“I did,” she said. “I’m back on active.” She raised her coffee to his and they tapped their cups together.
“That’s good news,” he said. “And the arm?”
“Fighting fit and ready to slug someone.”
A smile curled the corner of his mouth. “You are back.”
“Yeah. I am,” she said. The silence settled around them, as their eyes remained connected. It didn’t last long though, as Beggs and Caine soon entered.
“Hey!” Beggs said. “What’s the story? Do I have a partner that can work yet or not?”
Salvi looked at him. “I have been working these past weeks. You’ve enjoyed making me your desk bitch, remember?”
Beggs gave a craggy laugh and Caine grinned his Hollywood smile. It was easy to see why the two had been dubbed ‘the mobster and the movie star’ by their fellow detectives.
“But that ends today,” Salvi told Beggs. “You do your own shit from now on.”
Now it was Caine’s turn to laugh. He slapped Beggs on the back. “Bet you’re wishing you still had me as a partner, huh?”
Beggs gave him a distasteful look. “I don’t know which one of you is worse,” he muttered.
Detective Lieutenant Ford’s door opened and she stood there with her hands on her hips.
“Grenville, Caine,” she hiked her thumb inside her office.
Mitch and Caine moved at her order, while Ford turned her eyes to Salvi.
“You good?”
“I’m good,” Salvi smiled.
Ford gave a single nod, then moved back inside her office.
Salvi turned her eyes to the mugshows on the wall. She scanned each face to see if any new ones had appeared since that morning, but they hadn’t. The same top ten faces displayed, turned about slowly to provide a 360 degree view of their features. She studied them carefully like she did every day, wanting to etch the faces into her memory so that if she passed them on the street she could take them down and put a new face on those mugshows.
Hernandez and Bronte entered the bullpen then, deep in conversation as they made their way to their desks.
“There was no B&E and the security footage was clean,” Bronte said with his deep voice. “I think this was a targeted hit.”
“What case is this?” Salvi asked, curious.
They looked over at her.
“Randy’s Retrotech,” Hernandez told her, the gold chain around his neck shining in the office lights. “The store owner in the ‘Mission that took a bullet to the head. The place looks pretty clean and some hacker asshole wiped the footage. It doesn’t look like anything’s missing, but we’re getting the family to take a closer look.”
“We’ve gotta stop these hackers from killing our evidence,” Beggs said. “Is it just me or does it seem like this is happening more often?”
“It ain’t you, old man,” Bronte said, flashing a grin, which looked pearly against his dark skin. “These assholes are getting smarter.” Beggs gave him the finger and Bronte turned his smile to his console. “Riverton, check in with Cyber to see if they can trace who did the hack on the surveillance footage at Randy’s Retrotech. End request.”
“Yes, Detective Bronte,” Riverton’s voice sounded.
“Hey, so I take it you got your clearance?” Hernandez asked, walking toward Salvi with his empty coffee cup, smoothing back his jet-black hair.
“Sure did,” she answered.
“Alright,” he nodded, and continued out the door, heading for the coffee machine in the break room down the corridor.
Ford’s office door opened again and Mitch and Caine poured out, both heading straight for the bullpen exit.
“New case?” she asked them.
Mitch shook his head. “Just a new lead on the Langford case.”
“Brentt?” Ford called from her office. “A word?”
Salvi stood and headed into Ford’s office. The Detective Lieutenant motioned for her to close the door.
“What is it?” Salvi asked.
“Sit,” Ford said, motioning to one of the guest chairs at her desk. Salvi obliged.
“So you got your clearance,” Ford said, studying her. “That’s good. And you’re sure everything else is good? You’re happy to be back on the streets?”
“Yeah,” Salvi said. “Let me guess, Doctor Marr put some note on my file to keep an eye on me?”
“No,” Ford said frankly. “I’m asking for myself. If you screw up out there, it comes back on me. So, one more time, are you good?”
Salvi stared at her boss; broad-shouldered, solid arms, hard blue eyes that had no time for bullshit.
“Couldn’t be better,” Salvi said firmly.
“Good. Now, I had a call from Attis Solme,” she said, leaning her elbows on the desk and hulking her shoulders.
“Solme?” Salvi frowned. “What does he want?”
“He heard you were back on active. He wants to speak.”
Salvi frowned further. “I only just got cleared. How’d he hear that so soon?”
Ford shrugged. “I don’t know. He probably called the front office to see when you were due back. Guess he had faith that you’d make your scheduled return.”
Salvi nodded to herself as she stared at Ford, wondering whether Solme had heard the news from her boss. When she’d interviewed Solme during the Bountiful case, he’d told Salvi that he and Ford went way back. Turns out, as Mitch had discovered, it was way back to a drink-drive accident where Solme had taken the hit for Ford.
“Anyway,” Ford said, “he wants to introduce you to his new head psych at the complex.”
“Why?” Salvi asked. “The Bountiful case is closed.”
“The case may be closed but apparently Subjugate-52 has been asking for you.” Ford’s eyes seemed to pierce Salvi’s as though testing her true resolve on returning to active duty. Despite not wanting to, Salvi couldn’t help but pause at the mention of Subjugate-52’s name.
“52?” she said. “Why?”
“I don’t know, I’m just the goddamn messenger. You call ‘em, or you don’t. It’s up to you. Whatever you do, just be careful,” Ford said.
Salvi stared at her. “Why?”
Ford shrugged. “I don’t know, Brentt,” she said sarcastically. “Maybe an ex-serial killer personally requesting to see you isn’t something you should take lightly. The last thing you want is to befriend this guy. The man was a brutal murderer.”
Salvi nodded,
