You can find the perp without my help.”
“ Somehow I doubt that,
Helen, but let’s just play it by ear after we see what they found
at the bay.”
He drove much slower than I was used to, no
doubt in deference to my stomach. It wasn’t pleased no matter
what happened. The closer we got to pier 20, the harder the
fist tightened where digestion should’ve been the norm. I
felt pummeled by Mike Tyson by the time the symphony of flashing
lights blinded me.
“ Ready?”
“ Do I have a choice?” I
muttered. Every dead child I’d ever seen flashed on the backs
of my eyelids. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen more than
my fair share of dead bodies over the years. Some were so far
gone that all that remained were bleached bones. Some were
gooey with an odor that should’ve made me vomit. Others
looked like they had merely gone to sleep, never to wake
again. Masks frozen in terror, the look of utter surprise
that this was how it ended, you name it. I’ve seen
it.
But the children.
I think it’s the vulnerability, the
knowledge that the living possess that we have a responsibility to
protect those incapable of protecting themselves that gets under my
skin. Their bodies are too small, too frail to withstand some
of the abuse I’ve seen inflicted. The innocence lost,
reflected in vacant eyes digs deep into a dark place in my mind
that most times, I’d prefer deny exists.
“ It ain’t our girl,”
Briscoe said. He rushed toward us, huffing and puffing around
the tire of lard that cushioned his middle.
Maya waved me over with one hand.
“ If this isn’t our kidnap
victim, I need to get back to the case,” I said. My heel dug
into the sand on a quick pivot back to the car.
“ Hell no you don’t,”
Briscoe said. “Winslow’s got concerns, and by God, you’re
gonna see this –”
“ Tony,” Dev intervened,
“it’s not necessary. Maya can call Helen later. She’s
here to consult on one case for OSI, not every vic that turns up in
the city.”
“ Oh, so one dead baby
matters, but another don’t?”
It was a hard punch to an already aching
gut.
“ Or don’t we give a damn
‘cause this one ain’t a pretty blonde white baby?”
I saw it happening like an out of body
experience. A hand that looked like mine, but surely couldn’t
be connected to my body, snaked out and wrapped around Briscoe’s
windpipe. It squeezed with more strength than I possessed in
my still weak left arm.
His face turned purple.
A voice barked in my ear.
“Helen! Let him go!”
I’d seen that grip before. A little
more pressure, a lateral twist, a satisfying pop, the crunch of the
hyoid bone and this thorn in my side would never antagonize me
again.
Devlin gripped my wrist and jerked my arm
free. Briscoe fell to his knees in the sand gasping and
wheezing.
“ What the hell is wrong
with you?” Dev bellowed. “You could’ve killed
him!”
Speaking of death masks, a trembling finger
pointed down at the one staring up at me with hurt and
confusion. “Don’t ever speak to me again!”
I stomped off in the direction of Maya,
oblivious to the stunned stares that followed me. “Make it
fast. This isn’t my case.”
“ Helen, did you just choke
Tony?” Maya’s incredulous eyes stabbed through the haze of
rage.
“ He said something so
offensive, I think I lost my head for a moment. I do care when children
are found dead, Maya.” Hot tears sprang to my
eyes.
Her arms hugged me tightly. “That
fucking troll. Of course you do, sweetheart. I only
wanted you to take a look at a mark I found on her arm.”
“ A girl?” I
whispered. My emotions bounced around like a red rubber ball
on elastic, smacked relentlessly by a wooden paddle. I
glanced at the tiny body covered by white on the muddy
beach.
“ Helen, if you can’t do
this –”
“ Give me a minute.”
I stepped away, turned my back and wiped the moisture from my
cheeks.
“ Somehow I doubt that,
Helen, but let’s just play it by ear after we see what they found
at the bay.”
He drove much slower than I was used to, no
doubt in deference to my stomach. It wasn’t pleased no matter
what happened. The closer we got to pier 20, the harder the
fist tightened where digestion should’ve been the norm. I
felt pummeled by Mike Tyson by the time the symphony of flashing
lights blinded me.
“ Ready?”
“ Do I have a choice?” I
muttered. Every dead child I’d ever seen flashed on the backs
of my eyelids. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen more than
my fair share of dead bodies over the years. Some were so far
gone that all that remained were bleached bones. Some were
gooey with an odor that should’ve made me vomit. Others
looked like they had merely gone to sleep, never to wake
again. Masks frozen in terror, the look of utter surprise
that this was how it ended, you name it. I’ve seen
it.
But the children.
I think it’s the vulnerability, the
knowledge that the living possess that we have a responsibility to
protect those incapable of protecting themselves that gets under my
skin. Their bodies are too small, too frail to withstand some
of the abuse I’ve seen inflicted. The innocence lost,
reflected in vacant eyes digs deep into a dark place in my mind
that most times, I’d prefer deny exists.
“ It ain’t our girl,”
Briscoe said. He rushed toward us, huffing and puffing around
the tire of lard that cushioned his middle.
Maya waved me over with one hand.
“ If this isn’t our kidnap
victim, I need to get back to the case,” I said. My heel dug
into the sand on a quick pivot back to the car.
“ Hell no you don’t,”
Briscoe said. “Winslow’s got concerns, and by God, you’re
gonna see this –”
“ Tony,” Dev intervened,
“it’s not necessary. Maya can call Helen later. She’s
here to consult on one case for OSI, not every vic that turns up in
the city.”
“ Oh, so one dead baby
matters, but another don’t?”
It was a hard punch to an already aching
gut.
“ Or don’t we give a damn
‘cause this one ain’t a pretty blonde white baby?”
I saw it happening like an out of body
experience. A hand that looked like mine, but surely couldn’t
be connected to my body, snaked out and wrapped around Briscoe’s
windpipe. It squeezed with more strength than I possessed in
my still weak left arm.
His face turned purple.
A voice barked in my ear.
“Helen! Let him go!”
I’d seen that grip before. A little
more pressure, a lateral twist, a satisfying pop, the crunch of the
hyoid bone and this thorn in my side would never antagonize me
again.
Devlin gripped my wrist and jerked my arm
free. Briscoe fell to his knees in the sand gasping and
wheezing.
“ What the hell is wrong
with you?” Dev bellowed. “You could’ve killed
him!”
Speaking of death masks, a trembling finger
pointed down at the one staring up at me with hurt and
confusion. “Don’t ever speak to me again!”
I stomped off in the direction of Maya,
oblivious to the stunned stares that followed me. “Make it
fast. This isn’t my case.”
“ Helen, did you just choke
Tony?” Maya’s incredulous eyes stabbed through the haze of
rage.
“ He said something so
offensive, I think I lost my head for a moment. I do care when children
are found dead, Maya.” Hot tears sprang to my
eyes.
Her arms hugged me tightly. “That
fucking troll. Of course you do, sweetheart. I only
wanted you to take a look at a mark I found on her arm.”
“ A girl?” I
whispered. My emotions bounced around like a red rubber ball
on elastic, smacked relentlessly by a wooden paddle. I
glanced at the tiny body covered by white on the muddy
beach.
“ Helen, if you can’t do
this –”
“ Give me a minute.”
I stepped away, turned my back and wiped the moisture from my
cheeks.
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