Eyes on The Damned

Chapter 4

29 August

Simon rested his elbows on his desk, one hand on his forehead. He was getting a headache already, and it was barely eight o'clock. He looked up at the tap on his door. "Come!" he called. "Joel, good, come in. Coffee?"

"Thanks. How's Jim? Have you heard?"

Simon poured coffee for both of them. "He's going to be fine," he answered, "but it's going to be a week or two before he's back. I need you and Rafe to take over Jim's caseload while he's on the sick list. Can you handle it?"

Taggert winced. "I guess we'll have to."

Simon sighed. "I know everyone's under pressure right now. I'm not expecting miracles, Joel. I just want to know nothing will slip under the radar completely."

"Got it. I'll talk to Rafe and make sure we've got it covered." Taggert frowned. "Simon...about the accident. Do you know what happened?"

"The other car ran a red light. Witnesses agreed the other car was at fault, but it sounds like Jim lost control of his car very quickly. The doctor said he'd been drinking but he wasn't over the limit." And that in itself made no sense. Simon had seen Jim drive; it wasn't like him to lose control so easily. If he'd been drunk it would have made sense...but Jim wouldn't drink and drive, either. The whole thing made no sense.

Taggert shook his head firmly. "We had a beer together after work, Simon, but Jim barely touched his. There's no way he was - "

Simon's phone rang, interrupting. Simon answered it and listened for a moment. "I'd better take this, Joel. We'll catch up later."

Taggert took the hint.

"Put him through," Simon instructed. He gave it a second for the line to clear then said, "Hello, who am I speaking to?"

"I'm trying to reach Detective Ellison," a man's voice crackled down the phone. It was a poor line. "And I'm tired of the runaround."

"Detective Ellison is unavailable," Simon explained patiently. Any of the cops in the bullpen could have taken this call, but what he'd said to Taggert was true: everyone had a heavy case load right now. Every little helped, and Simon could take one call for Ellison. "I'm Captain Banks, Major Crimes. Who am I speaking to?"

The silence went on for longer than he expected. "My name is Blair Finnegan. When can I reach Detective Ellison?"

"Not for some time I'm afraid. Perhaps I can help you?" Finnegan...Finnegan... He was a witness in one of Jim's cases...

Finnegan seemed hesitant. "Um...I don't know. I guess..."

Simon gave him time.

"Uh...I have some information that might be relevant to Tania Roca's murder."

Tania Roca. Simon nodded, memory clicking into place. Finnegan was the man who found her body. "You know something you didn't tell Ellison when you made your statement?" he asked.

"I didn't know everything then." Finnegan sounded defensive. "Look, I really want to talk to Ellison."

"As I said, he won't be available for some time. Come in to the department and I'll have someone take your statement."

"Why not Detective Ellison? Isn't this his case?"

"It is, but he's not going to be in work for a few days."

"Shit, man, do you have any idea what it took for me to make this call? I'm scared, man."

Belatedly, Simon understood what was behind the man's hesitation. Finnegan hadn't said he wouldn't come in to the department, but his insistence on speaking only to Ellison implied he didn't want to do this formally. Did he have some reason to be afraid? "Alright," Simon said. "I'll meet you myself, Finnegan. You pick the place."