Chapter Twelve
San Diego, California
Reynaldo Navarro was in his office. Kit had hoped that he wouldn’t be so that she could put this meeting off for a little while longer. It was childish, she knew, but she was dreading this.
Sam held her right hand tightly and her left arm was throbbing, so she didn’t wave at the other homicide detectives as they greeted her. She just nodded and tried to smile instead.
“Healing” was her reply when the others asked about her arm.
“It’ll be okay,” Baz murmured behind her.
She hoped he was right, because for all her bravado, she was scared. She didn’t want to lose her job.
She wanted to be a cop. It was all she’d ever wanted to be.
But then she saw Alan West at his desk, staring at her coolly as she walked by. He had a bunch of papers spread all over his desk and a food delivery bag. She could see the receipt stapled to the bag.
He hadn’t gone out for lunch.
She wondered if he’d stayed inside for a third day.
Detective Meghan Lennox turned around in her chair to look at Kit, and Kit thought she saw regret in the woman’s eyes.
Lennox was a few years younger than Kit, and she was new to Homicide.
She struck Kit as shy and unsure—a bad combination for a detective.
The current expression on Lennox’s face served to underscore Kit’s opinion.
Lennox started to rise, but her partner cleared his throat and she aborted the movement. She nodded once and Kit could only nod back.
It wasn’t Lennox’s fault that she’d been stuck with Alan West. But when Kit had been stuck with him, she’d shown initiative. She’d gone out and worked the case on her own. She hadn’t let West tell her what to do.
But she’s not you.
No, Lennox wasn’t. But she was responsible for catching the man who’d killed Akiko’s aunt. And so far, it didn’t appear that the team of West and Lennox had come up with anything useful.
Sam squeezed her hand before letting it go as they got to Navarro’s office door. “I’ve got your back,” he whispered.
“Thanks.” But that wouldn’t be enough to keep her job if Navarro went through with his threat.
Navarro waved them in and she entered, feeling like she was heading for a firing squad.
Baz closed the door behind them. “Hi.”
Navarro’s laugh was more like a bark. “Hi, yourself. You all might as well sit down. I’m not going to like this, am I?”
Kit braced herself as she sat. “Probably no more than I’m going to like it.”
“You’ve been investigating,” Navarro said.
“I have been. I have some things to share. Things I should have shared before.”
“No,” Navarro drawled sarcastically. “Really?”
“No need for the attitude, Rey,” Baz said quietly. “She’s nervous enough as it is.”
“Then Detective McKittrick shouldn’t have gone off on her own.”
“Has West left the building today?” Sam asked.
Navarro glanced out his office window to West’s desk. “Yes. He and Lennox went to the hospital to interview Leo Sherman.”
Well, that was something at least.
“Because you yelled at him?” Baz asked.
Navarro narrowed his eyes. “Why are you here, Constantine?”
Ouch. Kit winced at the slight. Baz had called Navarro by his first name, but Navarro was sticking to last names.
“I’ve been…providing my expertise,” Baz said. “We’ve found out more than West and Lennox have, I can guarantee you that.”
“I assume that you know more than you told me last night when I called you with information that you had no right to, but that I shared out of respect.”
Kit sighed. He had shared the DNA results with her and she hadn’t reciprocated. She’d betrayed his trust and it was now time to pay the piper.
She just hoped the price wouldn’t be too high.
“Riccardo Nicchi is the other shooter,” she said, wanting to get this over with.
“He shot Akiko’s half brother in front of Ella Sherman’s house.
He is the owner of the size thirteen shoes found in Mary Sherman’s living room.
He was the visitor when her security system was deactivated.
His office in LA was Mary Sherman’s destination for all three trips.
He is close to Edwin Ito. Like a son. He is also the half brother of Paolo Feliciano, Akiko’s first mate on her fishing charter boat.
They have different fathers, different last names. Paolo is currently missing.”
Navarro didn’t react, his expression unreadable. “Anything else?”
“Oh right.” Yes, there was one more thing. She should have led with it. “Edwin Ito was Mary Sherman’s biological father. And Akiko’s grandfather.”
Navarro’s mask gave way to shock. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” She glanced from Sam to Baz. “Did I forget anything?”
“I think you covered it,” Sam murmured.
Navarro folded his hands on his desk. “You have been busy. Who’s been feeding you information on the case status?”
“I’m not gonna say, sir.” There was no way she was throwing anyone under the bus. Not Connor, not Sergeant Ryland, not Marshall or Ashton.
Navarro clenched his jaw. “I’m disappointed but not surprised.” He took a single sheet of paper from his desk drawer and slid it across the table to Kit.
Kit swallowed, the roiling in her stomach becoming a rigorous churning as she read it. “I’m being suspended?”
Navarro’s shoulders sagged, his eyes weary and sad. “Yes. With pay. Your union rep will update you regarding your hearing.”
“Okay. Will you take my badge?” Her service weapon belonged to her. They’d already taken the one issued by the department back on Saturday, after she, Sam, and Akiko had discovered Mary’s body.
“No. But I swear to God, if you keep investigating, I’ll declare you unfit for service.”
Kit couldn’t control her gasp. She wanted to say something, anything, but no words would come.
“Don’t make me do that,” Navarro said quietly. “Because of your relationship, Sam won’t be able to declare you fit, if you’re already thinking of a way to get around it.”
She wasn’t. She wasn’t thinking at all. Being declared unfit was…well, unthinkable.
“Lieutenant,” Sam started, but Navarro waved him to silence.
“Don’t, Dr. Reeves. She knew the risks. So did you, yet you supported her insubordination.
She’s left me no choice.” He put a pen on top of the suspension paperwork.
“Detective McKittrick, read this and sign it. It’s not an admission of guilt, only an acknowledgment that I’ve explained the process to you. ”
She read it once, then twice, the words not sinking in.
Despite knowing this was a possibility, she really hadn’t considered how she’d respond if it happened. Part of her, she realized, had assumed Navarro wouldn’t follow through on his warning.
Because, on some level, she and Navarro had become…well, not friends. But at least friendly.
She’d allowed him in. Let down her walls and let herself trust him.
That’s not fair. He’s only doing his job.
And she’d only been doing hers.
Not true. You were doing West’s and Lennox’s jobs.
Because they refused to.
“Detective?” Navarro pressed. “Is there a problem?”
Yes. So many problems. She picked up the pen, her hands shaking. Gritting her teeth, she signed the paper and lurched to her feet.
Do not throw up. Do not.
Sam rose slowly, his shoulder brushing hers. “Do you want to suspend me, too?”
Navarro’s jaw clenched. “No.”
Baz stood. “Reynaldo. Don’t do this.”
Navarro’s gaze jerked to Baz. “Do you think I want to? She’s given me no choice. She knew the rules and she broke them. She disobeyed a direct order.”
Kit blindly reached for Sam’s hand. It was there, of course, enveloping hers. He was warm, strong. Safe.
She lifted her chin. “And I’d do it again. Sir.”
Navarro closed his eyes. “I know. And in your position, I might even do the same. But you leave me no choice, McKittrick.”
McKittrick. Not Kit. Not even Detective.
“My sister is at the heart of this, and West and Lennox aren’t properly investigating.
You know it and I know it. Every detective out there knows it.
I don’t know who’s pulling the strings here, Lieutenant, but this isn’t you.
You’re fair and you do the right thing, even when it’s the hard thing. I learned that from you.”
Baz sighed. “She’s got you there, Rey.”
“Be quiet, Baz. Please.” Navarro met Kit’s gaze. “I gave you information last night. I expected you to do the same.”
“You gave me information,” she agreed, “and it was shocking. I took the time to process. I’m here now.”
“Doesn’t change anything. You still disobeyed a direct order. You can’t choose which orders to obey and which to ignore. We’ll be contacting you regarding the suspension. In the meantime, don’t get yourself killed.”
She went to his office door, then paused, her hand on the doorknob.
“I suppose that West and Lennox interviewed Leo Sherman because they found out that he followed Mary to LA.” Navarro’s barely audible gasp had her turning to face her lieutenant.
He was staring at her. “So they didn’t know,” she murmured.
“How did you know?”
“Studied the traffic cams. Followed his black Audi. Why did they interview him, then, if they didn’t know that?”
Navarro hesitated, then shrugged. “He spoke to his wife several times. We have his phone records. We wanted to listen to his voicemails from his wife, but he refused to give us his phone, so we’re getting a subpoena. Who studied the traffic cams? I want a name.”
“I’m not going to give you one. I mean, I’m already suspended, right?”
Navarro nodded woodenly. “So you are. Thank you for that information.”
She opened the door and walked away, acutely aware of every eye in the bullpen following her movement. Sam and Baz trailed her, but she didn’t look back. She needed to get to the restroom.
Now.
She barely made it in time, her stomach heaving as she leaned over the toilet. Everything she’d eaten that day was violently expelled. She gagged, her eyes stinging.
She flushed the toilet and went to the sink to wash her face and rinse her mouth. I don’t have time for this. I have work to do.