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Authors: Bernard Schaffer
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one.
"Right now, I'm the guy standing at the edge of the crime scene, trying to get the big picture, and you're the guy who ran through the bloodstains just to be the first person in. You are too close to this case, Jack. You need to step back."
I took a long, shuddering breath and said, "All right. I'll try."
"It's okay," he said. He put his hand on my back and said, "Go home. Get some sleep. I'm going to walk around and see if I see anything."
I watched him limping away and said, "Frank?"
He looked back at me and said, "Yes?"
"Who the hell are Janice Rand and Christopher Pike?"
"Characters from Star Trek's pilot episode. Pike was Captain of the Enterprise before Kirk, but they got rid of him."
"Why did they get rid of him?" I asked.
"He got crippled."
5.
Jack paused at the boss's door, her hand hovering next to the brass name plate that read Captain of Operations, Phillip B. Miller. Miller was old-school. One of the few police administrators left in the city who'd never been to college. Irish, with a whiskey drinker's nose, he'd come up through the ranks on the Southside breaking batons on heads. Even when you talked to him now, he still had the look of a man who would toss his police hat aside and jump into an alleyway brawl, just for the fun of it.
She was bleary-eyed and jittery from lack of sleep. She'd skipped taking any sleep meds because it had been too late when she got home, and she knew she needed to be at this very place at this very time and have a somewhat clear head. Whatever happened next, she couldn't blame it on being in some Ambien fog.
Miller had worked with Jack's mom, Mary, back in the day running vice operations on tourists. He'd been the lookout while she stood on a streetcorner in a skirt, shaking it, luring the suckers in. Rumor had it that…well, Jack thought. Rumors are what rumors are. Anytime a guy and girl work together, and they work together well, cops always assume they're sleeping together. Hell, sometimes people even joked about her and Herb.
Jack knocked on the door and Miller called out, "Come in."
"Hey, Cap," Jack said stiffly. "Can we talk for a second?"
Miller looked at the clock over his door and said, "Shouldn't you be at trial right now?"
"Yes, sir. The prosecutor knows I'm running late. I needed to talk to you."
Miller sighed and sat back in his chair, folding his hands across his stomach. He'd been in this situation a thousand times and it never ended well. Over the years, he'd had cops tell him everything from being addicted to drugs to one guy who said he'd killed his ex-wife and her body was in the trunk of his personal car. He looked at Jack with grave concern, this woman was capable, sure. Good, solid police. But he'd known her since she was a kid and secretly still thought of her that way. "What is it?" he said.
"Herb is missing," she said. When Miller didn't respond, the words came rushing out of her in a torrent. "He was sequestered yesterday so I didn't see him but nobody can say he even was there and Bernice hasn't heard from him since the night before after we arrested Marvin again and I yelled at him and he said he was going out, but he never came home!"
Miller held up his hand to stop her and said, "What?"
"He hasn't been seen in two days. No one can reach him."
Miller cracked a smile and said, "Are there any big Twinkies sales going on right now?"
Daniels looked down at the ground, shaking her head in silent frustration. "I'm afraid Marvin's people went after him when they couldn't get me. I tracked Herb's last known location to a bar near the courthouse. Apparently some ridiculously beautiful Asian chick forced him to leave with her."
"Forced?" Miller said.
"Yes," Jack said. "Basically."
"Herb Benedict got forced to take a beautiful Asian girl home from a bar and nobody's seen him in two days? Sounds like he got lucky, Jack."
"No," Jack said quickly. "No way. I don't buy that. He wouldn't just bail on the trial, Captain. He wouldn't
"Right now, I'm the guy standing at the edge of the crime scene, trying to get the big picture, and you're the guy who ran through the bloodstains just to be the first person in. You are too close to this case, Jack. You need to step back."
I took a long, shuddering breath and said, "All right. I'll try."
"It's okay," he said. He put his hand on my back and said, "Go home. Get some sleep. I'm going to walk around and see if I see anything."
I watched him limping away and said, "Frank?"
He looked back at me and said, "Yes?"
"Who the hell are Janice Rand and Christopher Pike?"
"Characters from Star Trek's pilot episode. Pike was Captain of the Enterprise before Kirk, but they got rid of him."
"Why did they get rid of him?" I asked.
"He got crippled."
5.
Jack paused at the boss's door, her hand hovering next to the brass name plate that read Captain of Operations, Phillip B. Miller. Miller was old-school. One of the few police administrators left in the city who'd never been to college. Irish, with a whiskey drinker's nose, he'd come up through the ranks on the Southside breaking batons on heads. Even when you talked to him now, he still had the look of a man who would toss his police hat aside and jump into an alleyway brawl, just for the fun of it.
She was bleary-eyed and jittery from lack of sleep. She'd skipped taking any sleep meds because it had been too late when she got home, and she knew she needed to be at this very place at this very time and have a somewhat clear head. Whatever happened next, she couldn't blame it on being in some Ambien fog.
Miller had worked with Jack's mom, Mary, back in the day running vice operations on tourists. He'd been the lookout while she stood on a streetcorner in a skirt, shaking it, luring the suckers in. Rumor had it that…well, Jack thought. Rumors are what rumors are. Anytime a guy and girl work together, and they work together well, cops always assume they're sleeping together. Hell, sometimes people even joked about her and Herb.
Jack knocked on the door and Miller called out, "Come in."
"Hey, Cap," Jack said stiffly. "Can we talk for a second?"
Miller looked at the clock over his door and said, "Shouldn't you be at trial right now?"
"Yes, sir. The prosecutor knows I'm running late. I needed to talk to you."
Miller sighed and sat back in his chair, folding his hands across his stomach. He'd been in this situation a thousand times and it never ended well. Over the years, he'd had cops tell him everything from being addicted to drugs to one guy who said he'd killed his ex-wife and her body was in the trunk of his personal car. He looked at Jack with grave concern, this woman was capable, sure. Good, solid police. But he'd known her since she was a kid and secretly still thought of her that way. "What is it?" he said.
"Herb is missing," she said. When Miller didn't respond, the words came rushing out of her in a torrent. "He was sequestered yesterday so I didn't see him but nobody can say he even was there and Bernice hasn't heard from him since the night before after we arrested Marvin again and I yelled at him and he said he was going out, but he never came home!"
Miller held up his hand to stop her and said, "What?"
"He hasn't been seen in two days. No one can reach him."
Miller cracked a smile and said, "Are there any big Twinkies sales going on right now?"
Daniels looked down at the ground, shaking her head in silent frustration. "I'm afraid Marvin's people went after him when they couldn't get me. I tracked Herb's last known location to a bar near the courthouse. Apparently some ridiculously beautiful Asian chick forced him to leave with her."
"Forced?" Miller said.
"Yes," Jack said. "Basically."
"Herb Benedict got forced to take a beautiful Asian girl home from a bar and nobody's seen him in two days? Sounds like he got lucky, Jack."
"No," Jack said quickly. "No way. I don't buy that. He wouldn't just bail on the trial, Captain. He wouldn't
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