Cleaning Up Chapter 6

As Lopez keeps pedal to the metal approaching John Nolan's house, Harper pulls her weapon. "I can take the front if you check if the suspect went around back."

Lopez slows just enough for Harper to exit the vehicle, before driving off.

Ellen gazes around for what she needs to peek into John Nolan's yard. She spots what she remembered from previous visits, a large jacaranda tree with branches over the small alley behind Nolan's home. She can make a nest for herself among the leaves and purple flowers and observe whoever comes and goes. And if anyone comes looking for her, she doubts they'll look up. They almost never do. She's high in the branches when a car carefully threads its way through the narrow space. When the vehicle stops and a woman gets out, Ellen spots the badge hanging around her neck.

Rosalind described all the cops in Nolan's circle. Ellen figures this one must be Lopez. Standing on tiptoe, the cop peers over Nolan's fence into his yard. Ellen has a much better view. No one is there. And no lights are on in the house either. For now, Bailey and Nolan are gone. But they won't be forever. Ellen can come back. She just has to wait for Lopez to leave. As she settles against a thick branch, several easily detached flowers flutter downward. When Lopez is reentering her vehicle, one lands on her arm. As she brushes it off, she automatically checks the source. At a flash of red hair, she draws her weapon. "Police! Get down from there, right now."

"I'm not doing anything wrong, Officer," Ellen protests. "I like it up here. I like trees."

Lopez thumbs her radio, opening communications with Harper. "Do you own the yard where the tree you're in is growing?"

"Why would I have to?" Ellen asks. "The branches where I'm sitting are over public property."

"Los Angeles outlaws unsanctioned tree climbing on public property. And to climb one on private property, you need to get permission from the property owner. Either way, you're in violation, so get down here," Angela orders.

"Are you going to come up here and get me – holding a gun on me, Officer?"

That's detective! We're both detectives," an arriving Harper grits out. "And Detective Lopez won't have to hold a gun on you. I can do it. Now get down, before we charge you with failing to obey directions from law enforcement, trespassing, and anything else we can think of."

"All right," Ellen agrees, shimmying down the trunk, "you don't have to get pushy about it. Rosalind sa…." Ellen's mouth snaps shut.

"Rosalind who?" Harper demands.

"I'm not saying another word," Ellen declares.

Harper snaps the cuffs on the woman, spying a bleeding scratch on her wrist. "Fine, you can be quiet at the station. Oh, too bad. It looks like you hurt yourself on the tree."

Lopez shines a flashlight along the bark. "And you left some blood behind. I wonder what the lab will make of that."

Nolan rushes up to Lopez's desk. "Did you get her? Did you get Rosalind's other acolyte?"

"We think so. We got a blood sample that may match the DNA on the dog's lips. But we've only got her on misdemeanors. Any public defender can probably spring her before the lab results come back. And even then, the most we'd have is animal abuse."

"But she mentioned the name Rosalind before she clammed up," Harper adds. "She was working with her. She might even have fired the fatal shot. But we have to prove it."

"What can I do?" Nolan demands.

"Nothing, John," Harper answers with rare gentleness. "We found her in a tree watching your yard. She must have left a trail. Let us follow it."

"And when she is turned loose, we'll make sure someone's on her too, 24/7," Angela promises.

Bailey sinks down on the couch. "There's another Rosalind?"

"She's not Rosalind," John insists. "Her name is Ellen Sims, and except for having red hair and being crazy, she's not much like Rosalind. She screwed up all over the place. Angela and Nyla found her up in a tree watching the house. And she left her blood behind. If the lab matches it to the DNA from the dog, we'll know for sure she's Rosalind's other acolyte. Even before then, she'll have eyes on her all the time. She's not getting near you, Bailey."

"She came to the house, John. Either one of us could have been here."

"But we weren't. And Rosalind wouldn't have been that careless. She would have thought 10 moves ahead. Ellen is about two moves behind. Maybe Rosalind didn't have time to train her, or it didn't take. Either way, if she tries going after either one of us, she'll have every cop in Mid-Wilshire all over her."

"So what do we do now?" Bailey asks.

"What we were doing anyway. We go to work. You stay in the middle of a bunch of big strong firefighters. I'm within a radio call of other cops. We come home. We eat, we play, we love, and we don't let Rosalind or a bad copy ruin our lives."

"Eat, play, love," Bailey echoes. "If they make a movie about us, I don't want Julia Roberts playing me. I've never seen her throw a good kick and I doubt she could make it up a ladder carrying even half my equipment."

"I doubt they'll be making any movies about us. I can't even see our story on TV. A middle-aged guy becoming a cop? Who's going to believe that?"

"You never know, John. I think you'd look kind of cute on TV."

"But, you'd look beautiful. Still, a firefighter, capoeira instructor, lieutenant in the National Guard? It would be about as believable as Steven Seagal playing Hamlet. So I guess we'll keep the real-life fantasies to ourselves."

"And what real-life fantasy would you like to explore right now?" Bailey asks.

"Are you sure you're in the mood? You seemed pretty freaked out about Ellen."

"The hell with Ellen. I couldn't let Jason or Rosalind ruin my life. I'm not going to let her do it either. You want to see who can get rid of our working gear faster?"

"How? Yours is at your firehouse and mine is in my locker at the division."

"We could make some utility belts; see who can use the best stuff from the kitchen and then eat it off each other."

"Maybe we should get stalked by an evil acolyte more often. It stimulates your imagination. First one to eat the other naked wins?"

"Right! Dibs on the jalapeños."

John shakes his head. "The woman fights dirty."

"I thought that's what you love about me."

John grins. "It is."

"The lab put a rush on the DNA," Lopez announces to Harper. "They should have results by tomorrow. We can hold Ellen that long on the charges we have."

"Lopez!" Aaron calls from across the room. "I was just down in Holding. Someone went in there with paperwork saying Ellen Sims was supposed to be released. Smitty let her go."

"Lazy a-hole sonofabitch!" Harper spits out. "Couldn't he check with us first? Did anyone see where she went?"

"Just that she went out the front door. But there should be video of her and the man who sprang her. He said he's a lawyer and his name is Jaleel Morgan."

That's one of the men who work for Elijah Stone," Lopez realizes. "If Ellen Sims is hooked up with him, she just got a lot more dangerous."