His words cut deep, and she winced. “I’m not. I haven’t gone off the deep end. I’m doing what has to be done. In my position, you’d do the same.”
His voice remained steady yet firm as he continued, completely ignoring her last comment. “You believe that one cop is bad, and maybe you’re right. But you can’t cut off the entire department because you suspect some sort of mass conspiracy.”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. I can read between the lines. The fact that you went around Fortis and Browning to come directly to me speaks to how bad your paranoia is.” He huffed, pushing his weight against the chair back, making it squeak. “I’m surprised you trust me at this point, the way you’ve been acting since you found that woman.”
Ellie took a deep breath, her chest swelling as her temper rose.
The chief’s brown eyes held a spark, like he’d pinned her exactly where he wanted her.
She stiffened, wary, but unwilling to relent. “I’m being cautious, sir, not paranoid.”
“Fine, then prove it.”
Dammit. She knew it. She squinted at him. “How?”
“I want you to see Dr. Powell today. I want you to share your concerns with him and see if you start to see where I’m coming from.”
“I can do that.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
Ellie held her tongue and took a breath before she responded. “Anything else?”
“I want you to keep me apprised of everything happening with our witness. You don’t have to tell me where she is, but I want to know when you move her, how many guards you have on her, where you hired them, and a list of people who know her whereabouts.”
“That would defeat the purpose of keeping Charleston PD’s involvement limited.”
Chief Johnson arched an eyebrow at her. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. But the fewer people who know, the better.”
“And if you’re the only one who knows how to get ahold of the people who know her location, what do I do if something happens to you?”
Ellie’s rebuttal died on her lips, and she frowned. “I didn’t consider that.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“Jillian will have that information,” she conceded.
“Fine. Please let her know that she’s allowed to give me that information if something happens.”
“I will.”
Johnson sat back, regarding her over the top of his glasses. “Now that we’ve settled that, I need to know when Valerie will be released.”
Later this week.
“Next week,” she lied. “It’s still up in the air.”
“Good. That will give me time to get things sorted on my end and come up with a compelling reason for why I’m allowing this.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He gave a curt nod. “In the meantime, I want you to meet with Powell twice a week until he says otherwise. Three times a week would be even better, but I don’t know if his schedule can handle that. And I want you to consider how these accusations affect the department and your fellow officers. If he reports that you’re not suffering from increased paranoia as a result of the trauma you’ve experienced, then and only then, I’ll sign off for you to take charge of Valerie Price’s protection detail.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll step in and take control of the situation.”
Ellie’s jaw tightened, but she nodded slowly. “Agreed.”
A smile spread across Chief Johnson’s face. “Good. I’ll see you on Friday, and we’ll talk about our options then.” He nodded toward the door. “I hate to rush you out, but I have a meeting in five minutes, and it’s best if you’re gone before Captain Browning shows up.”
Eyes widening, she agreed and made her exit. Hopping on the elevator, she got off at the office in the basement evidence room that she shared with Jillian Reed.
Jillian was sitting at the desk when Ellie punched in the door code and strode into the room. “How did it go?”
“He agreed to revisit the idea at the end of the day Friday.”
Jillian’s brow furrowed, her red-painted lips puckering as she obviously ticked through the calendar in her mind. “Weren’t you planning on moving her this week?”
“It’s easier to get forgiveness than permission.”
Jillian snorted and shook her head. “Chief Johnson won’t be happy with you. Did he say anything else?”
“He agreed with Fortis, so I have to meet with Powell twice a week until the good doctor says otherwise.”
“Yikes.” Jillian wrinkled up her nose, cringing for her. “When does that start?”
Ellie checked the clock and gave Jillian a smile. “If I get there before his first appointment, I’m sure he’ll squeeze me in.”
“Good luck.”
Ellie gave her a little salute before walking toward the door. “Thanks. I’m going to need it. I bet Chief Johnson has already given Powell an earful about me being paranoid of the entire PD, not to mention that I must have delusions of grandeur to go head to head with the chief like that. I can barely believe it myself.”
5
Dr. Phillip Powell pushed his glasses up on his nose with his index finger, eyes darting back and forth across the computer screen as he skimmed his email inbox. Wrapping his hand around the warmth of his insulated steel coffee cup, he inhaled the rich aroma before taking a careful sip. Wincing when the piping hot liquid seared his tongue, he smiled as he swallowed coffee that was still hot almost an hour after he’d arrived at work.
Checking the clock, he settled back into
