She was about to knock on the door when Ryan leaned over and spoke quietly.
“All I ask is that you don’t go in hot. Give Decker the benefit of the doubt. He might surprise you.”
She nodded as she rapped on the door.
“Come in,” came a weary-sounding voice.
They entered to find Captain Roy Decker seated behind his desk. Jessie hadn’t seen him in person since he visited her at the hospital two weeks ago, the day she was discharged. If it was possible, he looked even more beaten-down than he had then.
He had his usual sunken face and wrinkled brow. His hawk-like nose still protruded prominently. But his normally sharp, piercing eyes were hazy and red. And his tie had been loosened so that it dangled, almost like a necklace, around his white dress shirt. For perhaps the first time since she’d met him, he had on no sports jacket. She could tell he’d been up all night. He looked a decade older than his sixty years.
“How are you, Hunt?” he asked gently, making no mention of the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be here.
Jessie wasn’t sure if he was referencing her physical status or her emotional reaction to Garland’s death. She knew Decker was aware that the two profilers were friendly. But she doubted the captain knew just how close they’d gotten in recent months. She decided that revealing that might be detrimental. He was less likely to let her get involved if he thought it was too personal for her.
“I’m okay,” she said, without getting specific. “I’m here to help.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Garland Moses was killed while investigating a murder. You need someone who can step in and find out who killed both that woman and him. I work with Detective Hernandez all the time. I’m the natural fit to take over.”
Decker stared at her, his eyes growing sharper by the moment.
“Just stepping up to do your professional duty, huh?” he asked skeptically.
“No, Captain. You know it’s more than that. Yes, Garland Moses was a friend of mine. Of course I want his killer brought to justice. But even if I’d never met the man, you can’t deny that I’m the best person to take over this case. He was the best profiler on the West Coast, without question. But I’m no slouch. I work in the same station. I regularly deal with the detective handling the case. I know Moses’s habits and instincts. I’m the best person to pick up where he left off.”
Decker didn’t respond at first. Instead, he looked at his computer screen as he clicked his mouse. Jessie glanced over at Ryan, who shook his head slightly, to indicate that she shouldn’t push any farther. After several more seconds, Decker looked up.
“I can tell that you’re physically not one hundred percent. It looks like you’re afraid your own shirt is going to rub your back too hard. How am I supposed to put you back in the field?”
“I’ve got Mr. Six Pack Abs with a brain here to protect me,” she said, nodding at Ryan. “And I promise to take it easy.”
“You never take it easy, Hunt,” he replied. “That’s why you’re on leave in the first place.”
“And that’s why this is the perfect time to put me on the case. I’ll be so reluctant to cause myself discomfort that there’s no way I’d put myself in harm’s way.”
Decker sighed deeply.
“You understand that putting you on this doesn’t mean I buy a word of your crap, right?”
“Of course, sir,” she said, fighting back a smile. “May I ask why you are putting me on it?”
“Because you did say one thing that’s true—you are the best person to pick up where Moses left off. In fact, he always told me that when he retired, he felt comfortable knowing you would be around to pick up the slack. We’re about to find out if he was right.”
Jessie was filled with two emotions she didn’t know could exist concurrently: pride and fear. She was proud that Garland had that kind of faith in her. But she was terrified that she was going to let him down. The mix was so confusing and overwhelming that she rushed out of Decker’s office without another word. As she left, one phrase kept repeating on a loop in her brain.
He’s counting on you.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The morgue had never felt so cold.
Jessie had been here many times, but never to examine the body of a friend. She found it difficult to separate her personal connection to the victim from her need to focus on the details of his death.
They were waiting in the adjoining room for the coroner to bring them in. As they did, Jessie looked through Garland’s personal effects in the plastic bag Ryan had given her. There wasn’t much, just a watch, his glasses, and his notepad.
“They don’t need this stuff for evidence?” she asked Ryan.
“Everything’s already been processed,” he told her. “There was nothing noteworthy. Even the notes on his pad were hard to decipher. Maybe you can make something of them.”
Jessie nodded and put the pad in her pocket to review later. Then she turned to face the man she loved.
“We have to catch this guy,” she insisted. “Not just for Garland. This is two murders in two nights. Who knows what he’s got planned for tonight? So fill me in.”
“You’ve read the report,” Ryan said. “Details are pretty sparse. The husband’s been eliminated as a suspect. The homeowners were out of town. Despite what Priscilla Barton thought when she entered the house, there was no one renting the place. The MBPD canvassed the neighborhood and came up empty. No one saw anything out of the ordinary. Of course, this is a community in which people ambling around from house to house isn’t cause for much concern.”
“Yeah, well, forgive me if I don’t trust the interrogation skills of cops from a sleepy beach town. I think you and I should re-canvass all the neighbors. Maybe they just haven’t been asked the right questions.”
“I’m all for that,” Ryan agreed.
Jessie continued, barely listening to him.
“And we need to find out what’s going on with the killer,” she said. “What was he doing in that house the second night? It’s pretty brazen to go back to the scene of the crime like that. Was he staking it out and saw Garland enter? Did he follow him in? Was he already there, waiting?”
“All good questions,” he said. “I say we go back to the beach for the answers as soon as we’re done here.”
Before she could respond, the coroner waved them in. They stepped through the door. As cold as the waiting room had been, this one was plain freezing. They walked over to the exam table where the coroner was waiting.
“Are you going to be okay?” Ryan asked when she turned away from the sheet-covered form on the table in front of them.
Yeah, in just a sec,” she assured him, trying not to hyperventilate.
After a few seconds, she turned back and nodded at him.
“Go ahead,” he said to the deputy medical examiner, who pulled back a white sheet to reveal Garland’s lifeless body.
The first thing Jessie noticed was just how frail he looked. In his standard slacks, dress shirt, and sports coat uniform, it was easy to overlook. The man had projected authority and mental strength. But Garland Moses was a small man, maybe five foot eight and 150 pounds. His skin was weathered and wrinkly and his chest was slightly concave. His body seemed so insubstantial compared to what he had accomplished.