Page 3 of The Perfect Poise

“Remind me, when does Costabile’s trial start?” Karen asked.

“No date has been set yet,” Ryan said. “The man is still in the hospital recovering from a shattered right leg, a punctured lung, a lacerated spleen, a torn labrum, and multiple facial fractures. But they’ll eventually retry him.”

“And I suspect the prosecutors will be more careful this time,” Karen added. “No mistakes that could lead to a conviction being overturned on appeal.”

“How long could he go away for?” Mickey wondered.

Jessie took a final bite of her dessert before answering. She’d wondered the same thing and checked with the D.A. for confirmation.

“If he’s convicted on everything they plan to charge him with, he’ll be inside for at least twenty-five years,” she said, “and potentially up to forty. Either way, he’ll be an old man when he gets out, assuming he does.”

“What does that mean?” Mickey asked.

“Convicted cops don’t tend to do well in maximum security prisons,” Ryan explained.

Mickey looked like he had another question, but before he could ask it, Ryan's phone rang. Jessie recognized the ringtone. The call was from Gaylene Parker, the captain of Central Station. She was also their boss.

“I’m sorry,” Ryan said, “I have to answer this.”

He got up from the table and stepped away. Jessie could hear him mumbling but couldn’t make out his words.

“Parker?” Karen guessed sagely, referencing Gaylene Parker, the captain of Central Station.

Jessie nodded without a word.

Karen Bray was a veteran detective who’d had transferred to HSS from Hollywood Station after working a case with Jessie a few years ago and hitting it off. She had an unflappable air of professionalism to go with her keen sense of perception. She wasn’t one to miss clues. And she must have known that there was only one person that would cause that kind of reaction in Ryan.

He returned moments later, and it was clear from his expression what was coming.

“I’m sorry to cut this short, but Jessie and I have to go,” he said. “I’ll get the bill on the way out.”

“Don’t be silly,” Karen said. “We’re splitting it. And since you’re clearly in a rush, we’ll get it. You can pay us back later. And don’t forget, with all that Costabile work talk, it’s deductible.”

“Thanks, Karen,” Ryan said.

“Care to tell me what this is about?” Jessie asked, standing up.

“No time right now,” he said hurriedly. “I’ll explain on the way.”

CHAPTER TWO

Jessie quickly learned that they didn’t have to go far.

“There’s been a murder in Larchmont Village,” Ryan told her as soon as they left the restaurant.

Larchmont Village was a busy shopping district adjacent to Hancock Park, a wealthy, mid-city community. It was only a fifteen-minute drive away.

“Any details?” Jessie asked as she got in the car.

“Parker didn’t have many to share,” he admitted as he started the car and punched the gas, “just that the wife of some huge medial mogul was stabbed to death in an art gallery parking lot. They only discovered her body twenty minutes ago. They were going to call in Wilshire Division detectives but when they realized that this was such a high profile victim, the call was redirected to HSS. Since Susannah, Sam, and Nettles are all on cases, we were next up in line.”

Susannah Valentine, Sam Goodwin, and Jim Nettles were the other three detectives that made up Homicide Special Section. Along with Jessie, Ryan, Karen, and researchers Jamil Winslow and Beth Ryerson, they comprised the entirety of the close-knit team.

Jessie didn’t need to ask if the order to put HSS on the case, and specifically the two of them, had come from on high. She already knew the answer. The chief of LAPD, Roy Decker, used to be the captain at Central Station and HSS, and whenever possible, they knew he liked to call on his old unit, which he trusted implicitly.

Ryan put the cherry light on the roof and turned on the siren so they could get to the scene quicker. With that and the reduced traffic at 9:30 p.m. on a Monday night, they arrived at the gallery in less than seven minutes. By the time they pulled up across the street, there was already a phalanx of squad cars, along with an ambulance.

They hopped out and headed toward the back parking lot, where an officer held up his hand until Ryan flashed his badge. The officer stepped aside, and they rounded the corner to the back, where they found two more squad cars and a crowd of people surrounding one of the two civilian vehicles still in the lot. As they approached, a familiar face waved at them.

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