One Last Breath by Adam Nicholls

Author:Adam Nicholls [Nicholls, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Papyrus Publishing LTD
Published: 2020-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jessie took the idea of Internal Affairs with her and carried it around all through the next day. It was like luggage, so heavy that it was apt to break her spirit as well as her back. Even her concentration suffered, pulling her away from her case even as she tried to read at her desk. All she could think about was Gary Landy, who had finally decided to show up for work today. It was about time too—he was starting to make it look obvious that he was the killer.

“Talbot?”

Jessie craned her neck and looked up at Detective Baker, who was dressed in his long, beige coat and was busy tucking a velvet scarf under the buttons. Black bags hung under his beady brown eyes—luggage of his own.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“More or less. It’s you I’m worried about.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him.

“Are you? Because you’ve been at your desk for four hours straight, and you’ve been staring at Landy for almost half that time. People are starting to talk.”

Jessie shook her head rapidly and shuffled some papers in a feeble attempt to look busy, then quickly remembered she had picked up that habit from Baker himself. She set them down and picked at her nails instead, which were always cut short. “There’s been a… complication,” she said, still wondering if letting him in on the secret was the right thing to do. All she knew for sure was that she couldn’t be alone in this anymore. “Can we talk privately?”

“Okay. I’m heading home. Walk with me?”

She noted the time and nodded, collecting her motorcycle helmet and jacket, slipping on the latter and keeping up with him as they rode the elevator all the way to the garage. Jessie told him all about the letter, his face turning pale as he listened. The only thing that broke him out of his solemn stare was the ping of the elevator and the whoosh of its doors.

“You have to say something to Captain West,” he told her as they both stepped into the cool garage and made their way slowly toward her bike. “Everyone is working hard day and night, trying to figure out who and where Zeus is. If they find out you had information all along, it’ll be more than just your job at stake.”

“I actually hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“Got any idea who it might be?”

“I think maybe… Landy?”

“Jesus Christ.” Baker bit his knuckle.

“You don’t agree?” Jessie asked.

“Could be, but we can’t condemn a man without certainty. If I’m honest, I think we need to talk to Internal Affairs. If you’re too afraid to do it, then I’ll step in for you, but they’re going to speak to you eventually, so you might as well come forward.”

They reached the bike, and Jessie realized that Baker had parked his Camry right next to it. That was as convenient as things would get for the foreseeable future. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s my burden. I’m happy to share my thoughts, but not the trouble that comes with it.

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