Page 46 of Operation: Sharp Angel

Tessman snickered. “We’ll go through the public access.” He led her back down the hall. “No, that was business as usual. Sideways would be if one of the team got injured or killed, or if anything horrendous happened. I’m sure when this case is over, Joe will talk with both Jackson and me. The emotional toll of investigating the senseless murders of two innocent kids gets to everyone, even if you don’t realize it. Joe’s a good guy and anything we tell him stays in confidence. He doesn’t even tell Shepherd the details.”

They exited through the public entrance to the Shepherd Security suite of offices. There they took the public stairs down one flight. Becca was still processing what Carter had just said when they stepped into the hallway. He ushered her up to the black door with the gold lettering that said J. Lassiter. Before she could protest or say another word, he opened the door and motioned her in.

“Just a heads up so you’re not surprised. Joe has some severe scars on his face and neck. He was in the army, served in the Middle East, where he was injured.”

Her gaze swept the office. It looked normal enough. Then the door to the interior office opened and a man with severe scars on his face and neck, just as Carter had said, greeted them with a smile. “Hello, you must be Becca Elliot. I’m Joe Lassiter.” He outstretched his right hand to her.

“Hello, nice to meet you,” she said politely.

“I’ll have her for about an hour, Tessman. Come back then unless I reach out to you,” he said.

“Okay. I’ll be back.” Without waiting for a reply from her, Tessman left the office. A smile formed on his face as he jogged back up the stairs.

Mike

Becca had never seen a psychologist or therapist before. She wasn’t sure what to expect. But as Joe Lassiter brewed her a cup of coffee in his kitchen, while she sat at the table gazing out of the windows which overlooked the large Woodfield Mall, she was sure this wouldn’t have been it. He’d greeted her, wearing blue jeans and a long-sleeved dress shirt, the arms casually rolled up to his elbows. He’d told her to call him Joe. Then he’d invited her into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. And Carter had been correct. He had some bad scars on his face and neck.

“Thank you,” she said as he set the cup of coffee in the floral mug she’d chosen from the double-wide cabinet with hundreds of coffee cups.

He sat opposite her. “Do you regularly shop at the mall?”

“Often enough,” she replied.

“Bet you never would have thought we were here in this building,” he said with a grin.

She returned his smile. “You are correct. But I guess that’s the point. The agency needs to remain anonymous.”

Lassiter nodded. “Yes, it does. People’s lives depend on it. Just as people’s lives depend on the job we do, which we can only do if we remain anonymous.”

She nodded.

“These domestic violence cases are important to help get people, mostly women and children, out of abusive and dangerous situations. Briana finds the work rewarding, but the cases also take their toll on her and on the rest of the team who work on them.”

“I can understand that,” Becca agreed.

“You’re wading in,” Lassiter said with a chuckle. “I’ll assume there is a reason you don’t specialize in divorce cases.”

“When I was in college, I was interested in working for the DA’s office. But what I saw while I interned with the Chicago Police Department over two summers cured me of that. I guess I was naïve, not knowing that people can really be that evil and inhumane to each other with the crimes they commit. I knew I didn’t want a steady diet of that sort of work. And honestly, divorce cases can be just as vile.”

“How’d you get into estate law?”

“By accident,” she said and then chuckled. “It’s not exciting, but it’s steady work and I build relationships with my clients. I like that part, the people part. I haven’t checked my email since this morning, so I’m not sure I have a job left. I may have resigned from the firm I work for this morning.”

Now Joe chuckled. “You don’t sound too broken up if you did resign. What happened?”

She told Joe about the morning messages with the receptionist and the email she’d sent the partners. She also told him she didn’t want to go back to the office. “But maybe that’s just me resisting that I have to get back to my normal life.”

“Your normal life had your sister and her family in it. You’ll need to settle into a new normal now that they’re gone,” he said.

She teared up.

Joe handed her a box of tissues. “I’m sorry, sorry for your loss, and sorry bringing it up has upset you. I’m told you haven’t spoken to anyone about it yet. It’ll be good for you too, you know. Everyone grieves differently and for different amounts of time. You won’t ever get over it, but you’ll learn coping techniques to adjust to life now and to live with what has happened.”

He paused and watched her reaction. She dabbed the tears which had spilled onto her cheeks. He took a drink of his water bottle and waited her out for several long minutes.

“I’m not ready to deal with any of that yet, not until after the person who did it has been found and brought to justice,” she finally said.

“What does justice look like?”

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