JL Short Fiction

Just across the hall [end]

Lisa had just killed the engine and was getting ready to collapse in bed next to Jennie when the phone rang. With a heavy sigh, she reached for it. "Lalisa."

"We got him," Jackson said brusquely. "Pryce and Bam brought him down at a stakeout at a motel over on Washington."

"Emma?" Lisa asked tightly

"The guy owns a compound, we have officers en route now."

"That's great," Lisa said, rubbing her eyes wearily.

"There's more," Jackson continued. "You need to come down to the precinct."

"It's late," she said, "I need to let Jennie know what happened."

"It's about Jennie," Jackson explained. "She was the girl he was after. We have both her and her ... customer in holding."

***

Lisa stormed into the police precinct exhausted and worried and pissed off. she was certain she wasn't on a date, as Jackson had implied. With her worry about Emma and her love for her, she knew that she wouldn't have gone out like that unless she was setting herself up as bait. She, after all, fit the killer's MO. she tried to shake off her temper, but she knew she wouldn't until she knew she was safe – and she could yell at her.

As she made her way to find Jackson, Bambam walked up and blocked her path. "Chief wants to speak with you," Bam said, jerking his thumb toward the office. The blinds were already lowered for privacy, which was never a good sign.

"I don't work for him anymore," Lisa said irritably, "I just want to get Jennie and get the fuck out of here."

"There are prostitution charges," Bam said quietly, "and Holtz wants to talk to you before you see her." Lisa ran a hand through her hair and made a frustrated sound. "It's been a long night," she growled, "so he better make this quick."

"It's about to get longer." Bambam slapped her on the shoulder sympathetically. "Good luck, buddy."

Lisa didn't answer, but headed to Holtz's office, knocked on the door and entered when she heard her ex-boss' voice snap out. "Come in."

"Holtz," Lisa said, nodding in greeting. Holtz was sitting behind his desk, flipping through a file, looking as he always did, crabby and disagreeable. Lisa steeled her resolve. she had no intention of being lectured. her goal was to get Jennie and get out of there.

"Lalisa." Holtz greeted in return. "I'm sure you're anxious to be on your way, so I'll get straight to the point."

"I'd appreciate it," Lisa said. She sat down in one of the two chairs in front of Holtz's desk and fought to keep from scowling. There was never any lost love between the two of them and despite Lisa being one of his top detectives, Holtz didn't seem to have any problem whatsoever in firing her.

"The reason I asked to meet with you is to discuss a few matters that have been brought to my attention," Holtz said, folding his hands over his desk and meeting Lisa's gaze head on.

"Which matters?" Lisa snorted, far past cowering under Holtz' authoritative stare. "The fact that my girlfriend used to be a prostitute, the fact that I didn't bust her or that I was involved in the investigation?"

"All three," Holtz growled back. "You skulked around my team and leached information out of them, which you then fed back to civilians who should not have been privy to such information, which caused one of them to put her life in jeopardy. Did I miss anything?"

"Yes," Lisa said, her voice terse, "I also helped them map out the best way to track out the killer and gave vital additional information on the latest victim's habits and haunts."