He looks down at me like I lost my shit. “So what you’re saying is, you want me to go to the DA and tell her that Drake was the product of some MI6 Manchurian Candidate program. You realize how crazy this sounds?”
“I don’t really care how it sounds it’s the truth.”
“Fine. I will talk to the DA. In the meantime, I want you to talk to that suspect you kneecapped. He will be out of surgery in an hour.”
“Good. That asshole will sing when I’m done with him.”
“By the way, the Chief’s not happy with this case turning the city into a warzone.”
“Oh, give me a break. Those fucks had dragon’s breath loaded into those auto shotguns. That means not only was they going to shoot me, but they was going to burn me alive as well. So the Chief can eat shit.”
He crosses his arms. “Look, Lobos. I know its bullshit. Just get it over with.”
“Fine. Can I at least go home and change clothes first. I am covered in someone else’s blood and get my hand bandaged up?”
“Make it quick.”
The medic bandages up my hand, and I head home to shower and change clothes.
Chapter 24
The Chief’s office is spacious and has gray carpet and a shiny black oak desk with a large window behind it. A woman enters the office wearing her dress blues and two silver stars on her lapel and two on her shoulder epaulets. She stands a few inches taller than me, and she has brown hair that brushes the tops of her shoulders. She sits in the chair behind her desk, slipping on her reading glasses. Chief Alice Morgan, the bitch who was bribed with saving her marriage by agreeing to have me play a false hero. “Good afternoon, Detective Lobos. As you know, I brought you here to discuss two things, first and foremost, the shootout in Ybor City pub, and I want to be updated on your progress with the Moonlight Killer case.”
“I went to the pub to meet with Drake because of some new information that came to light. While I was there, twelve men arrived and unloaded on the pub, killing civilians and wounding Special Agent Munroe.”
“You took some really ‘drastic measures’ questionable measures.”
“Questionable? Is that the card you really want to draw?”
She leans back in her chair, crossing her legs. “I have no idea what you mean?”
“You know damn well what I mean. You only agreed to shut down my case, because they gotta video of you screwing around on your wife. Goddamn, what happened to you, Alice?”
“First of all, you watch your tone with me. I am not some rookie fresh out of the academy you get to bark at.”
“What drastic measures are you referring to?” I change the subject.
“The kind where you are slicing people up and engaging in an all-out war in the middle of a tourist area. The police have enough bad press in this country without you adding to it.”
I lower my head chuckling. “Wow, I had no idea the mayor, and the Commissioner had their hands so far up your ass.”
Her eyes narrow. “I am on your side, Devora. But you have to understand how this looks; when cops resort to such brutal methods of self-defense.”
“Okay, next time, when twelve heavily armed suspects roll up on me with automatic weapons, I’ll be sure to stick to pepper spray.”
“You were justified across the board, but you have to understand how this looks. Besides, the media will be focused on automatic weapons because it suits their anti-gun narrative and forgets how you took out the threats.” She has a point; media won’t give a shit about me by the end of the day. They will scream this is an indictment of assault rifles blah, blah, blah.
She clears her throat. “I heard Drake turned himself in. How did you manage that?”
“Through his sister, I arranged a sit down with Drake, and he told me he was under the influence of scopolamine when he killed his victims.”
“Scopolamine? I thought that was used to treat stomach problems?”
“It is, but given in high doses, it can make the person very susceptible to being controlled.”
She lowers her head and stares at me with skepticism. “So are you saying David Drake was drugged and told to carry out these murders?”
“Yes.”
“How do we know Drake is not bullshitting us again?”
“Well, for one, his employers are trying to kill him and me and Special Agent Munroe and his sister just to shut us up. Plus, we gotta recording of his handler, confessing it to Drake.”
She walks over to the window and lowers her head. “I’m sorry I hindered you. I was weak, and I let my dirt tarnish your case.”
“What the hell were you thinking, Alice? You’re the Chief of Police, and you’re going to compromise yourself by fucking college girls behind your wife’s back?”
She glances over her shoulder and sighs. “I’ve been married for twenty years, and we haven’t had sex in ten. I needed to feel something to know I am not some dried up bitch.”
“God, you’re pathetic. If your wife stops putting out, divorce the bitch, but the way you’re going about it, it’s going to destroy your image and your career.”
It always pissed her off when I told her she needed to stop this, but it’s going to cut her off at the knees one day.
She beams a coy smile. “You need
