Chapter Fourteen
We went back to the office. There was a lot of information to go through and not enough coffee in the world to make it tolerable.
We invited Leroy to come in; at least he could keep Trixie company while Jackson and I went through all the papers that we had accumulated. Jackson didn't appreciate it, and Leroy making bedroom eyes at Trixie didn't help the matter at all, but we needed Trixie out of our hair for a few hours and Leroy was about the same age as she was so it seemed logical to me.
I don't understand why Jackson always got so worked up over Trixie hanging out with other guys. It's not like she's loose or anything. Besides, I was still armed and I had no qualms about shooting Leroy in the arm if he got too frisky. I didn't mention it to Jackson though. Poor guy had enough neurosis over the case we were working on, I didn't need to add more by suggesting his girlfriend was gonna leave him for someone more her own age.
Trixie offered apologies that she'd come home so early as she handed us each a paper bag full of take out. She'd made good on her promise to bring us dinner. Bless her heart. If she wasn't already sleeping with my partner, I'd offer to marry the girl. I made a mental note to offer her a raise for real, though I knew that I probably wouldn't remember it in the morning.
We settled into my office instead of Jackson's. I had more space than he did, since I didn't insist on cramming personal effects into the small room. Jackson had a need to express himself as a person. I didn't. Not in public. I didn't need things to make me feel comfortable, or to define me. I had my attitude for that. Jackson flopped back down into the chair he'd left at the side of my desk and he spread the files on my desk, putting them into separate piles; one for patient files we'd lifted from the Doctor's house, one for the financial stuff that Margo had given us and one for the personnel files. The list of patients Margo gave us was a single file folder and Jackson placed it on top of the files we'd lifted. I wasn't terribly excited to slog through all of this paperwork, it was going to be a long process unless something jumped out at us right away.
I settled into my own chair and immediately grabbed the phone. I dialled Kali's direct line, hoping she was working late. Jackson gave me a questioning look, but didn't say anything since I was on the phone, instead reaching for the nearest file folder to dig into our work.
I put my feet up on the desk as I listened to the familiar ringing on the other end of the phone.
Kali picked up on the third ring.
“Hello? Seventeenth Precinct morgue, this is Doctor Kali --”
“Kali, it's Blaze,” I interrupted.
“Oh, hi,” Kali said, sounding more bored than I'd hoped she’d be to hear from me.
“You got a minute to talk?”
“Is it about business?” Kali asked bluntly.
“Yes.” There was no point in lying to the woman.
“Is it about the Jones murder case?”
“Are you reading my mind?” I asked, grinning.
“Very much so,” Kali assured me lightly. “I see your office. You are sitting at your desk, feet up, like usual. Jacks is sitting in there with you and you have some sort of information that you must go through because you think it's going to blow this case wide open.”
Damn, I actually was getting predictable.
“You haven't opened the brandy yet,” Kali continued through the phone. “And you're debating between booze and coffee. But you're calling me because you want to know if I have anything that I can share with you. In this case, I'm going to assume that you want me to leave the precinct and my lovely laboratory, come all the way to your office and bring you something that you can't get from the cops because Stringer is still convinced that you are guilty of murder,” she paused thoughtfully, I could hear her breathing quietly and a rustling noise coming from her end of the phone. I frowned to myself, waiting.
“What's she saying?” Jackson asked.
I held up my hand in a 'just a moment' kind of gesture.
“I have the sub-dermal photos in my hand,” Kali said after a long moment. “I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Do you want me to bring you dinner?”
“Trixie covered that for me already, thanks,” I replied easily.
“All right,” Kali replied. “Less for me to worry about then. I'll see you shortly.”
“Thanks, Doll,” I said before hanging up the phone.
“So what do you need from Kali?” Jackson asked. “I mean, aside from into her pants?”
I pointed at Jackson. “Hey, that's uncalled for,” I snapped. “I get plenty of game.”
“When you pay for it,” Jackson muttered, teasing me while grinning subtly behind the file he was reading. I've said it before and I'd say it again and again until I was blue in the face; I'd never paid for sex and I never would.
“At least I'm not chasing your girlfriend all over the office,” I pointed out, reaching for the paper bag she'd left for me. “Although, she keeps this up and I might just propose to her myself,” I pointed out, pulling out a Styrofoam take out container.
Cheeseburger and fries. Good Lord, Trixie knew the way to my heart. I popped a French fry into my mouth and set the container on the desk, sitting up properly before Trixie came into my office and started yelling at me again. I reached across the table and pulled the stack of files that contained all the personnel information over to me. I flipped the first one open and reached for another fry, sticking it partway into my mouth like a cigarette as I read over the file with a frown of concentration.
We flipped through the files in silence, the dinner Trixie had been so kind to bring us forgotten, as we absorbed all that we could from the paperwork we'd acquired. There was a lot of information to take in and I didn't have the patience for it. Corporate espionage was not my forte.
“You get anything good?” Jackson asked me, breaking the silence as he rummaged in the paper bag Trixie had brought him.
I pulled the forgotten fry out of the corner of my mouth and held it between my fingers as I answered. “Just that yes, that Felix guy is actually a registered nurse. Well, they all are, actually, and that they all make decent scratch as per their contracts.”
“Anyone's contract set to expire soon?” Jackson asked, digging into his meal, which I assumed was lasagna since it was his favourite, but from where I was sitting it looked like an unholy red mess.
“Nope,” I replied reaching for another french fry. “From what I can tell, they were all still on three year contracts with raises due in the next six months. Only Margo has a resignation letter in her file,” I elaborated around a mouthful of deep fried potato goodness. “It looks like they were all telling the truth.”
“Well,” Jackson replied smugly, setting aside his lasagna. “I have found something that will make you very happy.”
“Is it the key to figuring out who murdered Doctor Jones?” I asked hopefully, eyeing my burger longingly. I was starving but didn't want to risk spilling on the paperwork. That wouldn't be very professional of me in the least.
“Better,” Jackson told me.
I arched my eyebrow questioningly and looked at Jackson. “All right, you have my attention.”
“I might have just found something that actually lends credence to your insane theory that Doctor Jones was murdered due to some sort of rivalry between Wayside and Five Points.”
Jackson definitely had my attention. I leaned forward in my chair, eyes wide. “Seriously?”
Jackson nodded and slid the folder he was reading across the desk. It was a bank statement. All of the free clinic's banking information spilled across the page in rows and columns. I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking at, expenses and cheques that didn't interest me. Jackson pointed out one deposit though; a bi-weekly deposit into the account from Wayside Firms.
And it wasn't a small number, either.
“Doctor Jones, and all his staff, have been on Wayside's payroll this entire time?” I asked in disbelief. “And no one else but Jones knew this?”
Jackson n
odded. “Wayside was depositing money into the account, Jones was writing cheques for his staff. They never saw the money come from Wayside and Wayside never publicly announced that they made monthly contributions to the practice. They probably write it off as 'charitable donations' and get a receipt from Jones every month.”
“Well I'll be damned,” I muttered.
“So, I guess I owe you an apology,” Jackson told me. “I thought you were insane for calling it a conspiracy and whatever. This is proof that Doctor Jones was already working for Wayside, and that his upcoming contract wasn't just his old employers reaching out to him for his expertise.”
“This also proves that Wayside might not be as downright evil as I thought they were,” I admitted.
“I thought the offer to fix broken kids made Wayside a lot less evil?”
“This certainly helps their case against being an evil corporation,” I agreed.
Shit. I was getting my way in the investigation, had proof that we were dealing with a conspiracy at the top levels of the corporations and I wasn't happy about it.
This meant that we were pretty much back at square one.
“Jacks, I think I'm at a bit of a loss,” I admitted, resting my elbows on my desk and cradling my chin tiredly. I pressed my fingertips against my eyes, trying to rub the exhaustion and confusion out of my head.
“I'm sure we'll think of something,” Jackson reassured me, digging back into his cooling dinner.
I grunted my agreement and picked listlessly at my french fries. While getting confirmation of a rivalry and potential conspiracy had cheered me up, the prospect of having to start this investigation over from the beginning didn't make me much happier about the whole thing. We couldn't just go kicking in Wayside's front door and begin demanding answers, and we sure as hell couldn't do that to Five Points without having some seriously hard evidence to back our wild accusations up. Murder wasn't a word that you tossed around lightly when dealing with surgeons and the corporations who employed them all directly.
There had to be some sort of back door that we could sneak into and make ourselves more comfortable in the Five Points camp. We needed more information on Wayside's rival. We needed a way to get in without being majorly obtrusive.
I huffed a sigh as I forced myself to eat a few more mouthfuls of food. My appetite had disappeared with the revelation that we were probably dealing with a murderer who had been sent by Five Points. I hated the thought that there were people willing to kill another person because of a corporate rivalry. It made me sick to think that there were kids who didn't have the normal resources or the connections to either of the major clockwork pharmaceutical firms to get the proper medical treatment that they needed, and that the one person who was willing to help them without asking for anything in return had been needlessly killed.
It was absolute garbage that Five Points was willing to ignore the problem and to turn their backs on anyone who wasn't somehow connected to them.
And then it hit me.
“Jacks!” I shouted, standing up. “I got it!”
Jacks looked up at me, fork hovering halfway to his open mouth. “Got what?” he asked, nonplussed as he set his fork back in the congealed lasagne he was eating.
“I know how we can get more information on Five Points without a warrant.”
“Am I gonna get arrested for this?” Jackson asked dryly. “Because I really don't wanna spend my cut of the Wayside murder investigation money on bail. Again.”
“That happened once,” I pointed out, unimpressed. “Once. And it was an accident and wasn't my fault. Besides, that investigation had nothing to do with Five Points, or Wayside or anything and how was I supposed to know that he was an undercover cop on a mafia sting? I saw someone getting robbed and I acted! Besides, it was a bullshit charge and we both know it.”
Jackson shrugged in response, and took another bite of his dinner.
“Jackson!” I whined. “This is serious!”
“I'm waiting to hear anything to convince me that it really is serious.”
“Tekla,” I said simply.
“The Tekla family is a major investor in Five Points,” Jackson agreed noncommittally. “They won't tell you shit. Especially if you're on Wayside's payroll.”
“Maybe Tekla Senior won't,” I replied triumphantly, “but we're friends with Tekla junior now.”
A slow look of recollection crossed Jackson's face and he hurriedly set aside his dinner and wiped his mouth politely with his napkin. “Holy shit.”
“Rose Tekla,” I elaborated brightly. “She seemed willing to help.”
“She was working for the Doctor,” Jackson agreed, standing.
“We just have to go and talk to her.”
Jackson frowned thoughtfully. “We didn't get her address.”
“She works at one of the three halfway houses Doctor Jones had set up,” I pointed out. “And we have those addresses in these files,” I added, picking up one of the personnel files. “Well... It should be in the ones with all the financial stuff.”
Jackson nodded and began flipping through the files while I checked my holster, making sure that everything was cinched properly and that Nadia was comfortable, before I skirted around the desk to grab my coat hanging by the door.
“Got it,” Jackson announced, following me out of my office into the main room.
“Leroy?” I asked, noticing that he had pulled a chair over to Trixie's desk and was drinking coffee while they chatted. “We need you to drive us somewhere.”
Leroy looked up at us from his spot and nodded. “Yeah, where to, boss?”
Jackson handed over the paper with the address stiffly. He was getting all protective over Trixie again. I rolled my eyes and patted Jackson's shoulder.
“We just need to grab our gear,” I told Leroy in a no-nonsense tone. “Go start the car.”
Leroy stood and left the office quickly, Jackson watched him go.
“Jacks, chill out,” I instructed quietly. “Trixie's your girl, no need to worry.”
Trixie stood up, smiling as though she was completely oblivious to Jackson's near-meltdown. She strode over to us and wrapped her arms around Jackson's shoulders.
“Leaving me again?” She purred.
“Got work to do,” I replied before Jackson could. “I'll have him back before too late though,” I promised.
Jackson smiled at Trixie and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning forward to kiss her lips. I turned away, frowning in jealousy at the sight. I had to remind myself that I was single by choice, not because there weren't hundreds of women lining up to date the most accomplished private eye in the city.
And then I had to remind myself that that was a boldfaced lie. I didn't want a girlfriend. I was married to my job.
“Come on, Jacks,” I interrupted. “We've got work to do.”
I moved away from the cute couple as they muttered goodbyes. I rolled my eyes to myself. I loved those two, but the adorableness was making me wanna puke. The door to the office opened as I made my way across the small space and Kali greeted me with a bright smile.
Shit. I'd forgotten.
Kali's smile disappeared as she looked me over.
“You going somewhere?” she asked, not even trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.
“Yeah...” I admitted slowly, running a hand against the back of my neck. “We got a lead in this case that we need to follow up on really quickly.”
Kali nodded, still clearly disappointed, and offered me an envelope. “These are the sub-dermal photos I was talking about. Do you want them now?”
“I wouldn't know what to do with them,” I told her. “Why don't you wait here for me to get back and I'll look over them after?” I suggested.
Jackson sidled up next to me and gave Kali a bright smile. “Hey Doc.”
Kali smiled in return. “Hey, Jacks. How's things?”
Jackson nodded. “Can't complain. Blaze has been keeping me busy as hell though.” br />
“Of course he has, lazy bum that he is,” Kali teased lightly.
I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. “I'm not lazy, I'm picky.”
Kali and Jackson exchanged a look that suggested that they both thought I was full of shit and grinned widely at one another. I almost wanted to punch that smug smile offa Jackson's face. He could flirt with anyone and they'd not even question it. Charismatic bastard that he was.
“Why don't you come with us?” Jackson asked. “I'm sure that your insights into what we're investigating could be helpful.”
“Where are we headed?” Kali asked hesitantly.
“Out to the halfway houses that Doctor Jones ran before he died,” Jackson explained. “We think that the murder was actually committed by someone from Five Points.”
Kali narrowed her eyes, frowning. “Really?” she asked. “How do you figure?”
“Jones was on Wayside's payroll,” Jackson divulged.
I shook my head; he always got mad at me for spilling all of our investigation secrets to other people and here he was doing the same thing.
Kali shook her head. “That doesn't make sense,” she mused.
“What doesn't?” I asked. Anything Kali knew that we didn't would definitely be an asset.
“There's been announcements about new advancements in the clockwork procedures all over the news in the past few days,” Kali explained. “Wayside announced some new breakthroughs and Five Points is claiming to be starting testing.”
“When did they announce this?” I asked urgently.
“A couple of days before the murder,” Kali said, looking from me to Jackson in confusion. “Why is this important?”
“Are you coming with us?” I pressed, feeling the need to hurry up and find Rose Tekla and see if we could get any more information from her before someone else told her not to say a word to any law enforcement.
“Do you really need me?” Kali asked uncomfortably. “I could hang out here with Trixie...”
“Yeah! Stay here with me!” Trixie interrupted, brushing past us to take Kali's hand. “I'm gonna shut down the office,” she continued. “And we're gonna go upstairs and have a drink.”
Jackson nodded to me and I sighed in acquiescence.
“Okay,” I nodded brusquely as Jackson headed for the door. “We'll be back as fast as we can.”