Chapter 10

"Good afternoon," Marie said cheerfully when Brian had reported for the afternoon shift the following day. "Something that's actually coffee and a report from Narcotics are on your desk."

"Holy hell, those flunkeys got back to me already?" he asked, opening the file. "Usually they take a hundred years over there. Lorelei must have really lit a fire under their asses."

"I'm sure she hand carried the request forms," Marie teased.

"You're awful cheerful today," Brian observed. "What's going on besides you being so equally thrilled as I am to have Nicole Galloway's killer in custody?"

"About twelve hours sleep last night," she answered. "Enjoy this Marie Davenport while you can; she doesn't come around very often. Oh, and there's a message from Paul. I'm guessing he called sometime last night after we were gone. Shields took the message."

"Good to know, because what I have here from Narcotics isn't telling me much outside of the guy's actual name and he's had a few prior drug-related busts."

Brian then punched in Paul's number, to be greeted by his yawning best friend. "This better be fucking good," Paul said grumpily.

"Paul, what the hell? It's four thirty in the afternoon," Brian said. "I could have half a day's work done by now and you're still rolling around in bed."

"I was out late," Paul explained. "I didn't get in till six this morning. I called last night before I left, but the captain said you and Marie were already gone."

"Right," Brian said, "which is why I'm calling. What's happening?"

"Black is Gerald Williams, DOB 3/5/58. Priors include trafficking, aggravated assault, possession with intent to deliver, attempted homicide, promotion of prostitution, conversion, bank fraud, and did I mention manufacturing narcotics? It also mentions the Feds are also looking into him and had more than Nicole infiltrating his little drug ring, so to be honest, having her bumped off is going to do him more harm than good. It turns out your killer Jason Benson was Williams' right hand for quite a few years. Benson also has priors."

"Well, that much I knew when he was picked up for Nikki's murder," Brian replied. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Paul said, "Both Williams and Benson were suspects in an unsolved murder in 1999, but there was insufficient evidence to formally charge them. The way you had Benson singing over Nicole's killing, who the fuck knows, you may get something about that out of him too, especially if he's wanting to get a deal from the DA's office."

"Paul, as usual, you are a professional genius," Brian said approvingly. "Go back to bed."

He hung up, smiling. So far, the day was going better than he thought.

"Find out anything interesting?" Marie asked.

"A hell of a lot more than I could have ever gotten from Narcotics," Brian nodded, relaying what Paul had told him.

"That murder in '99," Marie said thoughtfully. "That was another teenager that wasn't much older than Nicole Galloway. Do you think they may have been planted in the whole drug thing too?"

"Possibly," Brian nodded, "but since Williams was also involved in prostitution, she could have been a hooker too. I'm going to buzz Cold Case and see if they still have that file."

"Or you could always go downstairs and have Lorelei put a rush on it," Marie teased.

"Oh, very funny," Brian looked at her, laughing. "You know, you should have twelve hour sleep days more often." He then placed the call to Cold Case, inquiring about the 1999 murder.

That night:

It had been a long, yet uneventful shift. Brian had checked in with Joey as he always did, telling her he was on his way home; he knew she worried about him when he was gone, so he made sure to call her when he arrived at work and again before heading home.

He and Marie stopped off at the nearby diner for a quick late meal and had been about to leave when Brian overheard two detectives from the robbery division being called out. The address had been too familiar.

Brian gasped. "That's Lorelei's building! I'm heading over there. Could you do me a favor? Give Joey a buzz and let her know I'll be a bit late."

He left the diner, driving like a maniac to Lorelei's building. By the time Brian had arrived, he had seen both the detectives' car and a couple of marked cruisers already at the scene.

The uniform had been confused when Brian flashed his badge. "Who sent out Major Case?"

"No one; I'm off duty," Brian replied. "But one of the precinct employees lives here and I want to check on her welfare."

One of the detectives inside had spied him. "Hey, blondie, aren't you a little out of your element now?"

Brian shook his head, annoyed. "Have you talked to a Lorelei Covington yet? She's one of the tenants and works down at the precinct."

The detective shook his head. "Nope. Just some nosy old biddy downstairs that's the manager."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ. That girl could be laying up there dead and the perp who broke in here could be in Timbuktu by the time you yutzes get done around here."

He then walked up to Lorelei's unit, gently tapping on the door. He could tell she was hesitant to answer it.

"Lor," he said gently. "It's Brian."

"Brian?"

"Yeah. Open up, everything's fine and the detectives are here checking things out. Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here? I didn't think Major Case handled these things."

"I'm off duty. I overheard the call and wanted to check on you on the way home."

She unlocked the door, still clearly shaken. "Thank you."

He hugged her. "It's fine. It's over now."

"I know. I was going to pack a few things and go to a motel," Lorelei said. "I can't stay here."

"Nothing doing," he replied. "You're going with me. You can't stay here anyway even if you wanted to with the CSI's and detectives working over every inch of this place."

"But I…." Lorelei began.

"You're going with me," he insisted. "At least that way I know you're all right. Stay right here; I need to call Joey."

Brian pulled out his phone, punching in his home number. A groggy Joey answered. "Dad, where are you? You were supposed to be home an hour ago."

"I know, sweetheart, but I got sidetracked. Listen, Lorelei's place got broken into tonight and I'm bringing her back with me. I thought I'd give you a head's up."

"Oh wow! Dad, is she okay?"

"She's fine, just a bit shaken up. I'm bringing her home because obviously she can't stay here and putting out money for a motel is pure bullshit."

"I'll change the linens on your bed," Joey offered. "And put on some coffee."

"That's my girl," Brian praised. "Make sure you get stuff out of the closet to fix up the couch too."

"As you wish," Joey replied. "Just get home so I can quit worrying about you."

Brian shut the phone, putting it back in his pocket. "Jesus," he muttered, "women."