Heartless People |Book 2|

Chapter 38

"Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life."

—J.R.R. Tolkien

SCOOTER

I didn't understand why everyone was so damn scared. We got her. We fuck'en got her. I knew something wasn't right. She was hiding something and now I knew what it was. She was a bigger monster than I thought. I knew she was behind countless murders, but to kill her own fucking wife?

"It's not enough," The Captain said. I threw the folder on his desk, the document I had spent hours building.

"Sir—"

"It ain't enough, Scooter."

"Bullshit!"

"Officer..."

"No! I'm tired of this shit. Everyone is so fucking scared of these assholes that they turn a blind eye." Pulling off my badge, I threw it onto his desk. "Take it. Are you in their pockets too? Or are you like the rest of these moral-lacking pieces of shit scattered in this city?"

He rose from his chair so quickly it crashed into the blinds behind him. "Have you lost your damn mind? Do you hear yourself? I have half a mind to kick you off this force anyway."

"Go ahead! It ain't like we do shit. I just told you two of her previous girlfriends ended up dead. Nancy McDonie's body was found naked in a ditch. Now her wife is missing and that woman has been hiding something from day one! We got a call, a recorded call saying Lisa Manoban killed her wife."

"Scooter, all you have is circumstantial evidence."

"Since when did we fucking need more? We've been trying for years to get this fucker and now here's our chance. Be the man this city needs. Step up, for the love of God. Make those bastards pay!" He looked at me before looking at the folder on his desk. Folding his arms over his chest, he shook his head and turned back to the window.

"Sir."

"Get some rest, Scooter. We go after her by in the morning. I'll get the warrant. It's going to take a while to find a judge that will willingly get in on this."

I wanted to go now, but I knew he was right. The last judge that spoke out against the Manobans ended up hanging from a bridge. Although, once again, no one could pin it on them.

"This is right, Captain. We're doin' the right thing. I know it."

He didn't look at me. "Be here by 7:00 a.m. Go home, kiss your wife, and prepare yourself."

He made it seem as if we were going to a war, an all-out battle. But I had studied the Manobans for years. They were all about their public image; they wouldn't do anything that would cause them to look anything less than perfect. They worked in the shadows and now they were about to meet the sun. Walking out of his office, I didn't bother making eye contact with anyone.

That didn't stop my partner from coming up to me. "What was that about?" Beau asked, grabbing the file off his desk.

I wanted to trust him, but I didn't know if I could. "Nothing, the boss man was just laying one into me again for talking to the Manobans."

"I told you." He sighed. "Just keep your head up, okay? Don't let it get to you."

"Yea, thanks. I'm going to head out." I didn't wait. Grabbing my keys, I left the station as more officers came in. Everyone had been working around the clock to find Mrs. Manoban. It felt like there were more people searching for her than there were looking for the President's killer. If she had only listened to me. I had thought she was in on it, in whatever operation they had going. But she was nothing but another victim. So many casualties, all so they could make money—blood money. The moment I sat in my pickup, my phone rang and I already knew who it was.

"Scooter."

"Hey," she whispered, "are you coming home soon?"

Sighing, I brushed my hair back, staring at the phone in my hand. "I'm sorry, the Captain's making us work late on the Manoban case. I'm going to sleep at the station if I get a chance. It's crazy here."

"Yeah, of course. I'm just heading to bed. I just wanted to make sure. I love you."

"Yeah, goodnight. Lock the door," I replied before hanging up. I sat there for a moment then threw the phone against the dashboard.

"Fuck!" Even knowing I was wrong, I couldn't stop myself. I still drove to Englewood to see her.

The city was bad, but there was no place that was worse than Englewood. The moment I crossed the bridge, all I could see were run-down apartments with boarded windows and stripped cars. If you left your car for too long, you wouldn't be able to find it when you needed to. I parked in front the liquor store before walking down to her apartment with my head held high. The men sitting on the stoops didn't bother with me. They knew I was a cop, but they also knew I had grown up here.

Apartment B-24. My childhood home, and even though my mother was gone, I couldn't just let it go.

"Coming, baby!" a voice yelled through the door after I knocked.

When she opened it, her red hair was dripping from the shower she must have just taken. She smiled at me. "Well, look who it is."

"Do you have a client tonight?"

"I thought you got me the place so I ain't have to work so much."

"Good, cuz I feel like celebrating. I'm finally taking those fuckers down."

Her eyes widened as she opened the door from me. "Then let's celebrate, baby."

Part of me felt bad, but that was eclipsed by the thought of getting Manoban.

Finally.