah. My sister’s bird hasn’t been feeling good… we’re worried about him.”

I nodded my head, not giving any more attention to her stupid ass bird. When I looked up, DA Fern was standing at the hot dog stand with her hair flawlessly hanging down her back, a red wool coat that touched the tips of her heels, and she was smiling while accepting a hotdog from the vendor.

“Detective Parker, how are you?”

She didn’t extend her hand to greet me, just looking me up and down. I had to admit, I looked rough today, and I hadn’t had the chance to get my roots done, so I knew my grays were visible.

“How are you, DA Fern?” I greeted back, shoving my hands into my black puffer coat, all of a sudden feeling under dressed.

Here she stood in front of me with a floor-length red wool coat, heels as high as the sky, and a pair of high-waisted, wide-legged trousers that fell perfectly over her heel.

Her hair was perfectly brushed and fell flawlessly down her shoulders, and her makeup complimented the entire outfit, including the red stiletto nails.

“I’m doing well. This is my new partner, Irie Hill,” I quickly introduced her to Irie, who reached her hand out.

She extended hers and shook it. “I am a very big fan of you, Mrs. Fern… you give girls like me hope… you inspire Black women everywhere with the way you carry yourself and the no nonsense energy you have for crime.”

I discreetly rolled my eyes as Irie drooled over this bitch like she was God’s gift to the justice system. “Alright, Hill, no need to drool over Mrs. Fern.”

“Seriously. Between you and Judge Case… God, I love seeing our women in power… calling the shots,” she continued and I discreetly shoved her ass.

She stared at me with this intense look that made me uncomfortable, causing me to look away first. “Shall we walk?”

I watched as she led the way, and we followed behind her. How she walked these cracked Brooklyn sidewalks in those heels with ease was beyond me. Holding her hotdog, a purse in one hand, and files tucked into her arms, she maneuvered the shitty sidewalk until we crossed into the park.

When she busted out in a light sprint to make it across the street before the light changed, I was extremely impressed. I wore heels just like the next woman, but she wore them like an art. As if this was her Olympics and she had practiced to perfectly maneuver in them.

“Quieter here… the city has been crazy. How have your caseloads been?” She took a bite out of her hotdog and looked over at me and Irie, as we all walked down the trail towards the small lake.

“Cases are overloaded… now that the Red Hook killer has reemerged. The amount of calls and reports we have been getting has been a lot. We have women that have actually gone out on a date with this man.”

“Any sketches or positive ID’s?”

“None that we can release to the public. They’re not concrete enough for the public to see.

His description changes from woman to woman.

Some say he’s dark-skinned, while others say he’s brown-skinned…

some mention he was driving an expensive car when he picked them up.

” Detective Hill continued to run her damn mouth on our case.

“Hopefully, some of those leads check out. The district attorney’s office is with you guys a hundred percent as you try to solve this… my heart hurts for that journalist that was found.”

“Such a tragedy.” I muttered.

She paused our walk and turned to look at me. “I know that I’m the district attorney in Manhattan, however, since he has left a body in Manhattan, and this has generated nationwide attention, I want to make sure we are all working together on this.”

“Very understandable. We’ve had the DA in Queens come visit us as well… I think we all want the same thing. For that sick fuck to be found.” Detective Hill continued on with running her mouth.

“Good. I wanted to give you a chance to speak with me… I know I’m very busy and the last time we sat down, my attention was elsewhere. However, I know that you wanted to discuss that missing girl.”

I didn’t have the chance to make up some bullshit excuse as to why I ambushed her at her office. That missing girl was the first thing on my mind after just meeting with that journalist that had been found murdered.

“No worries… it was something about that missing girl. It’s all handled now.”

DA Fern raised her eyebrow. “She’s found and reunited with her mother? If I remember correctly, it was your case.”

“I’ve been following up some leads that I’ve gotten regarding one of the motorcycle gangs in the city. We get reports about girls going missing, bodies, and fires all over the city. My hope is to bring that girl home.”

She took another bite of her hotdog and looked me over. I wanted to make her uncomfortable. As she looked at me, slowly chewing, I studied to see if she was becoming uncomfortable, and she never showed any signs of being nervous.

“Detective Parker, we both know the motorcycle gangs within the city would not take a random girl, and if they did, they would for sure let us know the reason. Do you have any more information on her? A Black girl comes to New York City and goes missing… we need more hustle when it comes to this case. We both know if her skin was as light as yours… she would be on the Today show.”

“She moved here from Kansas City last year. Her mother says communication was fine for a while, and then it fell off… I’ve been looking over all the case files while trying to become familiar with everything since?—”

“I think we should look into applying some pressure. Getting warrants for some of their stash houses… we know of the Inferno Gods, Brooklyn Reapers, and the Brooklyn Bullies. With the journalist being connected to the Brooklyn Bullies… the killer could be connected to them.” I cut Irie off because she was talking too damn much.

“Chrome Vipers and Del Devils have been frequenting the area often as well. I was speaking with a friend who works for a whole task force that deals with gangs, and they have included some of the motorcycle gangs within the areas. These days, they’re not only looking at the bloods and crips.

” I wanted to reach out and punch her in the throat because she was speaking too much.

DA Fern wrinkled her nose like she smelled shit and tossed the rest of her hotdog away. “I have a meeting soon to meet the task force. Detective Parker, I am not putting my signature on a warrant for you to fish out your suspicions unless you have proof.”

“There’s plenty of proof. We’re out here in the streets and we hear things.”

She fixed her coat as her phone sounded.

“We both know hearing things doesn’t hold up in court.

Hearing things doesn’t get the conviction.

I like to think of this like football… you get me what I need, and I take it over the touch down line.

Unfortunately, you have nothing for me to use…

I do want something on this damn serial killer that is haunting this city.

He has us looking inadequate, and I don’t like it one bit. ”

“Most definitely.” I bit the inside of my cheek.

Irie went to take a personal call, leaving both me and DA Fern to stare at one another.

“Also, I am concerned about a few cases I noticed that have been cold… both were kicked to your desk with no updates or follow through. When I heard that you have gone without a partner for some time, I pulled some strings to get you another woman…. I know exactly how it feels to have to run with a bunch of men.” She paused and looked.

“Detective Hill seems eager to learn the ropes, and you have made a name for yourself, Parker.”

Irie decided to join us again. “I apologize about that.”

“Ladies, I have a meeting to get to across the city. I’ll have my assistant schedule something for us to touch base, okay? Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to meet with me.”

“Sounds amazing… thank you again, DA Fern, for even making the trip to Brooklyn to visit us.” Irie shook her hand, and I offered a weak smile.

“Looking forward to it.”

The rumble of an engine sounded as we watched a muscle car speed through the streets, causing all of us to turn to watch it fly by like a blur.

“The street racing is another issue we’ve been dealing with as well.

You got the Cruzari family ripping through Brooklyn like it’s their personal racetrack. ” I mentioned.

She smiled. “Parker, if they’re not leaving bodies all over the city, then quite frankly, I don’t care. Let the uniforms handle them.”

DA Fern turned to leave, leaving me and Irie standing there watching her leave the park. “Welp, I’m going to have an actual lunch because she put some fire under our asses.”

Me: Answer me now, Red!

Me: DA Fern is going to be a problem… we need to handle her.