Page 410 of Sticks and Stones
“Just read me in on this. I know something huge is going on. The pack of media asking questions is my big clue. What cop got hurt?” he asked.
That had them both pausing.
“Pardon?” he asked.
Reed explained.
“The media was shouting questions about a cop getting hurt. I’m going to say it’s Detective Price because he’s normally up both of your asses when you have a case that we pass off. He’s nowhere to be found, and you have seen me twice.”
Ethan looked over at Gene.
This was a predicament.
Did they tell him?
Could they trust him?
The man saw the look, and he dug in.
“I’m playing nice,” he said. “I can call the commissioner, and I can start digging. You can trust me. I’m very good at my job.”
“And annoying,” Gene said.
The man shrugged.
“Oh, no, I’ve annoyed Agent Cantrell. That’s the best way to start the week.”
Gene growled.
That’s when Ethan took over. One of them wasNOTdiplomatic, and it wasn’t him who had the issue.
“It’s sensitive,” Ethan said. “If we tell you, Reed, you really need to keep your mouth shut. It’s career ending, and bad.”
The man’s eyes were huge.
“Oh, no. What’s happened?”
Because this man was Corbin’s friend, and they had a good relationship, he told him.
Keeping his voice down, Ethan shared what he could.
“Corbin went under to work a case on men being sold in the sex trafficking ring that’s going on in this city. Someone’s taking men, packing them full of drugs, raping them, and selling them to rich buyers.”
He looked disgusted.
That’s when it hit him.
“Is Corbin okay?” he whispered. “Did something happen to him?”
There was no way they were giving him the gory details. That wasn’t happening.
Instead, they said nothing at all.
“Oh, shit. Okay! I get it. I’m in. I’ll do the bodies, and I’ll play nice. I have some news about what I promised I’d look up for you,” he said, immediately being helpful.
That was nice for a change.
“I went back through the autopsies in the last year, and I found four with the same unknown substance. There were four men who were autopsied by city MEs, and the drug was never identified.”
