Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 63

Fidelis Ad Mortem

Part 1

A gunshot echoes off the cement buildings and cracked pavement near New York's docks. The young man falls to the ground, a dark stain spreading across the back of his jacket. He spits out the blood filling his mouth and desperately lurches away. But he falls, again and again, until he no longer moves.

As Kate enters the morgue, Lanie looks up from some paperwork. "You're back! Other than catching serial killers, any progress?"

"A little, I think. Rick located places he remembered, but we still don't know what happened. Actually, I wanted to ask you something about that. When you found that wound on him, you said it was almost healed, as if it had happened weeks before. Could you tell exactly when he was shot?"

"You mean to the hour? No way, girlfriend."

"How about within a couple of days? I want to know if it happened while he was in LA back then."

"Maybe I can tell you something. Let me pull the file." Lanie examines the photos she took of Rick's bullet graze. "Depending on how fast Rick healed, this would have been about six weeks old."

"That would be about right," Kate considers, pressing her fingers to her lips. "Anything else you can tell me about it?"

"You mean the caliber of the bullet or something? No. The wound was too closed up. But it didn't look like Rick made it to an emergency room or had professional help, at least not right away. The margins were pretty ragged. He might have had less of a scar if he'd been properly treated when it happened."

Kate nods. "That could be helpful. Thanks, Lanie."

"You're welcome, but where's Rick? I'd have thought he'd want in on this. Didn't he come back with you?"

"He's back, but he has access now to databases he didn't know existed. I could barely get him to take his eyes from his laptop this morning, even with a chocolate croissant. But he knows what I'm asking you. He thinks it could be important."

"If he's not responding to chocolate, he's really deep into it. You think he'll find anything?"

"I damn well hope so."

"Kate," Lanie calls as her friend starts for the door, could you see if there's something up with Ryan and Esposito? Kevin's been laying some strange stuff on me, and I have a feeling Javi might be behind it."

"Strange stuff like what?"

"You remember me telling you about Tyler Ross?"

"The new guy you're dating? The pediatrician?"

"That's him. First, Ryan told me Tyler has a strange thing for clowns. Then he took that back and tried to convince me Tyler's a bedwetter. Well, I've been to his apartment, and believe me, I was around that problem enough when I trained in the hospital. No matter what coverups they used, I could always smell it. But there was no hint of that at Tyler's place. Ryan lied to me."

"Why would he do that?"

"I asked him to run a background check on Tyler and not tell Javi. But he must have spilled the beans, and I think this is Javi's way of getting back at me for breaking up with him."

"Uh-huh, after you two had your talk, Esposito was strutting around as usual, but I could tell he was pretty down about it. And he and Ryan have always had each other's backs. Ryan is probably acting out of loyalty," Kate suggests.

"That may be," Lanie counters. "But the two of them still need a lesson."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I'll have to think about it."

"All right. But if you do anything that might interfere with their work, I'll need a heads up," Kate cautions.

"Sure. "I'll let you know."

Kate's phone signals a text. "Speak of the devils. This is from the boys. They're at the docks with a fresh body. You'll probably get the call any second."

A buzz vibrates a pocket in Lanie's scrubs. "And there it is. Wonder if they'll come up with any stories at the scene."

Kate scowls. "They'd better be too busy for that."

"All right, guys, what have we got?" Kate asks, ducking under the tape barrier.

"Right now, our victim is a John Doe," Esposito announces. "He didn't have a phone or ID on him. But I scanned his prints, and we're running them now."

Ryan points at the dark spots leading away from the body. "It looks like he was shot around the corner and collapsed here."

Lanie trots over from the ME van and pulls back the sheet covering the victim. After photographing the body, she turns it to expose the back. "The shot came from behind, and he would have bled out in a few minutes. But this is weird. It looks like the killer took the time to cut out the bullet."

"He must have been worried that the ballistics would lead back to him," Esposito offers.

"Which means that the gun's already in the system," Kate concludes. "Lanie, can you give us a time of death?"

Lanie inserts a liver thermometer. "I might be more exact when I get him back to the lab, but I'd say between 9 and midnight."

"Got a hit on the fingerprint match," Ryan announces. "His name is Daniel Bardot. He's a recruit officer at the NYPD academy."

"Damn! He's one of us," Esposito grits out. "Captain, we've got to get whoever did this."

"We will," Kate declares. "And we'll start where we all started." Kate's phone sounds with Rick's ringtone. "Excuse me, guys." She walks away from the other cops. "What's going on, Babe?"

"I was wondering if you got the information from Lanie. Was I shot while I was in LA?"

"It's not 100%, but she thinks you might have been. Does that help with your search?"

"It could. The GDS taps into information on every flight in the US and many of the ones from overseas. I'm going to look for someone we've run up against before who came into LA during the critical time."

"Babe, that would probably mean going through hundreds of flights and thousands of people."

"I know. But I'll just be looking for a familiar name. And if that doesn't work, I can tap into the airport security video too."

"Sounds like you're going to be busy for a long time. Anything I can do to help with the search?"

"I wish you could. Unfortunately, the sign-on to the GDS network is members only. And I had to go through multiple layers of security, including biometrics, to validate my identity. So I can't get any help from Alexis or Hayley either. But you could bring home dinner."

"Anything special?"

"Just no Korean food. I'm maxed out."

"Got it."

After hanging up, Rick pours himself a third mug of double-strength coffee and works his fingers. He considers putting a pillow on his desk chair. Unless he gets very lucky, he could be stuck there long enough to bruise his butt.

Kate knocks on the most official-looking door at the police academy. "Deputy Commissioner Malone, I'm Kate Beckett."

Smiling, Malone stands and extends his hand. "Captain Beckett, nice to finally meet you. You're a bit of a legend around these parts. Recruits have been gunning for your records the entire five years I've been here. So far, no one's come close."

"It's good to meet you too, Commissioner," Kate replies with a firm handshake. "But the only gunning for I'm interested in now is who shot Daniel Bardot. So my detectives and I would like to get to it as soon as possible. And we'll want full access to the staff and the recruits."

"Of course, Captain. Whatever you need."