Stalking the sniper
Natalie's viewpoint
I could make out the sea of uniforms surrounding the scene before I pulled up, there's nothing like a call of an officer down to attract attention.
Yesterday we'd celebrated the arrival of a Tuesday morning without a call out to the scene of a sniper attack. The Major Crimes squad, Maura, Ana and I had quietly celebrated with coffee and some homemade cookies Michael Tao's wife had made, beyond pleased that through our combined efforts we'd saved a life. Now all that we had to do was find Charlotte Weaver before she could kill again.
Now it was a late Wednesday morning and here I was rolling out to what looked like some more of her work.
I parked nearby and made my way to the scene, as several of the media spotted me and tried to get a statement, calling out to me and trying to get a camera in my face as I approached the police crime scene tape. I paused for a moment to make a quick statement.
"As you can see, I've only just arrived, let me get the facts straight and I'll be right back to you"
Dodging the camera's and stepping under the tape, I flashed my ID at the uniforms trying to keep the scene clear of rubberneckers and hold the media back, hoping to give their fellow officers some shreds of dignity in death.
Brenda and the team had been called late; it was only the report of a white van at the scene of the shooting that had popped up as a flag on the despatcher's computer, leading to a notice to Major Crimes. As I approached the scene, I could see Brenda assigning tasks to the squad as we waited for Maura and her people to arrive; they had left right after me so they should be here in the next few minutes.
I took in the scene, a lone Black and White by the side of the road and two officers down in pools of blood. I paused to kneel for a moment near the closest body, murmuring a short prayer for these two officers, their families and friends. I could feel several uniforms looking at me curiously, but they gave me a moment alone.
Policing's a dangerous job, there were over two hundred names on the LAPDs honour roll, in the time I'd been here I'd seen four more added; Officers Kelly and Liao at the cartel shooting and now this.
It was bad enough sending Ana out each morning, even though she wasn't a uniform on the street, her work kept her from the random violence of a beat cop's life. I sometimes wondered how Maura handled the stress. Better than I did obviously.
Finally, looking up to where the Chief was standing, I rose and made my way over towards her, standing near enough to hear what was happening but far enough away to stay out of her way until we could talk.
Buzz was filming the site, as Flynn and Tao examined the bodies. Sanchez and Jane were talking to witnesses while Provenza was on the phone, talking to someone.
"Ah Natalie, you're here"
"Hi Chief, sorry I took so long, traffic's a mess and I don't have a siren" She nodded, looking preoccupied, hardly a surprise. "What happened?"
"From initial statements it appears that Officer Mullins pulled a white van over, probably to hand out a traffic citation. While Officer Black checked the rego number on the database, Cory Mullins walked up to the driver's side door. It appears Weaver was waiting and immediately shot him in the face, the wound was instantly fatal" I closed my eyes; at least it had been quick.
"Weaver then stepped out of the car and took several steps to clear the back of the van, just as Nicki Black was getting out of the cruiser. Her first shot hit Nikki and dropped her, subsequent shots killed her" I flinched; Brenda's matter of fact delivery wasn't really helping.
"Weaver fired several more shots before getting back into the van and driving off. We have an alert out, now we have the registration to work with"
"How do you know it was Weaver?" She shrugged.
"Eyewitnesses descriptions match, a powerfully built dark-haired woman with a notable limp" I nodded. Brenda grimaced. "It also fits for another reason"
"Oh?"
Brenda led me around the Back and White to where Officer Black's body lay sprawled next to the car door covered by a sheet, before kneeling and lifting the sheet. Looking at the ruin of her face, I almost vomited.
"We think she fired four or five shots into poor Nicki's face, totally destroying it. Talking to her fellow officers from Rampart Division, she was regarded as particularly pretty" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to centre myself. I could deal with this I told myself, I could. I sighed before replying.
"Well, we both know what Weaver thinks of attractive women" Brenda nodded, laying the sheet down again.
"We're pulling the footage from the Black and White's surveillance camera, so we'll have some video soon. I'll want to get that out to media right away"
"No problem. What do you want me to tell the media Brenda?"
"The usual, any information, report anything to police and under no circumstances approach her"
"I'll get it out as soon as I can"
Maura, obviously just arrived, walked up and greeted us.
"Brenda, Natalie, sorry I'm late, traffic was horrendous"
I stepped aside as her team moved towards the bodies. She nodded at me as Brenda filled her in, while I stepped back to give them room to move.
Getting out of the way I walked back over to where Andy Flynn was standing.
"Hey Nat"
"Morning Andy" He nodded towards the Black and White.
"Not a good one though" I sighed and nodded.
"It never is"
"That Weaver chick must have completely gone off her rocker, shooting down cops in the street, let alone what she did to Nicki" I looked at him, he was showing some the pain.
"You knew her?"
"Yeah, kinda, we played on different teams in the LAPD bowling league"
"I'm sorry Andy, I really am" He nodded slowly, sadly.
"She really has lost it hasn't she"
"I expect that she wasn't all that stable beforehand, when we worked out who her victims were and got them away from her, it may have pushed her over the edge" I shrugged. "We won't know until we find her" His voice was tired.
"She was only shooting one person a week before, god knows what she'll do now" I pursed my lips, thinking of the worst case scenario.
"She may end up seeing LA as a free fire war zone; hopefully we can find her before she starts shooting indiscriminately" He nodded.
"Just what we need, a sniper with millions of potential targets, as if this mess wasn't bad enough" He shook his head. ""We've got a BOLO on the van's licence plate, though I expect she'll ditch that soon enough, now we know the number"
I nodded. Weaver would probably dump it somewhere and try and disappear again. As I looked around I could see the media pack growing restless. I took a breath; time to go to work.
"Excuse me Andy, I have work to do" His eyes followed mine to take in the crowd of cameras and he scowled.
"Better you than me, damned vultures" I nodded and patted his shoulder before making my way towards the waiting pack, who started baying as I got closer.
"Natalie, can we get a word"
"Why is this a major crimes case?"
"When will there be a media conference?"
"Can we speak to Chief Johnson?"
"Nat, can we get you on camera?"
"Who were the dead officers?"
"Natalie, over here please…"
"Can we get a statement?"
I held up my hand and ignored their shouts. Eventually they quietened.
'Show time'
"I will answer each of your questions, but one at a time please people. Now, to answer your questions, a statement will be issued shortly, as soon as we have the facts straight. We will be releasing video footage of the incident as soon as we can and Chief Johnson will not be available for an interview at this time" I paused as the questions started again. Again I held up my hand.
"Major Crimes Division is involved due to the potential implications this tragic incident has for an ongoing open case currently under investigation" I swept my eyes over the assembled crews, picking out logos and identifying key people to background later.
"We will be releasing the names of our slain officers as soon as we can, as you are all aware, it is imperative that we notify their families and loved ones first" I took a breath.
"The LAPD will be issuing in car surveillance footage of this morning's incident and we will be seeking the public's help in locating the person responsible. We'll have that footage out to you as soon as possible" I looked around and smiled as I mentally braced for the assault.
"Now, are there any questions?"