Brenda was lying on her back breathing heavily. Her face was flushed. She was perspiring and her heart was pounding. Every cell in her body seemed to be thrumming and her whole body was limp.
She turned to look at Fritz. He also was lying on his back and breathing heavily. His face was flushed, his eyes were closed, and he was smiling. Gradually her breathing came under control and her heart rate slowed.
Fritz turned to look at his wife. She was completely enveloped in the fog of love and so was he. He was completely transfixed by her. Finally he spoke. "Where did you learn to do that? In a brothel in Southeast Asia?"
"Ha! You just wish I knew the secrets of a Southeast Asian brothel!" While his question pleased her she would never answer it in a million years. Instead she playfully slapped his thigh and headed for the shower.
When the water in the shower warmed sufficiently she just stood under the spray and allowed it to revive her body. "I couldn't make a fist if my life depended on it," she thought.
Just as she was beginning to feel that control over her body was returning, the door opened and Fritz stepped into the shower. She turned to him and he put his arms around her as she took her washcloth, put shower gel on it and began washing him. Soon he took the washcloth from her and lovingly returned the favor. While he would have loved to have made the shower last even longer, the hot water heater gave up long before his ambition did. So, when he saw goosebumps on his lovely wife's body, he turned off the water. Then he grabbed a towel, wrapped her in it and gently dried her body.
Fritz finished dressing while Brenda was drying her hair so he headed into the kitchen and made breakfast. As they ate, Fritz asked, "How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Regain control so quickly. I still feel like I'm made of jelly."
As she got up from the table she answered, "Self control. Self control and necessity. I've got to get goin'."
Fritz's cell phone rang heralding the end of the wonderful time they'd spent together that morning. "Special Agent Fritz Howard. Oh hi, Jerry. What's up? Uh huh. Ok. I'm leaving now."
Brenda stopped clearing the table to face him. "Got a busy day today?"
"I don't know. I didn't think so but Jerry's asking for help bringing in some drug mules. I'll call you about dinner." And he kissed her, picked up his brief case and headed for the door.
Joel jumped up on the table so Brenda picked him up and held him stroking his fur. Then she put him down on the floor, made sure he had food and water, finished loading the dishwasher and got dressed for work.
She reached her office just in time to witness an argument between Flynn and Provenza. "I don't care about that. I do not want to talk to her," Provenza shouted.
Brenda was immediately jarred out of her good mood. "Lieutenants, what is the problem here this mornin'?"
Provenza saw the look on her face and replied, "Nothing, Chief. Nothing at all."
But Flynn contradicted him. "Provenza's ex-wife has called here three times already this morning looking for him and he won't take her call. So now she's bugging me."
"Lieutenant Provenza, when she calls you on your cell phone, it's your choice whether or not you speak to her. But you cannot allow her to disrupt the rest of the office. If she calls Flynn one more time I want you to take the call and deal with whatever her issue is. Is that understood?"
"But, Chief. She probably wants money and I don't have any more for her this month."
"Then tell her that and tell her to stop callin' other members of the squad. Thank you." And Brenda turned and met Commander Taylor outside her office.
"Good mornin', Commander. What can I do for you?"
"Trouble between Flynn and Provenza?" Com. Taylor was clearly amused by what he'd just witnessed.
"I don't know. More like trouble with Lt. Provenza's ex-wives. What can I do for you?"
"I just wondered if you'd heard anything about staff layoffs."
"No. Why? Is there somethin' goin' around the water cooler?"
"Yes. The scuttlebutt is that each unit is going to have to lay off at least one officer. Apparently there are serious budget cuts coming from the Commissioner's office."
"Well, they'd better not take anyone from Major Crimes. I need every officer I've got." Just the thought of losing a detective caused Brenda to start rummaging in her candy drawer.
"The rumor is one person from every unit."
"But I've only got five detectives in my unit. I need them all to operate."
"The union will demand that layoffs be done by seniority."
"Seniority within each unit, or the department as a whole?"
"Probably by unit. Taking them from the department as a whole would wipe out all of the latest academy graduates. The Commissioner will never allow that to happen."
"Hmm. I'm sure you're right about that. Do you know when these layoffs are supposed to happen?"
"Nothing official yet, of course. We might hear more at Monday morning's briefing."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait, then." Brenda was not a big fan of water cooler gossip as she didn't really think that route yielded reliable information. No. She realized she'd get better results by directly confronting Will, provided she picked the opportune time. That thought, plus her chocolate bar caused her apprehension to recede.
She heard Andy's phone ring again and then saw Provenza and Flynn arguing so she excused herself and walked up to Lt. Flynn's desk and picked up his ringing phone.
"Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson speakin'."
"Oh, I was hoping to speak to Andy Flynn. Is he there," the female caller answered.
"This is Lieutenant Flynn's supervisor. May I ask who is callin'?"
"I'm Heather Bolton. I'm Louie Provenza's ex-wife. I really want to speak to him but he refuses to take my calls."
"You are callin' a police department line so is this personal or police business?"
"It's police business, I think. But I don't want to talk about it over the phone. I was hoping Louie would meet me."
"Lieutenant Provenza is here, as is Lieutenant Flynn. Since you say it's police business I'm puttin' you on speaker phone," and she pushed the speaker button as she hung up the receiver.
"No, no. Not on speaker phone. I don't want anyone else to hear me. But since you're the only one willing to talk to me, can I meet with you? It's really important, I think."
"Would you be willin' to come in to my office to speak to me?"
"I guess so. If I can talk to you in private."
"Does this have anythin' to do with Lts. Provenza or Flynn?"
"No. I just thought if I could talk to Louie he'd take me seriously."
"All right. Come down here to LAPD headquarters and take the elevator to the sixth floor and someone will direct you to a room where we can talk."
"I'll get there as soon as I can. And thanks."
Brenda terminated the call and turned to Lt. Provenza. "What do you think I'm gonna be dealin' with here?"
"Chief, I honestly don't know," Provenza replied.
"Look, Chief. I don't know her well but she doesn't strike me as a flake, even if she was dumb enough to marry Provenza. Whatever it is, she's serious about it," Flynn added while Provenza shot him an annoyed look.
"Well, we'll soon find out. Sargent Gabriel, when she gets here would you please put her in Interview Room 2?"
"Yes, Chief."
"Thank you."
"Chief, do you want me in there with you?" Provenza asked.
"No, thank you, Lieutenant. I have the feelin' I'll get farther on my own."
Later Brenda entered the interview room where Sgt. Gabriel was waiting with Heather Bolton, a bleached blonde in her late 40's.
"Good mornin', Mrs. Bolton. I'm Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. On the phone you said that you had somethin' important to talk to me about."
"Yes. I went to the bank this morning to get something from my safety deposit box but before I could get out of my car police cars pulled up to the entrance. I think there was a robbery there."
"Which bank?"
"Citizens First National on Figueroa."
"What makes you think there was a robbery there?"
"Well, I pulled into the back of the parking lot, like I said, and I saw several police cars with their lights flashing pull up to the front of the bank."
Did you see anything else, Mrs. Bolton?" Sgt. Gabriel asked.
"Yes. Just before the police cars arrived I saw two men run up to a two tone brown van parked in the back and one of them had a gun. I think they might have been the robbers."
"Did you see their faces? Could you identify them?" Brenda asked.
"I didn't see them clearly because they had baseball caps pulled down over their faces. I gave a description of them to a police detective. But there's something else. And I think it might be very important."
"What is that, Mrs. Bolton," Brenda asked.
"Before I tell you, is there any way the police could come back on me for this?"
"Everythin' you say here is completely confidential," Brenda replied knowing full well that Buzz was taping and that other detectives were probably watching.
"There was another man who walked up to the van and was talking to the driver. He was wearing a badge on his belt. And when he was finished he walked right past the robbers. He didn't try to stop them, he just walked right past them and up to the front door and went into the bank."
"Do you think he saw the gun?"
"Well, he must have. I saw it and he was closer to them than I was."
"What kind of a badge was he wearin'?" Brenda hoped an LAPD officer hadn't gone bad.
"It wasn't an LAPD badge. I definitely know what that looks like since I was once married to Louie. No. It was quite a bit smaller. Kind of shaped like a shield. Not shaped like LAPD badges are."
"Can you describe him, Mrs. Bolton? Was he wearin' a uniform?" Brenda was relieved.
"He was around six feet, had short salt and pepper hair and he was wearing a gray suit. I got a good look at him."
"Did he see you?"
"No. I don't think so. I was driving my husband's truck. It has tinted windows so I don't think he saw me."
"Mrs. Bolton, if I were to show you pictures of various badges do you think you could identify it?"
"Maybe."
"Would you excuse me, please. I'll see if I can get some pictures of badges for you to look at. While I'm gone would you please give Sgt. Gabriel as detailed a description of the robbers as you can remember? Thank you." Brenda left her with Sgt. Gabriel and walked into the Murder Room.
"Lieutenant Tao, could you get me pictures of all of the badges of all law enforcement agencies, security firms, and armored car companies operatin' in the Los Angeles County area? And make them as close to their actual size as you can."
"Sure, Chief," Lt. Tao replied.
"And bring them to me in Interview Room 2 as soon as you can. Thank you," Brenda said and headed back into the interview room.
"Mrs. Bolton, did you tell anyone else about what you saw?" she asked.
"I talked to a Detective Ross. He told me that two people were shot and one was killed. I described the robbers to him. But when I tried to tell him about the man with the badge he cut me off and told me to just answer his questions. So I couldn't tell him everything. That's why I called Louie. I thought it might be information that the LAPD should have. I don't know why no one wanted to hear about this."
"I want to hear about it, Mrs. Bolton," Brenda replied.
Just then Lt. Tao knocked on the door and handed Brenda several pieces of paper each with the picture of a different badge.
"Now, Mrs. Bolton, I'm going to show you some pictures of different badges and I want you to look at them very carefully and tell me if any one of them looks like the badge you saw this mornin'. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, of course." And she took the stack of papers. When she turned the pages and got to the LAPD badge she looked at it she said "No, it's not this one. I'd know this one anywhere. It was smaller and not shaped like this one at all." and she set the picture of the LAPD badge to one side and concentrated on the rest. When she came to the FBI badge she stopped and said "I think this is it. It's the same size and shape but the one that the man was wearing was on something black like a piece of leather or something."
Brenda was surprised. "Are you sure about that, Mrs. Bolton? Look at all of them very carefully."
Heather looked at them all and said, "Yes, I'm sure. It's the same size and shape. This is it, except for the piece of black."
"How can you be sure about the black piece?" Brenda asked.
"Because he was wearing a gray suit. The black piece stood out."
"Mrs. Bolton, I need to call someone to join us. It might take a few minutes for him to get here."
"Well, ok. As long as I can get home before my kids get out of school."
"We'll try to get you out of here as quickly as we can," Brenda assured her and excused herself.
She then went into her office, closed the door and called Fritz. "Hi, Fritzi. Are you busy right now?"
"I just got back to the office. Why?" he replied.
"Because I have a woman in my interview room who is a witness to a bank robbery this mornin' and her statement may implicate an FBI agent."
"Implicate an FBI agent how?"
"She says he was talkin' to the getaway driver and he was wearin' an FBI badge. How quickly can you get over here?"
"I'm on my way," and Fritz put his jacket back on and left. Brenda met him in the hallway and briefed him on Heather's statement before going into the interview room.
When they entered the room Heather looked at Fritz and said, "No, it's not him. He's too young and his hair is too long and too dark. He's about the same size though." Her eyes went to Fritz's badge and said "But that's the same badge. I'm sure of it."
"No, I know it's not the same man. This is Special Agent Howard. He's with the FBI. Would you mind tellin' him what you told me?"
So Heather repeated her story. When she finished, Fritz turned so that Heather could get a very clear look at the badge and asked, "Are you absolutely sure this is the same badge, Mrs. Bolton?"
"I wasn't close enough to read what it said but it's the same size and shape and it's on a piece of black leather. So, yes. It's exactly like the one I saw."
Brenda and Fritz exchanged glances and Brenda said, "Mrs. Bolton, we need to do some work on what you've told us. I'm gonna let you go now but I'm sure I'll need to talk to you again. And we may need you to come in and look at a lineup."
"Yes, certainly. I'm willing to help all I can. But do I have to be in the same room with the men in the lineup?"
"No, you'll just be watchin' them on a monitor."
"That's a relief. You can call me anytime. I gave Sargent Gabriel all my information. And, of course, Louie has it too."
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Bolton, and please don't mention this to anyone else you may talk to. Sargent Gabriel will see you out now." And with that Sgt. Gabriel walked Heather Bolton to the elevator as Brenda and Fritz walked back to her office."
"Well, do you think she's credible?" Brenda asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. She sounded very credible to me," he replied as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "I need to brief Dave about this," he said as he punched his boss' number.
While Fritz was on his cell phone Brenda called Taylor. "Commander Taylor, is Robbery Homicide investigatin' a bank robbery at the Citizens First National Bank on Figueroa this mornin'? I see. Was there an FBI agent also involved in your investigation? What's his name? Thank you, Commander. I'm not sure. Thank you." Brenda hung up the phone quickly to avoid any more of Taylor's questions.
"Dave wants me to gather all the information we can and then report back to him," Fritz said.
"Taylor confirmed that there was a robbery at that bank this mornin'. A teller was killed and a bank guard was also shot. And that an FBI agent was there, an Agent Joe Barnhill."
"Oh, no. I know him. He does fit the description and I think he's having financial problems."
"Serious enough to cause him to rob a bank?"
"Maybe. His wife needs experimental surgery that's not covered by insurance. Look, before we go any farther we need to work out a plan on how we're going to handle this."
"Well, right now this is Robbery Homicide's case. But I think I can get Will to reassign it to Major Crimes."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Easy. If I tell Will that you're involved he'll be sure to assign it to me because..."
"Because he's sure we'll fight and he's still hoping to cause trouble between us," Fritz finished her sentence.
"More like trouble for the FBI. He is jealous of the reach and influence of the Bureau. He always has been. You know that. So we've got to come up with a good plan before I go to him with this information. And I want to make sure I won't do a lot of work only to have the FBI come swoopin' in and steal the murderer away from me." So they sat down in Brenda's conference room and developed a plan which would allow her to investigate the murder of the teller and solve the robbery while allowing Fritz to take the lead on the possible involvement of an FBI agent. Then she called Will and asked that he and Taylor meet them in the Electronics Room while Fritz updated his boss.
They all watched the interview of Heather Bolton. After viewing the tape and hearing that an FBI agent was, indeed, involved in the investigation, Will turned to Com. Taylor and asked "How long have you been investigating this gang?"
"Three months. A total of seven robberies. But I'm not sure I'd call it a gang. There are always just two robbers and the getaway driver."
"And has the same FBI agent been involved in each investigation?" Fritz asked.
"No. Just the last two."
"Have there been any other killin's?" Brenda asked.
"No. This is the first time."
"So, they're escalatin'," she observed.
"Agent Howard, are you officially involved on behalf of the Bureau?" Will asked.
"Yes. I spoke to my supervisor and, as of half an hour ago, I'm taking the lead. But before we go any farther I need to tell you that if a federal agent is involved the Bureau will be taking this one."
"All right. This is what we're going to do," Will said, "Major Crimes is taking over this case as of now. Chief Johnson, you are to work with the Bureau. But your primary goal is to investigate this as a homicide."
"Chief, my boys have been working this case for three months now. I don't think..."
Will interrupted him, "After three months it's time to pass the baton to another team."
"Thank you, Chief Pope. Commander," Brenda said and she and Fritz left the Electronics Room. As they walked back to her office, Brenda said, "See? What did I tell you?"
"I guess a little jealousy can be useful," Fritz chuckled.
"If it's properly managed."