Chapter 47
FORTY-SEVEN
Sandra made the call to her boss, Elwood Rowe, to let him know that she was requested at another incident. He joked she worked harder on her days off. She’d try not to take offense. But he had his boss cap on and made it clear that if she didn’t start taking her vacation days they would be gone.
She joined up with the team at MPD and headed over with them in the mobile command vehicle. It wasn’t the first time she’d traveled to the scene of an incident inside one, but it was a smooth ride.
An officer assigned to ERT drove and parked them in front of Dean Finley’s house.
He hopped out along with Kreiger, and Sandra was in their wake.
Kreiger directed uniformed officers to cordon off the block to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Also under no circumstances were any news stations to be allowed past.
Sandra beelined straight for Eric, who was walking toward her. “How are you doing?” She wanted nothing more than to hug him, but her professionalism wouldn’t allow for it. She settled for brushing her hand against his elbow.
“Not good, truth be told. It didn’t have to go down like this. Todd could have talked to me. I would have helped him. Officers would have been sent to pick up Finley.”
“It sounds like Levine wanted to do right by his old sergeant, though, give him the opportunity to come forward himself.”
“Yeah, but look where that got him.” He flailed an arm toward the house.
“We’ll figure this all out, okay? Get him out safely.”
“And if you can’t?”
She wanted to offer him reassurances but nothing was guaranteed. “I can’t think that way or I’m setting myself up for failure. I keep my mind focused on a peaceful resolution and work toward it.”
He nodded. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“Come on, join the team and fill us in on everything.”
“Sure.”
Sandra entered the vehicle first and dropped onto the bench seat around the table. “Everyone, you’ve all met Detective Birch. As you were briefed, he’s the one who alerted us to the situation here.”
“There are two cops in that house, men who gave their lives to the badge,” Eric prefaced, just as Kreiger returned. “They just lost their way thirty-three years ago.”
If anyone thought to challenge the frequency with which the cops in question had crossed the line, no one said as much out loud.
“As you know, my investigation into Susan Crawford’s accident raised a lot of flags.
More than that, it led to evidence that supported a cover-up.
Susan Crawford was targeted, and the accident that killed her was orchestrated.
What you might not have heard is I’ve even been able to tie it back to Dale Kramer. ”
“Whoa, good job, Eric,” Neal told him.
Sandra was smiling, knowing that if there was evidence to find, Eric would unearth it.
“Is Kramer talking?” Kreiger asked.
Eric shook his head. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet.
He’s waiting on his lawyer to show up. But, on that point, there is enough to support an arrest for both Todd Levine and Dean Finley.
I think Levine knew it was inevitable and tried to get ahead of it.
” Eric pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Sandra.
“It’s a copy of a letter from Levine, baring his soul.
He has been racked with guilt for the last thirty-three years over what he and Finley did. ”
Sandra read the letter and passed it along to Neal. He and Kreiger leaned in and read it at the same time.
Donny took the letter from Kreiger. “Ah, I see what you’re getting at. Levine’s intentions were good, but Finley wasn’t having anything to do with it.”
“Yes, and I fear Levine might have made it clear he was going to give them both up, leaving Finley with no say in the matter,” Eric clarified.
“Which means that Finley may or may not know about that.” Sandra pointed at the letter, now in Monica’s hand.
“That’s right. Regardless, Finley’s clearly feeling desperate.”
“Levine’s had time to come to grips with his decision. He’s just thrown it at Finley,” Monica said.
“In some ways you can hardly blame Finley’s response.
There’s a lot on the line. His pension and a prison sentence.
All of us know prison isn’t a safe place for a cop.
Finley might see it as he has nothing to lose.
This could escalate quickly. He kills Levine, then himself,” Kreiger weighed in with a bitter possibility.
“Well, I’ll need to help him see there is an upside to surrendering.
” Not that she saw how she was going to accomplish that yet.
She was just determined to resolve things peacefully so that both men walked away.
Eric was dealing with enough already when it came to his training officer. He didn’t need to grieve his death too.
“There is more I haven’t shared yet…” Eric told them about the contents of the safe deposit box, including the recording.
“Wow. Slam dunk.” Gibson reached for the letter from Monica.
“Yeah, there’s no turning back from that,” Neal said.
“Nope.”
Sandra caught chills on her arms. “It sounds like the photographer was killed to keep Susan Crawford’s murder quiet too.” How many people had to die because of Timothy Hanson?
“Is that what Levine was referring to when he said a further unspeakable thing or is there something else still?” Kreiger said.
The vehicle fell silent for a few beats, and Gibson gave the letter back to Eric.
He held up his hand. “Hold on to it. I’ll give you the numbers for both officers, then I’m headed back to the station to get started on arrest warrants for both men. Let’s hope I get a chance to serve them.”
After Eric was gone, true to his playbook, Kreiger said, “I’m going to consult with ERT.”
Sandra took the numbers Eric had provided and sat at her workstation. As she put on her headset, she watched Eric getting into an unmarked MPD sedan and was stabbed with empathy. But there wasn’t time to sink into despair. She had to be the strong one for him. “I’m calling Finley.”
The team put their headsets on, and she punched in the digits for Finley’s cell phone.
“I said, get lost!”
“Sergeant Finley, this is Special Agent Vos with the FBI. I understand you might need our help in there.” She used his title at retirement to remind him of the honorable position he had held at one time. By doing so, it would also acknowledge that he’d made sacrifices.
“I don’t need help. I have this under control.”
“You’re visiting with an old friend, Sergeant Levine, am I right?”
“That’s right.”
The gruff edge to his voice sent a sour bolt firing through her gut. “Just the two of you?”
“Yes.”
“Would I be able to talk to Todd for a minute?”
“Why would you need to do that?”
“Just to make sure he’s okay.”
“Why wouldn’t he be okay? You just said we’re friends.”
His tone was dry and cold, almost robotic. But he’d pushed her words back, which was what she was hoping for. They were something she could use. “That’s right. Friends. And friends are there for each other through good times and bad. They have your back all the time, look out for you.”
“Except that Todd isn’t. He’s ruining everything. He should just forget it and let it be. Leave the past in the past.”
It was tempting to call this for what it was and halt the dance, get out front of it and admit to their knowledge.
Except doing so would be risky for first contact.
To lay it out might hit as too much all at once.
It wasn’t like Finley would be clueless about what brought them to his door.
“I hear you. Todd is ruining everything. He’s dredging up things he has no business dredging up.
” Sandra ignored the looks from Kreiger and Neal.
“That’s right. Let sleeping dogs lie.”
Her strategy had worked. While the lieutenant might have feared her words would incite Finley to violence, she was connecting with him. “Sleeping dogs lie.” She repeated his words.
“Exactly.”
“There’s no need to dredge up the past.” She stuck to using words he’d spoken, letting him feel heard.
There were a few beats of silence. “Wait a minute. I see what you’re doing.”
“What I’m doing?” She tossed it back with a casual air of confusion.
“You think if you can get me to feel like you’re on my side, I’ll let my guard down. That I’ll let Todd go.”
There was a thumping in the background, wood against wood, and a muffled voice.
Donny wrote on a piece of paper and stuck it under her nose. Is Levine gagged?
“Not at all. I can appreciate where you’re coming from. If everything is good in there, then let me talk to Todd.”
“Not happening!”
The call was cut to an abrupt end.
“Well, that’s first contact down,” Gibson said while getting up and updating the board.
2:15 PM. Contact made with HT, identified as Dean Finley.
One known hostage, Todd Levine.
“This isn’t going to be an easy one, Vos,” Neal began. “You’ve got a retired career cop in there who would be familiar with the negotiation handbook. He’s also got nothing to lose, as we talked about a moment ago.”
Sandra wished Neal had offered something useful other than a sad recap of the situation.
If she dwelled on any of what he said, they might as well leave and let things play out on their own.
But not her. Not today. Not any day. She’d put her training and experience to use.
Somehow, she would find a way for both men inside that house to walk away from this.