Page 61 of Code of Courage

CHAPTER26

Gabe had to wait until Saturday morning to hear from Danni.

“Hey, sorry I couldn’t talk yesterday. We were tied up.”

“I understand. I heard you got a body.”

“Yep, an odd one. Can you meet for coffee this morning? I’m working OT, reviewing riot footage, so I can meet you on my way to the station.”

“Sure.” Gabe smiled, glad they could talk in person and not simply over the phone. “Beans and Bacon at nine?”

“Good choice. See you there.”

She sounded tired, he thought when he hung up the phone. His curiosity was piqued regarding the body. “An odd one,” she’d said.

He went online and searched for any information on the body. The Tribune ran true to form: “Body Found behind the East Substation—Another Death at the Hands of the PD?” The article was long and Gabe didn’t even bother reading it. The headline was enough to make his blood boil.

The Post article was brief and contained only the bare facts. A body was found, and a riot formed at the scene. Officers and vehicles were pelted with rock and bottles. Lately, he noticed the Tribune, particularly, routinely felt like it was cheerleading the riots. Of course, they never called riots, riots. It was “unrest” or “protest.” He’d also seen reporters interviewing people who were outraged by the riots, but their interviews never appeared in the Tribune. They would show up in the Post but days later. All you could read about in the Tribune were people who believed things needed to change and who were hopeful the “unrest” would precipitate change. As far as Gabe was concerned, riots would only change things in a negative way.

He learned more about what was going on in his city from the scanner. When police officers were attacked or injured, he heard it on the scanner, but it was never news.

Ever since Ira HoffmanJr. took over the newspaper, it was more and more anti-police. Now Gabe wondered who the main editorial writer was.

+++

After she spoke to Gabe, Danni finished getting ready for the day. She let the dog out, then showered. She hadn’t slept well. Her mind kept going over Hobbs’s death, wondering how it fit into things. It certainly stirred the violence back up. Danni heard enough of the scanner on her way home last night to know cops were dealing with spotty violence all over. A pattern had formed. Things were calming down about the time Thomas Johnston was murdered and then they ramped back up again. Again, as the violence began to calm, even stop, they found the body of Hobbs. Patterns usually helped solve crimes, and this situation could use some help right now.

Danni found herself wishing Gabe were still on the investigation. She liked the way he thought and knew his insight would only be a plus.

She put on some last-minute makeup, tidied her room, and left to meet him, hoping he had something to say to spark an idea, an avenue of investigation. Danni wondered why lately she felt the need to talk to Gabe. They went two years without seeing one another at all and now suddenly she trusted him. He’d picked her up in the flood control, so she wanted to tell him about Jasper Hobbs. She’d also caught sight of Jareb Moore in a lot of the riot footage and wanted to talk to Gabe about what she’d seen.

Anyway, they weren’t married anymore, she thought. For her, Gabe was a safe sounding board; she trusted him. For the time being she would simply bounce things off of him, get his perspective. He was a clear thinker, more like her father than not.

Beans and Bacon was a good choice. They had the best coffee in LaRosa. They even served a brand of Kona coffee from Hawaii. Danni loved a good, dark roast Kona coffee.

When she arrived, she didn’t see him right away, so she ordered coffee for them both and found a table. Breakfast smelled great. Danni marveled at how the aroma of bacon cooking could always improve her mood.

Gabe walked in as she sat down. He scanned the room and caught her eye. Danni felt her heart rate quicken and her face flush. She sipped her coffee, hoping he wouldn’t notice, then pointed at his coffee.

He smiled and made his way to the table. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“No problem. I hope you still drink it the same way.”

“I do, and I need a cup.” He took a gulp of the coffee. “Great stuff here. Thanks for meeting me.”

“What was your message about? What did you want to know?”

“I was curious about the body you found yesterday. The Tribune makes it sound as if it was another police shooting.”

“You heard about it on the scanner.”

“No.” He told her about Madden and how he found out about the body.

“Seriously?” Danni frowned. “She accused you of circumventing her instructions?”

“Yep. She’s trying to keep me on a short leash.”

“How long are you going to put up with her micromanaging?”

---