Switchblade Read online

  “Why were you so interested in his case?” I was beginning to think Sally’s penchant for gossip had caused her to blow the importance of this event out of proportion.

  “Because I’m nosy, that’s why. Everything about the call was off. From the way the dispatcher acted when the call came in to the detective who responded to the scene.”

  I perked up. “Spill.”

  “Well, they only sent one detective even though protocol calls for two. And they sent the wrong kind. You have any idea why they would send a homicide detective to the scene of a domestic disturbance?”

  The minute she said homicide detective I had a feeling I knew who had shown up, but I had to ask anyway. She took a long pull off the cigarette before answering, and it took every ounce of self-control I had not to strangle her.

  “Teresa Perez. You know Perez, don’t you?”

  I hadn’t known Sally or even Hardin at the time of my first run-in with Perez, but the story of the shooting that led to me leaving the department had made the papers. Because both our names had been mentioned in the various articles written on the subject, we’d forever be linked. That, and the fact that Perez played on Jess’s softball team. And she kept showing up whenever I got in trouble. But the latest links defied coincidence. Teresa Perez, a homicide detective, just happened to show up to interrogate me about a cop shooting―no homicide involved. Teresa Perez also just happened to have been on the scene of a domestic disturbance with the same cop who’d gotten shot last night, and who now didn’t have a record when he probably should’ve. I was pretty sure I hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface. I needed to get away from the haze of smoke and back to my place to sort this out.

  “How do you remember this?” I asked her. “Didn’t you say it was a year ago?”

  “I’m telling you, it’s my hobby.” She pulled her iPhone out of her purse and scrolled through the screens. “Look, there’s even an app you can use to listen to the police scanner.”

  I stared as she pressed the button and brought the app to life. Suddenly, we were listening to a dispatcher at the Dallas Police Department sending officers to get rid of a panhandler blocking a busy intersection. Before the officers responded, a loud ring interrupted the transmission. Sally checked her phone. “Not me.”

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the screen. It was Jess’s partner, John. We were acquainted through Jess, but he hadn’t ever called me just to chat. I punched “answer.” “John, what is it?”

  “Have you heard from Jess?”

  “Not since this morning. Why? What’s up?”

  “I just got word Perez is on her way over there. She’s not happy about Jess getting you sprung this morning, and there’s no telling what she’s up to now. I strongly suggest you stay far, far away.”

  “Why didn’t you call her?”

  “Her phone’s off. She called me this morning and told me she was taking the day off to get you out of a mess, so I just figured you two were together.” His tone implied he didn’t think springing me out of police custody was the only reason Jess had taken the day off.

  “I left there a while ago. Perez is a piece of shit. So help me, if she does anything to Jess, I’ll—”

  “I mean it, Luca,” John interrupted me. “Don’t get in the middle of this. Jess can handle herself. You’ll just make it worse.”

  I hung up before he could finish warning me off. He knew me well enough to know he was wasting his breath. I signaled to Cash we were leaving, and shouted “thanks for the scoop” over my shoulder at Sally. A strong suggestion not to do something was a strong signal I should do exactly the opposite.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Didn’t get enough pancakes?”

  Jess stood in her doorway, wearing faded jeans and a tight black T-shirt. She was barefoot and her hair was as mussy as when I’d crawled out of her bed hours earlier. She looked sexy as hell, but all I could think about was who else was about to show up. I walked in with Cash and tugged Jess back into the house, slamming the door behind us. I walked over to the window and peered outside.

  “Luca, what’s going on?”

  “Perez is on her way over.”

  “And?”

  “And I think she plans on causing trouble. She’s pissed you got me cut loose this morning.”

  “Where’d you hear that?”

  “John just called me.”

  Jess shrugged as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “What kind of trouble can she cause?”

  I gave her my best “are you fucking kidding me” look, but she didn’t give in.

  “Seriously, Luca, I can handle her, but it’s probably best if you’re not here when she shows up.”

  “I’m not leaving, and there’s another thing—”

  The doorbell interrupted me, and I glanced through the window while Jess went to answer the door, and then braced for the fallout.

  “What the hell?” Jess looked up from the peephole and shot me a withering look. “Why is Ronnie Moreno standing on my doorstep?”

  I hadn’t figured out how to tell her I’d called Ronnie, so I’d done what I usually do when something’s uncomfortable. I put off dealing with it until absolutely necessary. I thought I’d have more time to think of a good explanation. “I called her.”

  “What the hell for?” She shook her head. “You gave her my address?” Her voice rose. “You gave your ex-girlfriend my address?”

  I knew it would be silly to shoot back that Ronnie had never been my girlfriend. Kinda made me look pathetic, and Jess already knew I’d never had a girlfriend before. I’d called her because she was the only lawyer I knew who owed me enough to drop whatever she was doing on a Saturday afternoon and show up to help out. Jess may not think she needed an attorney, but I didn’t trust Perez. And now that I knew she was twisted up in Jackson’s mess, I suspected her capable of all kinds of evil. I grabbed Jess by the shoulders and forced her to look at me.

  “Here’s the deal. Perez is up to something. I can either beat her up or Moreno can get in the middle with her lawyer mojo and ward her off, but I’m not letting her do anything to fuck up your career. Are we clear?”

  Jess shot daggers for a few seconds before cutting her eyes. “Okay, but I do the talking. Tell your girlfriend not to butt in unless I tell her too.”

  Girlfriend. Right. I ignored her goading and answered the door. Ronnie swept into the room, brimming with questions.

  “Luca, what’s going on? Did you find out something about Jorge’s case? Is it bad? I was at my mother’s and I had to make up some excuse about leaving. They are worried sick about Jorge, but I didn’t want to tell them it was you that called, well, because my mother loves you and I didn’t want them to get their hopes up.” She stopped for a quick breath and then turned to Jess. “Jorge says you’re helping him. Well, he didn’t know who you were, but I do and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking a chance like this.”

  “Helping him?”

  Jess’s voice was strangled. I rushed over to her side and grabbed her hand in an effort to defuse the explosion I knew was coming. Once I was certain Jess wasn’t going to blow, I turned to Ronnie. “Jess went with me to meet Jorge this morning because my car was…” I wasn’t about to tell her about my involvement in the shootout last night. “It wouldn’t start and she gave me a ride. That’s it. She’s not involved. But now Teresa Perez thinks she is, and she’s on her way over here. I don’t know what she wants, but I can guarantee she’s not coming over here to offer her assistance. I need you to keep Jess out of this, or I’m off the case. Can you do that?”

  Ronnie looked back and forth between me and Jess while I prayed she would keep things professional. “How do you want to play this?” she asked.

  The doorbell rang again and Jess took over. She pointed at me. “You. Get lost. She doesn’t need to know you’re here.” She jabbed a finger in Ronnie’s direction. “You stay quiet unless I specifically ask you to talk.”

&nb
sp; I considered arguing with Jess. After all, my car was parked out front, and Perez was an ass, but she wasn’t stupid. But since the goal of getting Ronnie here was to keep Jess out of trouble, I decided to do my part and I strode into the bedroom and listened through the cracked door.

  Their voices were somewhat muffled, but there was no mistaking the tone. Perez was pissed.

  “Where is she and what is she doing here?” Perez demanded. Pretty clear she was talking about both me she and Ronnie she.

  “Neither one of those things is any of your business. Does your captain know you’re investigating somebody else’s case? Don’t you have enough to do without sticking your nose into things that don’t concern you?”

  “Careful, Chance. A cop gets shot, it’s everyone’s business. Unless you’re working for the other side. Is that your problem?”

  “I’m as much a cop as you are. Don’t you dare imply differently.”

  “Then you won’t mind if I look around. Make sure you’re not trying to hide anything.”

  Ronnie interjected. “She would mind, and unless you have a warrant, you need to leave, Detective Perez.”

  Uh-oh. Should’ve known any woman I’d been with wouldn’t be able to follow instructions. I listened for the fallout, but instead, I heard Jess say, with steely calm, “Yeah, what she said.”

  Teresa Perez was anything but calm. “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be? You going to listen to the advice of this piece of shit lawyer over your fellow police officers? How far you’ve fallen, and all because of that Bennett trash. When are you going to figure out she’s bad news and you’re never going to save her from herself?”

  Silence.

  I listened hard, but nothing. Apparently, neither Ronnie nor Jess had a single word to offer in my defense. I was on the verge of mounting a protest, when Jess spoke.

  “Detective Perez, you need to leave my house now and you better not be back here without a warrant. And stay away from Bennett. Do you hear me?”

  “I hear you loud and clear. Finally showing your true colors, hey, Chance? Well, I hope she’s great in the sack because your career is finished.” Seconds later, I heard the door slam.

  *

  I sat on Jess’s bed. We’d spent a lot of time here in this room, but hardly any of it had been about anything other than physical satisfaction. How satisfying was it if it ruined Jess’s life? I may not have understood what she found so fulfilling about being a cop, but I didn’t want her to lose the central thing that had defined her existence for as long as I’d known her. I especially didn’t want to be the cause of that loss.

  “Luca, you coming out here or what?” Jess’s voice boomed.

  I wanted to crawl out the window. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I couldn’t believe I’d called Ronnie and that she’d actually shown up at Jess’s place. The last thing I wanted to do was face them both, in the same room, but there were limited places to hide.

  When I entered the living room, they were both sitting on the couch, talking. To each other. No raised voices, no frowns. If I didn’t know better I’d think they were old friends.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  Ronnie looked up, an elusive expression in her eyes. “Not at all. Jessica was telling me how you two met.”

  “Nice. Next we can call my mom and she can tell you stories about my childhood.”

  Jess pointed at the chair next to the couch. “Sit.”

  I didn’t want to, but I did. It was one small thing I could do for her.

  “Now,” she said, “Tell me what you meant when you said Perez is all twisted up with Jackson.”

  I’d given Ronnie a thumbnail sketch over the phone, but now I told both of them what I’d learned from Sally. By the time I finished, Ronnie was on the edge of her chair, practically frothing at the mouth.

  “So you’re telling me that Teresa Perez covered up the fact that Jackson beat his wife? That he broke her arm and put her in the hospital?”

  “I don’t really know what happened, but it sure sounds that way. And then she ratted out your brother, who just happened to be Jackson’s partner for stuff Jackson himself may have done. And then she shows up when Jackson gets shot to try to manage the investigation and pin the shooting on me, or at least get people to think it was caused by my investigation into your brother.” When I said it all out loud, it was obvious we were talking about more than a string of odd coincidences.

  Ronnie obviously agreed. “Sounds like a little Freedom of Information Act request is in order. I’ll serve them with a subpoena too just to cover our bases.” Ronnie pulled out her phone, but before she could start dialing, I reached over and grabbed it out of her hand.

  “Give that back to me,” she said.

  “Slow down, Atticus Finch. There are complications.” I gave a slight nod in Jess’s direction, hoping Ronnie wouldn’t make me spell out the conflict. I shouldn’t have sweated it. She knew exactly what I meant, and she didn’t hold back telling me exactly what she thought.

  “Hold on a minute. Are you telling me I shouldn’t use information you obtained while you were working for me because it might get your cop buddies in trouble? Hey, Luca, you think maybe you shouldn’t have taken my money if you weren’t willing to do the job I hired you for?”

  Before I could answer, Jess spoke up. “She’s right, you know. You need to figure out where you stand.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s time to stop living your life like there are no consequences. You can keep working on this case, get to the truth, but people are going to get hurt along the way—some of them good people. Your choice.”

  I looked back and forth between them, but neither one of them was going to save me from the decision. I could stick with Ronnie and find out the truth about Jorge’s case, discover why Nancy got shot, and how Perez was involved. I’d earn my five grand, maybe more. I could pay my rent, feed me and my dog, all while doing a job way more meaningful than chasing bail jumpers. How was what Jess did so different from this? If I followed through, I’d be doing exactly the same thing she did on a daily basis. I might hurt Jess in the process, but it was beginning to sound like she was choosing Perez and all the silence among cop shit over me, so there was that.

  “Ronnie, give us the room. I’ll call you later.”

  She looked surprised. Of course she did. She thought she’d won this round. There weren’t going to be any winners, but I needed a second with Jess before I could even say what side I was on. I stared her down until she stood up, brushed off her skirt, and walked over to my side.

  “I’ll call you later.” Her words sure, confident. Wish I felt that certain.

  I waited until she’d driven away before taking the spot she’d occupied on the couch. Next to Jess, but closer. Didn’t matter how close I got, we were a million miles apart.

  “I’ve got a job. I made a promise.”

  “Like that’s ever meant anything to you.” Jess didn’t face me as she spoke, but instead of biting, her tone was neutral, like the words didn’t matter. We’d had this discussion endless times. She did the work of the righteous; I caught the dregs who got away. If I didn’t feel like working, I stayed in bed. Even when I did work, I didn’t have any of the badges of a respectable position: a regular paycheck, health benefits, or a retirement. My landlord was constantly looking for me because I was behind on rent. I kept my life savings in a coffee can.

  I flashed back to the night of Mark’s wedding, before Ronnie appeared on my doorstep. I’d been about to say things I’d never said to Jess. Never said to anyone. Big things. Big things to me, anyway. Had Ronnie saved the day? And if she had, who really got saved—me or Jess?

  But what I did for a living did mean something to me, even if it wasn’t a J-O-B. It had never failed me, never betrayed me. It was freedom. It was not having to report to anyone else. It was all the things I’d have had to give up if I’d spoken the words Ronnie had interrupted.

  I should
’ve felt relieved, but all I felt was lost.

  Cash wandered over and placed his head in my lap, and I instinctively petted his head.

  “That dog seems to like you.”

  He did. And the bonus was he didn’t have big expectations. Feed him, walk him, take him for a ride. About all the commitment I could handle. Funny how such a low bar was more commitment than Jess thought I was up for. I’d been crazy to think that even if I’d spoken out loud any of my crazy thoughts, she’d melt in my arms and agree to forever. Jess wanted more than I could ever offer. She deserved more.

  “Look at me.”

  I waited a long time, and I thought she might refuse, but finally, she turned her head and we locked eyes. If I’d known this morning was the last time, I would have…I don’t know what I would’ve done differently, but surely it would’ve been something. Probably something stupid, like say some of those words. Words she wouldn’t believe, words she wouldn’t say back. Hours after the haze of sex, I was smart enough to know exactly what to say.

  “I have to see this through.”

  She didn’t flinch. She didn’t ask questions. She didn’t react at all. I now knew all I needed to know. I stood and motioned to Cash. He followed me to the door and sat with his tail thumping on the floor as I tried to think of some parting words that didn’t sound trite and stupid. In her usual way, Jess saved me by speaking our last words.

  “Take care of yourself.”

  What choice did I have?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ronnie was waiting on my doorstep when I got home.

  “Go away. I’m off duty for the night.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She meant it. I could tell. But she wasn’t sorry enough to back off, to leave me alone, and find someone else to help her brother out of his mess.

  “I can’t deal with you right now.”

  “I didn’t realize you were in love with her.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “You should’ve told me no. When I asked you for help. You should’ve told me no.”