Cabinet 2
The tension was thick in the air when Kevin and Howie walked into the office with Jack Roberts. Tyler was waiting at the elevator to greet them which he did with an incredibly fake smile.
“Mr. Roberts thanks so much for coming in, my name’s Tyler Hawkins and I’m in charge of this investigation, if you wouldn’t mind coming with me, I have some pictures to show you.”
Jack looked back at Kevin as he was being dragged along, and once Kevin gave him a reassuring nod he turned and followed Tyler down the hall.
Once Jack and Tyler were gone he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Rob standing behind him. “Kevin a word please,” he said opening his office door and giving Kevin a shake with his head. Howie looked sympathetically towards Kevin to which his friend sighed as he followed his boss into his office and closed the door.
“Kevin, I don’t even know where to start.”
“Look, Rob I can explain…”
“There’s nothing to explain, you violated SO many rules today Kevin.”
“I felt the need to act fast.”
“So you just irresponsibly go to this man’s house, forcing Tyler to have no choice but have to back you up?”
“I called it in.”
“But you weren’t going to were you?” Kevin looked down at the floor as his boss continued, “Maria said you and Howie had to attend to business when she got back here. That’s what the business was… wasn’t it?”
“This guy called me on my cell phone Rob and when I told Tyler he all but blew it off.”
“He looked into it; this Roberts guy has a clean record.”
“Yeah well, it’s not him.”
Now Rob sat on his desk, so close to Kevin he could smell the tuna salad the guy had for lunch still lingering on his breath.
“And you are so sure of this because?”
“Because of this…” Kevin said pulling out the baggie containing the note that Howie had found on the floor. Rob looked at it then placed it on his desk.
“And what’s that supposed to prove?”
“Our perp is going in and out of this guy’s home, using his phone line that should have been cut off years ago and leaving messages behind. He clearly knew I was going to find that note.”
“Or maybe it’s the man we have in our hands right now. Maybe he placed that note there and broke out the window hoping that you would be naïve enough to assume it wasn’t him.”
“Okay that’s possible and of course I thought about that but Rob, that guy there’s just something about him. I don’t think he is our man. Besides his fingerprints do not match those found at all the crime scenes.”
“Doesn’t mean he’s innocent Kevin.” Rob relaxed his posture a bit now, calming himself down.
“I know that…”
“Tyler is interrogating the guy now also showing him the pictures of Scott Wilson; maybe we can connect the two.”
“I hope so, but my gut is telling me Jack is just an innocent victim in all of this.”
“But Kevin, this still doesn’t explain why you needlessly put your life AND one of your men’s lives in danger.”
“I know it was irresponsible and now’s probably not the best time to bring this up but I think I should be put back on the baby killer case.”
Rob laughed, it wasn’t a sarcastic laugh more like an admirable one, “Wow you remind me so much of your father you know that?”
Kevin ignored the comment, intent on making his point known. “He wants me on this case for some reason Rob, it’s like this game he’s playing, and I’m a pawn in some way.”
“But is that a good thing?”
“NO…I mean he’s making contact with me which I guess is a good thing but I’m afraid if I’m not back on the case something might happen.”
“So we want to give this guy anything he wants then Kevin?”
“If it’ll stop the killing…maybe.”
Rob took in a deep breath and rubbed at his temples, “Okay look…I’m going to have to think this over, for now you are on desk duty. You’re lucky I am not suspending you!”
“What about Howie?”
“Same with him, in fact I’m talking to him next.”
Kevin nodded, “It was all my doing.”
“He could have said no.”
Kevin nodded as he stood up to leave, he wasn’t sure if he had won this round or not. The fact of the matter was, not only was he still not on the baby killer case but now he was just confined to the office. One more wrong move and Rob would suspend him that he was sure of.
As he walked past Howie he mouthed an apology as the Latino was briskly summoned into Rob’s office. He felt bad that Howie was getting in trouble for something he had done but that was always the way. Even back in high school, Kevin’s crazy ideas always led to him and Howie ending up in hot water.
The worst one being the day there was no water of any kind in the school. It was a hot almost summer day of his junior year and when he went to the water fountain to be met with nothing he was furious. He convinced Howie to follow him out the door and it was on the way down the long hill that they were both nabbed and parents called in about playing hookey.
Because Kevin was such a good negotiator even back then, he was able to wrangle them both only a detention since according to his argument his good friend Howie felt faint and needed to hydrate himself. The only one who saw through the bull crap was his father who promptly and quite irrationally took away all of Kevin’s driving and phone privileges for the remainder of the school year.
Kevin looked back at Rob’s door once again feeling bad that Howie was getting the same lecture he had and when he turned back around he slammed right into Tyler.
“Kevin a word please.”
“Why does everyone want a word today?”
Tyler didn’t seem amused by the remark instead he motioned for Kevin to follow him down the hallway and towards the interrogation rooms. “You know, I’m not going to get into anything with you, I just want you to know that I told Rob about the little stunt you pulled.”
“I know and I wouldn’t expect any less. It wasn’t a personal thing Tyler; I just had a gut feeling and went with it.”
“Well I had to totally suspend everything I WAS doing to attend to this guy which means extra hours of being stuck in this office.”
“So I take it that means you think he has nothing to do with anything?”
“Yeah just like I thought before you forced me to send people to the guy’s house.”
“Is he still here?”
“Yes he’s filling out some paperwork. We showed him the picture of Wilson but he never saw him before.”
Kevin was slowly beginning to feel the nagging pain of guilt slowly inching its way up his back heading straight to his temples in the form of a stress headache. “I can stay and help out with the paper work if you’d like.”
“No that’s really okay; you do have your own case remember?” As Tyler started to walk away Kevin stopped him.
“I wanted you to know that I asked Rob for this case back. I didn’t want you to hear that from somebody else.”
Tyler turned and if looks could kill, Kevin would be lying dead where he stood. “I guess we’ll wait and see what happens, in the meantime I have work to do.”
I wonder if there’s anyone else I can irritate today? Kevin wondered as he made his way towards his office, Reynolds giving him a look as he passed by. There was a mound of paperwork waiting for him on his desk, mostly concerning the bank robberies but one manila envelope lying out of place under the stack caught his eye.
He pulled it off of the pile and examined the front and probably would have just tossed it aside if it weren’t for the words
- for your eyes only
When he opened it up, just as he thought there was another note, same handwriting to match the one found in Jack Robert’s dead mother’s room.
Get back on the case time’s running out to crack the code….have you figured it out yet?
Crack the code?
Kevin read the note more closely this time, analyzing every single word and debating what his next move should be. Part of him wanted to keep this for himself, not give it to Tyler so it could be pushed off to the side among his supposed mounting work. Maybe he would sit on this for a few days; he was walking a thin line to begin with anyway right?
When his office door opened he quickly hid the contents of the envelope on his lap and when he saw Howie standing there he quickly motioned for his friend to come in and shut the door. He would share this information with D and Howie in return will either talk some common sense into the guy or help him find this code they had to crack.
“Sorry.” Kevin said giving Howie a nod and a smile.
“It’s no big deal, he told me to think rationally as an agent and not as your best friend. I swear when he lectures me I feel like I am being lectured by your father.”
“I know what you mean,” he said taking the note out from under the desk before continuing, “Howie, I’m not sure if you want me to share this info with you or not. So if you don’t, I suggest you leave my office because chances are this is going to get me in trouble.”
“Kevin what now?”
Kevin handed Howie the note and carefully watched for his friend’s reaction, “This was on my desk in that pile.”
“How did it get there?” He asked looking the note up and down the same way Kevin had.
“Truthfully D? I have a feeling there is someone on the inside that’s feeding this guy information.”
“You think?” Kevin nodded as Howie handed the note back to him. “So what are you going to do with that?” Howie realized it was a rhetorical question, he just felt the need to ask it.
“For one? I need to find this code he’s talking about and then two…I need to crack it.”
“And you aren’t going to let anyone know you got that note I suppose huh?”
“I told you if you don’t want in on this, I suggest you leave the office now.”
Howie smiled, “You remember that time in high school…”
“The water thing?” Howie nodded.
“So what’s our next move Kev?”
“I have no idea…we have to find out if Tyler found anything else that he isn’t sharing with us.”
“And how do you intend we find that out?”
“Well think about it D…who in this office knows more about what’s going on then even Rob?”
Howie thought for a second and then smiled, “Ariana?”
Kevin nodded, “She would be able to tell us if anything was sent down to the lab recently for this case.”
“I shall turn on my charm then.” Howie said standing up.
“D…thanks man, I owe you big time!”
“Yeah you do.”
Kevin laughed as Howie left his office.
It was then he remember he told Nick he would call today to let his brother know he was safe and sound, so he picked up the phone and called home. His mom answered on the third ring, like always.
“Hey mommy.”
“Kevin sweetheart, how are you feeling?”
“Much better thanks.”
“I am SO glad you called, you have had someone worrying sick over you and I would really like to know why.”
“It’s nothing mom.”
“Why does he keep talking about a bad man?”
“He had a nightmare.” He was glad his mother didn’t have a camera phone to see him biting his lip as he talked. She would have instantly known he was telling a tall tale as she liked to put it.
“Funny he didn’t mention any nightmares to me, just promise me you are being careful baby...I couldn’t handle if anything…”
“Mom it’s all good I promise.” He hated it when his mom worried about him.
“Okay let me fetch Nicky.”
“How’s he feeling?”
“Still not that good, he has a fever that he can’t seem to shake but luckily the vomiting has stopped.”
“Good.”
“Of course now Alex came home from school complaining about a queasy stomach.”
“He’s faking it.”
“I know.” They both laughed.
He paused while waiting for his little brother, still glancing down at the note…crack the code. Maybe it was a bank vault or something.
“Kevin?” The tiny voice asked.
“Hey buddy! See I called you like I said I would.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at work.”
“No bad man?” Once again he bit on his lip hiding the note under the desk as if Nick could read it through the phone.
“No bad man Nicky.”
“I want you to come back home Kevin…will you come home tonight and sleep here?”
“Nicky, I need to catch up on a lot of work then go back to my own house.” This was a lie since he was temporarily homeless. The truth was, now with both his mother and Brian suspicious he knew it would only be a matter of time before they got the whole situation out of him and he just couldn’t let that happen.
He heard the sniffles start again on the other end of the line which made him sigh.
“But Kevin….I miss you and want you to be here.”
“Nicky don’t cry, I’ll come visit you later okay? Maybe when I get off work I’ll come and read you a book before you go to bed how does that sound buddy?”
“Okay…” He paused, Kevin could tell to see if this bargain was worth not crying over anymore, “Will you rub my tummy?”
“Sure thing.”
“Will you bring me a toy?” Kevin shook his head and smiled.
“No, not this time little man.”
“Time to get back into bed sweet pea.” He heard his mom say and was thankful because if on the phone any longer with his baby brother he surely would have been convinced to bring him the full catalog of Toys R Us.
“I gotta go Kevin, I’ll see you later and I love you. Tell Howie I love him too.”
“I love you too Nick and I will pass the message along.”
“Please be careful.”
“I will now you go get some sleep.”
“Kay.”
“I’m going to go get him back into bed, so I guess we’ll see you later then?”
“Yup, I told him I’ll come by after work.”
“Good, I’ll save you some dinner.”
“Love you mom.”
“Love you too Kevin.”
He closed his phone and placed it back in his pocket and once again stared at the note. Could the code have something to do with the actual note itself? Maybe each letter stood for something specific. As he set the note down to try to find maybe something between the lines, Howie once again walked into his office.
“Hey.”
“Did Ariana tell you anything?”
“Yes, something pretty interesting actually…seems Tyler has found the mysterious lady who signed in supposedly visiting you.”
“He did? Interesting he told me he didn’t have any leads on her.”
“Maybe he doesn’t.”
“I thought you said he found her.”
“He did and I know where to find her too.”
“Where is that?”
“Downstairs in the morgue.”
“So she comes here visiting me supposedly and then turns up dead?”
“Maybe she was here to warn you about something? Or maybe she was the one who delivered that envelope with Sheila Tamry’s pictures in it.”
“A partnership gone sour…” Kevin said, his words drifting off once again as he looked down at the paper.
“Do you have her name? The woman downstairs?”
“No, Ariana is looking that up; she said once she has it she’ll be in.”
“Okay good…I’m trying to figure out this code that Scott was talking about.”
“Hrmm…”
“Hrmm what?”
“Just that you call him Scott like he was an old friend or something.”
“What else am I supposed to call him?”
Howie shrugged, “I don’t know, just be careful Kevin, it seems like you are getting as attached to him as he is to you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Now Kevin was getting defensive.
“Just that…” He didn’t have tome to finish when Ariana came walking into the room as if she was carrying a top secret document in her hands. She locked the door behind her and closed Kevin’s blinds.
“You guys are going to owe me SO big for this; I expect a dinner from YOU…” She said pointing as Kevin, “And well…something I will not mention now from you,” She said smiling at Howie, “Because if Tyler knew I was giving you this information he would have me fired!”
“He can’t fire you Ariana…did he tell you not to tell me?”
“He said only the people working on the baby killer case should have access to this information and then he stressed to me that you were NOT one of those people.”
Kevin rolled his eyes, “Thanks for doing this for us.”
“I don’t mind besides I always like an adventure. Here is her name and her address and all of that fun stuff.” She handed the file over to Kevin who opened it and stared in disbelief.
“This is impossible.” He said after what felt like a small eternity.”
“Kevin what is it?” Howie asked now trying to peer over his shoulder, but Kevin was beyond words as he handed the file over to his friend.
“Let’s go down to the morgue.”
“She’s in cabinet number 2.” Ariana said with a smile, which would have seemed odd in any job but this one.
Kevin tried to smile at Ariana but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, instead he looked at his best friend who could only pat his back.
“I’m sorry Kev.”
“Yeah me too.” He replied as they both ventured down to the morgue to once again meet up with Kevin’s ex girlfriend Lisa.
Hey there! I have to apologize and say no more updates until the end of May I mean very end of May lol I have 5 concerts coming up (music teacher over here lol) Sorry about that but I figured i'd let you guys know because I know I hate it when I expect an update and then never get one lol. Thanks for reading!
