“Where is Nettles? Did he get sent back up yet?”
“Not yet. He’s still in County and scheduled to go in front of the judge tomorrow.”
Ballard was quiet as she thought through the situation. She was technically relieved of duty pending the psych exam and the FID case. She wondered if she could move her BSU appointment up and get it out of the way. She would really be counting on Feltzer to come through with the forced agreement to streamline everything.
“I’m supposed to be riding the pine because of this other thing,” she said. “But I’m hoping it clears today.”
“No way they clear you that quick,” he said. “Not with what’s in the paper today.”
“I’ve got somebody working on that. We’ll see.”
“So then, what do you want to do?”
“How much discretion do you have with Nettles?”
“Some, yeah. It’s the weapons: felon with a firearm. That’s the play.”
“Well, I’m downtown right now. I have an appointment with Behavioral and then I could clear. We could go see Nettles at County and find out if he wants to help himself by telling us where he got the Glock. When he finds out it was used in a two-bagger, he’ll probably be more than happy to disown it and tell us where it came from.”
“Okay, I need a couple hours myself. I have something unrelated going and I need to clear a move like this. I don’t think it will be a problem, but I just have to follow protocol and talk to the boss about trading with Nettles. How about we meet at Men’s Central at twelve? That’ll be lunch and they should be able to grab him up for us.”
“See you then.”
As Ballard headed to her car, she called Lieutenant McAdams at Hollywood Detectives.
“L-T, I’m not sure when or if I’ll make it in today,” she said.
“Ballard, you’re supposed to be on the bench till this FID thing clears,” McAdams said.
“I know. I’m down here at FID right now.”
“What’s going on?”
“I got called in for more questions. And after this, I go to BSU for the psych exam. I don’t know how long this will take.”
“Did you see the Times today? More importantly, did FID see it?”
“Yeah, everybody’s seen the Times and it’s bullshit.”
“Then where the fuck did it come from?”
“Good question, L-T.”
“Ballard, a word to the wise, watch your ass.”
“Roger that.”
The Behavioral Science Unit was located in Chinatown. Ballard’s appointment wasn’t until 10:30, so she called to see if she could get it bumped up by a half hour or more. The phone receptionist almost laughed before telling her the request could not be accommodated.
With time to kill, Ballard got her car out of the pay lot and drove over to County-USC. She found that Ramona was no longer in the acute-care ward. She had been upgraded to fair condition, and with that came a change of rooms. She was now sharing a room with another patient. She was conscious and alert. The swelling around her eyes was way down and the bruising had moved to the yellow-green stage. The stitches had been removed from her lower lip as well. Ballard entered the room and smiled at her, but there didn’t seem to be any recognition.
“Ramona, I’m Detective Ballard. I’m assigned to your case. I came by on Monday. Do you remember?”
“Not really.”
The voice was unmistakably male.
“I showed you photos? To see if one was of the man who hurt you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. In fact, it doesn’t really matter now. That’s why I came by. To tell you that the man who hurt you is dead. So you don’t have to be afraid or worry about him anymore. He’s gone.”
“You’re sure it was him?”
“Very sure, Ramona.”
“Okay.”
She looked down as though she might be about to cry at the news. Ballard knew Ramona was safe now, but only from one predator. She was leading a life that was sure to bring more. Ballard pulled one of the cards she got from Towson out of her pocket and held it up.
“I wanted to give you this. This is a lawyer I’ve worked with, and I think he’s pretty good.”
“Why do I need a lawyer? What do they say I did?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that. I’m not supposed to give out legal advice, but if I was, I would tell you that you should sue the estate of the man who did this to you. I am pretty sure he had a large amount of money invested in his house. I think you should get a lawyer and go after some of that money. He victimized you, and you should collect from his estate before anybody else does.”
“Okay.”
But Ramona did not reach out for the business card. Ballard put it down on the table next to her bed.
“It’s right there when you need it.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“I’m going to leave my own card too. Later on, you will probably have questions. You can give me a call.”
“Okay.”
It was an awkward exit, because with the case concluded by Trent’s death, there was no need for Ballard to spend more time with Ramona. As she left the hospital, Ballard wondered if she would ever see her again. Perhaps, she thought, she had suggested the lawsuit against Trent’s estate because she knew she would be called in to testify about the case.
She wondered if it was a subconscious move to seek the kind of fulfillment that came from taking a case from beginning to end. Trent was dead but Ballard might still be able to take him to trial and get a guilty verdict.
33
Ballard sat in an office with Dr. Carmen Hinojos, the director of the Behavioral Science Unit. The room was decorated in blond wood, cream-colored walls, and pale curtains. The window looked across the roofs of Chinatown toward the spire of City Hall. They sat facing each other in comfortably cushioned chairs that contradicted the uncomfortable situation for Ballard.
“Have you ever killed anyone before?” Hinojos asked.
“No,” Ballard said. “First time.”
“How are you feeling about it today?”
“To be honest, I feel fine about it. If I hadn’t killed him, he would have killed me. I have no doubt.”
She immediately regretted starting her answer with “to be honest.” Usually when people said that, they were being anything but honest.
The session continued down avenues of questioning Ballard had fully expected. As with almost every situation an officer faced regarding internal investigations and procedures, she was well versed in what would be asked and how it should best be answered. The union newsletters carried case examples all the time that were analyzed in depth. Ballard knew that the important thing to say and project with Hinojos was that there was no second-guessing of her actions up to and including the killing of Trent. Showing regret or remorse would be wrong moves. The department needed to be assured that if returned to duty, she would not have any hesitation in doing her job, that she would not hesitate if placed in a kill-or-be-killed situation.