“Hannah, this is Garland Moses,” Jessie said, trying not to chuckle.
“Hi,” Hannah said perfunctorily.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Dorsey,” he said. “Would you care to come in? That is, assuming you can handle the old man smell I can see you’re obviously worried about.”
“I’m okay with it,” Hannah said, pretending to be hurt. “That is, assuming you don’t mind a teenager cramping your style? I wouldn’t want you to worry that I’m going to mess up your Russian nesting dolls or your collection of Victorian doilies.”
Jessie was just opening her mouth to ream the girl out for her rudeness when she noticed Garland almost imperceptibly hold up his left hand to give her the “pause” signal. His body blocked Hannah’s view so that only Jessie could see it. She held her tongue.
“I’ll have you know,” Garland said, with a sweetness she’d never heard in his tone before, “that I keep all my doilies under a glass case where they’re safe from the grubby hands of unwashed pubescents. So you’re all set.”
Without waiting for a retort, he turned and led them to the front door. Once there, he punched a code into the keypad next to the doorbell. A metal cover pulled back to reveal several pieces of tech Jessie didn’t recognize.
Garland bent down slightly and a device scanned his eyes. Then he placed his palm on a plate of glass below the scanner and watched as it apparently read his fingerprints. After that, he whispered something unintelligible into a speaker. Only then did the front door lock click.
“Wow,” Hannah said, impressed. “That is some next level…stuff. Your security measures make Jessie’s look like a joke.”
“I have to keep those nesting dolls safe, don’t I?” Garland replied as he welcomed them inside. When he closed the door after them, Jessie heard a series of locks slide into place. The process took about five seconds. She found the sound reassuring.
“So Ms. Dorsey…” Garland started.
“You can call me Hannah,” she interrupted.
“So Hannah, why don’t you head into the den? You can do your homework while your sister and I talk behind your back. Then I’ll see what we have in the way of snacks. Sound good?”
Hannah nodded, clearly thrown and mildly amused by the unexpected quippiness of the old guy. When she was gone, Garland led Jessie to his office. He closed the door after she entered.
“It’s soundproof,” he assured her. “But I suspect she’s going to get antsy soon. So I recommend you update me fast. I assume there’s more to this than just the casual encounter you suggested I have with Hannah to profile her for you.”
Jessie hadn’t told Garland what was going on over the phone, only that she needed his advice and would like to get it somewhere he considered secure. He’d suggested his house and while she hadn’t mentioned that Hannah would be with her, he didn’t seem surprised that she was there.
“There is more to it than that. I won’t bore you with all the details. And I don’t want to put you in a compromising situation. But you know I’ve been investigating a murder in the Valley. You also know the bureau there has been very active in trying to close the case quickly. Now I’ve recently learned that the reason for this effort may have something to do with an LAPD higher-up who was involved with the victim.”
“So the porn actress who was stabbed nine times was being paid for sex by someone of consequence in the department?” Garland asked.
Jessie looked at him, half-stunned and half-annoyed.
“If you knew everything already, why did you let me blather on?”
“I didn’t know everything,” he replied. “But I do try to keep up with what’s going on case-wise. And I can draw inferences based on the information available to me. Care to explain how this turn of events has led you and your half-sister to my doorstep?”
“I don’t think you need me to explain, Garland.”
“No, probably not. I suspect you got a threatening note, or perhaps an e-mail or phone call recently, one suggesting that Hannah’s safety might be at risk if you continue to pursue the case. Am I on the right track?”
“You know you are. It was a phone call. The voice was digitally masked.”
“So, what exactly are you asking of me, Ms. Hunt?”
Jessie studied him, trying to discern how much she could pile on this man, who despite his reputation and skills was still a senior citizen with a lot to lose.
“I’d like you to keep an eye on Hannah while I’m out,” she said.
“You’re not asking me come up with a profile of her?” he asked.
Jessie shrugged.
“If, in the course of your time together, you glean worthwhile details about her that you deem shareable, I won’t stop you.”
Garland smiled.
“That was smooth,” he noted. “Are you sure that’s all you want? It feels like you’re holding back.”
“Well,” she mused. “I don’t want to put you in a difficult position.”
“Too late.”
“Okay, then. I’d love to get your thoughts on exactly what I’m up against here. Detective Hernandez seems to think this situation is…fraught.”
“I would tend to agree with Detective Hernandez. If a high-level department official was involved with this girl, regardless of whether he actually killed her, he has a lot to lose if that information comes out. He is obviously using his considerable resources to ensure it doesn’t, including tactics that are at best questionable, and after the threat you got, also illegal. If he thinks that you are likely to learn of and expose his involvement, there’s no telling what other methods he’ll employ to keep you quiet. You need to tread very carefully.”
Jessie thought about this. Garland and Ryan seemed to be in sync about the threat she faced. But neither of them seemed to acknowledge what she saw as a fatal flaw in the “tread carefully” plan.
“Here’s the problem with that,” she said. “Even if I tread carefully or drop this case altogether, I don’t see how that keeps me or Hannah safe long-term. What’s to stop this guy, somewhere down the road when everything has settled, from taking me out just to be thorough? Even if he thinks I don’t know his identity, he’ll be paranoid that I’ll discover it. I mean, as I long I’m out there, he’s at risk, right? It’s hard to imagine he’d put up with that.”
“That’s a legitimate concern,” Garland conceded. “Of course, as we profilers so often have to, it’s worth putting yourself in his position for a moment. He’s had someone threaten your family member rather than actually harm her or you. That suggests that he doesn’t want to escalate to the next level if he can avoid it. He doesn’t want to push you too hard, whether he suspects you know who he is or not. He has to know that a détente with you, if it can be brokered, is preferable than having to take more dramatic action.”
“What do you mean?” Jessie asked, though she sensed where he was headed.
“He has to know that harming your sister would likely have a boomerang effect and make you more likely to pursue him. Likewise, eliminating you would lead to all kinds of questions. There’d be an investigation of the cases you were investigating when you died and the information about him might come out anyway. And of course, Detective Hernandez, Captain Decker, and myself, among others, wouldn’t just roll over if that happened. He’d be poking a hornet’s nest with no guarantee that it would do him any good. He’d want to avoid that if at all possible. So he sends this not-so-veiled threat as a half-measure, hoping it will suffice.”