Sara was on the stand to testify her finding the hammer and presenting the DNA lab results. I curled my hands in my lap after swallowing a Tums, waiting for the judge to start his questioning.
“For the record, Detective Hickman can you state your involvement in the Fueller case?” The judge asked, his squared reading glasses resting on the tip of his nose as he shuffled papers.
The witness stand. A necessary evil in my profession. I’d always hated it, but Sara was a natural with it.
“I was the lead detective,” Sara answered.
“How did you come across the murder weapon as evidence in the Fueller case?” He tapped a pen against his gavel.
“I received an anonymous phone call. The voice was distorted, but they were explicitly clear of the location under the willow tree in Lincoln Park.” Her eyes surveyed the few people in the courtroom. Me, Mrs. Conroy, a few of the troopers from the department, and several others. “They stated they’d seen Fueller bury it there, but feared connections to Fueller might have come after them or their family.”
The judge nodded slowly, scribbling something down on a piece of paper in front of him.
The room was silent as the grave. Images of Earnest’s snarky face as he told me the hammer was at the bottom of Lake Michigan poked at me. I held my breath.
The judge rubbed his hands together. Mrs. Conroy was in the first row, tears rolling down her cheeks. She clasped her hands together in silent prayer.
“Given the evidence presented to me today and Earnest Fueller’s DNA found on said evidence, I find the defendant guilty. If he were alive, I’d have sentenced him to two life sentences in prison. I’m sure wherever he is, he’s receiving a far worse punishment. Case closed.” The sound of wood hitting against wood vibrated in my ears as he brought the gavel down.
If the judge only knew how right he was.
I pinched my eyes shut, relief washing over me. Mrs. Conroy leaped from her seat, bawling her eyes out. Once Sara stepped down from the stand, she ran over to her and hugged her so tightly it made Sara blow out a breath.
“Thank you so much, Sara. You have no idea how amazing it is to feel this sense of closure,” Mrs. Conroy said through several sniffles.
“Thank the anonymous tipper.” Sara gave me a knowing smile over Mrs. Conroy’s shoulder.
Mrs. Conroy wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned around to see me. She wailed again and wrapped her arms around me.
“Thank you so much for your help, Miss Costas.” She squeezed my shoulders and ran out of the courtroom.
If only I could thank Hades. He was the only reason any of this was possible. I sighed, slipping my hands into the pockets of my dress.
“We just won a cold case. Why do you look like someone pissed in your Cheerios?” Sara asked.
“No reason. I mean now, what am I going to obsess over, right?” I grinned.
She draped an arm over my shoulders. “We’re celebrating at your place tonight. I’ll bring champagne. Got some more news too.”
“Oh?”
She nodded with a huge smile. “I’ll tell you tonight.”
Later that night, I curled up on the couch with Sammy, stroking his fur. When a knock sounded on the door, I was relieved to have a distraction from my thoughts.
Thoughts about you know who.
I whipped open the door. “Thank God, you’re here.” She held two giant bottles of champagne, and I snatched one.
“Wow. Miss me that much, huh?” She smirked and closed the door behind her with a bump of her hip.
“Always,” I said, resting two flute glasses on the countertop.
Sammy jumped up, curling himself around the champagne bottle. Sara hissed at him. He gave her a disapproving stare before walking off with a flick of his tail. She took out her cell phone, scanning her thumb over the screen. I held the bottle away from me, turned my head, held my breath, and pulled on the cork. Pop. Fizzy alcohol sprouted from the bottle, and I squealed, holding it over the sink.
“So, are you going to tell me what else we’re celebrating tonight?” I asked, pouring us two glasses.
She grabbed one and rested her phone on the counter. “I found our sneaky cop accomplice.”
“Seriously? Who was it?”
“Leonardo Michaels.” She shook her head.
I blinked. Leo, the creep-o. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Because he’s a sleazeball who’s going to get what he deserves. You should’ve seen his face when we arrested him. I thought he was going to bawl.”
“Wait. Why Leo? I know he’s a perv but doesn’t explain why he’d knowingly assist a criminal. Especially a murderer.”
Sara nodded. “Valid question. I looked into all connections to Fueller and cross-referenced them with past and current employees. It turns out, Fueller and Leo lived in the same neighborhood as kids. Fueller served a year in juvie for a grand theft auto conviction.”
“Was Leo involved too?”
“Yup. Charged, but Fueller confessed to doing it himself, and Leo tried to stop him, which is the only reason he was there.”
I narrowed my eyes. “But we both know he lied for Fueller.”
“Exactly. So, when Fueller approached him about the hammer, I think Leo felt he owed him. And when I asked why he didn’t quit and leave town, know what he said?”
I raised my brow.
“He thought it’d have looked too obvious.” Sara smirked. “I’ll tell you this much, if it weren’t for me being an officer of the law, I’d have kneed him straight in the balls.”
“Should’ve let me tag along, then.” I pointed to myself. “Civilian.”
Sara laughed and held up her glass for a toast.
“To the Fueller case,” I said.
“And here’s to hopeful promotions for both of us.” She tapped her phone and Push It played.
Without bothering to set our glasses down, we danced in my kitchen. As the night wore on, we drank both bottles, danced to our song a total of thirteen times, and I didn’t think about three-headed dogs, floating smoke, or the King of Ash and Bone. It wasn’t until I went to bed with a fuzzy head from copious amounts of alcohol my mind betrayed me. I had feelings for Hades, feelings I never had the chance to voice to him. The way he looked at me, he had to feel something for me too. Lust? Admiration? Mrs. Conroy wasn’t the only one who needed closure.
I wanted to see Hades in the Underworld. We deserved a proper goodbye. I refused to let things end the way they had. Hades said the only way to the Underworld was either by him or death. Thanatos himself was death. It was worth a shot. I found an empty area in Lincoln Park far enough from prying eyes.
After taking a deep breath, I clenched my fists at my side. “Thanatos?”
The wind rustled through the trees. Fall had come and gone, and the once vibrant leaves colored orange and yellow were turning brown and snapping away from the branches. I wasn’t sure how one communicated with a Greek god, not to mention one who only showed up when it was time to meet your demise.
“Thanatos! Please! I need your help,” I implored, turning circles, my feet brushing against the grass.
In a burst of smoky red fog, he appeared, his head held low. The hood of the cloak draped over his eyes. “I do not normally appear simply because someone calls out my name.”