He just couldn't get it out of his mind. He had tried to distract himself, but his mind always wandered back to the moment when he had realized that Vinny had died in his arms. How could he ever forget that moment? His heart ached. He had lost a partner, a friend. He had seen him dying. He needed to do something, anything. He needed to distract himself. He should help his brother finding the shooter. He shouldn't have to sit behind a desk. He was of no use behind a desk anyway. He couldn't even fill out a form. He was so overwhelmed by his memories that he thought he would choke. He couldn't think straight.
Jamie was so immersed in his own thoughts that he did not see Renzulli watching him from behind his desk. That was the reason why he nearly jumped from his seat when he suddenly heard him calling: "Reagan!"
Renzulli was standing near to him and he hadn't even seen him approaching.
"You know that it's mandatory for you to see the department shrink. Do you already have an appointment with her?"
"No, Sarge, I don't."
"Well, call her now."
"I will."
"You better."
And with that Renzulli went back to his desk. Jamie sighed and called the shrink. At least he got a quick appointment, so he could get this behind him fast. She had time for him at four o'clock the same day. Hanging up the phone, he dived back into his thoughts and again did not notice Renzulli frowning while observing him. Renzulli was clearly preoccupied about Jamie's state of mind.
Suddenly Jamie's desk phone rang. It was dispatch. Someone wanted to speak to Officer Reagan.
"Reagan."
"Officer Reagan? My name is Carmen Cruz. I am Vincent Cruz' sister."
Vinny had a sister? He never mentioned one. The only family Vinny ever mentioned was his mother. She must have sensed his uncertainty, because she immediately added:
"I imagine that Vincent never mentioned having a sister."
"Well, Ms. Cruz, in fact that's why I am surprised."
"Officer Reagan, you must know that I had a huge fall out with my parents years ago when Vincent still was a teenager. They kicked me out and broke every contact with me, forbidding me to make any contact with my baby brother. From that moment for my family I was dead. That's the reason I completely lost contact with my brother. I always hoped to be able to bond again with Vincent and to catch up on missed time with him. But when I saw the PC's press conference, my hopes just shattered. There is so much I wanted to know about my brother, about the person he had become, about his dreams, his plans for the future and now he's gone, and there is no one who can help me. I do not even have to try with my mother. For her, I still do not exist. At the press conference your father mentioned that you were my brother's partner. Officer Reagan, I would like to meet you. I need you to tell me about my brother. I really need it. Please."
Jamie hesitated. It was strange that Vinny never had mentioned a sister, even if estranged. But on the other hand, they had been partners for only one year. How much had he told Vinny about himself and his family? Did he ever mention Sidney to him and how she left him? No, he hadn't. So he shouldn't be too surprised if Vinny hadn't mentioned his sister Carmen.
"Ms. Cruz. I do not know how much I can be of help. I have been Vinny's partner for only about a year."
"Officer Reagan, whatever you can tell me about my brother will be better than nothing. Please. I would really appreciate it. My baby brother is dead. I need a closure but first I need to know what kind of man my brother had become."
Her voice was sad, and she was clearly struggling with tears. Jamie was struggling with his own emotions. How would he feel in her situation? And what about Vinny? Maybe he would have wanted to reconnect with his sister but his family would not permit it, and now it was too late.
"Where would you like to meet? Can you come to the 12th?"
"Unfortunately I am not in a position to leave my apartment. I had a bad accident some years ago and walking causes me big pains. Would it be possible for you to come to see me?"
Jamie made a face. That was not a very good idea. But on the other hand he really needed a distraction and he could do some good for Vinny's family.
"What is your address?"
His heart skipped a beat when he heard the address. She lived in the Bittermann Housing Projects. Not where Vinny had been shot. At the opposite end. But it still was in the Bitter End. That was so not a good idea. Not at all. He took a glance at Renzulli, wondering what he should do. He could ask him to check Vinny's file for a sister, but Renzulli would probably prohibit him to go seeing her, especially because she lived in the Bitter End. Considering the explosive situation created by Los Lordes with Vinny's shooting, going there was really a bad idea. Renzulli was busy speaking on the phone and Jamie made a split second decision. He had an appointment with the shrink at 4 o'clock. It would take him only 1 hour.
"I could be there at around six o'clock."
"Thank you very much, Officer Reagan. I really appreciate your help. I will be waiting for you."
While hanging up Jamie noticed that also Renzulli had finished his phone call and was heading his way.
"That was Grace, the department shrink. She called me because your line was occupied. Two persons cancelled their appointments and she asked if you could anticipate your appointment to 2 o'clock this afternoon. I already told her that it was possible. And Reagan, afterwards you take the rest of the afternoon off. I can't use you here. You are too distracted. Do you understand?"
"I do. Thank you, Sarge."
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Jamie was standing on the street wondering what he should do. He had just seen the shrink and was exhausted. He hadn't expected that speaking about Vinny as a partner and about the shooting would cost him so much energy. It was nearly 3 o'clock. He had the afternoon off, and would have liked to go for a walk in Central Park to clear his mind, but he had promised Vinny's sister to meet her at 6 o'clock. What should he do in the meantime? He made up his mind rather quickly. Carmen Cruz had said that she couldn't move from her apartment, so she would be at home anyway. He would go to see her right away. She would probably appreciate that he could make it earlier. There was no need to call her.
On his way to Vinny's sister he started to consider what he was doing. Maybe it was a really bad idea. He hadn't told anyone where he was going. He had decided to see her based only on a telephone call. He should at least have made some background check on her to corroborate her story. He could slap himself. He could get in so much trouble; not only with Los Lordes; it would only need his father or Danny to find out. At least he should tell Danny. He tried to call him but his call went directly to voice mail. He was probably still working on finding Vinny's shooter and trying to nail Santana. Hence he left a short message telling where he was heading. He already could imagine Danny's outburst when hearing the message. Jamie smirked.
Well now he had nearly arrived at the Bitter End, he would honor the promise he had made to Vinny's sister and then he would leave immediately. At least he was in his street clothes. As a precaution he took off his shield and put it in an inner pocket of his jacket. He didn't want to be immediately recognized as a cop. He had been working undercover; he knew how to remain undetected. He checked again the address and he quickened his pace.
There it was: a huge, ugly building, with at least 10 floors. Carmen's apartment was on the 7th floor. The courtyard was full of people hanging around, or playing. He quickly walked past them, self-confident, but without making eye contact. He entered the building and went straight for the elevator. Hopefully it would work. While he was waiting, a woman joined him, her arms full of grocery bags. She was probably the same age as his sister Erin. She glanced sideways at him and did not seem very happy to have to share the elevator with him. When they entered the elevator, she started muttering something unintelligible. Jamie tried to lighten up the mood with a timid smile. She was clearly struggling to keep all her groceries from falling down. So Jamie decided to be a gentleman and offered to help her carry the groceries to her apartment. The elevator doors opened on the 5th floor. She stepped outside and when Jamie started to move to help her, she looked at him angrily and said in a low voice: "The last thing I need here in the Bitter End is that they see that I get the help of a cop."
And with that she turned and walked away. The doors closed on Jamie's alarmed face. How did that woman so easily recognize that he was a cop? And if she did, what about all the other people he had crossed in the courtyard? Did they know that he was a cop? Did Los Lordes know that a cop was in their territory? Jamie groaned. He probably was already in trouble. The elevator stopped on the 7th floor. He quickly started to look for apartment number 7053. When he reached it, he heard a clearly angry female voice from inside the apartment. As he did not hear anyone reply, he assumed that she was on the phone. He recognized the voice of Vinny's sister. What was she saying? He could understand only fragments of the conversation, but what he heard was sufficient to make his blood curdle.
"… offer you on a silver platter the PC's son …. You do not arrive on time … it's the brother of that SOB of a detective who threatened you … apparently he is coming two hours early, I know ….. you should have been here anyway…. Where are you? … send your people up … I will stall for time …. Hurry up."
It was a set up! He should have known it. He had been baited and he had taken the bait like a little child! He had been so stupid! His mind had been so clouded by grief that he had not recognized the trap and he had walked directly into it. He groaned. If he would make it alive out of this situation, Danny would kill him with his own hands. Danny! He needed to call him. He took his cell phone out of his pocket while running to the elevator. The elevator was just around the corner of the long corridor leading to Carmen's apartment or whatever her name was. Before he reached the corner, he heard the elevator doors open and several men stormed out of it. He could hear them discussing animatedly. He did not understand much, but he heard the word 'cop'. Shit! These must be the people Santana had sent up. What should he do? The stairs! He was near the door leading to the stairwell.
Immediately he opened the door and started to run downstairs. He was down by one floor, when he heard voices coming from the ground level. They were coming up the stairs! They were looking for him. He couldn't risk meeting them in the stairwell, so when he reached the next floor, he opened the door and entered the floor, the 5th. He needed to hide. He needed to find a place to hide. He started running down the corridor, but where should he hide. He was so in a fix! He nearly dropped his phone when it started ringing. He quickly glanced at the display. Danny! He immediately hit the reply button, he couldn't risk that his phone drew too much attention.
"Are you nuts?!" He heard his brother screaming into the phone. He must have listen to the message he had left earlier.
"Danny! I really do not have the time now. It was a setup! I managed not to get caught but I am trapped in the building." He whispered into the phone.
"What?" He could clearly hear the worry in Danny's voice. "Can you hide somewhere?"
Jamie had nearly reached the end of the corridor. He was hoping to find a fire escape, but there was none.
"Danny, I am trying. I need to go." He whispered into the phone and closed the conversation.
He needed to enter one of the apartments. How should he do it? Should he just knock on the doors and ask for permission to hide because Los Lordes were looking for him? That wouldn't work. He would risk either to knock on the door of a gang member of Los Lordes or the people would be so afraid, that they would kick him out and eventually call Los Lordes themselves. But he needed to do something. Maybe if no noise was heard in an apartment, he could try to break and enter and just hide. Before he could decide what to do, a few feet away the door of an apartment opened a little and he saw a woman peering out on the corridor. It was the woman from the elevator. She looked at him, and then glanced down the corridor in the other direction and then back at him. She advanced a few feet, grabbed his arm, made a sign to stay quiet, dragged him into her apartment and immediately locked the door. She grabbed him again and dragged him into the bedroom. Jamie was starting to think that he might have ended up in a worse situation than before.
Then she whispered to him. "Here in the Bitter End, even the walls have ears. This room is the best I can offer. It is not sound-proofed but if we whisper it should be okay."
Jamie relaxed a little bit.
"Are you nuts? What is a cop even doing here alone?"
"I was going to visit the sister of my dead partner." There was no need to spill out the full truth.
"Sister of your dead partner? Wait! Are you one of those two cops who got shot some days ago here at the Bitter End and one died?"
Hearing her words, the memories hit him again at full speed. "Yes."
"And you're looking here for your partner's sister? There is no cop sister living here. Believe me. I would know that. We only have Santana's sister on the 7th floor. And I can tell you, I could do without that bitch."
"Santana's sister on the 7th floor? Do you know the apartment number?" Jamie's thoughts were racing. The 7th floor?
"Why? Do you want to visit her?" She replied mockingly.
"I was told that my partner's sister was living in apartment number 7053."
"That's Carmen's apartment. But she is Santana's sister, surely not a cop sister. And in my humble opinion she's the brain of Los Lordes, not her brother."
Jamie groaned. Santana's sister. He had been set up by Santana's sister.
"I suppose she set you up."
"You can say that."
"We need to hide you. If they find you, you'll be dead and I will be dead too, because I am helping you." She wasn't joking, she was dead serious, and he knew that she was right.
He admitted: "They are looking for me. Some were already on the 7th floor; others were coming up the stairs. I suppose they will be checking all floors."
Suddenly they heard noises in the distance. Both stiffened and listened carefully. There was banging at the doors and calling. They were checking every apartment and the noises were approaching. She turned to Jamie and dragged him to the ground.
"Under the bed. Go under the bed. It's the only hiding place I have. I will try to distract them, so that they won't look for you."
That seems such a stupid idea. Under the bed would be the first place they would be searching. But on the other hand, there really was no other place in that small apartment, except maybe for the closet. But there was no time to consider other options. The banging was already next door. He quickly crawled under the bed. She had one of those covers on her bed that reached the ground all around the bed, not showing what was below. He doubted that would be sufficient to hide him. He had to keep hoping. He remembered to silence his phone before Danny would call again giving away his hiding place.
'It is strange that he hasn't called again', he thought, but when he glanced at his phone, he understood. His phone was dead. He had been so distracted the last few days that he had forgotten to charge the battery. Great!
And then the heard it. The banging at their door. "Open up!" a voice ordered.
"Who's there? What do you want?"
"Open up or we knock down the door!"
"Okay, okay, I'm coming." She slightly opened the door. "What's the problem?"
"We are looking for a cop who is hiding in this building. We need to check your apartment."
"I'm alone in here. And no cop would be so stupid to come alone to the Bitter End. How can you say that there's a cop here around?"
Jamie groaned under the bed. That comment was more for him than for them.
"We just know. Now step aside!" And with these words they just pushed her into the apartment and stormed inside.
"Hey! I told you that there is nobody here! Don't touch my stuff; I do not want people touching my belongings!"
"Woman shut up or we will make you shut up!"
Jamie heard them moving in the apartment. They must have been checking the kitchen and the bathroom. During all the time the woman did not stop protesting about their intrusion. Then they opened the bedroom door and Jamie froze. Through a small gap in the bedcover he could distinguish four pairs of shoes.
"Now that you've seen that I'm alone, could you please leave?"
He could see that she had positioned herself in front of the closet, automatically making the men face the closet while not paying attention to the bed behind them.
"What do you have in the closet? What are you hiding?"
"Nothing! There's only my stuff here. Nothing that is of any interest to any of you."
"Open the closet!"
"No! You were looking for a cop. There is no cop here inside. So go searching for him somewhere else and leave my apartment!"
"Step aside! Do you even know who we are? You should show more respect!"
"I'm not afraid of you. YOU don't know who I am and YOU should show me more respect!"
'What the hell is she doing?' Jamie wondered with growing panic. 'She should not antagonize them!' Then the man who seemed to be the leader pushed her to the ground and tore open the doors of the closet. She scrambled to her feet and tried to close the doors.
"What the hell do you have here inside that you do not want us to see?" The leader said exasperated. Then one of the other men stepped forward, took a closer look at the stuff in the closet and stared at her. He reached into the closet and took out a garment. From his hiding place Jamie could not see what it was and was wondering what was going on. The man showed the garment to the others and started laughing.
"Give that back to me. You have no right to even touch it!" Jamie heard her shouting. He thought she had gone crazy.
Also the leader of the group seemed not to understand and was growing more irritated by the second. "What the hell is that?!"
The man holding the garment finally replied. "This is a Supergirl costume. She must be the crazy chick going around protecting the poor people of the Bitter End from people like us." And they all started laughing.
'What?' was all Jamie managed to think.
The leader took the Supergirl costume from his colleague. "Yeah, now I recognize you. Your face seemed familiar. You're the madwoman of the Bitter End. You really think that you can save the people here? Where were you when I shot that cop some days ago? You couldn't save him, you can't save anyone. You're pathetic. "
Jamie's blood froze in his veins at these words. He was going insane. Vinny's murderer was standing only a few feet from him and he was hiding under the bed. It took him all his will to keep quiet under the bed even if all what he wanted was to scream out his rage. But he had to stay calm. He was in no position to take them down, without having himself or the woman killed. The woman! She had gone silent; she must have been shocked like him to hear this murder admission. Now she was a liability to them and they could kill her to keep her silent. Suddenly she shook herself out of her trance and grabbed back the costume.
"Supergirl was out of town some days ago, but now she's back. And she will protect the good people of the Bitter End from scumbags like you. I give you this advice: Watch your back!" She shouted in a crazy voice.
The men stood silent for some seconds and the burst out laughing again. "Of course, Supergirl, we are so afraid of you. Where did you leave Superman?" The leader said in a mocking tone. "Madwoman!" and with that they turned and left the apartment.
The moment they were out of the door, the woman run to the door and locked it, then came back to the bedroom, raised the bedcover and made Jamie a sign to come out of his hiding place. Then suddenly she fell to the ground trembling. Her nerves had the better of her. Jamie helped her to sit on the bed, put an arm around her shoulders and held her close until she stopped trembling.
"Thank you." She said with a little voice.
Jamie looked at her with surprise. "You are telling 'thank you' to me? I should say 'thank you' to you. I think you just saved my life. They were so busy with your closet and then the Supergirl costume, that they did not pay attention to the bed."
"Well, that was the plan all along. " She replied with a smile. "I had told you that I would try to distract them." Jamie stared at her. Was she completely crazy or was she really smart? She must have read his face, because she laughed and said:
"Don't worry! I am not really crazy. But being crazy is a very good cover here at the Bitter End. If those scumbags think that you are crazy, then they leave you more or less in peace and they do not consider you a threat. If this helps me survive, well, it's okay for me."
"And what about the Supergirl costume?"
"That's an old story. Years ago I had been at a party where we all had to dress as a superhero. I was Supergirl. When I came home that night, I was still in that costume. A neighbor of mine, a nice old lady, was walking through the courtyard and some boys attacked her to get her handbag. I saw that and started running and screaming that they should leave her alone. I don't know, maybe it was because I was screaming or because it was dark and they saw the cape, or whatever, they throw the bag to the ground and fled. So the superhero of the Bitter End was born.
A few months later I heard that the little girl next door was being mobbed by some older girls of the neighborhood. I knew where these girls where hanging around late at night, so I put the costume and I gave them a good fright. It helped. I used the costume some more times, but then I got caught by the cops. Someone must have told them that there was a superhero doing their job in the Bitter End." She laughed.
"One of the cops explained to me that I could get in a lot of trouble if I threatened people like that and I had to stop. But he also said that he understood why I was doing it and said that he would dress as a Santa, if that would help reducing crimes. So I stopped. I use the costume only if some parents ask me to use it with their kids."
"Parents really do ask you?"
"Yes, they do." She smiled, but then her face grew serious again. "We have still a problem. Even if they haven't found you here, you can't just walk out of the building. The moment you put your foot in the courtyard, they will know it."
"I know. I need to speak to my superior or my brother to explain my situation and see what I should do, but my cell died. I am sure my brother is going nuts. I had him on the phone when I was trying to hide and he must be mad of worry for me. Do you have a phone? Can I use yours?"
"Of course, however, I prefer to call someone I trust."
"Whom?"
"Santa"
"Santa?" Jamie wondered again if she was really crazy. Then she took her phone and searched in her contact list. There really was a Santa! She dialed the number.
"Supergirl? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it is me. Look I have one of yours who got lost in the Bitter End."
Jamie gave her a flabbergasted look.
"One of ours? Wait a moment please." She heard him calling "Danny, I think you need to hear this." He came back on the phone with her. "I put you on speakerphone with one of our detectives. Can you please repeat what you just told me?"
"Of course, but then I put you too on speakerphone. I was saying that I have one of yours who got lost in the Bitter End and needs some help to get out."
"Who is on the phone and what do you mean with one of ours?" They heard Danny asking in an irritated voice.
"Danny? Is that you?" Jamie gasped and then stared at her and asked. "You know my brother?"
"Your brother? Who is your brother? I just know Santa."
"Who the hell is Santa?!" yelled Danny from the other end of the phone. "Jamie, are you okay?"
"Santa would be me", said Renzulli, "but I think we need to optimize this telephone conversation. Supergirl, give the phone to Jamie and I will give it to Danny, that will make things easier."
And that's what they did. Jamie quickly explained what happened and where he was hiding. Then he added: "Danny, I know who shot at us and killed Vinny. It was one of the men looking for me. We need to get him."
"We will, kid. We are coming to get you out of there, but first I need to know if you can hide there until tomorrow morning. Is it safe?"
Jamie glanced at 'Supergirl' who nodded. "Yeah, I do not think that they will come back tonight. If we keep quiet, it should be okay until tomorrow morning."
"Jamie, listen carefully, there will be an orchestrated sweep in the Bitter End. We will use it also to get you out of there. We will send a special team to the apartment where you are hiding. You two will have to 'oppose the sweep of the apartment' in order to give our guys a reason to arrest you and bring you out of there safely. It is the only way also to protect the woman who's helping you. But Jamie, you should look more like the guys we will arrest. Is there a way for you to change your clothes?"
"I could give him the superman costume I have bought some time ago", the woman said.
"Sorry?" Danny was too tired and exhausted to try to understand that woman. Was he really leaving his brother for the whole night in the hands of a crazy person? He looked at Renzulli who was smirking. Renzulli had pity of him and replied:
"Well, that would be a possibility. So we would need to have an ambulance ready to drive both of you to the madhouse instead of the prison. Seriously now, do you have some clothes to give Jamie in order for him to blend in with the guys hanging around in the Bitter End?"
"Yes, I've still some clothes belonging to my brother here. They should fit."
"Danny, there is a woman who you should include in the arrest. She's Santana's sister and lives in apartment 7053. She's the one who set me up and according to …. 'Supergirl', she might be the brains of Los Lordes."
"Well noted, Jamie. Hang in there. If there's any change in your situation, call immediately. You had me really worried today. When you're out of there, we two must have a very serious talk together."
"Danny, I know, I screwed it up. I'm really sorry."
Renzulli was quicker than Danny: "Oh yes, you really screwed up this time, Reagan. I will be waiting in line, and when your brother will have had his serious talk with you, I will wait for your father to have his serious talk with you, but then it will be my turn. Prepare yourself."
Jamie groaned.
"And Jamie? Be good to Supergirl, she's a friend. Supergirl? Don't drive Jamie crazy until tomorrow morning; he's a very good friend of mine."
Danny added: "Both of you be safe. We'll get you out of there and we will get those who killed Vinny."
"We will, thank you." And they hung up.
Jamie turned to Supergirl. "So will we make it until tomorrow morning?"
"We will. By the way, you can stop calling me Supergirl. Only Santa is allowed to call me Supergirl. My name is Jules."
"I am very pleased to meet you, Jules. I am Jamie."