She didn’t like owing favors to anyone, no matter which side of the law they were on. So, she gritted her teeth on her way upstairs and tried to think what Keane could possibly want with her. The one thing she was sure of was that a call from IAB was never, ever good news.
Kira didn’t offer any information on the way up, and Erin couldn’t think of anything to say to her. Rolf padded beside her, a warm, solid support. Erin was grateful for his presence.
On the third floor, Kira peeled off to her desk, leaving Erin and Rolf to walk the last few yards to Keane’s office unescorted. His door was closed. She took a breath and knocked.
“Come in.”
Keane was seated behind his desk, a sharp-faced man, perfectly dressed, clean-shaven, every hair combed exactly right. He had a thin hint of a smile at one corner of his mouth that looked slightly mocking.
“Detective O’Reilly,” he said. “Thanks for coming so quickly. I’m glad Kira caught you in the office. Please close the door and have a seat.”
Erin sat down without saying anything. She was certain Keane had known exactly where she was before he’d sent Kira down.
“I see you’ve still got your K-9 with you,” he went on. “I was just reading over the arrest report for Diego Rojas. Fine work, Detective. From the sound of it, it’s a good thing you’ve got your dog on your squad, or he might have slipped away.”
“He’d be dead if he had,” she said. “They almost lost him on the way to the hospital. If he hadn’t gotten medical attention, he’d be done.”
“But then you wouldn’t have gotten any further leads.” He leaned forward slightly. “I don’t need to remind you, there’s a lot of attention being focused on this case, all the way from the top.”
Erin nodded.
“It’ll be a real feather in your cap if you collar the surviving gunmen,” he said. “Am I right in assuming Liam McIntyre was one of them?”
“We don’t know if he actually fired any shots,” she said. “But we’re pretty sure he masterminded the attack. He might’ve been there, he might not.”
“But you can’t arrest him, more’s the pity,” Keane said, leaning back in his chair again. “Was he already a suspect when you met with him, right before he was shot?”
Danger signals went off in the back of Erin’s mind. “No,” she said, choosing her words carefully. She couldn’t let Keane, of all people, suspect the real nature of her relationship with Carlyle and the O’Malleys. “I was using him as an informant, looking for background on drug operations. I knew he was competition for the Lucarellis, so I thought he might be willing to tell me something about them we could use.”
“Was he helpful?”
“No. He got spooked and left, just in time to get mowed down.”
Keane’s smile grew wider. “I see. Well, I imagine it’s just a matter of mopping up now. With Rojas in custody, all you need to do is sweep up what’s left of McIntyre’s crew. You know who you’re looking for?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you tie them to the hit?”
“Not yet. But we’re getting warrants. There’s a chance at least one of them will have something. Then we can lean on that guy to break them open. We’re confident we’ve got the right guys.”
“Good.”
“Sir?”
Keane raised a polite eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Why am I here?” She knew it wasn’t a good idea to ask a question like that. The best way to be around Internal Affairs was quiet. Erin was from a police family. She knew all about the Blue Wall. Cops protected other cops. It was way too easy to screw up procedures; every officer lived in a state of mild infraction at best, and the only hope was not to get jammed up too badly.
“Do you have any ideas on the subject of why I might want to talk to you?” Keane asked. His smile was still wide, almost predatory.
Erin thought back to the card game Carlyle had invited her to at his place back in February, a gathering of the O’Malley leadership. She’d stonewalled scarier guys than Keane. He wasn’t going to shake her with a simple question like that. She cocked her head at him the way Rolf did when he was trying to figure what was going on.
Seconds ticked by. Erin didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t flinch. She tried to put an expression of polite interest on her face.
“There have been some concerns,” Keane said at last. “My office is aware that you’ve formed an association with one or more members of the O’Malleys. You can understand why that might be of interest to the department?”
Erin shrugged. “I’m a detective. We talk to a lot of shady characters. I’ve gotten some good intel from a couple of sources in that organization.”
He nodded. “Which ones?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that, sir,” she said. “For obvious reasons, informants’ names can’t be freely passed around, even among police. The CI’s life would be in danger if a name got mentioned, even in your office. I’m sure you understand, sir.”
“Of course,” Keane said. “Well, I appreciate that you’re being careful, Detective. I understand some of the ethical gray areas an officer can get into. If you should happen to find yourself in a… difficult situation, I hope you know you can come to me. I have some experience in extricating officers from unforeseen complications.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir.”
Keane stood up. “Thank you for your time, Detective. That will be all.”
Erin got to her feet, puzzled. That was it? She wanted to say something but knew it would be a terrible idea. Instead, she shook hands with the Lieutenant, got hold of Rolf’s leash, and left the office.
Outside, Kira shot her a sidelong look and spread her hands in a gesture that was a clear question: how did it go?
Erin gave her a small shrug by way of answer. Then she went down to Major Crimes
