Erin couldn’t ask for more information on that, not without risking herself. She was on thin ice already, and if a Narcotics squad swooped in on their drug stash now, she couldn’t think of any way to square it.
“Okay,” she said. “The word is, you sit tight for now. This is the safest place you can be. Just be patient. I’ll figure out what’s going down and get back to you.”
“Okay,” Burke said. “I’ll wait.”
“Who’s Siobhan?” Logan asked.
“An O’Malley associate,” Erin said. She collected Rolf’s leash. The K-9 sniffed her hand and wagged his tail.
“You’ve got good contacts with these guys.”
“Yeah,” she said shortly. “Look, thanks for helping out, guys. But I need to bounce. We’re on a clock."
“Sure thing, Detective.” Logan smiled. “I guess we’ll head back to the Five. Some of us have day jobs.”
“You work nights,” she reminded him. “And you belong to the Eightball tonight.”
“Whatever. See you around, O’Reilly. But if you ever come by The Final Countdown, first round’s on you.”
Firelli grinned. “He’s right, Detective. We got an Irish guy in lockup, so you’re buying. We don’t make the rules. That’s Mickstat.” He was referring to his squad’s ethnic rule for providing end-of-shift drinks.
“Like hell you don’t,” she said. “But do me a favor, okay? Keep an eye on Burke.”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Logan said.
“I don’t mean watch him,” she said. “I mean protect him.”
“From what?” Firelli said. “We’re in a police station!”
“Yeah,” she said. “We are.”
Logan gave her a hard, searching look. “You’re serious.”
She nodded.
“Firelli, you still got your chocolate?” he asked.
Firelli held up his half-empty bag.
“Okay,” Logan said. “We’ll hang here for a bit. Just do me a favor, and once this is over, explain it to me.”
“I hope I can,” she said.
Chapter 14
Erin ran upstairs to Major Crimes. Vic was at his computer, scowling at the screen. A few officers on loan from Patrol were talking things over by the whiteboard. She glanced at the clock. It was going on midnight. She tried to remember when her day had started and couldn’t.
Vic looked up at her. “Hey,” he said. “Get anything out of—”
She swiped a finger across her throat in a quick, sharp motion. He cut himself off midsentence, stood up, and walked over to her. “Break room?” he asked in an undertone.
“I need some coffee,” she agreed.
They went into the break room, which contained a garage-sale dining table, a few beat-up chairs, a disreputable couch, and a very nice espresso machine. Erin poured a cup while Vic closed the door.
“Jesus, Erin, you’re getting paranoid,” he said. “You really think people are eavesdropping on us here?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just know we had surveillance teams following three guys tonight, and two of those guys are dead now. I don’t want to broadcast the fact that we’ve got the third one downstairs.”
“Is he safe?”
“Yeah. Logan and Firelli are watching him.”
“Are they safe?”
“And you call me paranoid? Hell, I don’t know. But if they’re dirty, it doesn’t make any sense. They’re the only watchers who brought their guy in alive.”
“That’s a good point. Hey, could you get me a cup, too?”
Erin handed him the coffee and started pouring another.
“So,” he said. “Did he talk?”
“Enough. The fourth shooter was Siobhan Finneran.”
Vic smiled tightly. “Good work. I knew they gave you that gold shield for a reason. We got a location on her?”
“Not yet. He thinks she’s skipping town.”
“We’ll put the word out to JFK and LaGuardia,” he said. “And to the Port Authority.”
“That’s not enough,” she said. “Siobhan’s slick. She’s gotten away before. We’re going to miss her again, unless—”
“Unless what?”
“The O’Malleys will know,” she said thoughtfully.
“Yeah,” Vic said. “But they won’t tell you.”
“If they’ve got a leak, then her life’s in danger,” Erin said. “We’re only guessing the Colombians are getting their intel from a police source. If they’re getting it from an O’Malley, then they may already know where she is.”
“Do we care?”
She gave him a look. “We’re cops, Vic. It’s our job to care.”
“Even if they’re hitmen? Hitwomen? Hitpeople?”
“Human life is human life, Vic. We don’t get to put a different price tag on it just because we don’t like her.”
“Do you? Like her?”
“Hell, no. I hate her guts. And she hates mine. But that’s not the point. She could be Adolf Hitler, I’d still try to bring her in alive.”
“Hitler? Really?”
“Okay, maybe not Hitler. But anyone else.”
“This is a moot point,” he said. “Unless you can find her.”
“I know,” Erin sighed. “I’ve got one card I can play. But I don’t want to play it.”
He shrugged. “Then she walks. Or maybe catches a bullet.”
“I know!” she said again, more sharply.
Vic held up a hand. “Okay, okay. Sheesh. Drink your coffee. You’re less touchy when you’re caffeinated.”
“Did you find anything about Johnson?” she asked, changing the subject.
“He’s staying at the Hilton by JFK.”
“I arrested a guy there once.”
“Without a court order, I can’t access his phone records,” Vic continued. “But I made a couple calls, talked to the hospital. He definitely talked to Rojas.”
“Sean wasn’t supposed to let him in before morning,” Erin muttered angrily.
“They’re Homeland Security, Erin. They get in places.”
“Their whole job is keeping people out!”
“Anyway, it’s possible Rojas could’ve given him a way to contact the cartel guys,” Vic said. “No way to know for sure.”
“Okay. Thanks for checking.” Erin finished her coffee and started for the door.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“To play that last card.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“It’s best if you don’t.”
“Okay. But tell your partner there, if you get capped on his watch, I’m gonna make him into a pair of mittens.”
Rolf gave him a look that said he was welcome to try.
Erin sat in the driver’s seat of her Charger, staring at her phone. She didn’t want to do this. It was crossing a very definite line, and there was no going back from it.
