Page 21 of The Drowned Woman
A rap came at his door as he was closing down his computer and gathering his notes for his meeting. Krichek had returned from the Orly crime scene.
“Anything?” Luka asked, although he knew the answer. Krichek would have called if he’d found anything.
“Nope. But wanted you to have our reports and timelines before your meeting with Ahearn. Harper texted hers from Good Sam.” He handed a sheaf of forms to Luka. “I printed them all out. I know Ahearn likes his paper trail.”
Luka glanced over the timelines. They made it clear that the uniforms had called in ERT and escalated the situation prior to his team’s arrival. “Good.” All he needed now was Risa Saliba’s witness statement confirming everything. “Keep working neighborhood CCTV and retracing Trudy Orly’s steps. Did Harper say when we can interview the husband?”
“Yeah. His doctor said maybe in an hour or two—whatever drug they gave him to calm him down also put him right to sleep.”
Luka made a note to pass the info onto Leah. “You know where to find me if you need me.”
Krichek flashed a “better you than me” grin, knowing how much Luka hated the twice weekly meetings—it wasn’t as if he didn’t also keep Ahearn briefed via daily emails and phone conversations. But Ahearn was old school, enjoyed the power trip of face-to-face confrontations.
“Don’t worry, boss. Any excuse to get you out of there—”
“Don’t hesitate to use it.” Luka sighed, grabbed his coffee—he’d need the reinforcement—and his files and left.
He’d only made it as far as the stairwell when his phone rang. It was Nate’s school. “Mr. Jericho? It’s Robin Driscoll, the vice principal. I wanted to alert you to an incident.”
His face went cold as the blood drained, but he managed to keep his voice steady. “Is Nate all right? What happened?”
“Nate’s fine. But I’m afraid we need to address some behavioral issues. Can you come in for a discussion today?”
“Today? What did he do?”
“We’re still sorting things through, but apparently Nate bullied some classmates. From what I can tell, nothing serious, but we do have a zero-tolerance policy, so he’ll be spending the day in ISS.”
“ISS?”
“In-school suspension. We find it’s better than immediately sending a child home. This way they can keep up with their academics and we can address any counseling needs during the school day.” She paused. “But I’ll need to meet with you before we can allow him back into class.”
Luka frowned. Nate was already being held back—something Nate viewed as a punishment, one more strike against Luka—making him older and bigger than the other kids in his class. Luka wasn’t sure if he felt more angry or disappointed that Nate was taking advantage of his size. But part of him also felt sad and wanted to give Nate the benefit of the doubt. During Luka’s sister’s years as an addict, she’d lost custody of Nate and he’d bounced around between foster homes growing up. It’d only been during the past year and half that he and his mother had lived together, giving Nate his first taste of stability, all ripped away when Tanya overdosed last month.
“What time do you leave for the day?” he asked.
“Four o’clock.”
“I’ll be there by then.” He had no idea how—he still had the Orly autopsy, which could take hours, plus interviewing Walt, once the doctors cleared him. Leah had texted that she was emailing him a copy of her recorded interview with Risa Saliba, but he still wanted a chance to speak with Risa himself. It would be good to compare anything she told Leah with what she told him. Not that he needed to double-check Leah’s work—he appreciated her help this morning, he really did. But sometimes he didn’t know the right questions to ask himself, not until face to face with a witness, watching them tell their story. The Falconer was only a few blocks from the school; maybe he could somehow squeeze it all in and still be there by four.
He climbed the steps to the administrative offices on the fifth floor, wondering how other single, working parents did it. If Nate had been his biological son, his from infancy, would he somehow have already mastered the art of being in two places at once? Was there some magic formula, a secret he should know?
Luka stared at the door, then at the useless waste of paper that were the files he held. There’d be hell to pay from Ahearn, but if Luka was ever going to be the parent Nate needed, then he had to step up.Now. Not when it was convenient.
He turned and headed back down the steps, hitting redial on his phone. He’d send Krichek to take his place with Ahearn—good training for the detective, learning how to sit through interminable meetings when you’d rather be working a case. “Ms. Driscoll? I’m on my way.”
Thirteen
Emily squirmed in her plastic chair, one of four lined up against the wall in the reception area outside Vice Principal Driscoll’s office. The room was large, with a reception desk guarding the offices behind it, dividing the grownup area from the kids’ area. The office ladies on the other side of the desk occasionally glanced over at her, giving her an encouraging smile or nod. Emily liked most of the office ladies, but she didn’t like Vice Principal Driscoll, who always patted her on the head and called her “cute” while never listening to what Emily said. As if just because she was a first grader, nothing she said could make a difference.
Nate was on one side of Emily, sitting rigidly as if he was afraid to breathe, while the two Homans boys sat on her other side, heads together, getting their story straight before their dad came for them. Emily wished it washerdad coming to intercede on her behalf. Daddy always listened to her and he always made sure the other adults—even Ms. Driscoll—did as well.
Luka appeared in the doorway and Emily felt Nate stiffen even more, like he was trying to shrink into the pale green paint on the wall behind him. Nate always seemed scared around Luka. Not scaredofhim, just extra tense, like he was waiting for something bad to happen. She didn’t get why—she loved Luka. He listened to her almost as carefully as Daddy and he always asked very, very good questions. Plus, he was a policeman—the same policeman who’d caught the bad people who hurt her daddy. Making himherpoliceman. And one of the few grownups who made her feel safe now that Daddy wasn’t here anymore.
Heedless of her teacher’s admonition to sit still and stay put, Emily hopped down from her chair and raced to greet Luka. He looked particularly smart in his suit and tie, the perfect grownup to make their case.
“Thanks for coming,” Emily told him, taking his hand to lead him to the chairs where Nate waited. “We could use a good detective.”
“Really?” His grin wrinkled his eyes but then vanished when he saw Nate. “What seems to be the problem?”
