Fastrope by L.T. Ryan

Author:L.T. Ryan [Ryan, L.T. & Ryan, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

Detective Maribel Santiago glanced again at the clock, its ticking seeming to taunt her. 3:30 PM was rapidly approaching, and Officers Baxter and Green were still nowhere in sight. With her foot tapping impatiently, she stood in the hallway outside the roll call room, straining to hear the drone of the patrol sergeant as he went through the night's briefing.

The word 'brief' seemed like a cruel joke at this point.

Santiago's nerves were frayed, and her anxiety gnawed at her insides as she checked her watch for the umpteenth time. Time was slipping through her fingers like sand, and she could see herself being late to Isabella's parent-teacher conference. The very thought made her heart clench in frustration.

Reluctantly, Santiago pulled out her cellphone, her thumb hovering over the call button. She could ask her mother for help, but the mere idea of it felt like an admission of defeat. Already, she’d had to call her to pick up Isabella, and now this. It was as if she was stacking one failure on top of another, and it weighed heavily on her chest.

As she stood there, torn between her duty and her family, the door to the roll call room burst open, releasing a cacophony of chairs scraping against linoleum and the chatter of fellow officers. They all seemed so carefree and jovial, unaware of the storm brewing in Santiago's mind.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, searching for Baxter and Green, the only two people who could help her salvage the day. Santiago leaned against the wall outside the roll call room, her arms folded as she waited for the shift to disperse. Officers Baxter and Green exchanged glances as they exited the room, their eyes meeting hers.

Green gave a subtle nod and said, "Heard you needed to see us? Something wrong?"

Santiago could see their defenses rise, likely assuming they'd made a mistake, and she was there to reprimand them. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, so their initial reaction was justified. However, in this case, it was unwarranted.

"No problem," Santiago said, her voice steady. "Just wanted to follow up with you guys about the double homicide from yesterday."

Baxter and Green visibly relaxed. "Go ahead, shoot," Baxter replied, his voice casual.

"You two were first on scene, correct?" Santiago asked, her dark eyes scrutinizing them.

"That's right," Green replied, his tone guarded. "We wrote a supplemental report documenting our actions."

"I know. I read it."

"It was a thorough report. Signed off on. Is there an issue?" Green’s question had an edginess to it, the senior of the two officers taking a protective tone.

Shaking her head, Santiago replied, "No issue. Just trying to fit a piece of evidence in and make sure I have it correct."

The two patrolmen exchanged puzzled looks. Santiago pulled out her phone, displaying the image of the boot print she'd found in the dried blood on the external stairwell leading to the second-floor apartment where the murder took place. "Are you guys wearing the same boots you had on the night of the murders?"

Both officers nodded, their movements slightly out of sync.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.