'And put it under Mark Shephard, a decent, honest cop?'
'Yeah, maybe,' Shane said softly.
'No fucking way. Mark wouldn't do that.'
'Okay, Alexa, we also need to talk about you and Mark. I know this is a shitty time for it, but I'm sensing more than professional respect here.' His hand was back in his pocket, tightly gripping the little box containing Alexa's perfect VS-1, two-carat engagement ring. He knew she wouldn't lie. The answer to this question might determine whether the ring would ever end up on the third finger of her left hand. 'Was there more going on there?' he asked, his voice tight.
Alexa sighed, and took a sip of coffee. She seemed to be steeling herself in preparation for Shane's reaction. 'You're right. Mark and I were more than just friends,' she said quietly.
The sentence arced around inside him like loose volts of electricity. His right hand flinched; his stomach rumbled dangerously, threatening to erupt.
'We used to date. Nobody in the department knew, because he wanted it that way. He was a commander; I was a sergeant… And two years ago he asked me to marry him. I turned him down, but I came close, Shane. I almost said yes.'
'And why didn't you?' He was numb with this, not thinking, just reacting.
'I didn't marry him because something told me not to… Something told me that even though I found him extremely attractive and sexy, even though he was sweet and considerate, and had a great sense of humor-'
'Okay, okay. I get the point,' he interrupted. 'Go on.'
'Something told me that he was close, but not the one. In the end, I respected him a lot but didn't love him quite enough.'
'And so, when he asked you to take over as his XO at Detective Services Group, that was his chance to be around you so he could get the romance going again.'
'Maybe he saw it that way. I can't speak for him… But I told him I was seeing you and that I wasn't looking to have an affair with my commanding officer. I wouldn't consider sleeping with the boss on management principles alone. Mark said he understood but wanted me there anyway because I was the best person for the job. And, dammit Shane, I think I am.'
Shane sat there, inert, unable to find the right words to express his emotions.
'I won't deny I had strong feelings for him,' she went on. 'I still do. I'm sorry I lost it at the crime scene. That was unprofessional. It just hit me hard. I wasn't ready to see him that way.'
'It's okay,' Shane said, but it wasn't. He had almost crushed the little box in his pocket. He didn't expect Alexa to be a virgin, but the idea that she'd recently been so close to marrying another man agonized him. 'Look, Jody is alive,' he said finally, to get his mind off it. 'I know 'cause I talked to him. SIS was Jody's division when he disappeared. My guess is that this secret unit, whoever they are, is being run out of Special Investigations, because I get the feeling from what Jody said that he's in charge.'
'How do you know that?'
'Because Jody was always in charge. It's just his way. He wouldn't be in the unit unless he was running it.'
She nodded. She'd heard enough stories about Jody Dean to know that was probably true.
'If this crew was being run out of SIS, then Mark Shephard would have been the unit supervisor, their administrative division commander. Most of these deep-cover units have only two or three contact people, staff officers who know they exist. My guess is Mayweather was one, but he's gone. Medwick ran Detective Services until two months ago, and now he's missing. And trust me, he won't be coming back from the store with his box of brass screws… He's in a shallow grave somewhere, curled around a bag of lye.'
'And now Mark,' she said.
'Yeah, Commander Shephard completes the trio. So if these three are gone, who's the department CO? Who's running this bunch a' kazoonies?' When she didn't answer, he answered for her: 'You are, Alexa. Whether you know it or not, you're the XO, so you're now in charge. I think they're constituted under some subgroup in SIS under DSG. You're acting head of Detective Services until Chief Filosiani appoints a new head.'
'You're serious about all this, aren't you?'
'Alexa, he's alive. Jody is alive. I don't know who doctored those crime-scene photos and the death report Shephard showed me, but with computer-generated imaging, you can do almost anything with photographs today. I'm telling you, Jody's death was rigged. Lauren Dean is either in the dark or lying, but either way, she's so screwed-up about it, she's turned into a lush. Everybody else who knew about this unit at DSG is dead or missing. I think we've got a huge problem here.'
She sat looking across the table at him, taking all of this in. 'If you believe that, then you need to take it to the chief… You need to tell Filosiani.'
'The Day-Glo Dago? This guy talks out of the side of his mouth like a Brooklyn cabdriver. You're acting head of DSG… I'm telling you.'
'I'm just a sergeant. If you believe all this, you need to go to a staff-rank commander or above, and for reasons of security, I suggest the chief. Filosiani didn't get to the LAPD in the front seat of a cab. He was one of the best street cops in New York. He's cleaned up three departments and has been honored at the White House. He's a smart, tough, in-your-face police officer, so if you think Jody is running a criminal conspiracy and is killing his commanders, then you better take it to him and not just your girlfriend because you don't trust anybody above the fifth floor at the Glass House.'
They sat there looking at each other, chewing on this for a long time.
'If I decide to do that, would you go with me?'
'I don't think Jody is alive. I think you're-'
'What?' he interrupted. 'Making it up?'
'Why do you want me to go with you?'
'Because it's your responsibility as XO and because you've got heat. Today you won the Medal of Valor… And because you owe me.' There. He'd finally said it, but he knew it had come at some cost to their relationship.
She looked out toward the ocean, her beautiful profile to him. Finally, she turned back, but she didn't answer. She sat there, pondering thoughts too difficult for him to read or for her to relay. Loss and despair completed the mask of confusion on her face.
Chapter 11
ALEXA CAME BACK to Shane's house with him, but she was quiet most of the way. He pulled her Crown Vic into the garage next to his Acura. They got out and went into the house, where they found Chooch asleep on the living-room sofa, his algebra book across his chest. Alexa slipped out the door to the backyard while Shane shook Chooch's shoulder.
'Hey, bud,' he said.
Chooch opened his eyes and looked up as if Shane had just beamed down from the teleport room of the Enterprise. Then recognition dawned as he yawned. 'Just resting my eyes,' he said 'Last final tomorrow.'
'I think you should rest the whole machine,' Shane said, taking the book off Chooch's chest. 'You know this stuff. Once you've got the formulas, you can't study for algebra. You should get a good night's sleep.'
Chooch cocked a wary eyebrow. 'Yeah?' he said. 'And just what'd you get when you took this course?'
'Doesn't count.' Shane grinned. 'Statute of limitations ran out on that crime.' Shane helped Chooch to his feet. He glanced out the window and saw Alexa on the lawn, her back to the house, staring at the canals, both arms wrapped around her as if she were cold on that warm June night.
'You give her our rock?' Chooch asked, following Shane's gaze out the window.
'No, not yet. Something came up. It didn't seem like the right time.'
'Don't screw this up.'
'Don't worry. Now get to bed,' he said, and Chooch shambled off to his room.
