Got Your Six

Chapter 20

Calvin

My eyes snap open at the sound of someone pounding on my front door. My mind goes straight to the worse case scenario: someone I've arrested has come to get some sort of revenge on me. I know it's probably the least likely outcome, but it's a fear I have. It's the reason I don't live in the same town I work in, I don't need anyone tracking me down.
Kayla's office is right next to our bedroom and I can hear her footsteps making their way towards the front door. For the need to know who's pounding on my door so hard, or the off-chance that someone has come to get revenge on the officer that arrested them, I climb out of bed. I quickly slip into some clothes and grab the pistol from my nightstand. I can hear Kayla talking to someone when I open the bedroom door, but I can't make out the other voices. My pistol remains concealed behind my leg as I poke my head around the corner to see who it is that woke me up.
"Oh, here he is," Kayla says, looking back at me from the door.
Captain Bennett and Officer Gonzales stand on the opposite side of her, presumably waiting for their invitation to come inside.
"Hey Captain, what do you need?" I ask, coming into full view of the front door and setting my gun down on the nearest end table.
"Jesus," Kayla says, eyeing up the gun I had just set down. "What are you doing with that?"
"I didn't know who was pounding at the door, I had to be prepared," I tell her before turning my attention back to my Captain standing in my doorway. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry we have to do this," Captain Bennett says, revealing a pair of handcuffs from behind his back.
"Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?" I ask, looking back and forth between Kayla and Captain Bennett.
"I wish it was," Captain Bennett says, stepping forward and wrapping the cold metal around my wrist.
"Wh-what, why?" I ask, stumbling over my own words.
"As of right now, you're suspected to be involved in the murder of Manny Delacruz," Captain Bennett says calmly.
His words hit me like a brick wall. I'm completely speechless, staring at Kayla while Captain Bennett continues to put the handcuffs around my other wrist. "I will fix this," I mouth to Kayla before I'm hauled out of my own house.
Gonzales opens the backdoor of the unmarked police car and guides me in, clicking the seatbelt across my chest. I watch Captain Bennett get into the seat in front of me and put his hand to his head.
"There's got to be some sort of mistake. I didn't kill anybody!" I blurt out from the backseat.
"I think it's best if you just keep quiet until we get to the station," Captain Bennett warns me.
I decide to take his advice, riding in the backseat with my mouth shut. It makes for an awkward twenty minute drive to the station. Gonzales makes quick glances at me through the rearview mirror. I can't tell who this is more awkward for, Gonzales hasn't said a word to me since they showed up at my doorstep.
The car ride is nothing compared to the walk through the bullpen. Captain Bennett and Gonzales escort me through the station to the interrogation room, all while I try to avoid everyones eyes staring holes through me. The level of embarrassment I felt walking past my fellow officers in handcuffs is off the chart. Even after I clear my name, none of them will be able to look at me the same. All because I was suspected of killing someone. Someone I had just been in contact with last night. That can't look good on me, but how do they know? That's what I've got to figure out in order to get myself out of this.
The interrogation room is colder than I remember. I guess it feels different when you're doing the interrogating. Captain left me in here alone after he connected my handcuffs to the table. Either to give me some time to think or to go gather his evidence against me. A small red light begins beaming from the camera above the door which opens a few seconds later. Captain Bennett walks in with a tan folder in his hands, setting it down on the table as he sits across from me. I look past Captain Bennett, glaring at the double sided glass behind him. I wonder if Gonzales is watching from the other side.
Captain Bennett lets out a deep sigh before he finally says anything. "Manny Delacruz was found dead at the quarry this morning."
"I didn't kill anybody!" I blurt out before having any time to think about it.
"I hope that's the truth," Captain Bennett says softly. "Where'd you go on patrol last night?"
"I'm sure you already know that," I mumble.
"Damn it, Jenkins! This is serious! A man was found dead this morning and you have a search history on your computer with his name all over it," Captain Bennett says impatiently.
The search history, I forgot to clear my search history, what a stupid mistake. I wonder what else he knows about. If I had to guess, I'd say its everywhere I went in my patrol car last night. I wasn't even thinking about the fact that every patrol car has a GPS for dispatch to track. It's supposed to be for if we're in some sort of situation and need backup, but it helps them in situations like this as well.
"Captain, I didn't kill anybody," I tell him with the calmest voice I can manage at the moment.
"Then convince me of that," he says. "Because this does not look good on you right now."
He flips open the folder on the table and slides out two pieces of paper, turning them both to face me. Right in front of me is what I had already guessed he knew. It's a complete log of everywhere I went last night, accompanied by a map of the city with a thick line weaving through it, indicating everywhere my vehicle went. I shouldn't be surprised, of course he did some digging on me otherwise I wouldn't be here.
I guess the only choice I have at this point is to tell him the truth. It's either that or risk getting myself thrown in jail. Even if I tell him the truth, there's a good chance he'll just fire me on the spot. I guess I don't have to tell him every detail in order to clear my name.
"Jenkins!" Captain Bennett blurts out, clearly getting impatient for me to tell him what kind of part I played in all of this.
I take a deep breath and then begin to let it all out, accepting whatever consequence he decides to deal out to me. "I went to Manny's house last night. He wasn't there, but his girlfriend was," I inform him, already not wanting to continue with my story. Although, I know I don't have much of a choice at this point. "I used his girlfriend to bait him into meeting me at Riverfront Park and then I questioned him about where Gavin was hiding out."
"Jenkins," Captain Bennett mumbles, covering his face with his hands.
"Of course, he wouldn't tell me anything. And then I threatened to arrest him, but his girlfriend jumped me from behind and they both got away," I tell him, giving him an altered version of the truth. I won't even mention the fact that I still have Manny's girlfriend's phone hiding at my house. That definitely wouldn't help me right now.
"I told you multiple times to leave this case alone," Captain tells me, trying his best to keep his calm.
"I know," I say quietly.
"I don't think you do!" Captain shouts, standing up abruptly and sending his chair flying backwards. "I told you to leave this alone! I told you we would take care of it! You couldn't listen, or rather, you refused to listen! And now a man is dead!"
His words bounce off the walls, echoing around the room. I keep my eyes fixed on the table, unable to think of any words to defend myself.
"You've really disappointed me this time," says the Captain as he paces around the room. "You might not have killed the man but you very well might've played a part in putting him in the ground."
I almost tell him that Manny deserved it but I figure that would not look good on me right now and decide to keep that thought to myself.
"Well, what are you going to do with me?" I ask him, wanting to get straight to the point. He doesn't have enough evidence on me, otherwise I'd be in a jail cell right now instead of the interrogation room. He brought me here in hopes I would confess, the only problem is I didn't do it.
"My God, Jenkins, do you even care what happens to you?" He asks, standing with his hands pressed down on the table across from me.
"Of course I do, but if you're going to fire me I'd like to just get it over with already." I stare him right in the eye as the words leave my mouth, wondering if I made a mistake saying that.
"I don't want to fire you," Captain tells me. "And I don't think you killed Manny. You're not stupid enough to do something that crazy. But I do want to understand why you decided to seek him out in the first place. You blatantly disobeyed a direct order and interfered with a case you are not apart of, on the very first day I let you come back to work. Why?"
"Because It's been over a week since my bother was murdered and you guys haven't come any closer to finding Gavin," I blurt out, really pushing the boundaries here. By the time this whole interrogation is over, I might just get myself fired for insubordination.
"And you did?" Captain Bennett asks, making intense eye contact with me.
I break that eye contact by looking back down at the table, suddenly ashamed of myself. I know I shouldn't have gone after Manny last night but what else was I supposed to do? Just sit back and wait? I can't do that. Cameron was my brother and I feel it's my responsibility to seek justice for him, to avenge him.
"Did you come any closer to finding Gavin by going after Manny last night?" Captain Bennett asks, demanding an answer.
"No!" I say louder than I should have. I look back up from the table and give him the answer he's waiting for. "I didn't, okay? I made a stupid mistake and possibly got us further from finding Gavin. Is that what you want to hear?"
"What I want is for you to leave it alone. I know Cameron was your brother and I'm sorry for what happened to him, but you need to leave it alone and let us handle it, professionally," Captain orders me for the millionth time.
"All right," I say, letting out a deep sigh. "I'll leave it alone," I assure him, even though it's not even enough to convince myself of that.
"You've really disappointed me and more importantly, you've lost my trust with what you did last night," Captain Bennett says, taking a pause before he continues. "I'm suspending you until the case is solved and Gavin is behind bars. You are to leave this case alone from here on out. If I find out you even tried to interfere with this case in any way, you won't have a job here anymore. Is that clear?"
I open my mouth to defend myself, but decide against it. This is well deserved at this point. I should just be glad I still have my job. A few minutes ago, I was sure I was going to lose my job or end up behind bars, or both. "Yes, sir," I say as confidently as I can manage.
"Good," he says, leaning across the table to finally release the handcuffs from my wrists. "Now get out. I don't want to see you around the station until I tell you to come back to work. Gonzales will take you back home."
I stand up from the table and exit the interrogation room. My eyes stay fixed on the floor, avoiding the awkward looks from all of my fellow officers as I make a stop by Gonzales' desk. Without saying a word, he stands up and leads the way out to the parking lot.