The Pros of Cons

7 | ... Is she Okay?

CONS

I was sitting in my office when Harvie called me. I actually had been expecting her to call sooner than she did. I had to give her some credit for sitting still an entire week.

But the truth was I was starting to feel bad for her. She was basically in quarantine over there with the only company of Kezewah. Well, she did have that roommate of hers—whatever he was. I just wished she could get a grasp of how serious her situation was, but I knew that the less she knew was for the better. I didn't trust her to know any more than she did anyways.

The past week was stressful and beyond frustrating. What happened to Harvie wasn't an isolated incident. Eugleshio was a pawn of a much larger operation and we had been investigating it with the FBI for years. But I didn't want the FBI to get involved in this incident with Harvie. Although they probably already knew, the bureau wouldn't be sticking their noses into something that a local P.D. could write off as a freak attack. Not that Harvie's attack was minor—it was fucked up—but there needed to be movement, specifically in the days following. And so far, it was silent. Which was good for Toni but not so much for us.

I spent the rest of my evening getting any information I could on Harvie. I looked up her family, past jobs, schools, and even her roommate—Levi Montgomery. There was nothing that stood out to me. I wanted to clear every avenue and make sure Antoinette Harvie was who she said she was. When it came to cases such as this one, you had do everything in your power to keep a short leash and make sure to not loosen your grip on it. Not even for a second.

A soft knock sounded at my door. I contemplated ignoring it. Looking over at my clock, I saw that it was already half past eight. Damn, I completely lost track of time.

"Come in," I muttered after a moment.

Jonathan walked in holding a file folder and a stack of papers. "Hi. Um, am I interrupting anything?"

"What are you still doing here?"

"I... I stay late sometimes. You know, I put in a little extra work."

I refrained from making a comment that would most likely come across rude. "It's Friday night. You don't need to be here, though I appreciate the extra effort," I added.

"Oh, okay. Thanks. I mean, I'm going to leave soon. What are you doing here so late?"

I sighed. "What is it you want, Jon?"

"Erm, right. I – I came across something with that girl I thought you might want to know. But then again, you could already know and I'm just wasting your time then."

"What is it, Jon?" I didn't have the energy for this. The mention of Harvie did make me more invested in what he had to say, though.

"Um, so I was looking at Antoinetta and her roommate's social media and... I... well, she's supposed to be watched, right?"

"What are you talking about? And it's Antionette, not Antoinetta."

"Right, sorry. I mean, she's supposed to be, like, kept in her apartment?"

I blinked. "She's not being kept anywhere. But she's not supposed to go out in public yet, no," I said. I felt myself becoming increasingly agitated with the young man. Where was he going with this? Was Harvie not in her apartment?

"Right... Okay."

Jon looked weird — like he was making himself sick with whatever he was holding inside. The kid couldn't keep a neutral face if he tried. I stood up from my desk and walked around to the front. I leaned back against it and crossed my arms, waiting for him to speak up. I must have given him a look because suddenly he was talking... well, trying to.

"I have r-reason to believe Antoinette and her roommate... uh, Montgomery, are outside of their apartment... without security detail."

Fuck. "What?"

"Y – yeah... So, like, I didn't realize this before, but I actually know him."

"Montgomery?"

"Yeah. A-and he posted on his Instagram story tonight and I didn't realize I had been following his account. I must have followed it the night we met and just forgot. I was pretty drunk, I mean."

"Jon."

"He's... well, she's with him."

I shut my eyes. She couldn't be out of her apartment. Kez would have called me if something happened. I have them watching her... "Wait." I opened my eyes. "How do you know Kez isn't with them?"

"I called him."

I didn't know what to say. It's not like I really cared what happened to her, but it pissed me off that she clearly didn't. "Okay."

Jon said nothing else but continued to just stand there. It annoyed the hell out of me that I had to tell him to leave.

"You can go now. I'll take it from here."

"Can I do anything to help? I can help track them down. I can try and find out where they're at. I happen to know a bar or two Levi tends to visit."

"We're not going to track them down. Why would we waste resources on something like that? She wants to put herself at risk — let her."

Jon blinked at me. He looked almost surprised. "But what if something happens to them? She's a target, isn't she?"

"Jon, it's late. I said I would handle it. I'll see you on Monday."

He hesitantly left after that, surely about to go question my morality as a human being. It mattered none. I had no patience for people who could break trust so easily. And for some stupid, irritating reason, I had thought that maybe, maybe, she could be trusted.

I sat at my desk for maybe 5 minutes after that, just thinking. I pulled out my phone and dialed Kez.

He answered right away. "Conlins, what can I do ya' for?"

"Do you have eyes on Harvie right now?"

"Negative. They're in for the night. Why? Do you need me to get eyes on her?"

I sighed. How did he miss her? Kez was one of the good ones. "I don't think she or Montgomery is in the apartment. I received a tip that she's at some pub."

At least she wasn't alone. I didn't know much about Montgomery but having anyone is better than no one.

There was silence on the other end of the phone before I heard Kez clear his throat. "I'll call you right back. I think I know where they are."

I didn't know what that meant, but I trusted Kez enough to know that if he says he'll find her, he will. I wasn't going to lie to myself — I was pissed. I wasn't necessarily mad at Kez for getting the slip. I was mad at the lack of security given to her overall. I shouldn't have been surprised — this wasn't the FBI. I didn't want the FBI involved, though. Not unless I had to. And for that reason, I made the decision to keep it in the walls of this precinct. It had to be done that way.

I wasn't sure I was confident in the way I was handling this case anymore. I needed to know, once and for all, who Harvie was and if she really was just a civilian.