White Night

Chapter 19

       "What've we got?" Connors asked as she returned to the precinct.

Ross spun his chair around quickly to face her but didn't meet her gaze for long.

Something was off with her new partner. He'd shaved but not well, small lines of stubble meant he'd either done it quickly or with the lights off. His hair was swept back but oily, and the strong scent of deodorant and dried sweat told her he hadn't showered but attempted to spray his way to personal hygiene.

Ross began flipping through his notes.

"CSU is still processing the blood evidence, but Dr. Walker confirmed that the blood in the building isn't the same type as the victim, John Weston, so it appears we have a second victim."

"Could be from one of the perps," she mused.

"Possibly," Ross returned non-committedly. "Very little other physical evidence. The ground was too frozen for footprints or tire tracks and there are fingerprints everywhere, but it will take time to rule out construction workers, delivery drivers, and visitors to the site."

"Any sign of the second victim in area hospitals?"

Ross shook his head as he leaned over and pulled a paper off his desk. "Two shootings last night—"

"Quiet night." She smiled.

Ross didn't return the smile but rubbed his chin and continued. "One victim sustained shotgun injuries in Queens and another was a domestic disturbance, suspect already in custody."

Alan Ross was going to be hard work. She'd done some digging when she found out he was assigned as her new partner. He had two partners at the 74th and both described him as distant and unsociable. Not exactly the life of the party herself, at least Connors knew when to smile and develop a bond with people. Ross' stony personality wasn't going to encourage anyone to share information with him.

"Victim's financials are weird," Ross continued. "Almost broke until a few months ago, when he started making cash deposits."

She wondered if Alan Ross' definition of "almost broke" was the same as the rest of the world's, but let him continue.

"Also, I looked at the victim's phone records for the last six months," Ross added.

"Anything useful?"

"Most of it's routine: calls to his mother, sister, and an ex-girlfriend, who it looks like he broke up with two months ago. But there's a steady pattern of calls to and from Weston and a series of burner phones."

"Burner phones?"

"For the last..." Scanning his notes, he flipped back and forth in his pad as a tense silence grew between them.

"I have it right here..." Ross said, but he clearly didn't, and she was losing the battle with her patience. Folding her arms, she shifted from her stiff leg to the other and looked around the squad room.

Detective Saunders was on the phone at his desk, furiously scribbling information down. Saunders could be an immature jerk but was highly decorated for his undercover work. Detective Gomez coughed heavily into his elbow, his face turning redder with every hack and wheeze. The guy was always sick but a chameleon with witnesses. Gomez was your best friend, a concerned father figure, or your worst nightmare, whatever helped you spill your guts. The guy practically had multiple personalities.

Her new partner was still looking for his notes...

She drew in a slow breath as Ross' face started to color up.

"...four months, calls to and from burner phones for the last four months."

"Okay," she said, leaving to take a seat at her own desk.

"No vehicle registered to Weston," he added. "I'm checking with local cab companies to see if anyone dropped him off at the site."

"Okay."

She rested her head in her hands, wanting to spare Ross the irritation she knew would be etched across her face. She owed him a proper chance and what was left of her trust and patience, but more than that, she needed his help. Her colleagues' whispers constantly echoed in her ears, and she still didn't know if she could trust her own judgement after her last case.

It didn't help that her comeback case was a bag of shit so far: one dead victim, a second missing and hiding from them, no witnesses, no physical evidence or murder weapon. If she didn't make progress on this case, there wouldn't be another one. They needed that second witness, and the bullet.

It was time to talk to Weston's ex-girlfriend.