Chapter Eleven #3
“Because last night, the agent who had been working it before it was handed back to you showed up dead, and this was the last case he was working. Before that, the cop was killed working on a case that’s all tied to this. There’s a trail, and in order for us to handle it, we need ALL of the cases.”
They got quiet.
FAST.
One of the cops felt bad.
Clearly.
“Hey, we’re sorry one of the agents here got hurt. They aren’t bad dudes,” he admitted. “And my name is Yandriel Potter, but everyone calls me Yand.”
Corbin had a few questions.
The old him would assume.
Well, the old him had learned that was a dangerous thing. So, these detectives were about to play a little game called ‘talk to the Feds’.
“Well, if you feel bad, then, you certainly don’t mind helping me out,” he admitted.
They all looked at each other.
Yeah, Corbin was pulling a Gene, doing exactly what he would do. Now, they couldn’t say no, or they’d look…problematic.
Or guilty.
“I have the notes from Aaron’s case files, but I’m curious. He was found with markings all over him. Did you get anywhere with them?” he asked the cop handling the case.
Yandriel nodded.
“Voodoo. I just updated the captain this morning. I started tracking those symbols back to a part of the island that is heavily into spiritualism. You know, sacrificing chickens, dancing in the sand circle, and Voodoo.”
Corbin was curious.
“Where did it lead you?” he asked, pulling out a little notebook to start making notes.
Yandriel was to the point.
“There’s this club called Dark Spirits. It’s a nightclub of sorts, but it’s owned by this priestess.
There, she has a bunch of ‘la brujas’ working.
They will read your palms, tea leaves, and all kinds of shit as the beer is flowing.
I found out that she had worked for Jaden Mendin, and he fired her two years ago.
Apparently, she was a problem. How? I don’t know.
Like I said, I just got my claws into this. ”
He reached into his desk and pulled out the notebook he had written things in.
“Here. You can have my notes. I know the FBI is going to run with this one, and we won’t stand a chance getting it back now that one of their guys died, too.”
That was a pretty accurate statement.
“Thank you,” he said, tucking them into his notebook for later. He was scoring up all kinds of things. “What’s her name, so I can be proactive and start researching her?” he asked Yandriel Potter.
The man shared what he’d been given by Aaron, and what he’d confirmed himself.
“She goes by Esmeralda, but her real name is Maria Barada. She’s supposedly a big priestess in that area, and no one messes with her. Word on the street is she doesn’t take kindly to it.”
Oh, goodie.
He knew how much Gene loved that kind of craziness. He only hoped he’d get to see that go down because he was DEFINITELY going to poke a priestess. That was something he always lived to do.
Oh, he’d wear a rosary for protection, but he’d absolutely stir the pot to see what floated to the top.
For all of them, time would tell on that.
If Gene and Ethan were magnanimous, they might let him join them—if they wanted him to tag along.
“Thanks for the information. We really do appreciate it.”
Yand stopped him.
“Can you keep us in the loop? Aaron was our friend. We were brothers. We want to know that he’s getting justice.”
Corbin nodded.
That was the least they could do.
“Scribble down your email, and I’ll pass it on to the Feds. You’ll get an update.”
He did as Corbin asked and passed it to the man.
Then, Corbin was to the point.
“I can tell you that without a shadow of a doubt, he’ll get his justice. Agents Cantrell and Blackhawk are very good at what they do, and they aren’t from this office. Their boss sent them in to handle it.”
The one cop sighed in what sounded like relief. Corbin wasn’t sure where that was coming from, but he needed to ask.
“Problem?” he asked, checking out the desk he was leaning on to get his name.
Luis Patron clearly had strong opinions on something, now didn’t he?
“Thank God it’s not those agents who work there full-time.
Those idiots in that office are so lazy.
They’re not even from here. They are ridiculous.
All I ever see is them on the beach, or hanging out at a bar for happy hour.
That’s why we don’t like to give them our cases.
We actually are from here, and like to keep the city clean. ”
Yeah, so he had heard.
Honestly, Corbin couldn’t wait to get back to the two men, and share what he’d found.
This was the mother lode of information, running from the dead man to what he’d been digging into before his demise.
“Thanks again,” he said.
As they headed away, Corbin could tell they weren’t alone. Someone was behind them. On the stairs, he stopped, and put his body in front of Will, instinctually.
Some parts of being a cop didn’t die.
Clearly.
Only, there was no need to be worried. It was one of the cops who’d been in the group that hadn’t said anything.
“Hey! Can you spare a moment?” the man asked, as the cop shook his hand.
Corbin relaxed.
“Absolutely. What’s up?”
The detective went there.
“I’m Rodney Paz. I was partnered up with Aaron for most cases. He worked this one alone, but he was definitely focused on something. He told me shit wasn’t adding up.”
That had Corbin’s attention.
“What ‘shit’?” he asked. “Did he give you something that’s not in his reports or his notes?”
The man shrugged.
“I don’t know. I was off on vacation two weeks ago, and when I ran into him in town the Friday before he died, he told me that I missed a wild one, and he’d catch me up to speed when I was back to work. That’s when we found out about him being dead.”
Corbin heard the emotion in his voice.
“I feel guilty about taking time off now. He shouldn’t have been working it alone,” Rodney said. “That’s not making me happy that I let him down.”
Corbin tried to reassure him.
“Were you friends?” he asked.
The man nodded.
“Yeah, the best of friends. You have to be when your partner is all that has your back when the shit goes down.”
Corbin patted him on the shoulder.
“Then, he knew. I doubt he’d blame you. I know with the people I call best friends, I’d never blame them if something happened to me. I can promise you that.”
The man looked miserable.
“Did he have a girl or anyone he was dating?” Corbin asked.
The man shook his head.
“No, Aaron was married to his job. Any downtime he was with me and my girl at our place. He would bring the beer, and we’d laugh for hours. He told me that there would never be room for a relationship in his police work. I told him he was an idiot.”
Corbin understood.
Then, he took Will’s hand in his.
“My boyfriend is a lawyer. We run in the same circle. There’s always room. At some point, Aaron would have made time. When you find the right person, you want to.”
That touched Will’s heart.
Corbin was a good man, and he loved him more than anything in the whole world.
That was for damn sure.
“Just please update me,” he said, pulling a business card from behind his detective shield.
“Not as a cop, but as a guy who just lost his best friend. I need to know that he didn’t suffer too much.
I know that the autopsy says otherwise, but if you find out, please let me know. It’s eating me alive.”
Corbin could do that.
“Sure thing, Rodney. I’ll call you personally when it’s all sorted out. I promise.”
The man nodded.
“Thank you,” he said.
Then, he headed back out of the stairwell, leaving the two men to stand there.
“So, not worried about people knowing that you’re gay?” Will asked.
Corbin laughed.
“Well, when we get married, I’m pretty sure they won’t think I’m just joking around and sowing my wild oats on a whim,” he stated. “We’ll have to come out at some point in life to people. Is that going to be a problem?”
Will grinned.
“Nope. I’m marrying you, taking your name, and calling my parents to tell them right after. They won’t come to our wedding since I know they won’t approve, but that will be my goodbye call to them.”
That broke Corbin’s heart.
“I’m sorry they don’t love you like you deserve. I will, and God knows that Alice will be all over you once I marry you. She’s dying for another child to stalk, harass, annoy, and embarrass. Tag. You’re it.”
That made the man laugh.
“Well, if you mean call to tell me she loves me, and sending over food to the house, I understand how you’re so annoyed. How dare she?” he joked.
Corbin snorted.
Yeah, well, it was all fun and games until you woke up and she was staring at you in your own bedroom.
As they descended the stairs to the morgue, Will kept his voice low.
“Enough about us, Corby. It’s weird they are all connected, right? I’m not an investigator, but that makes me want to ask questions.”
He was aware.
Him too.
Gene was going to run roughshod over all of this.
“You tend to be an investigator,” he said to his man.
“You just do a different kind of investigation. You get the information, and use it to get answers from someone on the stand. I do the same, but I do it in the streets. I also get shot at more. That’s better because you getting hurt will make me twitchy.
Now I know how Gene feels when Ethan gets his ass in trouble. ”
That amused the man.
So much so, that Will slipped his hand into Corbin’s, and the man squeezed it.
“I love being here with you,” Will admitted. “I never get to see how the cops do their jobs. It’s eye-opening, and it gives me some insight into how you do your job. I’m a little jealous. You get some fun interviews. I can tell.”
Corbin knew it wasn’t nearly as fun as people believed. It was being inundated with so much information that you had to sort through it.
It was mind-numbing at times.