Jessie Travis screwed up his face in concentration, and then shook his head dejectedly. 'It just doesn't make any sense' he admitted, wearily flopping backwards into the hardbacked chair he was currently occupying. 'We've been interviewing people for the past three days. Fifteen different eye witnesses and nobody saw anything out of the ordinary. How are we supposed to make any sense out of that?'
Amanda Bentley sighed heavily and dropped the pencil she'd been twirling between her fingers down on to the kitchen table. Jesse was right; they'd been at this for what felt like hours, comparing notes, trying to find a link between the eye witness accounts. Mark's kitchen table at the beach house was now strewn with scraps of paper, peppered with their writing - her neat copper plate, Mark's distinctive looping transcription and Jesse's erratic scrawl. But there just wasn't anything there. She was beginning to think that they were wasting their time and even Jesse had lost his characteristic enthusiasm.
She glanced out of the window at the continuing torrents of rain that beat a rhythmic tirade upon the panes of glass. Mark's beach view patio was drenched and for once the view of the ocean was uninviting. She shivered at the sight of the rolling, tumultuous waves and the dark forbidding sky. So often she marvelled at the beauty of nature, took the time, when she had it, to appreciate the sights around her, yet tonight she found it disturbing, almost sinister. The sheer power of the natural world had been unleashed, and she felt dwarfed by it. She had seen the results first hand at the hospital and it was devastating. Definitely a day to stay indoors, and after a week pulling double shifts, she was thankful for some time off.
'May be we should take a break' she suggested reasonably. 'We're all tired, perhaps after some relaxation things will look different.'
'Hmm?' Mark asked distractedly. He was still leaning forward, glasses pushed down his nose, examining the pieces of paper on the table in front of him. The white knight chess piece, still in the small plastic forensics bag, was by his left elbow.
'I'm sorry Amanda, did you say something?' he asked.
Amanda smiled despite herself. Typical Mark, once he began to consider a puzzle he didn't let go. At least not until he'd examined the evidence from every conceivable angle and then some inconceivable ones! His tenacity had proven vital on so many occasions, and she had no doubts that this case would be no exception. However, even Mark Sloan needed to take a break sometimes and she was convinced that this was one of those times.
'I was just suggesting that we take a break and come back to it.' Amanda said gently. She sighed 'May be things will look a little clearer then.'
'You know you could be right' Mark said with a sigh. Finally sitting back in his chair and folding his arms, he looked at Jesse and Amanda intently and shook his head 'I still think there's something here and we're just not seeing it' he said, his voice tinged with frustration.
'You mean like the eye witnesses?' Jesse joked
'What?' Mark asked
'Well they didn't see it either did they?' Jesse said 'You know; no one saw anything, even when it must have been staring them in the face.'
'No they didn't' Mark said thoughtfully, his features contorting into a frown 'And that's what's bothering me – why didn't anyone see anything? Why don't we see things that are staring us in the face?'
'Mark, it was just a joke' Jesse said.
'And not a very good one' Amanda butted in, raising her eyebrows at him warningly.
Jesse shrugged and folded his arms 'Hey at least I'm trying to stay positive' he said defensively.
'Well I still think we need a break' Amanda replied firmly, getting to her feet and heading towards the kettle. She looked pointedly at Jesse 'You can help me make some coffee'.
Pulling a face Jesse got up, then remembering a recent inspection of Mark's refrigerator he smiled. 'Hey Mark, do you have any of those donughts left?' he called hopefully.
But Mark hadn't heard him. Still sitting at the table, his mind was ruminating on the conundrum – why can't we see what's staring us in the face? He sighed, there had to have been twenty people in that diner, including Steve and Tanis, and yet no one had seen anything out of the ordinary. Okay, so visibility hadn't exactly been good, what with the storm and all, but usually someone saw something. Most times at this stage they at least had a lead to follow up on, even if it later turned out to be a red herring. Right now he had nothing.
He clicked his fingers suddenly - No wait a minute, that wasn't quite true!
Mark lent forward and picked up the small forensics bag that was still lying on the table. The chess piece had already been dusted for prints and not surprisingly had come up clean. Popping open the bag, Mark tipped the intricately carved ivory chessman into the palm of his hand and examined it thoughtfully. According to Steve, this piece had been handcrafted. It was a calling card, a signature tune and more than that it was a clue to the identity of the killer.
He rubbed his moustache thoughtfully. What kind of killer would want to be associated with a chess piece and a white knight at that? The white knight was the symbol of the hero; did the killer somehow see him or herself as a hero? Did he or she see the bombing as something that was not only necessary, but noble and heroic? Or did the chess piece have a completely different connotation, one he hadn't even thought of yet?
He was going round in circles here. He smiled ruefully, as usual Amanda was right - it was time for a break. Dropping the chess piece back into the bag, he let out a deep breath and pushed his chair back from the table, ready to join the others in a cup of coffee. And yet he knew that he was missing something. It tickled at his mind but remained frustratingly out of reach
'It's a set up' the middle aged man in the flash suit said, chewing on the end of the expensive cigar that was clamped between his unnaturally white teeth.
'A set up?' Steve repeated slowly, in a tone that made it perfectly clear that he doubted the truth of this particular explanation.
'Sure, a set up' the man said, smiling easily at the three cops who stood facing him across his highly polished marble desk.
Steve exchanged glances with Tanis and Ron, who were currently flanking him. Jack Tandy hadn't offered them a seat; no doubt all part of a strategy to make them feel as uncomfortable as possible. Rather ironic Steve thought, since Tandy's gorilla like henchmen, who hovered just behind them, covering their every move, were more than enough to push Steve to the boundaries of his comfort zone. Sure he didn't really expect that Tandy would be stupid enough to off three cops right in his own backyard, but you never knew when the hired help might get twitchy.
The luxurious basement office, in the bowels of the Kobanna Klub, was Jack Tandy's centre of operations. Steve had visited the club before, but this was his first trip to the inner sanctum. Tandy had been expecting them of course. He'd purposely positioned himself behind the desk, providing not only a barrier, but no doubt access to a discreetly concealed Smith and Wesson. All other seats had been removed, leaving the three officers to hover awkwardly in front of the mobster. Small mind games Steve knew, but it all counted. Personally he'd love to be sitting down right now. Standing for what had been half an hour already, was doing nothing for either his cold or his injured side.
'And why exactly would someone want to set you up?' Tanis asked, her tone sarcastic. With a casual gesture she wafted away the cigar smoke Tandy was blowing in her direction.
Tandy ran a hand through his sleek, dark hair and straightened his rather extravagant silk tie 'Think about it blondie' he growled 'Someone puts Cainen out of the picture, that leaves me as suspect number one right?'
'Right', Ron replied with a smirk, arms folded across his chest 'Glad you're seeing it our way'.
'So' Tandy continued, ignoring Ron 'if someone really wanted to take control of this city, the best way to do it would be to off Cainen and put me in the frame. Cainen's dead and I'm on death row. The two biggest players in LA taken out in one smooth stroke'. He shrugged 'After that it'd be like taking candy from a baby'.
'And may be that's exactly what you want us to think' Ron said 'It'd be the perfect cover for you, a double bluff'.
Tandy scowled at Steve and Tanis 'He 'aint from around here is he?' he asked, indicating Ron dismissively. He looked scathingly at the tall FBI agent 'Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to take that risk?'
Butting in Steve shrugged 'Oh, I'd say you're a pretty stupid guy' he said nonchalantly.
The gorillas took a step towards Steve, but Tandy held them back with a discrete flick of his hand. 'Perhaps you'd like to explain yourself Lieutenant' he said evenly, 'before I let my friends here teach you some manners'.
Steve let out a breath 'Well the way I see it, if you were really smart then right now you'd be giving us as much information as possible to clear your name'. He smiled back at Tandy 'All I've been hearing so far is flimsy conjecture'.
Tandy looked Steve in the eye 'I don't name, names' he said, 'you know that'.
Tanis smirked 'What's this honour amongst thieves? And here's me thinking the cartel was all about survival of the fittest'.
Tandy sighed 'This is about survival of the fittest. I give you names and they'll be coming after me. I know that, you know that ..' he tailed off shrugging 'What can I do?'
'So you know names?' Ron said, shifting forward menacingly 'You know we could haul you in right now for obstructing the course of justice.'
Tanis too lent forward, placing her hands on Tandy's desk 'If you wanna save your own neck you'd better start talking and fast. You know something Tandy, so you'd better figure out a way to share before we haul your ass down to the station and lock you away for good.'
'On what charges?' Tandy asked with a smirk 'Gotta have proof sweetheart and from where I'm standing you 'aint got nothing but hot air'.
Steve had been holding back, allowing the other two to do the 'bad cop' routine. It was kinda nice not to have to be the threatening presence for once. It was unusual for him to be 'good cop' in these little scenarios, but today with his limited physical capabilities, he was more than happy to play the role. Tanis and Ron had instinctively seemed to know. Despite all the problems they were having, the three of them had found a rhythm of sorts. No doubts the cracks would soon show through again, but right now they were a team.
'Look Tandy' Steve said reasonably 'Let's see if we can't work out a deal here that's gonna benefit us all.' He smiled, although it didn't reach his eyes 'How about you give us a clue as to where to start and we'll pretend we haven't noticed that you've been running an after hours gambling club here for the past 6 months'.
Tandy opened his mouth to protest, but Steve wouldn't let him 'And how about we also pretend that dumb and dumber here' he nodded towards Tandy's goons 'aren't on steroids that have no doubt been bought on the black market'. Steve shrugged 'Want me to go on?'
'I don't know much' Tandy muttered, his eyes on the desk.
'Not good enough' Tanis said her tone harsh as she reached to her belt for the cuffs that were clipped there.
'Okay, okay' Tandy said 'Someone's been recruiting all right'.
'Recruiting?' Steve said, raising an eyebrow.
Tandy met his gaze and for the first time ever Steve could see a flicker of fear beneath the mobster's façade. His stomach clenched in apprehension.
'Who?' he said.
TO BE CONTINUED ……….