Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 72

Fidelis Ad Mortem

Part 10

"You are not quitting!" Kate commands Decker after the boys take the recruit's statement in the bullpen.

"I'm unfit to be a cop," Decker returns. "If you hadn't talked me down in Flanagan's office, I had every intention of pulling the trigger."

"I've been there," Kate confides. "But a man named Roy Montgomery had faith in me. He mentored me, gave me a chance to learn and to grow. Still, you have no idea how close I came to killing the man behind my mother's death. Ryan, Exposito, and my partner all came running in to stop me. But I'd already stopped myself. You might have, too. You're just starting on your journey with the NYPD. Give yourself a chance to know what kind of cop you'll be."

"If the department lets me continue, will you be my mentor?" Decker asks.

"I'm no Roy Montgomery, but I'd be honored to try."

"Then, if it's OK, I'd like to go back to the academy, at least until I find out whether I'm getting tossed."

Kate lays a hand on Decker's shoulder. "I think that's a great idea, and you can ride with me. I need to talk to your torturer in residence."

Kate finds Ortiz on the firing range, practicing his skills. "I think I talked Decker back from the verge of quitting."

"It's always disappointing when we lose the promising ones," Ortiz replies. "But it happens."

"Not on my watch," Kate declares.

Esposito sprints across the bullpen and hands Ryan a photograph. "Street cam caught this. Check it out."

Ryan examines the image. "A dark sedan is following Bardot. Flanagan was telling the truth. But I can't make out the driver."

"But you can make out the plate. Bro, it's one of ours, registered to the NYPD. And it was issued by the academy motor pool."

Ortiz scowls at Kate. "With all respect, Captain, just because Decker's scores were headed to knocking yours out of the box doesn't mean she'd make a good cop."

"I'd put her on the street before any of the other recruits I met," Kate declares as her cellphone buzzes. "Hey, Espo, what've you got? OK, who was the car issued to? Uh, got it. Thanks for the update." She turns slowly toward Ortiz.

"Everything all right?" the sergeant asks.

As Kate pulls her weapon, Ortiz responds by raising his. "Put your weapon down now, Sergeant," Kate commands.

Ortiz gapes at her. "Have you lost your damn mind, Captain? What're you doing?"

Tears threaten to erupt in Kate's eyes, but she wills them back. "Don't make this any harder than it needs to be. I know what you did."

"What? You think I killed Bardot?"

"You knew Bardot's background. You suspected he was working for Flanagan, so you followed him. And when you found out he was a mole, you took him out."

Ortiz shakes his head. "Where are you getting all of this?"

"We tracked your service vehicle."

Ortiz regards Kate, sadly. "So you jumped to a conclusion. You did that as a recruit, too. But I thought you were over it. I haven't used that car in days. I lent it to…." Ortiz goes down as a gunshot rings off the walls, red staining the shoulder of his uniform. "Malone. It's Malone."

Two more shots sound. Kate returns fire. "Come on!" Crawling, she helps Ortiz to cover. "You OK?"

"I'll be fine. Do what you have to do, Captain."

"So it was you, Commissioner. I don't understand. Why didn't you just turn Bardot over to IA?" Kate questions.

"I couldn't!" Malone claims. "Not after what he found."

"Your office computer. Bardot hacked into it and found something besides the files Flanagan wanted," Kate assumes.

"He found records of the money I'd been skimming from academy funds. But the NYPD owed it to me. For forty years, I protected this city. And you know what thanks I got? Three busted marriages and an empty bank account. I took what was my due. But that pissant recruit had to go digging around. I had no choice."

"There's always a choice, Malone," Kate argues. "It doesn't have to end like this."

"Actually, it does," Malone insists, flipping an electrical breaker. Most of the lights go out.

"I'm going to draw him away," Kate whispers to Ortiz. She grabs the control for the dummies used in tactical exercises and punches in a program. "Just give up, Malone. My detectives are on to you."

"No," Malone retorts, "they're onto Ortiz. Did you think I'd be stupid enough to use my own car? And with the two of you dead, there won't be anyone to tell them Ortiz didn't do it. Malone fires as Kate charges into the dark but misses as she ducks into the shadows. "Damn!" As a silhouette appears, he fires again. His target pops down. More dark forms appear. "F**k! Dummies!"

"So, what are you going to do now, Malone?" Kate taunts. "Kill me and swear that Ortiz did it? Say you shot him in self-defense?"

"Not a bad plan. They'll probably give me a goddamn medal," Malone crows.

"Not with your bullets in the mannequin and me. My detectives will know that scenario won't track. And the ME is a friend of mine. She's good, really good. She'd have no trouble giving them the angle of your shots. The one in the sergeant's shoulder will be all wrong. And as for shooting me. I'm taller than Ortiz, and you're taller than I am. That angle wouldn't work either. And the ballistics will confirm it was your gun. Maybe you should have been out from behind a desk more often while you convinced yourself you were saving the city. You'd understand how a homicide investigation really works." As she's talking, Kate makes her way through the dark to behind Malone. She drops him with the butt of her gun and snaps her cuffs on his wrist.

Rick lifts his two fingers of Scotch and clinks his glass with Kate's. "Sounds like we both had quite a day. So is Decker going to stay with the NYPD?"

"She's on probation as a recruit, and she'll have some interesting notes in her personnel jacket, but I think she'll turn out to be a great cop. Someone just has to make sure she gets the chance."

Rick caresses Kate's cheek. "And I think I know who that someone is. Rank doth have its privilege, doesn't it?"

"I guess it does. But what about you? Do you think you'll ever see your father again?"

"I didn't think I'd see him this time. So, who knows? But aside from filling me in on how my brain got short-circuited, he implied that Reed might have some connections within the CIA."

"That makes sense. From what Espo's said about dark ops in Afghanistan, the CIA shared missions with the military. And Reed was running that show for a while."

"That could mean we'll have to watch our backs even more if we're going to bring him down," Rick cautions.

"Then we'll do whatever it takes. But not tonight. I have other things in mind," Kate purrs.

"Really? Do tell."

Kate sets down her glass and grabs Rick's well-rounded behind. "I'd rather show you."

Almost dropping his drink, Rick manages to get it to the nearest flat surface."You have my rapt attention."

Fighting his way from sleep, Ryan hears Perlmutter's voice coming through his cellphone. "Detective Ryan, you need to get your partner down to the morgue – now."

Ryan rubs his eyes. "Why isn't Dr. Parish calling? She's the ME assigned to our cases right now."

"Dr. Parish can't call," Perlmutter replies grimly. "Just get Esposito down here."

"All right," Ryan agrees, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. He glances back at his wife. At least that asshole Perlmutter didn't wake Jenny.

Esposito strides ahead of Ryan through the lab entrance. "What's this about, Perlmutter?"

The balding ME trudges to a steel table and pulls back the sheet. Esposito's eyes widen in horror. "Lanie!"

"What happened?" Ryan demands.

"She stayed late going over some files. A tech coming in for the late shift found her. She'd choked on a bear claw. I pulled a piece of it from her throat."

"What was she doing eating a bear claw at night?" Esposito exclaims.

"Probably leftover from the morning," Perlmutter replies. "I found the box it was in. There was a note." Perlmutter holds up a card. "Sweets for my sweet, Tyler."

"Tyler Ross!" Esposito spits out, turning on Ryan. "Why didn't you get her away from him? You were supposed to get her away from him!"

As Ryan sputters, Lanie sits up.

"You couldn't stay out of my business, could you, Javi?"

Esposito gasps. "You're alive! You're OK!"

"No thanks to you!" Lanie retorts. "You don't want me to have a life. Well, I've got news for you, Javier Esposito, and for your front-man too. My life is mine. And I'll do what I want and see who I want. Now, get the hell out of here!"

Lanie smiles at Perlmutter as Ryan and Esposito scurry out the door. "Thanks, Sidney. I owe you one."

Perlmutter offers the closest he gets to a grin. "I enjoyed teaching those two a lesson. I just wish that we could have put one over on Castle, too."

Lanie climbs down from the table. "I think Kate's all the teacher Castle needs."