'We were stupid, but we weren't that stupid. Remember I told you that
we got the list of workers from the unions?' I nodded. 'Well, we did
it through the unions because when we asked the site's foreman for a
list, he told us which unions were doing the work. Apparently, though,
the contractor for the build is allowed to use some nonunion labor,
which he didn't exactly advertise at the site. Melvin Jackson was one
of the nonunion guys. Landscaping.'
'So how did a bunch of Dunn Simon pencil-necks figure it out?'
'Luck.' Johnson didn't know me well enough yet to know that I think
luck is for whiners. He did know me well enough not to leave it at
that. 'When I talked to Townsend last night,
I told him we'd look into people who worked at the site as part of the
investigation. He probably mentioned that to his lawyer, but the
lawyer didn't start with the foreman to get a list of employees; he
started with the company that owns the property. Turns out Dunn Simon
represents them too. One big happy family.'
'Well, it's signed now, so you can send them all home for the night. I
hope you'll understand if I don't stick around for the goodbyes. What
judges are on call duty tonight?'
'Maurer and Lesh.'
'You should be all right with either one of them. Maurer's got kids,
but Lesh is probably still up. Loves the Daily Show. Call me if you
have any problems.'
'Sure thing.'
He stopped me as I was walking out. 'Hey, Kincaid. Thanks for
understanding. We'll make up for it tonight.'
'Sounds like it could've happened to anyone.' In truth, I wasn't
convinced there hadn't been some sloppiness, but he was beating himself
up enough as it stood. Laying off felt like the right thing to do,
given our afternoon confrontation. 'I'm just glad someone caught
it.'
'Well, between me and you, considering the someone? That shows real
class. And, just to prove I know I got some time out in the doghouse,
that's all I'm gonna say about your old law school friend back there.
That could've been hours of material.'
More like days, but he didn't know the half of it. 'Much appreciated,
Ray. You be careful on that search. Jackson's desperate.'
When I finally got home, it was too late to call my father. I checked
the machine; no messages.
Vinnie was waiting for me in bed with a note tied to his collar.
I recognized Chuck's scribble. 'I couldn't fit through Vinnie's doggy
door so I guess it's another night alone. Sweet dreams.'
The best I could do was no dreams, which was as good as it was getting
these days. Unfortunately, the slumber didn't last long. Five hours
in, Jack Walker called to fill me in on the search.
'You guys find anything?' I asked, groping for the lamp.
'You could say that. This thing's ready to go.'
I asked him to walk me through it from the start.
'Lesh agreed to sign the warrant as a no-knock,' he explained, meaning
they could enter the house without knocking first. 'So we call out the
emergency response team just in case the entry goes bad. Never know
with the kids and all.
'We kicked the door. Jackson's asleep on the couch. His three kids
are sacked out in the bedrooms. We took them out into the hallway to
secure the apartment and get the scene under control.'
'Handcuffs?' I asked.
'Just for Jackson. He was one unhappy camper about us waking the kids,
and we didn't want him going mental on us.' Under the circumstances, a
court would go with that.
'Then what?'
'Once we secured the apartment, our first priority was placing the
kids. We had SCF on-site with a foster placement ready, but Jackson
wigged when he saw them coming. He was a complete wreck, pretty much
offered to confess if we'd call his mom.'
'He admitted it?'
'Hold on. I wrote it down verbatim.' I heard him flip some pages.
'Here it is. 'You're here for me. This don't involve my kids. I'll
show you what you came for; now just let them stay with their nana.
These kids been through enough.''
'Holy shit.'
'It gets better. SCF calls the mom did it right there in front of
