As soon as she was sure he would be on duty, Eddie called Detective Andrews. She arranged for her and Jamie to meet him for coffee later that morning.
Jamie and Eddie walked into the coffee shop just before 10 o'clock. Detective Andrews and his partner walked in behind them, before their order was even ready. Once all four of them got a drink, and Eddie grabbed one of those scones studded with chocolate chips, they walked to a table near the back.
Detective Andrews stuck out his hand to Eddie and then Jamie. "Will Andrews" he reminded, establishing a first name basis with them. After exchanging first names and learning the tall quiet detective joining them was named Mike Triano, they sat down. Andrews began right away telling his fellow officers, Jamie and Eddie, what the 63rd precinct knew about the attacker. "The guy is young, physically fit - probably a runner himself - and he seems to seek out victims that are easy to notice - bright clothing, pretty. The guy has a type." He also told them that it was clear the attacker was escalating in both frequency and type of victim. Apparently he was no longer willing to wait for joggers in the right location to present themselves. "This latest victim was walking the three blocks from her apartment to a yoga studio when she was ambushed and dragged into the alley. Something spooked him before anything sexual had a chance to take place but not before Ashley Greene was seriously beaten and suffered a concussion."
Triano who had been silent up to now, chimed in. "I am helping Will put together a decoy operation. I worked in narcotics before joining the 6-3 and I have a lot of experience setting these things up. I want to have three different decoys, all in place simultaneously and covered by officers from several precincts. If you are willing to get on board Officer Janko, we would welcome additional support from the 2-9. You would have eyes on you the entire time. What Will hasn't said was that we see a pattern to the attacks. They all occur in the early morning hours on either a Tuesday or Thursday. We think we can identify several dates and locations he is likely to strike. If you are interested, we'd like to have a group from the 2-9 join us for an operational meeting on Friday. "
Walking out of the coffee shop, Jamie felt about as good as he possibly could about this. Any op that put Eddie in the crosshairs made him seriously uncomfortable. But Andrews and Triano had a solid plan with lots of checks and balances. He could find no reason for Eddie not to get involved. He'd also began to think of which two officers he could provide for backup to send in with her. As much as he wanted his own name on that list, he knew that wouldn't work.
After years together, Eddie could tell what he was thinking. Instead of asking what he thought, she responded "So who are you thinking for backup?"
"First I need to clear this with the Captain, but after that I was leaning towards Tuna and Rich."
Eddie flashed him a soft smile that said she agreed. "I like them. Maybe consider Abe too?"
Jamie nodded, her instincts were right on as usual. Abe would be a better choice than Rich. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I need to bring this to the captain first."
Of course that was just a formality. Any captain would jump at the chance to have his precinct involved in an op likely to result in a high profile arrest. The incidents were not even happening in the jurisdiction of the 2-9, so the involvement of their officers was a gift. Jamie knew that and so did the Captain when he briefed him on their meeting.
"Good work, Reagan. Any thoughts on which officers you're sending with her?" It wasn't lost on Jamie that he was being reminded in no uncertain terms that he was not expected to be naming himself as one of them. Jamie outlined the two men he had in mind, one experienced officer and one rookie.
"Abe Jordan, huh?" His captain questioned.
"Yes sir. Captain of his track team in high school. He ran for City College before joining up. I think he'd offer valuable insight, sir."
"Good call. Are you interested in lending a hand with the operations side? I'm not sure I want to send my people into something without someone they can trust having their backs. You'd be following orders from the detectives in the 6-3 since this is their show, but I'd feel better if you were keeping an eye on things. You see something going wrong, let me know and we'll pull our people out."
Jamie sincerely hoped that his captain could not see the immense relief he felt at being involved, even if it was from a mobile command vehicle off site.
"Sounds great, Cap. I'll let the 63rd know we're in and talk to my officers" Jamie responded as coolly as possible.
Both Abe and Tuna were more than interested in the plain clothes duty. Tuna had hoped to take the sergeant's exam next time around, and this would look great on an application. For his part, Abe was surprised and pleased to be included. Despite having experience as a runner, he hadn't made the best first impression on Sergeant Reagan. He was anxious to make sure his reputation as a team player had a positive spin on it. Both officers were happy to clear their schedules for duty at the 6-3 on Friday.
When all of the rescheduling was completed and Jamie was sure the shifts for his officers and himself were covered, Jamie was ready to head home. Eddie had left almost an hour before him, so Jamie was surprised that the apartment was dark when he arrived. Jamie sent her a text and was relieved when she responded.
"Picking up dinner - see you soon!" She followed her message with a silly selfie, making him smile.
Jamie grabbed a shower and was watching the game when she finally came through the door, carrying a bag from his favorite Italian restaurant.
"Eggplant parmigiana and garlic bread!" Eddie said excitedly. "I've even got a salad for my favorite health nut." Without any word about her prolonged absence, she set the table and they sat down to eat.
"So the Captain was pleased with the call we got from the 6-3." Jamie told her. "He thinks the op will be a great opportunity to promote precinct relations."
"That's one way to look at it." Eddie sarcastically replied.
"Come on Ed. That's the way he has to look at it. But he cleared the way for you guys to join the them...There's something else he set up...And I'm telling you myself because I want you to hear from me that I didn't ask for this."
Eddie looked at him sceptically.
"Captain suggested I help out with operations."
"So you'll be working the op with us?"
"Yeah, you OK with that?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked sounding hurt.
"I don't know. I figured after last time that you might want to do this on your own."
"Jamie - there's a difference between doing something WITH me and trying to fix something I'm doing. Nothing could make me feel safer than knowing you have my back. Now, enough talk about work. We've got family dinner to plan and some birthday presents to buy for your nephew and grandpa. What exactly do teenage boys want these days?"
"Teenage girls?" quipped Jamie.
As they were getting ready for bed, Jamie decided to ask her the one question he had on his mind since she arrived home. "So what held you up after shift today?"
"Just needed to take care of a friend."
"Everything OK?" he was surprised at her lack of candor. He was used to Eddie sharing everything with him. Now she had a mysterious friend with a problem.
"Frankie is fine. Just needed someone to spend some time with. And after everything that happened today, it was good for me too. I like to talk things out with an objective ear"
Eddie climbed into bed and snuggled up against Jamie.
For his part, Jamie was unsettled. Eddie seemed like everything was normal..except suddenly she had a new mysterious friend. Male, female..Jamie wasn't sure as he wracked his brain trying to remember if he'd heard her mention a Frankie before. It's not like he was worried about Eddie's fidelity, but he knew one thing. He was going to find out who Frankie was and why she was being so secretive.