the same person: “JAKE.” He selected one of the calls just to be sure. Contact information came up for the caller —
The phone was Berit’s. She
The possibilities of what might have happened made his head spin.
He started to think she must have been here when the car was taken, but immediately realized that didn’t make sense. She had called him during the afternoon. The car had been taken at night. She would have had no reason to be anywhere near the yard then. Her phone must have been there since not long after she’d left him the message.
“What are you doing?”
Jake’s head whipped up. Officer Alvarez was standing a few feet away, the look on his face suspicious.
“I, uh…” All the possibilities ran through Jake’s mind, paths with different outcomes, none of which seemed to get him where he needed to be. “Dropped my phone.” He raised Berit’s phone so Alvarez could see it. “Thought maybe it was broken, but still working.”
Alvarez eyed him for a moment longer, then smirked. “My wife dropped hers on the driveway. Busted into a million pieces. You’re lucky.”
“Yeah. I guess I am.”
As he was walking away a few moments later, Jake’s phone buzzed — his own phone, not Berit’s. He checked to make sure Alvarez wasn’t watching, then pulled it out.
“Oliver,” he said, answering it.
“This is Sergeant Stroop. You are to report here in thirty minutes.”
“I’m on suspension, ma’am.”
“I’m well aware of that, Oliver. Thirty minutes.” The line went dead.
While he had been planning on going to the substation anyway, he had wanted it to be on his own initiative. Given the tone Sergeant Stroop had just taken with him, it sure sounded like he was in for another reprimand.
But what about Berit?
He thought about it as he jogged toward the exit. He’d have to tell them, explain that he was afraid that something had happened to her. It didn’t matter how much they dressed him down, as long as they put a team together to try to find her.
That’s all that mattered.
21
When Jake arrived at work, he was directed back to the same meeting room where his suspension had been handed out the previous day. Walking down the hall, he passed other officers he knew, but it didn’t take a psychology major to see that word of his current situation had spread. Most of the officers avoided his gaze, while those who didn’t gave him looks of pity or contempt.
Was what he’d done really so horrible? He hadn’t actually interfered with the investigation. What he’d been doing was looking into an angle no one else would have even considered. It wasn’t like he was a dirty cop or anything. He’d been trying to be a good cop. That’s all.
When he opened the door, he expected to find only Sergeant Stroop. And while the sergeant was there, so was Commander Ashworth, and a man Jake didn’t know.
“Have a seat, Oliver,” Sergeant Stroop said.
The three of them were sitting on one side of the table. A single chair for Jake was on the other. He pulled it out and sat down.
“Before we get started, I’m not sure you know Kenneth Myers,” the commander said, indicating the man Jake hadn’t recognized. “He’s the PLEA representative.” PLEA was the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the local officers’ version of a union.
Jake exchanged a quick nod with the man.
“We’ve had several discussions since we talked with you yesterday,” the commander began. “And in light of new information, we’ve come to a decision.”
“What new information?” Jake asked.
“Jake Oliver, we are here to inform you that as of…” Pausing, the commander glanced at the clock on the wall. “Four minutes past noon, Wednesday, May 22nd, your services are no longer required by the Phoenix Police Department.”
“What?” Jake couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
“Consider yourself lucky, Mr. Oliver, that you’re only terminated and not arrested.”
“But…but I didn’t—”
“You can appeal the decision through PLEA.” The commander looked over at Myers, who’d been nodding throughout the conversation.
“You
Fired? Not meant for this line of work?
Jake halted his slide into a numbness that threatened to consume him, and said, “Sir.”
“What is it?” the commander asked, sounding like he’d been hoping Jake would meekly accept the circumstances and leave.
“I have reason to believe another officer is in danger.”
Suddenly he had everyone’s attention.
“What are you talking about?” Sergeant Stroop asked. “Who?”
“Officer Davies, ma’am. Berit Davies. I believe she’s missing. I found her—”
“Mr. Oliver,” the sergeant said. “Officer Davies has asked for and been granted a leave of absence to deal with a death in her family.”
“A death in her family? But—”
“I think this meeting is over,” Commander Ashworth said. “Mr. Oliver, I’m told your things have been boxed up and will be waiting for you at the desk on your way out.”
He barely heard the commander’s words. “Officer Davies doesn’t have any fam—”
“That’s enough, Mr. Oliver,” the commander said, standing. “If you feel the need to make more of this, talk to Mr. Myers. But as far as I’m concerned we’re finished here.”
Ashworth walked around the table, followed by Stroop and Myers. Jake watched in disbelief as the commander walked out the door. Before Sergeant Stroop could do the same, Jake said, “Wait!”
The sergeant looked over. “Yes?”
“Sergeant Stroop, did you personally talk to Berit?”
“That’s department business, and you are no longer a member of this department.”
He could see the answer in her eyes, though. She hadn’t talked directly to Berit. He was willing to bet no one had.
The sergeant’s face softened a bit. “You’re young, Jake. You’ll find something else.”
She left.
Myers, who had been waiting behind her, stopped in the doorway. “I trust there won’t be an appeal.”
“No,” Jake said, knowing there was no future for him in the Phoenix PD even if he should somehow win.
“I thought not.”
22
Jake did everything he could to find Berit. He tracked down what friends she had, and learned in the process that he was probably the one who knew her best. As for family, what he’d been trying to say at the meeting was
