18. Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Jemma
“Why am I here?” I asked Officer Carmichael. “Why was I called down to the precinct? I should be at work. I have a child to support.”
“The Captain wants to speak with you, and he doesn’t have time to spare to come to you. The city can’t be put on hold for one woman. He’s responsible for large numbers of the population who count on him for their safety,” Officer Carmichael replied.
“Then, why didn’t he have you tell me whatever it is that I’m here for? It would have saved us both time. My work may not be important in his eyes, but it is to my son. It puts food on the table and a roof over his head,” I declared with frustration.
“I believe he considered the matter to be too delicate for me to handle. I can’t offer anything more. He’ll explain in his own way. You may go in now. It seems he is off the phone.”
I was rock solid on the outside as I entered the Captain’s office, but I was shaking on the inside. I was intelligent enough to realize that being summoned to this place meant there was something very wrong. My thoughts immediately went to Jackson, but I knew I’d dropped him off at school and heard nothing from them, so I figured he had to be okay. My only other worry was for Sweet, and that didn’t make me happy. I wasn’t supposed to give a damn about him anymore.
“Sit down,” the police Captain ordered the instant I stepped into his office.
I heard Carmichael close the door behind me, and the office became stuffy and uncomfortably like a cell with glass windows.
“Whatever this is about, I’d appreciate it if you could just get on with it. I need to get back to work,” I stiffly announced.
He sighed before replying. “Ma’am, I realize I’ve inconvenienced you. However, I felt it was necessary. I don’t think you’d like to hold this type of discussion at your place of work. It’s personal business that it’s better your coworkers and your boss don’t know. It could taint your reputation even though you’ve done nothing wrong. People see what they want to see, and your ex-husband’s lifestyle could cause them to see you in a different light. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it goes.”
“I guess that means you have information on who left the squirrel and the note. Mitch is in trouble isn’t he?” I asked.
“He was. We’re guessing he owed the money to the cartel. He was a drug runner for them. I believe he imbibed in the product a lot of the time rather than selling it. He also stole a lot the money from the sells he did make. We know that much from an informant and his bookie. It seems he’d turned to gambling to retrieve the money he owed, but lost everything he’d bet,” the Captain explained.
“Have you arrested him on drug charges or something?” I inquired. “Was he stupid enough to tell you I’d pay his bail? I won’t. You can keep him.”
“He’s not in jail, ma’am. I’m sorry to tell you that his stupidity caught up with him. He’s dead. His body was found this morning in Lake Conception.”
“No, that can’t be right! He can swim. He’s a good swimmer, even when he’s doped up,” I argued.
“He wasn’t thrown in alive. No one can swim once their throat has been cut. I’m sorry if that knowledge is upsetting to you, but it’s my duty to tell you.”
“But the note said they’d take out the payment in flesh! They didn’t say anything about killing someone. They wanted money! If he’s dead, then he can’t get it for them.”
He hung his head and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t want to make this hard, but you apparently need an explanation in order to believe what I’m saying. They got their flesh. He was tortured before he was killed. Flesh was burned in some places and removed entirely in others. I assure you they had no reason to keep him alive or they would have. There was no money to find. He couldn’t give them information that didn’t exist.”