Chapter Ten
Ten days later
Kennex strolled with Ava along the waterfront close to Pier 12 as they held hands. They'd gone to see a play downtown earlier in the evening. He'd suggested taking her home afterwards but as it was a mild night, Ava had suggested walking for a while beforehand.
"So tell me. When did you get the dragon tattoo on your arm?" she asked him.
"I got the dragon tattoo during my time at the police academy. I was trying to impress a woman who was training to be an intelligence analyst," Kennex explained.
"Did it work?" she wondered.
"It got me a date with her but our relationship didn't last long," Kennex admitted.
"I see. So I've noticed you wear a bracelet and a necklace often. I have no objection to men wearing jewellery but I am curious if they have any meaning to you," Ava observed.
"Not really. I just saw them in a store and liked them so I bought them," Kennex explained.
"Speaking of jewellery, what happened to the pendant hanging in your car?" Ava wondered.
"I was reminded recently that pendant was a gift from my ex-girlfriend, so I threw it away. If I'm going to have anything in my car, I'd rather have something to remind me of you instead," Kennex said. Before she could reply, Ava was abruptly shoved away from him by a passerby. Kennex saw the thief grab Ava's purse and then began to run away. He quickly glanced at his girlfriend but she seemed unhurt.
"Stop! Police!" Kennex shouted as he chased after the thief. Whoever this man was they were fast, Kennex realized quickly. Or maybe he just needed to go running more regularly himself, he thought. He'd almost reached the thief when the younger man jumped aboard a boat at the pier and started it up. Before he could even think of jumping on board, the rope that acted as an anchor to the dock had been cut and the boat raced away. Kennex sighed. He hated the fact that there was so much crime in the City that he couldn't catch all of the criminals. Though the high crime rate at least meant that he would always have a job, Kennex reflected as he returned to where he had left Ava. She was now talking to a MX.
"Do you have any further questions?" she asked the MX.
"I have no further questions for you, Miss White. Detective Kennex, can you give me a description of this theft?" the MX asked him. Kennex told him briefly what had happened. The MX wanted them both to come into the station to give a formal statement but Kennex was able to convince the MX that an incident report would suffice instead.
"Come on, Ava. I'll drive you home," he offered after the MX had left. She nodded. Once they were in his car, Ava turned her head to look at him.
"John, why did you chase after that thief?" she asked him. Kennex was surprised at the question.
"Because I'm a cop," he answered. Why wouldn't he chase after a criminal even when he was off duty, he wondered.
"I'm not about to ask you to stop being a cop because I know how much that job means to you. But please try not to take any unnecessary risks for my sake. I'd hate to get a call or receive a visit from your fellow officers telling me that you'd been killed," Ava requested.
"That won't happen," Kennex assured her.
"You can't promise me that because being a cop is dangerous. When you were shot in the arm and had to go to the hospital, I knew that you'd be OK. But I was worried that next time it would be something more serious," she told him.
"I appreciate your concern. But I can take care of myself," he told her.
"I hope so," she declared. The two of them fell silent for the rest of the drive back to her house. Kennex walked her to her front door. Once they were in front of her door Ava turned to him.
"Good night, John," she told him.
"Good night, Ava," he replied then kissed her on the cheek. She smiled at him then turned to go inside her house. Once she had closed the door behind her, Kennex swiftly left to head back to his own place. While he did have to leave Ava in order to charge his leg overnight at his apartment, he also didn't feel ready to sleep with or have sex with Ava without his synthetic leg attached yet. Kennex wasn't sure whether Ava would still find him handsome with only one leg. Perhaps that question was better left unanswered, he decided.
"Morning, John. So how is Ava after her purse was stolen last night on your date?" Dorian asked as Kennex drove to work the next morning.
"I need to get my locator chip removed," grumbled Kennex. Dorian knew far too much for his own personal comfort with that tech, he thought.
"You know that's required tech for all cops," Dorian replied.
"Unfortunately so," complained Kennex. Though his locator chip had saved his life before, so it wasn't entirely useless, Kennex thought.
"Homicide in the alley between 34th Ave and Pine Street," came a call from dispatch through the car radio a moment later.
"That's only a few blocks away. Show us responding," Kennex replied then drove towards the scene.
"So who is the victim?" Kennex asked once they were past the holographic police tape.
"Detective Kennex, the victim's name was Seamus Brogan. He was 36 years old and his profession was that of a dog breeder, specifically the breed of Irish wolfhounds. There is a 82.64% probability that he would have died of liver cancer in the next five years if he had not been shot once in the chest at point blank range with an automatic pistol," a MX on the scene informed them as he handed the case file to Dorian.
"In other words, Brogan was an alcoholic," Kennex stated.
"Affirmative," the MX confirmed.
"John, we can't investigate this case or rather you can't," Dorian objected as he read the case file. Kennex looked at Dorian in surprise.
"Why not?" he asked. They didn't have any other outstanding cases at the moment.
"Because Seamus Brogan was Ava White's boyfriend a decade ago. It goes against all police protocol for you to be involved in this case," Dorian informed him.
"Oh. Fine. Send the case file to Detective Paul's MX and request for Paul to be the investigating officer on this case. Once he arrives on the scene, we can get back to the precinct," Kennex told Dorian. He would have preferred for Detective Stahl to take the lead on this case but he knew that she'd booked some time at the shooting range today. While they waited for Paul and his MX to arrive on the scene, Kennex and Dorian moved out of the way of the police that were already there.
"John, did Ava discuss her prior relationship with Seamus with you?" Dorian wondered.
"She told me that her relationship with Seamus ended badly and that he lied to her regularly. But she never told me his last name and I certainly never expected to meet him dead or alive," Kennex admitted.
"You didn't press her for more details about the relationship because you didn't want to talk about Anna in return, did you?" Dorian questioned.
"No, I didn't," Kennex replied.
"Kennex, why do you want me to be the investigating officer on this case?" Paul asked Kennex as he and his MX walked closer to the crime scene.
"Because the victim had a prior romantic relationship with Ava White," Dorian informed Paul.
"So?" the other cop asked.
"I'm dating Ava White right now," Kennex admitted. Only Dorian and Sandra knew about his relationship with Ava so far. Frankly he would have preferred to have it remain that way. Now he knew the entire precinct would soon find out thanks to Paul.
"So your current girlfriend used to date this dead guy? Well, at least she's consistent when it comes to her taste in men. But then a woman would have to desperate to date you," observed Paul.
"Likewise. After all, you've only been with sex bots since your ex-wife moved away, haven't you?" replied Kennex.
"Tell your girlfriend to come into the precinct for questioning as soon as possible. Otherwise I'll track her down myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an investigation to run. Why don't you go and eat some donuts at your desk?" said Paul.
"Come on, Dorian," Kennex said. They quickly left the crime scene.
"John, why are you following police protocol this time when you have a tendency to break the rules?" Dorian wondered once they were on their way back to the precinct.
"Because I know that some rules are meant to be broken while breaking others will just piss Maldonado off. Sandra is my friend, but she's also my boss," Kennex answered.
"Fair enough," Dorian replied.
After his shift that day, Kennex decided to visit Ava as he wanted answers from her about Seamus. It didn't take him long before he was speaking into her biolock.
"Hi, Ava. Can I come in?" he requested. Her front door unlocked a moment later. Kennex stepped through the door than closed it behind him. Ava gestured for him to follow her to the living room. They sat down beside each other on the couch.
"So, I imagine you know that your ex-boyfriend was found dead today," he stated. She nodded tersely.
"I owe you an apology for not telling you more about Seamus earlier. To be honest, falling in love with him was the biggest mistake of my life and so I wanted to leave it in the past," she explained.
"I can understand that. So how did you meet Seamus?" Kennex wondered.
"Seamus and I were both members of a history club at the University of Washington. When he was sober, Seamus was witty, charming, and smart. That was the man I fell in love with. But Seamus was a different man after a few drinks. He became cruel, vindictive, and angry with anyone in his vicinity," Ava told him.
"So why did you break up?" he asked.
"We broke up after Seamus started a bar fight that ended with the EMTs and police being called in. That was the last straw for me. After that I knew he didn't want to change. Alcohol was ruining his life but I couldn't stand by and watch that anymore, so I left him. A week after I'd broken up with him, I heard that Seamus was back in another bar drinking again," Ava recalled.
"It sounds like you should never have fallen in love with him in the first place," Kennex remarked.
"I realize that now. The only good thing to come from our relationship was Patrick. Seamus gave him to me as a gift on our first anniversary. After our relationship ended, I considered giving him up but we'd gotten so attached to each other by then that I couldn't bring myself to part with him. Though I suspect that I'm not the first person who has done stupid things for love," she said as she looked at her dog.
"I can't speak for anyone else but I certainly regret dating my ex-girlfriend," Kennex admitted.
"Is that why you have never gone into details about her?" Ava wanted to know.
"Yeah. But I'm glad I've found you," he told her. She smiled at him.
"Same here. Can I ask you something?" she questioned.
"Sure," he replied.
"Detective Paul and his MX partner questioned me about Seamus but he was also pretty snide about you. Why don't the two of you get along?" she asked.
"It's a long story. But I'm not the only one at the station that doesn't like him. Both Dorian and Detective Stahl don't like Paul," he explained.
"Well, there are difficult coworkers in every job," she stated.
"True enough. I'd better go now," Kennex said as he stood.
"Before you go, aren't you going to give me a kiss goodnight?" she wondered as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Gladly," Kennex replied. He stepped closer to Ava and pulled her against his body before he kissed her.
"Good night, John," she declared once they had separated for air.
"Good night, Ava," he replied. Kennex took a final look at his girlfriend before he turned and went back to his own place.