UNDERCOVER BELLA
Chapter 5
"I'm really sorry about Chicago," Emily said as she and Beca retook their seats. "I didn't want him to come, but he insisted. It's just easier to agree with him than to argue with him. "
"He sure got to the point of being ready to hurt you rather quickly," Beca said. "Does he hit you or threaten to hit you often?"
"Um," Emily said. "He's under a lot of pressure, and I should know better than to push him when he gets upset."
"Forgive me if I'm getting too personal," Beca said. "But, if he is abusing you, you know there are things you could do to get away from him, people you could talk to, right? You don't have to stay with him."
Emily chuckled softly. "That's kind of along the lines of what I was going to say to you; only mine is about getting you off the streets. There are better options for you. I have a few jobs I've heard about that you could apply for."
Emily pulled some papers from her purse and handed them to Beca. Beca accepted, making note of how easily Emily deflected away from talking more about her and Chicago.
"They are mostly minimum-wage jobs, but any one of them could get you off the streets."
"Thanks," Beca said, looking down at the papers. "I'll check them out."
"Good," Emily said, smiling. Suddenly her smile dropped. "I really should go check on Chicago. See if he's okay; he'll be more upset if I don't."
"If you ever want to get away from him," Beca said, writing something on a napkin and handing it to Emily. "Call me. I know a few people who could help you. You help me, I help you. It could be beneficial for us both."
"Thanks," Emily said. "I'll think about it. I really should go. Thanks again for agreeing to at least meet me."
"I'll see you around," Beca said.
Beca watched until Emily was out the door before looking over at Chloe and Jesse. She gathered her stuff and walked over to their table, where she sat next to Chloe.
"We need to run that Chicago guy," Beca said. "I got a bad feeling about him."
"We're already on the same page," Jesse said. "I'll run him through all the law enforcement databases I can think of when we get back to the station."
"Okay," Beca said, chewing her bottom lip.
"Is something wrong, Beca?" Chloe asked.
"I'm worried about Emily," Beca said. "She didn't come right out and confirm or deny it, but I think Chicago is abusing her. I want to help her, but I'm not sure how without blowing my cover."
"Don't worry, Beca," Jesse said. "We'll keep an eye on her and that Walp guy."
"Thanks," Beca said, nodding. "Are you two ready to go back to the station?"
"Yeah," Jesse said.
"Beca, you should leave first," Chloe said. "In case Chicago or Emily is still close by. Go around the corner to your right and walk to the next corner. Jesse and I will wait five minutes and leave. We'll go around the block and pick you up."
"That's a good idea," Beca said. "I'll see you guys in a bit."
Beca left and did as Chloe suggested.
~~ Undercover Bella ~~
Once the three detectives were back at the station, Jesse went to his desk and began running Chicago's name through every database he could think of.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Posen was waiting at Beca's desk for her. Beca stopped in the middle of the room when she saw her. She looked at Chloe, and Chloe smiled at her.
"I think she's here to apologize to you," Chloe whispered.
"Could you stay close?" Beca whispered nervously. "My interactions with the sergeant haven't ended well so far."
Chloe lightly chuckled. "Sure. I'll be at my desk and can see and hear everything."
Aubrey saw Beca and walked over to her.
"Detective Mitchell," Aubrey said, stopping in front of Beca and Chloe. "May I speak with you?" She looked around the bullpen, adding, "Alone?"
Beca's eyes widened, and she looked at Chloe. "Go ahead, Beca. It will be fine. I'll brief you on whatever we find about Walp when you get back, okay?"
"Oh, um, okay," Beca said, swallowing nervously. She looked at the sergeant, asking, "Where do you want to go to talk?"
"I'm sure one of the interrogation rooms is free," Chloe suggested. "Why don't you use one of them?"
"That will work," Aubrey said, nodding.
Aubrey started for the door, and Beca looked nervously at Chloe one last time before she followed after Aubrey.
Aubrey walked to the first interrogation room, flipped the "vacant" sign to "in use," and opened the door. She waved Beca in and closed the door behind them.
"Have a seat, please," Aubrey said, taking a seat.
Beca sat and stared across the table at Aubrey. Aubrey inhaled and let it out slowly.
"I have a couple of things I want to say to you," Aubrey said.
Beca swallowed loudly and said, "Okay."
"First, I want to apologize for my behavior on your first day," Aubrey said. "I wasn't being much of a team player or a Sergeant to you. I let the fact that I heard some rumors about you cloud my judgment, and I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. For that, I am truly sorry."
Beca tried to hide her surprise and looked directly at Aubrey.
"I know apologizing isn't easy for anyone," Beca said. "So, thank you for the apology, and consider it accepted."
Beca then stood and pushed her chair back.
"Wait," Aubrey said. "I'm not done yet. Please, sit back down."
"Oh, um, okay," Beca said, retaking her seat.
"Let me start by saying my cousin, Madison, worked at the 12th while you were there," Aubrey said.
"You and Maddie are cousins?" Beca interrupted. "No wonder you hate me; she hates me, too. It must run in the family."
"I don't hate you. When I heard you were transferring to the 27th, I asked Maddie about you," Aubrey said. "Believing what she said about you was my first mistake. Captain Adams set me straight, and now I know the truth. You helped bring down several bad cops, and that took guts."
"I was just doing my job," Beca mumbled. "And it cost three cops their lives."
"Those deaths are not on you," Aubrey said. "You went above and beyond to get some bad cops off the street. Their own greed caused their deaths, and that's on them, not you."
Beca scoffed and looked away from Aubrey.
"It didn't stop the other cops in the precinct from turning against me and spreading lies about me," Beca said.
"I know," Aubrey said. "I'm sorry you had to deal with all that alone. And I'm sorry I was so wrong about you. Chloe's been telling me how much she appreciates everything you're doing on the case. I've already apologized to her for ignoring her ideas that the murders were related; I know she appreciates you and Jesse listening to her and helping her move forward with the case. After hearing her praise of your work, I think we would work well together."
"We?" Beca asked, her brows raised in surprise. "Aren't you going to be Chloe's partner when you come back?"
"I don't know yet," Aubrey said, smiling. "The captain and I have to talk to see what would be the best fit for me. Who knows? Maybe we'll be partners. Would you be opposed to that?"
"Honestly?" Beca asked; Aubrey nodded. "No, I wouldn't be opposed to that. Jesse and I are too close, so we'd clash more than we would agree on anything. And I know you're Chloe's best friend, but I do hope that she and I become something more. And, if we do, I don't think I could be work partners with her."
"So, I'm your third choice," Aubrey said, chuckling. "Thanks for your honesty. If it's okay with you, I'll talk to the captain and suggest she pair Chloe and Jesse together, which would leave the two of us as partners."
"I'm okay with that," Beca said, laughing. She put her hand over her mouth, adding, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."
"Why did you?"
"It's just, um, this is not turning out at all like I thought it would."
"I know what you mean," Aubrey said. "But, I think it could turn out even better, don't you?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you're going to be okay with it if Chloe and I start dating."
Beca looked nervously at Aubrey for her reaction. Aubrey narrowed her eyes and looked at Beca. Beca squirmed under the intensity of the look she was receiving.
"You would not have been my first choice for Chloe," Aubrey said, holding up her hand when Beca looked as if she was going to speak. "But, after actually hearing her talk about you and the two of us having a real conversation, I think you two will go well together. Just know that if you hurt her, I will bury you."
Beca swallowed and nodded her head. "Got it."
"Good," Aubrey said, standing. "I need to go speak with the captain. I'll talk to you later?"
"Sure," Beca said, standing and offering her hand across the table. "And I look forward to working with you, sergeant."
Aubrey shook Beca's outstretched hand, saying, "Same."
The two smiled and then left the interrogation room.
~~ Undercover Bella ~~
Beca walked back into the bullpen and sat at her desk, shaking her head. Chloe looked up and furrowed her brows. She got up and walked over to Beca.
"How did it go?" Chloe asked.
"It actually went much better than I was expecting it to go," Beca said. "Let's get some lunch, and I'll tell you about it."
"Should we ask Jesse to go with us?"
"Um, sure, why not?" Beca replied.
"Hey, Jesse," Chloe called out, causing Jesse to look over at her. "Beca and I are going to get lunch; want to join us?"
"No thanks," Jesse said. "I haven't finished running Walp through the system yet. Would you mind bringing me back something, though? Beca knows what I like."
"Okay," Chloe said. "We shouldn't be more than an hour."
As they walked to Chloe's car, Beca said, "The food trucks are usually out around this time near the square. I've been craving tacos, and they have a great taco truck that sells from there."
"Sounds good," Chloe said.
Chloe drove and parked near the food trucks. Beca asked Chloe what she wanted and told her she'd get in line while Chloe found them a table. They parted ways, and Beca went to the taco truck to place their order. She watched Chloe sit at a table and joined her when their tacos were ready.
"Thank you," Chloe said, pulling her tacos to her. "So, tell me about your and Aubrey's conversation."
They both bit into their tacos, and Beca wiped her mouth before speaking.
"She first apologized for how she acted toward me on my first day," Beca said, sipping from her soda. "And then she apologized for forming an opinion about me based on what her cousin told her. Her cousin, Madison, worked at the 17th with me and shared some of the rumors that were being shared around the station."
"Can you tell me what happened?" Chloe asked, sipping her drink. "Why and how did the rumors get started?"
"It's a long story," Beca said, wiping her hands on a napkin. "We can have that conversation at another time over beers or something."
"I'll hold you to that," Chloe said, smiling. "What else did Brey say?"
"Well, she, um. She gave us her blessing if we were to start dating," Beca said. "She also gave me the I hurt you, and she'll hurt me best friend speech."
"You told her about our date?"
"Um, yeah. Was I not supposed to tell anyone?"
"No, it's fine," Chloe said. "I was just surprised. I was going to tell her when we went out tonight. And for the record, I don't care who else knows. "
Beca gave Chloe a toothy grin. "Good to know."
Before either of them could say anything more, Beca's phone pinged with a text notification.
"Jesse says we need to get back ASAP," Beca said. "The captain wants to see all of us."
~~ Undercover Bella ~~
Jesse was waiting for Beca and Chloe, and as soon as they entered the station, he said, "Come with me; the captain is waiting for us in Interrogation Room 2."
"Do you know why the captain wants to see us?" Chloe asked.
"She didn't say anything to me," Jesse said. "But Sergeant Posen was with her."
Jesse stopped at the door and lightly knocked. He opened the door after hearing a voice inside say, "Enter."
Jesse entered the room, followed by Beca and then Chloe. Chloe smiles at Aubrey, sitting next to the captain.
"Have a seat, detectives," Captain Adams said.
The three sit and look from the captain to Aubrey and back again. Captain Adams leans her arms on the table and looks at the three detectives.
"Beale, where are we on the case you three are working on?"
Chloe gave the captain an update; Beca told her about her meeting with Emily.
"Do you have anyone who rises to the top of your suspect list?"
"Not really," Chloe said. "We have two that we consider viable, but we don't have enough evidence on either of them to make an arrest. It's mostly just a gut feeling more than anything else."
"Well, I trust your gut instincts," Aubrey said. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon."
"I agree," Captain Adams said.
"Um, thanks," Chloe said. "We're taking the weekend off, but we plan to have Beca out on the streets again starting Monday. We think that the prostitutes may know something but are afraid to come forward. We believe that if Beca can get in with them, one of them may provide some info that will help us before the next murder happens, which, if the killer sticks to his usual plan, will be in about two weeks."
"Keep me posted on your progress," Captain Adams said.
"Of course, ma'am," Chloe said. "Is that it, Captain?"
"No. The main reason I asked to speak with you all is that I'm making some reassignments now that Sergeant Posen has been cleared to return," Captain Adams said.
"Oh, Brey, it will be great to have my partner back," Chloe said, smiling.
"Not so fast, Beale," Captain Adams said. "Sergeant Posen will not be partnered with you. You and Swanson will be partners."
"Oh," Chloe said. "Wait! Does that mean that Beca will be Brey's partner?"
"That's exactly what it means," Captain Adams said. "Do you have a problem with that, Detective Mitchell?"
"No, ma'am," Beca said, shaking her head. "I'm looking forward to working with the Sergeant."
"You already knew about this?" Jesse whispered.
Beca looked at him and gave him a slight nod.
"Good! Until this case is solved, the four of you will work on it together," Captain Adams said. "Beale, you'll continue to be the lead detective on the case, and I'll leave it up to you to give Posen a more detailed briefing to bring her up to speed on where you are in your investigation. Any questions?"
"No, ma'am," Chloe and Aubrey said.
"Good," Captain Adams said, standing.
"Thank you, Captain," Aubrey said as the captain left the room.
As soon as the Captain was out of sight, Chloe jumped up and hugged Aubrey.
"I'm so glad you're back!" Chloe squealed.
"It's good to be back," Aubrey said, pulling back from the hug. "I have to admit, I really hadn't expected to come back. However, after speaking to a therapist, I realized that I was allowing the shooting to control my behavior. I've only seen him three times, but I'm in a good headspace now. I'll continue to see him, so hopefully, I won't revert back to being a…What was it you called me, Beca? A dictator."
"Um, yeah," Beca said, grinning sheepishly. "I'm really sorry about that, sergeant."
Aubrey smiled and looked around at the three detectives.
"So, what do you have on the case that you didn't tell the captain?"
~~ Undercover Bella ~~
Later that night, Beca and Jesse sat in their favorite pizza joint, sipping on their beer as they waited for their pizza.
"Go ahead," Beca said, setting her beer on the table. "Ask me."
"Ask you what?" Jesse asked, sipping from his glass.
"You know what," Beca said, smirking in the way she has.
"Fine," Jesse said. "Are you and Posen becoming a thing?"
Beca barked out a laugh when Jesse threw a smug smile at her.
"You're an asshole."
"That may be true," Jesse said. "But you have to admit you and Posen becoming partners, especially after what happened on your first day, is something of a surprise. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that you and I wouldn't work so well as partners because we're too close and would lock horns too much," Beca said. "We'd never solve anything."
Jesse scoffed. "Is that your only reason?"
"No," Beca said, taking a drink from her beer before continuing. "I'm hoping my date with Chloe tomorrow night will become something-"
"What the hell?" Jesse yelled, causing other customers to look over at him. He lowered his voice and asked, "You have a date with Chloe tomorrow? Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?"
"I literally just asked her this morning," Beca said. "I was planning on telling you everything tonight. The captain's announcement about the reassignment kind of messed that up."
Jesse rested his elbows on the table, cupped his chin in his hands, and looked at Beca, smiling.
"So, tell me exactly how you asked her."
Beca shook her head and laughed. "You are such a girl."
~~ Undercover Bella ~~
A few blocks away, Chloe and Aubrey were sitting at a bar, each with a drink sitting on the bar in front of them. The current topic of conversation was Beca.
"I told you that you'd like her once you got to know her a little better," Chloe said, smiling.
"I hate to admit it, but you're right," Aubrey said, raising her glass to her lips. "She's really not someone I'd hang out with on the regular, but if you're going to be dating her, I'll make an exception."
"That's all I ask," Chloe said, sighing. "I really, really like her, Brey."
"I know," Aubrey said.
They both sipped their drinks and let out audible sighs of appreciation.
"Do you have any ideas on your next steps to get a viable suspect in the case?" Aubrey asked.
"I think our best bet is to get Beca back out on the streets and hope she can get one of the girls to talk to her," Chloe said. "I consider Luke Daniels to be a person of interest. Beca said he keeps hitting on her even though she has told him she's gay and not interested."
"And the murdered girls all resemble Beca?"
"Yep."
"Okay," Aubrey said. "So, Daniels is suspect number one. Why do you suspect that Walp guy? Do you have anything on him?"
"His girlfriend, Emily Junk, is the sister of the second victim, Lori Junk, so he knew her," Chloe said. "And he was checking Beca out and called her a whore when Beca was meeting with Emily. Beca said he gave her a weird vibe, and I trust Beca's instincts. That's why we decided to run Walp through the system."
"Jesse's check showed several domestic disturbance calls against him," Aubrey said. "But his girlfriend would never press charges."
"Just another reason to add him to our suspect list," Chloe said.
"Okay," Aubrey said. "Now we have Walp as suspect number two. Any evidence that stands out against either of them?"
"Unfortunately, no," Chloe said. "Beca and I are going to talk to Daniels and his mother on Sunday after dinner. We're just talking to them as possible witnesses to see if they may have seen something since he lives in the area where three of the girls worked the streets, and Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell were leaving his place around the time Lily said the last girl was murdered."
"Hmm," Aubrey said. "Wasn't his DNA found near the scene of that murder?"
"Yes," Chloe said. "That's why I'm putting him as our number one suspect."
"And I'm sure it has nothing at all to do with you being jealous because of Beca and the way Daniels is with her," Aubrey said with a teasing grin.
"Shut up," Chloe said, blushing. She smiled, adding, "Oh, speaking of Beca, I need to text her where to meet me tomorrow night."
Chloe pulled out her phone, and her smile widened as she wrote and sent a text to Beca.
~~ Undercover Bella ~~
"And she said it's a date, and I said definitely," Beca said as her phone pinged with a text notification. "And now we're going out tomorrow night."
Beca dropped her slice of pizza on her plate and picked up her phone; she couldn't help but smile when she saw the text from Chloe.
"I can tell by your smile that text must be from Chloe," Jesse said, reaching for another slice. "So, what did she say?"
"You really are such a girl," Beca laughed.
"I'm also your best friend," Jesse said. "And Chloe's the first girl I've seen you so enamored with after knowing her for such a short time. And it has been forever since you've dated anyone."
"What about you?" Beca asked. "When was the last date you went on?"
"We aren't talking about me," Jesse said. "We're-"
"Maybe we should be," Beca interrupted.
"Stop trying to change the subject," Jesse said. "And tell me what you have planned for your date."
"Chloe actually planned it," Beca said. "I'm meeting her at-." Beca stopped herself and shook her head. "Nope, uh-uh, I'm not telling you. It would be just like you to show up and accidentally run into us."
"I'm offended you think I would do something like that," Jesse said with faux indignation. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he said, "Change of subject?"
"Please," Beca said.
"Now that Sergeant Posen is working the case, can we both go with you and Chloe to talk to Luke and Sheila on Sunday?"
"No," Beca said quickly.
"But-"
"No, Jesse," Beca interrupted. "My dad invited Chloe and me to dinner to talk to Luke and Sheila afterward. If the four of us show up, it might spook Luke. I think he is still a viable suspect, and I don't want to cause him to take it out on some other girl before we can gather more evidence against him or find something that rules him out as a suspect. Sorry, but you're still going to have to sit this one out."
"Fine," Jesse said. "For that and the fact you forgot to bring me back something for lunch, I'm taking the last slice of pizza."
Jesse grabbed the last slice of pizza and shoved half of it in his mouth before Beca could say or do anything.