Page 49 of Ezra
I care about her.
The following morning, I get a text from Deion.Don’t shoot at me. I’m coming in.
The elevator doors open and then shut behind Deion, who looks around the penthouse with a wide-eyed whistle. “Well, I can’t think of a fancier safe house. Do they serve diamond water and gold biscuits here while they’re at it?”
Katrina is munching on her breakfast of yogurt and strawberries. Her appetite must be returning, because she’s looking at a food delivery app, fixating on tacos, chips, and a large serving of guacamole several hours before the restaurant is set to open.
When she sees Deion, she pushes herself away from the counter. “Detective Washington, it’s good to see you! Shit, I forgot you were coming. I’m going to get changed. Excuse me.” She hurries away.
Deion seems puzzled. “She’s chipper for having hung out with you for days on end. She give you any problems?”
“No, not really,” I reply, and leave it at that as I fetch my tablet. “This has everything I’ve accumulated so far for the investigation.”
“Perfect. I’ll take it with me and get to work.” Deion takes it from me clumsily. “Anything else I should know about before I head out?”
“We went to the museum and?—”
“Hold up.” Deion holds a hand up. “You what?”
“Katrina has a spare key to the museum. Don’t worry. We weren’t spotted, and we won’t appear on any footage.”
“Ezra.” Deion exhales slowly. “When I said we bend the rules sometimes, heading to the crime scene with a civilian isn’t exactly what I meant.”
“I was able to confirm the tapes Jayne was initially given were tampered with, from the timestamp and the film blips. I was able to recreate it when I spliced the footage to hide evidence of our presence there.”
“I’ll be damned. So someone at the museum might be involved.” Deion’s face is lined with weariness. “There’s gotta be some two hundred people we’ll have to comb through.”
“We’d best get started, then.”
“You’re certain about Katrina being off that list?”
“Believe me. She has nothing to do with it,” I reply. “As good a tale as that would be for your future mystery books.”
“Yeah, well, the way I’ll write it, she will. That’s one hell of a twist.” Deion chuckles. “You sure that’s based on evidence, or something else?”
I arch a brow. It’s taken me four years to really master reading between the lines, as Deion calls it. “What are you implying?”
“Only that she’s a beautiful woman, and you have a way for making women act a little—smitten.”
“This is my professional opinion,” I say flatly. “Based on evidence and facts.”
“Okay, okay. Relax, just had to ask,” Deion says. “I’d ask the same of any hotblooded man I work with, Ezra, brother or not. Sometimes you gotta be sure.”
I want to change the subject, and fast. “Have there been any other developments while I’ve been away?”
“Slow going, slower than anybody wants. Chief’s breathing down our necks because the commissioner’s under pressure from the public to solve this fast, but I’m trying to keep things organized. You’re lucky you’re sitting this one out. It’s messy. There’re politics involved, and that’s never good for any crime investigation,” Deion says. “I’m sorry, Ezra.The chief is adamant. Androids make people nervous right now.”
“Is it really the chief’s doing, or is it Winters pulling his strings this time?” A shock of resentment courses through my circuits.
“Winters is a dickhead, I’ll give you that, and Jacobs isn’t much better. Seems they’re both worried about how this all looks. City where androids are made creating android killers with an android officer on their police force...”
“Winters is anti-android, far beyond what Humanity First can claim, and has hated me ever since I uncovered evidence that proved some of his best officers corrupt,” I declare. “He was forced to clean house. He’s had it out for me ever since.”
I don’t go into my own suspicions about Commissioner Winters’s potential involvement in that corruption. Deion and I have been through it, and while he agrees with me, I’m aware neither of us has the evidence to pursue anything against him. But I have a feeling he knows he’s less likely to get anything past me while I’m active in the ACU.
“You don’t have to remind me. I was there. What a day it was.” Deion exhales. “And you’re sure Miss Carson hasn’t been getting under your skin something fierce?”
“No,” I say, exasperated. “She’s been perfectly normal. Why do you keep bringing her up?”
