Page 18 of Road Trip
“Kelly, goddammit, I was worried about you! When I told you to take a couple of days off, this is not what I had in mind. What the hell happened?”
I told her the sordid tale, and she swore a few more times.
“You are a lucky sonofabitch. I received a copy of the report when I arrived on duty at the butt crack this morning from the CHP. From your description it sounds like these guys are connected to this shooting. You better watch your ass. I actually think it’s a good idea for you to stay gone a couple days. Let us do what we can to identify these assholes. I’ll get Manny on it. If they followed you down there, they might know where you live. We’re going to investigate all aspects of this, including how the hell they knew how to find you. Take your time, but keep me updated on your whereabouts. I know you met with your peer support rep before you left, but do you need anything right now? Have you talked to Manny?”
“No, ma’am, I was going to call him, well, when I got settled. I’m doing okay.” I knew my partner, Manny Ramirez, would be all over this situation. I’d have to call him soon. Maybe he could help me figure out who the guys were so I could pass on the information. “I just need a couple of days to get my head on straight. The investigators said they got everything they needed from me when they took my statement after the shooting and I gave all the information I could to the CHP last night.”
She paused for a moment before responding.
“You haven’t taken a vacation since you started, have you?”
I was lucky to have Reynolds as my commanding officer, but I could sure feel a lecture coming on.
“No, ma’am. Not except the time I needed to take off because of school.”
She exhaled into the phone and when she came back on, her voice was quiet.
“Look, Kelly. I know this trial took a lot out of you, and now this bullshit. You need a break. You can’t keep going like this. You’re so young, and I don’t want to see you getting burned out. I’ve seen this too many times, officers losing their edge and getting hurt or just leaving the job because they became too jaded. We need cops like you, so don’t fucking burn out on me.” She really had been paying attention.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll let you know as soon as I get a new phone—”
“That’s fine, as long as I can reach you at this number.” Her tone changed from lecture to inquisition. “Hey, I gotta ask you. The report said a woman found you and that you left the hospital with her. Was this someone you knew?”
I laughed. “No, ma’am. She, uh, she…I stayed with her last night. I’m going to be with her. She took care of me last night.” Oh, that sounded bad. How did I explain that I didn’t want to be away from this woman? “I’m fine. Just a few stitches.”
I heard her snickering on the other line.
“Ah, yes. I’m glad you were taken care of. Listen, you be careful and let me know if anything else comes up.” More snickering.
Lord.
“I’ll be in touch about what we find out up here. Get some rest, or whatever it is you plan on doing.” Still laughing.
I felt the heat in my face all the way to the tips of my ears.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be in touch, but if you need me, you can reach me at her number.”
Even more laughter.
“That’s great, Kelly. Have a nice time.”
We disconnected, and I rubbed at the back of my neck. For sure I didn’t want to call Manny right now as he’d be all over me. I wassoin for it when I got back. Those folks at the department were terrible gossips. I understood the attraction. Gossiping about your co-workers definitely helped when it came to letting go of the seriousness of the job. Who was having sex with who was a safer topic than dwelling on the dark misdeeds humans enacted on each other. Let them talk about me. So what! I was really into this woman and determined to have a good time today, whatever this music festival had in store for me.
