Page 10 of Spark
“Thank you for telling me,” Chloe said, and Esme eyed her, wary.
“So, what happens now?”
Before Chloe could answer, a knock sounded off on the door, and Addison appeared in the doorframe a second later.“Hi, Esme.This is my friend, Camila.”
She gestured to Camila Garza, who Chloe knew from hanging out at the Crooked Angel with Ryan and his friends.She was Detective Garza’s sister, and if the sparkly ring on her left hand was anything to go by, recently engaged to her FBI agent boyfriend.
“She’s a sketch artist with the Remington Police Department,” Addison said, the same easy-does-it way she’d order a latte.“We’d love it if you’d work with her on pictures of the man you saw and the knife he had.”
Esme hesitated.“I can’t draw, or anything.”
Camila gave up a reassuring smile that Chloe could’ve hugged her for, right there on the spot.“No experience necessary,” she promised, holding up her sketch book.“All you have to do is describe what you want me to draw, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Having a picture will help us identify the man who did this,” Addison said, “and Ms.Thompson will stay with you the whole time in case you need something.”
Esme flicked a glance from the GAL to Chloe.“What about you?”
She opened her mouth to say she could stay, too, if that’s what Esme wanted, but Addison tilted her head at the door.“Actually, I need to borrow Chloe.But we’ll be right outside with Tom and my sergeant, and after Camila gets a sketch done, you should be able to go home and get some rest.Okay?”
After a long beat, Esme nodded.“Yeah, okay.”
Chloe gave Esme one last reassuring look, then traded places with Camila.She followed Addison out into the hallway, barely keeping her emotions at bay until the door closed.
“Jesus.Pleasetell me you’re going to be able to catch this guy.”
“Oh, that’s happening,” Addison said, and Chloe had forgotten how lethal her best friend was beneath her sugar-sweet demeanor.“But it’s going to be a process.”
Tom and Sergeant Sinclair stood a few paces away, and Chloe waited until they’d reached them before asking Esme’s million-dollar question.“So, whatdoeshappen now?”
“Well, several things,” Sinclair said.“Maxwell and Xander are working with the crime scene unit to see if they can pull prints, DNA, or other forensic evidence from the warehouse.Capelli’s working on footage from nearby street cams, and patrol is combing a four-block perimeter around the warehouse to try and find that murder weapon.We need something concrete, here.”
Chloe’s brows rose.“Um, Esme saw the guy who did it.How is that not concrete?”
“We don’t even know who this guy is, yet,” Addison said, and okay, she had a point.“The sketch is going to be a good start, but even if it leads to a definite ID, it won’t be enough to get us a warrant all by itself, no matter what Esme saw.We need probable cause to make an arrest, which means hard evidence that puts this guy at the scene.Street cam footage, DNA.Something.”
“Okay.”Chloe tried to process her racing thoughts—or, at the very least, get them out of riot mode.“What about the guy who was murdered?Did someone have a beef with him, maybe?”
Sinclair nodded.“We’re looking at that angle.With those narcotics charges, he definitely wasn’t a saint.”
“So, thiswasa drug deal gone bad?”Chloe asked.It tracked with what Esme had said about the argument she’d overheard.
“It sounds like it,” Sinclair said, exchanging a glance with Addison that lasted for a microsecond, yet seemed to carry volumes.“We’ve suspected Brinkman has been part of a pretty large DTO for a while now, but getting anything on the organization, and the guy who’s running it, has been a dead end.We’ll put a rush on the crime scene investigation and hope it turns up something that leads to a suspect.”
Chloe had forgotten—or maybe she’d blocked out—how much of a waiting game investigations could be.“How long will that take?”
“It depends on the lab,” Addison said, “but it’ll probably be a couple of days, even with the rush ask.”
Chloe wanted to protest, but she knew it was pointless, so instead, she asked, “And what about Esme?What happens once she’s done working with Camila?”
Tom said, “Thankfully, she’s not in any danger, so she’ll go back to the group home, for the time being.I’ve let the home manager know that she was involved in an incident, but didn’t go into details since the investigation will be ongoing.”
A few of the words snagged in Chloe’s head, sending a chill over her.Danger.Incident.Ongoing.“Wait.Do you think Esme will have to testify against this guy?”
“We want to avoid that if we possibly can,” Sinclair said, and Chloe noted that wasn’t a no.
“She’s a thirteen-year-old foster kid.”
“We’re getting way too far ahead of ourselves,” Addison said, shaking her head.“First, we need a suspect.Then, we work on a warrant and an arrest.Then, we talk about her testifying.Until then, Esme will be perfectly safe at the group home.”
