Shadow Tag by Marjorie Doering

Author:Marjorie Doering [Doering, Marjorie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marjorie Doering
Published: 2013-07-18T04:00:00+00:00

20

Ray and Waverly felt it moments after they followed Jillian Wirth from the interview room: something was wrong. A pall seemed to have fallen over the department. Their fellow detectives seemed to be going through the motions in near silence as though they were on automatic pilot.

Ray stopped talking in the middle of a sentence.

“What’s going on?” Waverly asked of nobody in particular. No one answered. “What the hell? Hey, what’s up?” he shouted.

A detective known to Ray only as Berg stepped forward. He laid a hand on Waverly’s shoulder, looked at Ray and, with a jerk of his head, motioned them toward a less populated part of the room.

“Let’s have it,” Waverly said, coming to a stop. “What’s happened? Are we getting a pay cut or something?”

Voice low, Berg said, “It’s Hoerr.”

“What about him?”

“He’s gone. We just got word.”

“What do you mean ‘gone’?” Waverly asked.

Sensing Berg’s meaning, Ray tried to pull his thoughts together. “What happened? A shooting? An accident? What?”

“On 35 under the 494 overpass...the cloverleaf next to Southtown Center in Bloomington…” Berg ran a hand over his bare scalp. “Hoerr drove his car into a bridge support. Witnesses say it was intentional.”

“No, c’mon,” Waverly moaned, “that can’t be.”

“No other vehicles were involved. The guy in the car behind him said Hoerr accelerated as he neared the bridge—swears he steered straight for the support column—brake lights didn’t even flicker.”

“Damn it. God damn it.” Ray’s voice carried throughout the office.

“Yeah, I know,” Berg said, commiserating. “Hoerr should’ve found himself another line of work; he wasn’t cut out for law enforcement. The kid was too soft.”

“Bullshit.” It came from Kruse, a nearby detective with a body like a fireplug. “It’s attitudes like yours that kept Hoerr from getting counseling, you jackass.”

“He should’ve sucked it up—been a man about it.”

“Berg, you stupid fuck, you’re talking out of your ass. He killed a goddamned fifteen-year-old kid. Something like that ever happens to you, we’ll see how well you handle it on your own. I’ve been to see Morasco. You got some issue with my manhood?”

“All right, knock it off, you two,” Waverly said. He turned to Kruse. “When did it happen?”

“About an hour ago, I guess. The Bloomington cops contacted Captain Roth after they found Hoerr’s shield and I.D. Roth filled us in about ten minutes ago. Where were the two of you?”

“Conducting an interview.”

Kruse pointed toward the captain’s office. Roth was sitting stock-still with his back to the door. “He’s been sitting in there like that since he broke the news. I’d steer clear for a while.”

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