“I’m fine,” I say, pulling away.
Kowalski clears his throat, all of a sudden extremely uncomfortable. Gee, I wonder why. He can’t even look at us. We can be expecting more of this from now on. As I said, so worth it. “Um, sir, we, uh, still don’t have an ID on the dead guy. We have an APB out on the make and model of the car his accomplice was driving.” He looks at me. “And I, uh, need your gun for comparison.”
I bend down to pick up my purse but wince in pain. “I’ll get it,” Harry says. He retrieves the gun from my purse, handing it to Kowalski.
“Right. Thanks. I’ll just, uh, leave you two…yeah.” He scurries away.
“Guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?” I ask as I watch Kowalski tell Mirabelle.
Harry grabs my arm, drawing my attention back to him. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” he hisses. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I just had a hunch. If I was wrong, I didn’t want to waste your time. I didn’t think it would turn into Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. And I had back-up.”
“Your back-up killed a man. You were shot!”
“I’m fine, it’s just a bad bruise. I was wearing my supercoat.”
“You were shot, Joanna!” he screams, his face tight. “Do you have any idea what I thought when I—”
He can’t even finish, the idea of it too much for him. He steps away from me, running his hand through his hair. He thought I was dead. Shit, I’ve done it again. I hurt him. I wait a few seconds before approaching. I hug him from behind, resting my cheek on his shoulder blade. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just, I don’t think sometimes. I’m sorry.”
After a few seconds, his body relaxes and he pats my hand. “Don’t do that to me again. I mean it.”
I squeeze him again. “Promise.”
I let go when I see Cam walking toward us. If he’s shocked by our PDA he doesn’t let on. “Sir, Logan Dodd and his mother are waiting at the station. I’m headed over there now.”
“He lawyer up?” Harry asks.
“Not yet. I told them to wait until we’re there before talking to him.”
“Then let’s go,” Harry says, walking away with Cam.
I chase after them. Neither says a word when Geoff and I climb into the backseat, though Cam glances at me with a hint of annoyance. They both know it’d be pointless to say or do anything. I’d run all the way to the station for this. We don’t talk on the way, or at least to each other. Harry fills the commissioner in on recent events and for once he seems pleased. A rare occurrence.
When I walk back into the squad room it feels like any other day. I’ve missed this place. My desk remains as I left it, a mess. I miss my messy desk. There isn’t time to greet everyone as I stay on the heels of men with a purpose. I do wave to a few. Chip, our A.V. guy, sits behind the two monitors, one with a petrified Logan just staring into space and the other with Sophia, arms folded and out for blood. Gee, I wonder who will break first?
“We locate anything pertinent at the apartment yet?” Harry asks.
“Just started the search, but we did look earlier this week and turned up nothing,” Cam says.
“Why didn’t we know about his connection to Ryder before?” Harry asks.
“His father was never officially linked to Ryder’s syndicate,” I say. “It was just a rumor. The official motive for Desmond Logan’s death was due to his relationship with Sophia, not his job. I didn’t know Sophia Dodd was Logan’s mother until I read it in your notes. Put two and two together.”
“So, what’s your theory?” Cam asks.
“Ryder kept in touch with his old friend’s girl and kid, maybe passing them money or work from time to time. Or maybe Dodd’s worked for Alkaline his whole life, I don’t know.”
“We interviewed his friends and extended family. They didn’t mention any criminal activity in his past. There was no juvie file and the prison did a background investigation,” Cam says.
“Then I’d go with St. Alkaline asking for a favor,” I say.
“We can ask the mother,” Cam says.
“Have we charged her with anything yet?” Harry asks.
“No. We have nothing on her,” Cam says.
“Then there’s no way she’ll talk. My money’s on Logan.”
“Okay,” Harry says, putting in his earwig. Cam does too. “I’m thinking high intimidation factor.”
“I agree,” Cam says. “I’m going to enjoy this one.”
“Just try and stay objective,” Harry says. “Let’s go.”