“Who?”
Ford shrugged. “Beats me. But so what if he found out?”
“I don’t like Solme keeping tabs on me.”
“Yeah, well, the Bay Area isn’t as big as you think. Everyone is connected. There’s nowhere you can be anonymous these days. You ever heard that saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Well, I suggest you keep things civil with Solme.”
“And that’s what you’re doing? Keeping things civil with Solme so he doesn’t out the driving incident?”
Ford’s jaw clenched briefly before she ran her hand over her face and sighed. “Look, Brentt, before I married Elise, I spent some time checking out both teams, alright? And I was still deciding what to do with my life and my career. I wanted to climb the ranks in the force, and I knew the politics of it all couldn’t be avoided. I met Solme at some event and, look, the affair was brief–”
“You and Solme?” Salvi blurted.
Ford shot her a glance. “Hey, we were both younger and prettier than we are today. Anyway, like I said it was brief. Solme actually taught me how to navigate some of that politics. And he took the hit that night for the driving incident, as I was up for promotion and that would have seriously harmed my career. I can’t deny what he did for me, but I also know why he did it. The thing you need to know about Solme is that he’s smart. I mean really fucking smart. While most people focus on what’s going on around them, Solme is always looking ahead down the road. He plants seeds that he knows will come to fruition down the line. He did me a favor, but it wasn’t necessarily a favor for me but for himself. If I climbed the ranks, he knew I would owe him one.”
“Shit.”
“But I worked that out pretty quickly, and I’ve managed to keep him at bay ever since.” She threw Salvi another glance. “Do I strike you as a pushover?”
Salvi shook her head. “No.”
“Damn straight. I started as a cop on the streets, so I have built toughness into my DNA. And I’ve been dealing with the politics for long enough now, that I know how to navigate it. Solme tries to squeeze me for favors all the time. If it’s harmless, I’ll pass on some information. If it’s not, then I won’t. He tried during the Bountiful case to get information out of me, but I told him to back off. I’m not stupid, Brentt. I appreciate what he did for me in the past, but I am not his bitch. I have made it abundantly clear that if he tries to make me his bitch, I will fuck him over so hard he will regret the day he even thought to push those buttons of mine.” She glanced at Salvi again, holding her eyes. “Sometimes in this job you gotta bend to keep the wheels turning and to get shit done. So on occasion I’m happy to bend maybe 45 degrees, but no further than that. And I sure as hell won’t let anyone break me, least of all Solme.”
Salvi nodded, staring out at the road again as the silence sat. Eventually a smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
“I can’t believe you slept with Attis Solme.”
A grin spread over Ford’s face too. “We’re all young and dumb once, Brentt.”
And the two broke into laughter.
Salvi studied Lance Chaney as he sat in the deserted interview room, his reflection in the mirrored wall his only company. He looked calm, maybe even a little smug. He knew his lawyer was on the way, and, knowing Chaney, his lawyer would be expensive and very good.
“He knows what this is about,” Ford said, staring through the one-way window at him, “he’s confident.”
Hernandez nodded. “He gave us no problem when we asked him to come for a drive.”
“We kept it subtle,” Mitch said. “We caught him driving between bars, did him the honor of not making a scene. I think he appreciated it.”
“We gotta play this careful,” Ford said. “We’re on borrowed time and don’t want him clamming up.”
“If he does, I’ll soon pry the guy open,” Beggs said, his hard stare fixed through the glass.
“That’s exactly why I’m sending Brentt in and not you,” Ford said. They turned to see Chaney’s lawyer entering the interview room. The man looked more annoyed than anything and as though he’d been practicing law for more than a century.
“See if you can get him to talk,” Ford said, motioning for Salvi to start.
“Here goes nothing,” she said, and stepped out of the observation room into the corridor, then into the interview room.
Chaney watched her enter and a smile spread across his face.
“Detective Brentt,” he said calmly.
Salvi took the seat opposite him. “How long have you known?”
“Since the night you ran out on me. You were a security risk.”
“How did you find out?”
“What’s this about?” the lawyer said, cutting Chaney off. “You’ve brought him in for questioning. Do you intend to lay any charges?”
Salvi smiled. “Well that depends on whether Mr. Chaney would like to cooperate with us.”
“Cooperate on what?” the lawyer asked.
“Right now, we’d just like some information.”
“Pertaining to?”
“A murdered police officer and a missing girl.”
“I don’t know anything about a murdered police officer or a missing girl,” Chaney said.
“Perhaps,” Salvi said, “but you do know your clientele.”
The lawyer held his hand up to stop Chaney from answering. “What Mr. Chaney’s clientele do in their spare time is none of my client’s concern.”
“Your client,” Salvi dropped her smile, “was running an illegal club, selling illegal tech and illegal drugs, and I’m sure if we look a little harder into it, prostitution, and serving minors.”
“There
