Read Online Jill Jackson - 04 - Watch the World Burn by Leah Giarratano - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Leah Giarratano
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eighteen jackets.’
Lucy rested her chin on her knees, blinking slowly.
‘Am I keeping you awake here?’ he asked.
‘Keep going,’ she said.
‘So I figure that the shop owner’s just doing an insurance scam – as you do – but there was nothing I could’ve done about that. Couldn’t prove either of them were lying.’
Lucy leaned her head against his arm.
‘So,’ he continued, ‘the next thing I’m around at the workers’ club, just behind this building, and Singo and Herd, two of the guys I worked with here, are bragging about how they got to the smash-and-grab before the responding car, loaded up with a rack of jackets and pissed off.’
‘Damn,’ said Lucy.
‘Yep.’
‘So what’d you do?’
‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘You don’t roll over on another cop.’
‘What happened then?’ she asked.
‘Well, nothing should have happened then,’ he said, and sighed. He lowered his voice. ‘But the next day I’m walking past the interrogation room and I hear something.’
‘What?’ she whispered.
‘It was someone getting flogged. I look in, and Herd and Singo are kicking the crap out of the two hoppers. I mean smashing them. One of the kids is screaming; the other was past that, eyes rolling back in his head.’
‘Oh my God!’ said Lucy, sitting up, hand over her mouth. ‘What happened?’
‘I busted in there and pulled the pricks off of them. There was blood fucking everywhere,’ he said. ‘Herd and Singo were laughing. Singo fucking thanked me. Said he’d been having too much fun and couldn’t stop. I asked them what the fuck they were doing, and Herd said the kids had been telling anyone who’d listen that him and Singo had boosted half the jackets. “So?” I asked them. “Isn’t that enough?” they wanted to know.’
‘That’s disgusting,’ said Lucy. ‘What happened to the kids?’
‘I got them over to RPA and one of the boys was blinded in one eye. The doctor said he couldn’t save it and wanted to know what had happened.’ Troy leaned his head back in the seat. ‘I gave him a full report.’
‘Well, that’s good, isn’t it?’ said Lucy.
‘Well, it’s good in that it was the right thing to do,’ he said. ‘But Herd and Singo were charged and kicked out, and I became known as a mongrel dog whistle-blower that no one wanted to work with.’
Lucy opened her mouth to speak, her eyes burning, but at that moment the latch of the heavy security door clicked. Chris walked through, head down. Lucy rushed over to him. ‘Chris, are you all right?’ she said.
‘Let’s just get out of here,’ he said.
After completing the paperwork, Troy was happy to oblige.
11
Saturday, 27 November, 7.33 am
‘So, what’s up with the case?’ asked Jill, perched on the edge of the bath, wrapped in a towel.
‘Which one?’ asked Scotty, trying to manoeuvre her showerhead so it didn’t spray straight into his face. ‘Fuck, why do they always make these things so low?’
‘It’s the perfect height for human beings,’ she said. ‘And what do you mean, which case? The mysterious case of the spontaneously combusting woman.’
‘Do you believe in that shit?’ asked Scotty, giving up on the showerhead and turning around.
‘Do I believe that people can just burst into flames for no reason?’ she asked.
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, everything I’ve read says spontaneous combustion is bullshit,’ she said. ‘But I don’t know.’
‘Hmm.’
‘Anyway, this case won’t be the one to prove the doubters wrong. You said she had accelerant on her.’
‘Two types,’ said Scotty.
‘It’s completely bizarre,’ said Jill. ‘Where are you going with it today?’
‘I’m going to talk to Mrs Caine’s granddaughter and then go out to a community group she was part of – apparently she used to go out with them once a week. We’ll look into whether she’d been talking about being worried about anyone or anything.’
‘And the suicide angle?’
‘It’s still
Lucy rested her chin on her knees, blinking slowly.
‘Am I keeping you awake here?’ he asked.
‘Keep going,’ she said.
‘So I figure that the shop owner’s just doing an insurance scam – as you do – but there was nothing I could’ve done about that. Couldn’t prove either of them were lying.’
Lucy leaned her head against his arm.
‘So,’ he continued, ‘the next thing I’m around at the workers’ club, just behind this building, and Singo and Herd, two of the guys I worked with here, are bragging about how they got to the smash-and-grab before the responding car, loaded up with a rack of jackets and pissed off.’
‘Damn,’ said Lucy.
‘Yep.’
‘So what’d you do?’
‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘You don’t roll over on another cop.’
‘What happened then?’ she asked.
‘Well, nothing should have happened then,’ he said, and sighed. He lowered his voice. ‘But the next day I’m walking past the interrogation room and I hear something.’
‘What?’ she whispered.
‘It was someone getting flogged. I look in, and Herd and Singo are kicking the crap out of the two hoppers. I mean smashing them. One of the kids is screaming; the other was past that, eyes rolling back in his head.’
‘Oh my God!’ said Lucy, sitting up, hand over her mouth. ‘What happened?’
‘I busted in there and pulled the pricks off of them. There was blood fucking everywhere,’ he said. ‘Herd and Singo were laughing. Singo fucking thanked me. Said he’d been having too much fun and couldn’t stop. I asked them what the fuck they were doing, and Herd said the kids had been telling anyone who’d listen that him and Singo had boosted half the jackets. “So?” I asked them. “Isn’t that enough?” they wanted to know.’
‘That’s disgusting,’ said Lucy. ‘What happened to the kids?’
‘I got them over to RPA and one of the boys was blinded in one eye. The doctor said he couldn’t save it and wanted to know what had happened.’ Troy leaned his head back in the seat. ‘I gave him a full report.’
‘Well, that’s good, isn’t it?’ said Lucy.
‘Well, it’s good in that it was the right thing to do,’ he said. ‘But Herd and Singo were charged and kicked out, and I became known as a mongrel dog whistle-blower that no one wanted to work with.’
Lucy opened her mouth to speak, her eyes burning, but at that moment the latch of the heavy security door clicked. Chris walked through, head down. Lucy rushed over to him. ‘Chris, are you all right?’ she said.
‘Let’s just get out of here,’ he said.
After completing the paperwork, Troy was happy to oblige.
11
Saturday, 27 November, 7.33 am
‘So, what’s up with the case?’ asked Jill, perched on the edge of the bath, wrapped in a towel.
‘Which one?’ asked Scotty, trying to manoeuvre her showerhead so it didn’t spray straight into his face. ‘Fuck, why do they always make these things so low?’
‘It’s the perfect height for human beings,’ she said. ‘And what do you mean, which case? The mysterious case of the spontaneously combusting woman.’
‘Do you believe in that shit?’ asked Scotty, giving up on the showerhead and turning around.
‘Do I believe that people can just burst into flames for no reason?’ she asked.
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, everything I’ve read says spontaneous combustion is bullshit,’ she said. ‘But I don’t know.’
‘Hmm.’
‘Anyway, this case won’t be the one to prove the doubters wrong. You said she had accelerant on her.’
‘Two types,’ said Scotty.
‘It’s completely bizarre,’ said Jill. ‘Where are you going with it today?’
‘I’m going to talk to Mrs Caine’s granddaughter and then go out to a community group she was part of – apparently she used to go out with them once a week. We’ll look into whether she’d been talking about being worried about anyone or anything.’
‘And the suicide angle?’
‘It’s still
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