There was something about standing at the head of the briefing room that gave Bernice Waverly a strange sense of calm. There was chaos all around. Two of her best people had been shot, and her best friend was at the hospital with her children waiting to hear the news. It was the more stressful days of her life. She'd had worse. Much worse. But this day was not that day. This day would be different. It had to be.
"If I could get everyone's attention, please," she began, speaking sharply over the din of a crowded room murmuring with concern.
"Oi! Shut it, you lot!" Jarvis shouted. Silence immediately fell.
"Thank you, Terry," Bernice muttered, trying not to be annoyed. "Right, so as it stands right now, we have one homicide victim. Father Daniel Lewisham of St. Catherine's Church. Detective Duncan Freeman and Sergeant Nick Buchanan are at hospital now. We won't know anything for a while. I'd normally send a uniform over there for updates, but as it is, I'll be going over myself to be with the family. Now, given the circumstances, mostly the fact that half this room is a witness to the shooting, we're going to have to be cautious not to get too ahead of ourselves and not to make it too personal. Freeman and Buchanan are our colleagues and our friends, but right now they are not our victims. Father Lewisham is our victim. For now, we treat this as a single homicide. Now then, since the Homicide Sergeant is unavailable, Superintendent Jarvis will be heading up the investigation."
With that, Bernice stepped aside and Terry took center stage. "Right then. Updates. Kingston?"
"I ran after the shooter but he had a car waiting. I got a partial plate. We're waiting for the system to give us hits on possible matches," Allie said.
Terry nodded. "Levitt?"
"I coordinated ambulances and started on witness statements. Mainly mine. Suspect is male, about a hundred and eighty centimeters. Medium build. Wearing heavy black work boots, denim trousers, black knit jumper and leather jacket, and of course the black ski mask. Weapon used was an automatic assault rifle. We'll need to confirm with other witnesses, but my count was twelve shots fired," Rhys recited.
"Three in Nick, two in Duncan, I think two in the priest. Get crime scene in there to find the rest," Bernice told Terry quietly.
"Sorry we're late, ma'am."
Two new individuals—the only non-uniforms who weren't actually present at the wedding—arrived in the briefing room. Bernice greeted them both with a nod. "Detective Smith, Detective Taylor. What have you got for us?"
Oliver Taylor, still in his first year at Homicide, stepped forward. His dark eyes and dark beard and wavy hair gave him a casual, slightly dangerous appearance. His dour expression and soft voice did not make him seem any friendlier. Terry complained that he was a bit of a stick in the mud, but Bernice was glad to transfer him off Armed Robbery. Homicide could use someone who was a bit more subdued. Taylor told the room, "I went over the initial pathology examination at the morgue. Father Lewisham was shot twice. Once in the shoulder and once in the head. The bullet to his head took off a big chunk of his skull and brains on its way out. The shot to his shoulder was also a through and through, but it wouldn't have done too much damage if it had been the only wound."
Next, Detective Karin Smith, throwing her long blonde hair—which was always tied back in a loose but elegant plait—over her shoulder, spoke in a much sweeter tone than Taylor could have ever managed. "I spoke with Detective Freeman's sister, Grace Barlow, and Sergeant Buchanan's mother, Eloise. Both of them were in the front row of the church and saw everything happen. Ms. Barlow is a lawyer and very smart. She was a bit calmer than the other witnesses who could barely put two words together. Though I think she's probably in shock, seeing her brother just get shot. But she was able to recall that the shooter addressed Detective Freeman by name, he called him 'Freeman' before he fired. The uniforms are handling the wedding guests and I've got some canvassing to see if anyone saw the shooter go in or saw the driver of the car."
"Wonderful, thank you Smith," Bernice replied. "Keep me informed." Karin Smith was another good addition to the team. Once Jen had left Homicide, there was a woeful lack of empathy left on that team. Rhys and Duncan and Allie were all fine detectives but handling vulnerable victims—traumatized woman, children, the elderly—was not any of their forte. Bernice had been pleased to approve Smith's transfer from Vice. She'd been used a lot going undercover in illegal brothels, given that she looked more like a swimsuit model than anything else. She was quick and level-headed, and she'd spent a very successful three years on Homicide so far.
The whole time the two detectives spoke, Allie Kingston's facial expression changed in a subtle yet powerful manner. When Oliver spoke, she gazed at him with a softness that everyone was quite unfamiliar with from her. She listened patiently whenever he spoke, not interrupting and going off half-cocked like she did with nearly anyone else. She would ask his opinion oftentimes, something that was rare before Oliver Taylor joined the squad.
Everything changed, however, when Karin spoke. Allie's eyes hardened and her lips were pressed into a tight line of fury. It was no secret to anyone that Allie absolutely hated Karin. It had been an interesting adjustment for the other members of her team. Rhys had first thought that it was female jealousy, that another young woman—younger than Allie, even—was on the crew and she was softer, sweeter, and more feminine than Allie could ever dream of being. When Allie and Karin walked into a room, all eyes went to Karin first. But the way Allie spoke of Karin when she wasn't around wasn't with jealousy but with nearly cruel derision. Allie had absolutely no respect for Karin; she didn't take the blonde seriously for a second. Allie's complaints were becoming a problem for Jarvis until an incident where a suspect ran from the team and both Allie and Karin pursued. Allie was faster and caught the guy, but it was Karin who tackled him to the ground and had him in a headlock and screaming for mercy within seconds. That was the day that everyone learned that behind the sweet demeanor and doe-like expression, Karin Smith had absolutely no fear. Rhys had praised her as 'a total badass.' Allie hadn't spoken to him for a week after that. But the experience had solidified Karin as a valuable member of the team, even if the rabid dog of the group still didn't like her.
Terry spoke to his team, giving out assignments. They needed to find the car and driver. They needed to find out if the shooter was someone who knew Duncan or if it was someone hired by someone who wanted revenge on Duncan. How had the wedding been found? A cop knows better than to make an announcement in the newspaper, so perhaps the shooter knew one of the wedding guests and found out that way. They needed to do research into Duncan's past as well as entertain the possibility that someone else in the bridal party or even the priest had an enemy who paid a call.
Before the meeting could be officially brought to an end, one more person entered the room. "How can I help?" Matt Ryan asked.
Matt's suit was disheveled and his hair was mussed and his whole body radiated panic. Because he'd been at the altar with the wedding party, he was taken to the hospital to ensure he wasn't injured. Apparently he'd been cleared.
Bernice was immediately of two minds. Ryan was heading up Arson now. He had his own cases and his own department to be concerned with. But then again, there may have been good use for him. "Alright, I'll do the paperwork for a secondment. Your sergeant can manage for you till this is through. I know wild horses couldn't keep you away," she finally said.
"Thank you, ma'am," Matt replied with a nod.
"Alright, Superintendent Ryan is going to work with Detective Taylor on Freeman's past cases. See if anyone's gotten out of prison or was left on the streets who would want Freeman dead. Ryan's got personal knowledge of most of the old cases since he was on the squad back then. Taylor's got fresh eyes to be objective in the review," Jarvis said. "Everyone know what they're doing?"
There was a general murmur of assent.
"Right-o, kiddies, let's get to it!" And with that, the team was dismissed.
The detectives all filed out to return to their desks and get started with their work. Terry and Bernice were left alone in the briefing room.
"You better get to that hospital before you lose your mind, Bernice," Terry told her.
"I know. I need to be there. I know all Nick's sisters are there and I'm sure his mother went straight there after Smith interviewed her, but I've got the feeling that Jen might need me," Bernice said.
Terry nodded. "You know she always needs you. And those kids need you, too. Ella's probably clammed up something awful, knowing her. And Cody's broken arm is gonna have him in hysterics till the painkillers kick in and he can get excited about picking a color for the cast."
Bernice smiled at that. Terry was marvelous with the Buchanan children. One weekend a month, Ella and Cody stayed with Auntie Bernice. And depending on what else was going on, that often meant staying at Uncle Terry's house. Bernice wasn't living there fulltime; she still had her house with Rhys and Charlie the dog, but she did stay at Terry's about half the time. And the children loved him. He was such fun with them, always playing games and telling stories and making them laugh. All of that, of course, just made Bernice love him even more.
Terry added, "When he's got the cast on, you should draw a picture on it for him. A cartoon or something for him. He'd like that."
"He would," Bernice agreed. "But Nick's more the artist than I am."
Those words had come out of her mouth without even thinking. Both she and Terry looked at each other sharply as their hearts dropped to their stomachs. Nick was the artist of the family, but there was a very real chance that he'd never get to draw pictures for his son ever again.