author notes: I'm posting chapter two early because I'll be away this weekend. Enjoy!
Chapter Two
“What are you doing here, Chloe?” He couldn’t hide his aggravation, an edge to his voice.
“ Nice greeting. I called, you didn’t answer. So I came around to check on my sister’s case.”
“Isn’t it a little late to be out?”
“No. I just thought I’d stop in.”
“I don’t answer my personal phone at crime scenes. You’ve been told countless times you need to call through the switchboard to check up on Shanna’s case.”
“I thought we could talk. You don’t return any of my calls.”
“You don’t want to do this now…”
Louie interrupted. “Jake, why don’t you head over to the lab and grab the reports? I’ll talk to Ms. Wagner.”
Jake looked around the squad room; he saw the other detectives with their heads down,
giving the appearance of privacy. He knew better—they were listening to every word he
exchanged with Chloe. Cops were the worst gossips in the world.
“It’s okay, Louie. I’ll handle it.” Jake turned his attention back to Chloe.
“Jake, we need the reports to process the crime scene. You told the lab you were on your
way. Go…I’ll update Ms. Wagner.”
As Jake walked away, he heard Chloe ask, “Why’s he avoiding me?”
* * * *
Louie took a few minutes to reply, studying Chloe. He mentally noted her statistics—five-six, one hundred twenty pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, and full mouth in a rounded face. A pretty woman, in “the girl next door” kind of way; all wrapped in a bossy, possessive nature. The top two turn-offs for any man, especially one like Jake. Jake had dumped her quickly. He never dated any woman for long. Louie knew that Jake never allowed himself to get close to anyone.
“He’s not avoiding you, Ms. Wagner. A difficult crime scene required all our attention.”
Louie tactfully changed the subject.
“What can I do for you?”
“What’s happening with Shanna’s case?”
“Unfortunately, we have nothing new. We haven’t forgotten her. We’ve started to re-interview everyone involved. We look at the case every week, Chloe. Unless some new piece of evidence turns up, or a new lead gives us another direction to look, we’ve hit a wall.”
He hated when one got by them, this case particularly. Everything they’d learned about
Shanna Wagner showed a woman who was well-liked. No enemies; a nice woman, everyone
said. Louie knew murder. Such brutality normally meant the victim knew her killer. Somewhere
along the line she pissed someone off and paid the price. Rage, Louie thought when
remembering the crime scene pictures again—uncontrollable rage.
“You can’t do anything else? My family’s torn apart. My mother haunts me several times a day to make sure I’m okay. My father walks around in a fog, like he’s lost. I believe they’re
going to get a divorce. You say you can’t do anything else? What bullshit! You expect your
answer will appease me? Well, it doesn’t. I’ll go over your heads to get my answers, Detective.”
