12 - Two Down
"Many here in Harris County are wondering why it is necessary to have a special guard on a man who purportedly is working as a detective sergeant." The live shot of Tamara Placer from just outside the gates of the Houston ranch came across the TV in the waiting room for the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and Vince angrily stood, obviously headed to turn off the offensive device. He was stopped by CJ's hand on his elbow. A calculating smile played across her face.
"I can't believe that bitch." The former cop sat back down next to her. "How can you stay so calm?"
"Think about it: she's there; Matt's not." Watching as what she said sunk in, her smile got bigger. "At the moment she's doing him a favor." There was actually a giggle from her. Placer had no clue that the target of her smear campaign was miles away in the hospital after a tense few hours of surgery.
"True." His tone changed. "But how did she find out about the security detail in the first place?"
"There are patrol cars sitting outside the gate. I guess even she can add one plus one. But now that everyone else in the free world knows…"
"That keeps the kids even safer. And your old man."
"Yep."
He put an arm around her, giving her a little hug. "You know, marrying you is the smartest thing he's ever done."
Both looked up as Chuck opened the door and motioned them out into the hallway. "Doc wants you." He led the way back down the hall, the pistol he carried nearly invisible beneath the scrub top he was wearing. The doors of the SICU opened up for them, revealing two deputies posted just inside. After a walk down the hallway, he turned left where the nurse's station projected from the wall and proceeded to a glass enclosed cubicle, the blinds of which were tightly closed against any prying eyes. Two more scrub-clad deputies stood guard outside, both nodding to the group as they drew near. Chuck pushed the button that opened the sliding glass door and let them pass inside before him.
Much to her relief, CJ saw that Matt - although groggy - was now awake. "Hey, Cowboy." Kissing her husband's cheek she gave him a big smile.
The reply was a hoarse one. "Howdy."
"He's got something to show you." Fitzpatrick was standing on the other side of the bed, a smile on his face as his patient slowly and carefully moved his feet under the sheet that covered him.
"Phew!" She gave him another kiss, resting her forehead on his and trying to keep from tearing up.
"Aw, c'mon now. You didn't really think that there was going to be a problem, did you?" Fitzpatrick was grinning ear to ear.
"No, of course not." She pushed back one of Matt's curls, kissing his forehead.
"He's not going to be two-stepping in the next day or two, but it won't be long. We need to get that healed up real good before he gets into anything major. He needs a little vacation anyway from what I've been hearing."
"I think a trip to Tahiti might be just the thing when you're back on your feet." She gave him a wink.
"Maybe." He did his best to keep his eyes open.
"You get some rest and I'll let Madre Rosa and the others know. Love you."
"You, too."
"We're going to step outside and talk bad about you." The doctor checked the IV line.
"Thanks."
"Hey, you did me a favor. Carol is talking about making a trip down here now. Rest up."
Matt nodded, his eyes closing as the four went to a room located behind the nurse's station.
"I don't know what to say besides thank you." CJ dabbed at a couple of tears that slipped out, her quaking voice drawing Chuck to put an arm around her. Relief was beginning to take the place of the worry he had worn on his face all day, including the hours he had spent in the OR standing guard over his oldest friend as he lay helpless on the table.
"Just say that you'll encourage Carol to come for a visit." He grinned and then got serious. "I want to keep him here at least through Thursday. No lie - he came really close to some permanent damage. And when we get him home he's going to be on restrictions for a while."
"That'll go over like a lead balloon." Chuck gave a relieved laugh.
"I've got to call the ranch." Her hands shaking as she punched the number, she accepted a hug from Dylan.
"I'll catch up with you later. Gotta get back to work." He strode from the room as Vince and Chuck high-fived each other and CJ passed along the good news to the rest of the family. Her next call was to Hoyt, the lieutenant's cell phone being answered immediately.
"He's going to be okay."
There was an audible sigh of relief and he looked across the wreckage of what had once been a Honda CR-V at Jennings, mouthing the words "Houston's OK" to the younger man who immediately pulled out his phone and placed a call. A hundred yards down the blocked off freeway Giovanni answered her phone and received the good news about their friend. She hung up, feeling a bit better. She hadn't known the PI as long as the other two detectives but like most of the others in their office, had benefited from his knowledge and help since her transfer.
Back at the side of the wreckage, the lieutenant wrapped up the phone call, turning his attention back to the mess in front of him. It wasn't just any wreck: tangled inside the mangled vehicle was the body of none other than Lieutenant Jessimina Valencia, a yellow parking stop sticking crazily through the windshield. The fire department crew was working along with the coroner's assistant and Captain Frank Withers rejoined the cop. "Guess you're going to call Houston in on this one, huh?"
"Wish I could." He saw the surprised look on the fireman's face. "He's in Texas." He didn't want to say too much, even though he knew that Withers and the PI got along well.
"Can't say I'm surprised. He sure missed his family while he finished up that class. Rich said it was downright pitiful." Conversation ceased as a tarp was used to shroud the remains of the car and driver. Hoyt's phone rang again. "Yeah, Valdez?"
"I think we might have something: looks like maybe it came from up here. How in the hell is beyond me." He was standing on the side of North Bronson where it crossed over the Hollywood Freeway looking down where it appeared that a parking stop had been removed.
"Be right there." Hoyt hung up. "Talk to you later, Cap." His mind went back to Matt as he got behind the wheel and worked his way to Valdez's location. Bad as the situation with the PI was, maybe it would be the factor that convinced him to retire. A nice quiet life raising his family, cows, and horses seemed like the best thing for him.
Hitting the lights as he double parked, the cop went to Valdez who pointed down where sure enough, a concrete parking stop had been removed. Scrape marks could be seen where it had been moved to the fence that had been cut, leaving yellow crumbles of concrete in a clear path.
"Insane." He turned to look across at the building across the street. "Collect any surveillance video they have. I'll get someone up here to process this."
Valdez wordlessly nodded and headed to do as he was told while Michael studied the area. Damn thing had to weigh at least two hundred fifty pounds. Had to be more than one person. Or did it? The body of Marina Berger flashed in his mind. Someone with incredible strength, someone really big had to have killed her. The ME had been shocked by the woman's condition. What would he say when he saw the condition that Valencia had been reduced to after the wreck? Two of the responding officers on scene had thrown up and Hoyt himself had already chewed four of the antacid tablets from the new roll that he had bought just the night before. With the captain already crawling his ass over the Berger murder and now a call from the chief this morning assigning him to the Valencia case, he could hardly swallow. God, he wished Matt was there.
His mind drifted back in time a few years to a case he'd called the PI in on before he and CJ had gotten married. As a matter of fact, it was while he was being patched up in the ER after tangling with the seven foot tall killer that the playboy millionaire had proposed to her. A smile flitted across his face until a jolt of fear went through him: could they be dealing with another giant of a man like that suspect? He knew for a fact that it wasn't the same man: he had made quite a splat on the concrete below him when the PI had kicked him off a cable car three hundred feet in the air.
After a tech showed up to process the scene, Hoyt made the drive back to the Central Precinct and rode the crowded elevator up to his office on the fourth floor. Once inside, he sat down behind his desk and began going through the file that Valencia had sent him on the case that Berger had been working. Although he knew that coincidences did occur, he also knew that the lieutenant had been more than a little shaken over the death of the undercover officer.
The information on Vasil Barkowski indicated that he was from Albania. Michael's mind froze: Matt's suspected attacker in Texas was from Albania. They had also discussed the possibility that the man who had kidnapped Kathy three months earlier was from that general area - unfortunately they had no proof of anything on the man's identity whatsoever. As far as the cop knew the body was still lying unclaimed in the city's morgue.
He proceeded. Although there was plenty of suspicion about the immigrant, no charges had ever stuck to Barkowski and he maintained a presence just below the radar. Rubbing his temples, he closed his eyes. First Berger had been killed and then Valencia. Both worked Vice and both had knowledge of Barkowski. Valencia had told him about the illegal immigrants that the man had working for him and now there was the tie to another illegal, courtesy of Houston - who might well be a target of the same man. Everything was pointing to Barkowski, but what he couldn't figure out was the timing of the deal with Houston: the man hadn't found out about the illegals until after the attempts on his life. Why had he been a target three months earlier?
He wanted nothing more than to pick up the phone and call Matt - run what he had on the situation by him and let him work his magic on the keyboard. Right now that wasn't an option and the fact that he had come to rely so heavily on the man's help smacked him in the face once again.
CJ was as good with digging up things on the computer as Matt - goodness knew. Unfortunately, she had her hands full now taking care of three kids and with a husband on the mend from surgery and his future somewhat uncertain at the moment, the cop was just going to have to do without the help that he had gotten so used to having.
A knock at his door brought him back to the present and he waved in Jennings and Giovanni. The young man pointed over his shoulder. "The press is down in the lobby - screaming for information on the wreck."
"We're not releasing anything until her family can be reached. Come in and close that door." He waited. "We're also not going to release the fact that it might be murder - or the fact that a parking stop went through the windshield."
"You said that she had talked to you about Berger…" Giovanni leaned against the windowsill. "The less we say about that case the better - is that what you're thinking?"
"I am. I think it would be better all the way around. Give us an element of surprise as well as keep us safer. We need to talk to Captain Withers and his crew - and anyone else who saw it. I'll talk to Withers. You two talk to the others." Both nodded and silently headed back out.
Punching in the number for the fire captain, Michael took a swig of antacid out of the bottle again. "Hey, Cap. I need to ask for a favor…"
