“He does. Murphy brought him into the loop because Briggs will become the interim head of Homicide while I’m gone.”
A groan escaped my lips.
“And, Max . . . I can’t promise that I’m coming back. In fact, Lydia’s been pushing me to retire.”
“And Lieutenant Briggs will become Commander Briggs.”
“That’s not my choice, Max. You know that. Hell, if I had my way there would be no Lieutenant Briggs—there’d be a Lieutenant Rupert. But I don’t call that shot, Murphy does.”
“I’m not the management type, Matt. You know that. The one who should be moving up is Niki. She’s the brightest in the department—hands down. She’d make one hell of a commander.”
“I know that, Max, but more important, Briggs knows that. You have to be careful with him. He’s a climber. While you and Niki are out solving crimes, he’s scheming his way into my chair. That’s where Dennis Orton comes in. I don’t know the connection, but it was Orton who lobbied Chief Murphy to make Briggs a lieutenant. If Briggs gets his way, he’ll be the youngest commander in department history.”
“And the most unqualified,” I said.
That brought a snicker out of Walker. “Your words, not mine.”
“Fucking politics. I wish I could just do my job and be rid of the rest.”
I could hear the smile in Walker’s voice as he said, “Being in government and ignoring politics is kind of like being in the middle of the ocean and ignoring water.”
“I suppose you’re right about that,” I said.
“You and Niki should watch your backs when it comes to Briggs. That man is good at his game, and his specialty is to get dirt on his rivals. Take them down in a preemptive strike if he can. He was behind that reprimand you got last year.”
I found myself, in my mind, back in Walker’s office, getting chewed out for taking Jenni’s file out of archives. I remember Briggs standing in the corner, watching my castigation with an air of self-satisfaction and a smug grin that just screamed “punch me.”
“If it were up to me, I’d have dressed you down and called it a day. But Briggs went over my head to Chief Murphy. I had no choice but to issue the reprimand.”
I shook my head in disgust. “And he’s going to be the new head of Homicide.”
“Maybe . . . well, probably. But watch your back—you and Niki both. He sees you as threats. He may pull some stunt to shore up his front-runner status between now and my official retirement. Don’t put anything past him.”
I thought about our computers. What was on them? What could he find? Niki did a Cappers search for Jenni’s name. Briggs will follow the bread crumbs and know that I’m back on Jenni’s case. He’ll also know that Niki is helping me. I shake my head again and whisper, “Fucking politics.”
CHAPTER 19
Up North
My palms are sore and it’s only the third hole; I have five more after this. With every turn of the handle, that hex nut on top of the auger has been eating through my gloves and digging into my skin. I can feel blisters starting to form. I pause about one foot down into the hole to consider this problem. I’m wearing a stocking cap and my coat has a hood, so I take off my cap and draw the hood up over my head. I’ll use the cap as a buffer between the hex nut and my hands.
I’m not wearing a watch, but I’m sure that we’re into the afternoon. The sun is barely visible through the low-hanging clouds, and to the west, the line of blue sky advancing ahead of the cold front is growing wider. I know that I’ll have to finish this project in the dark. I’m fine with that. In fact, it seems fitting.
“I have to ask you something,” the man says. He tries to sit up in the snow, taking on as much alpha as a bound man can muster. “You say you brought me out here to kill me. And you’re cutting holes through the ice to make me believe that you’ll drop me into the lake when it’s all said and done. Fine. Let’s say I buy it. Okay? I concede. You have the balls to do it. That make you happy?”
I ignore him.
“But you won’t talk to me, because you don’t want to know that you’re wrong. You have doubts. I get it. It’s best to keep those doubts to yourself—keep ’em secret. You’re here to get your payback, and you can’t let those doubts get in the way.”
I scoop ice chips out of the hole. Christ, that man can prattle on.
“You need your vengeance—your compensation. I understand that. You’re a man who feels cheated. You don’t want to walk away from here empty-handed.”
I now see where he’s going with this.
“I don’t know what I supposedly did to you, but whatever it is, I’m sure we can come to an understanding.”
I don’t stop drilling, but I look over my shoulder and say. “Understanding? What understanding?”
He gives me a smarmy grin. “Well, all that stuff I said before—that I was going to sue you, get you fired. I don’t see any reason that we have to go there. I can tell that you’re operating under some terrible misunderstanding. You seem to have considerable conviction, even though it’s based on a mistake. I can’t hold that against you. I admire a guy who can act on his convictions. I mean, under other circumstances, I could see you and me being friends, so I can’t fault you for doing what you think is right. You made a mistake. It happens. You let me go now, and I’ll make it worth your while. You know what I mean?”
“You’d do that for me?” I say.
“Come on. Stop cutting that hole and talk to me.”
I don’t stop drilling.
“I’m a rich man. You ever hold a hundred thousand dollars in your hands? Two hundred. I can get you two hundred grand. I can have it to you by sundown.”
I keep turning the auger. “Two hundred thousand dollars?” I say.
“Yeah. Cash. Maybe more. What do you say? You strike me as the kind of guy who could take that seed money and become a millionaire in no time.”
I contemplate what I would do with two hundred thousand dollars. What’s the thing I would most want to buy? The answer comes rushing into my head. If I had that kind of money, I would give it all up for just one more day with Jenni. I would give everything. I would offer up my life to have her back, to have our child born.
My hands start to shake with anger. I pull the auger out of the hole and lunge at the man, jamming the shovel up against his throat. “You’re offering me money?” I scream. “Money! You kill my wife and my child and you want to give me money?”
“Whoa! Whoa!” His eyes are bulging out with fear. “I never did! I . . . I didn’t kill your wife. I’ve never killed a child in my life. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t lie!” I push the auger blade into his neck as he stretches to pull away. “Don’t fucking lie to me!”
Tears well in my eyes, and the blade against the man’s neck becomes a blur. I fear that I may cut his throat by accident. I don’t want that. I’m not ready for that. I pull the auger back and step away to see what looks like fear or maybe confusion in the man’s face.
“Jesus Christ,” he whispers. “You think I killed your wife? Your child? No. You’re wrong. I never . . . Christ, I—”