"Captain Rainier, do you have an explanation for these pictures? I'm sure the press would like to know what you were doing out with a known Carta member." Commissioner Meredith Stannard stood ramrod still beside her desk, arms folded behind her back. Thom looked down at the glossy prints, recognizing himself and – his body went cold – that was Anais beside him, hand in his.
"Where did you get these?" He asked, afraid of the answer, as he tentatively lifted his head to meet her gaze.
"They were delivered to my doorstep early this morning by way of an anonymous tip." Stannard's tone was crisp, staccato even. "You're lucky no one else saw them but me."
Rainier could tell she was angry but she never showed it beside the flaring of her nostrils whenever he managed to gather the guts to look her in the face, the lividity of her cheeks a clear sign this was an embarrassment to the force. Even worse, this was made personal; someone had taken these photographs and brought them straight to her house. This was an embarrassment to her.
"Shit." Thom muttered under his breath, before looking at the pictures again. "This has to be a set up."
"A set up, Captain?" There was a raise of her eyebrows and she fixed him with a piercing look. Stannard was good at looking right through him as if he didn't exist. "This is a complete breach of protocol and I should have your badge right now for this."
He inhaled sharply, eyes widening. "Commissioner Stannard, I–"
"But. You show promise, Captain. I can see you will not let me down if I give you another chance. You need to get to the bottom of this. Find out who did this, and I will expunge this photograph mess from your record here." She held her hand up, palm facing him. "This is your last chance, Rainier."
"Yes, ma'am." Thom was studying the photograph. "Did they leave anything else with these?"
"A letter demanding money in exchange for silence. The lab's dusting it for prints as we speak."
"What is this, blackmail then?"
"Precisely, Captain. I believe someone is pressuring the precinct into staying silent for some reason, particularly you. Or perhaps they want you sacked."
"This must have something to do with the Lt. Janeka case." Rainier let the glossy photo drop down onto the table. "It's what I was doing there. Cadash had some information, and I have strong reason to believe corruption has reached the upper levels of the force."
"Do you have proof to back this up?" Stannard seemed surprised that he had come to this conclusion.
"No."
"Just the word of some guttersnipe bitch with orders from some lyrium dealer." The commissioner turned from him, to pick up the photos and put them away in a manila folder.
"Don't call her that!" It was out before Thom could stop it and as soon as he said it, he tightened his hands to fists.
Stannard stiffened, glancing at him over her shoulder, her gaze hard as diamond. "Captain, I think you'd be better off assigned to a different case. You're too invested in this."
"Commissioner, Cadash has helped us close twenty different cases. She hasn't been wrong yet."
"Yet is a problematic word. She will eventually have faulty information. It's a liability, Captain."
Thom started, her words taking him by surprise. He barely managed to get the words out. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."
"Are you now?" Stannard had fully turned to face him once more, her knuckles white grips on the manila envelope. "Remember: One more screw up and I'll have your badge, Thom."
"I understand." Rainier was beginning to walk toward the door, feeling the commissioner's eyes on him, the feeling sending goosebumps down his back.
"I'm glad we see eye to eye." Stannard called after him, right as he closed the door behind him with a click.
Literal moments after he left the commissioner's office, Thom's phone rang. He flipped it open with his thumb and put it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Captain Rainier? Hi, it's Bethany. You know, from the labs. Commissioner Stannard had us working to find some fingerprints for her."
Oh. The results were in. "And?"
"I don't think you're going to like what we found."
"Go on." Thom was growing impatient.
"So we, the guys and I, were going through the records to see if we had any matches, and we have one." Dr. Hawke huffed on the other end of the line, the sound of papers being shuffled could be heard from the speaker.
"Okay. I have yet to see why this is a bad thing, but I'm sure you'll tell me." Rainier ran a hand through his messy hair. "Who do I need to find?"
"The guy's name is Tethras. He was picked up a few months ago for trespassing on private property, and he has a few counts of being brought in for illegally photographing crime scenes. Apparently he's some kind of wannabe paparazzo. From what we could find, he runs a gossip site."
"No wonder he wanted money for those photos." Thom murmured, glancing back at the commissioner's door, before stepping away slowly, staying quiet. "Thanks, Beth. I'm sure I can get an address for this Tethras guy, right?"
"Already got it. Thought you'd need it." She told him the address.
A smile crossed Captain Rainier's face and a feeling of pride in Bethany's efficiency welled up. "Remind me to get you some coffee or something. You're the best."
"It's just my job, Captain Rainier." She gushed, bashful.
"Alright, thanks again, Dr. Hawke. Let me know if you find anything else."
"Sure thing."
Thom hung up, glancing at the address he had written. This prick didn't apparently have a listed home address, instead it was some shitty dive bar downtown. Great.
He wondered if Anais was busy. He could use some backup, and the dwarf knew her way around the city like the back of her hand. For a moment he entertained the notion of dialing her cell, but he knew Stannard would have his hide if there were any more slip ups like the one the other day. He was on thin ice as it was, and Cadash was a distraction he couldn't afford to deal with.
Captain Rainier clasped his hand around his phone as he put it back in his pocket, but didn't pull it out again. Calling Anais would have to wait. At least until after this mess with Tethras was settled.