The Sharps Unleashed, page 10
“Who are these teams we’ll be enlisting, Sharp? Is that really why Grace is here? ”
“Yes, Captain. I’ve called in some favors. We’ll have enforcements on standby. Until we know for sure that these mills are their bases of operation, and what they’re doing, we need to keep this mission tight and quiet. No one outside of this room is to know about this plan till I give the orders. Understood?”
“How are we supposed to shut down the pass with just the four of us?”
Grace places a hand on Robin’s arm, indicating she wants to be the one to answer Brandon, so Robin looks to her to answer.
“If you go in there with the right vehicles and equipment, you shouldn’t have a problem obstructing that road with some trees and maybe a truckload of dirt. We don’t want that pass shut down till after we’ve finished our scouting mission and have gotten out of there. If you start before we get out, it may ruin the entire plan.”
“Ok, no offense, but why are we trusting the FBI to help with this before we trust our own guys? I mean, this is our town. We protect it with our lives every day.”
Grace looks to Robin to answer this time, so Robin takes a couple steps forward, and rests her hands on the back of the chair in front of her.
“Here’s the thing. We have four officers who have possibly gone rogue. Your question is one very big reason why I don’t want anyone else knowing about this just yet. The brotherhood and sisterhood between fellow officers is very real. It’s not uncommon for an officer to turn a blind eye when their buddy is doing something wrong because they know deep down they’re not all that bad or don’t want to believe they can be all that bad. I don’t want to take the chance of anyone’s loyalty being confused. Now, can I trust you to keep this locked tight? ”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Robin turns back to the dry erase board, and quickly erases the sketch. “Now…”
Someone knocks on the door, and it opens a moment later, with Officer Scotts poking his head in.
“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but we have Tiffany and Sara.”
“I want to see Tiffany in interrogation first. Thank you.”
He nods and closes the door as he leaves.
“Grace and I are going to handle the interrogations. Captain, just in case complaints start coming in, I’m having highway patrol check the contents of every cargo bearing truck, big and small, going in out of the toll stations. Traffic’s going to be bad for at least the next twenty-four hours. Eric, you come watch from the window.”
“What should we do?” Robin looks at Sandra and Brandon thoughtfully for a moment. “Start prepping for tomorrow. You’re going to need some chain saws, ropes, medical supplies, and provisions. Gather what you think you need, bring it in here, and I’ll inspect it when I’m done.”
Chapter Thirteen
Just before Robin opens the door to the interrogation room, Grace grabs her arm and pulls her further down the hall, but holds up a hand to Eric, motioning for him not to follow. As soon as they turn a corner, Grace pushes Robin against the wall, and engages her in a passionate kiss. They inhale deeply as heat and relief fills their bodies. Grace grabs the sides of Robin’s face, as Robin tightly wraps her arms around her, pulling her body in firmly against her own.
Grace suddenly pulls back, breathing hard, but then bends into Robin’s neck, kissing, and sucking her warm copper flesh. She rakes her teeth over the curve of her jawbone, and the rim of her ear, causing Robin to intake a small sharp breath of air as her arousal flares. Grace smiles against the underside of Robin’s chin, as she kisses a trail down the front of her neck. She kisses Robin’s lips, and hums against them, as she takes slow deep breaths to bring herself under control again.
“Welcome back, babe.” Robin’s mouth curls into a wide grin. “Thank you. Are you ready to make some girls sing?” Grace releases a hard laugh and rests her forehead against Robin’s. “That sounded so dirty. Come on.”
They peck each other’s lips once more, and then walk back to the interrogation room. Eric is standing in front of the two-way mirror, and jerks a thumb towards Tiffany, as they approach.
“You really think she knows something?”
“We’re going to find out.”
Robin gives him a smile, but then wipes it off as she opens the door. She releases a tired sounding exhale of air, and motions for Grace to come in, as she closes the door behind her.
Robin makes a bit of a tired show of taking her patrol jacket off while Grace just leans against a wall with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at Tiffany with a blank expression. Robin hangs her jacket on the chair across from Tiffany, and then loosens her tie.
“How you doing, Tiffany?” Robin sits down, waiting for an answer. “Cold. Tired. Scared. Why am I here?”
“You’re cold? Would you like my jacket or a blanket? How about some coffee or tea? Actually, it’s been a pretty long day, so I could really use some coffee. Do you mind?”
“No, of course not. I’ll take a cup too, and your jacket.”
Robin gives her a kind smile as she stands up and walks around the table to drape her jacket over Tiffany’s bare shoulders. She came straight from work, so she’s only in a tight tube top and skimpy jean shorts.
“Better?”
“I guess. So, why am I here?”
“Well, I don’t want to alarm you, but a few of our buddies are missing, and were getting concerned. It’s not like them to disappear like that while they’re on the clock.”
“You don’t honestly think I kidnapped a bunch of men? I mean, I might have to dress and act like a slut for work, but I’m not. I don’t just put out and…”
“Whoa, Tiffany, relax. I’m not accusing you of anything.” Robin motions around the room with a dismissive hand and glance, and adds, “I know this room is typically reserved for questioning criminals, but I just wanted to give you some privacy. Anyone with eyes can see that Officer Brooks has a bit of a sweet tooth for you.”
“Andre? Has something happened to him? It was that guy, wasn’t it?”
“What guy?”
“Ok, I know Andre is a pig, but he can be really sweet too.” She blushes and looks down at her shaking hands on the table. She twists a bracelet around on her wrist and shakes her head. “I don’t just sleep with customers like that. But Andre was really nice that night and he’s really hot. After my shift Tuesday night, I was locking up and Andre was still there, nursing a mug of beer by himself. He walked me out to my car, and well, one thing led to another, and I stayed at his place that night. I woke up to go pee around like 4am, and Andre wasn’t in bed. He was outside talking to some guy in a pickup truck. They appeared to be arguing, but I couldn’t hear anything. A car door slammed close at the other end of the parking lot, and the guy got spooked or something and took off. I rushed back inside before Andre saw because I didn’t want him to think I was snooping on him.”
“Can you describe the truck?”
“It was black with big tires.”
Robin pulls her phone out and brings up a picture of the black short bed truck they borrowed from the rental lot today.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah, that’s it. It has to be.”
“Anything else you can remember about this truck – any other distinguishing features?”
“No, it was just a truck.”
“So, no scratches along the side of the paint or anything?” Tiffany bites her bottom lip for a moment and nods once. “Yeah, I think maybe there was. ”
“How did Andre seem when he came back inside?”
“Weird. I came out of the bathroom and found him sitting in his living room drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey. Andre’s been coming to Freddy’s for years, and he’s always been a beer drinker. He only started doing shots and hard liquor recently. We just thought it was his way of trying to get us to the table more often.”
“Did you ever say anything to him about the change in his drinking habit?” Tiffany’s face pinches in thought for a moment before she sits back, pulling Robin’s jacket in tighter around her body. “Actually, the first time I realized it, I sat down at the bar next to him because he looked upset about something. I asked him if there was anything he wanted to get off of his mind, and he said something like, ‘many things, doll face, but they’re all too ugly to burden your pretty little head about’. I knew he wasn’t trying to be a jerk, like he didn’t think I couldn’t handle it. It looked like he was dealing with something really personal – like a demon or something. Oh, god, you don’t think he committed suicide?”
Tiffany’s eyes tear up and she lunges forward, taking one of Robin’s hands.
“I missed the signs, didn’t I?”
“Tiffany,” Robin places her other hand over Tiffany’s and strokes it twice in a sympathetic way, “we don’t know anything at this point. Even if he did something like that, it’s not your fault.”
There’s a knock at the door, so Grace opens it and accepts the two cups of coffee. Grace sets them down on the table in front of Tiffany and Robin, and both of them sit back to take a few sips of coffee.
Robin gives Grace a sideways glance, and Grace takes a seat perched on the corner of the table facing Tiffany to take over the interrogation .
“So, you woke up at 4am Wednesday morning, and found Andre outside in what appeared to be an argument with a guy you don’t know, and then found him chugging liquor from a bottle, which you say he’s never been a liquor drinker. You didn’t think to ask what was going on? Didn’t you think it was a bit odd for him to have a house guest at 4am and to be chugging liquor when he had to be up for work in just a couple of hours?”
“I didn’t think it was any of my business.”
“But you thought it was your business a few months prior when you saw him sulking at the bar doing shots. Why was it different when you were in his apartment?”
“What exactly are you accusing me of?”
“Nothing at all. I’m just making an observation.” Grace stands up and takes a few slow paces behind Tiffany, making Tiffany have to crane her neck to see her. “I just think it’s a bit strange that you claim Brooks developed this new drinking habit out of wanting to get you girls to visit his table more frequently. Then, when Officer Sharp asked for more behavioral details around the change in his habits, suddenly, Officer Brooks appears to be fighting internal demons. So, when you observed him sitting in his living room drinking, what was going on in his mind then? Was he fighting demons, or waiting for you to give him attention?”
“How am I supposed to know that?” Tiffany spins around to face Grace, but Grace walks back to stand at the edge of the table, making Tiffany have to spin around again. “When’s the last time you saw Officer Brooks?”
“Last night. He came in for dinner and a few drinks and then left.” Grace takes a few steps away and then turns to face Tiffany with an unconvinced look and shakes her head. “I think you saw him more recently than that. Try again.”
“I’m telling you the truth! ”
“So, the security camera footage we have of you speaking to him when he abandoned his cruiser at Freddy’s today is, what, fabricated?”
“That is… You can’t…” Tiffany breaks down crying and shakes her head as she rests her head in her arms on the table. “You don’t understand!”
“Then help me to understand.”
“I can’t.”
Robin reaches forward and places a hand on Tiffany’s arm.
“Tiffany, we have four police officers who are missing and we don’t know if they’re dead or alive. If you know something, you need to tell us.”
“You don’t want to arrest him?”
“Why would I want to arrest him? Tiffany, look at me.” She slowly looks up at Robin with her mascara running, and her pink lipstick smudged in the corner of her plump quivering lips. “Do you care about Andre?”
“Yes.”
“Then I need to know what you know, so I can bring him home.” Her bottom lip trembles quickly, and she shakes her head. “They’ll kill him.”
“Who?”
“The Gleasons.” Robin shakes her head and clears her throat. “Tiffany, this gets more urgent the more we learn. Listen, the Gleasons are also missing and have been for two days. Now, I need to know what the hell you know, right now.”
“I don’t know anything.”
Grace sits down on the corner of the desk again and clears her throat.
“Then let me tell you what I know. I know for a fact that Andre Brooks has been a liquor drinking man for years. So, either you’re not very observant, or you made everything up to create this possible suicide concern to cover for him or for yourself. Which, by the way, is pretty low given the high suicide rate in this county. I also know you’re lying about the truck.”
“I saw the truck.”
“Yeah, you did – parked right outside, but not outside of Andre’s apartment.”
“There could be more than one of the same truck in town!” Grace gives Tiffany a bemused smile. “Oh, there is. There are two of the same exact truck parked right outside. Neither of them has the scratched-up paint you confirmed seeing when Officer Sharp gave you that bit of description. Now, we know you saw Officer Brooks just before he and the other officers disappeared. So, tell us what you talked about.”
“I didn’t talk to him.”
Grace nods in a thoughtful way and walks to the door, grabbing the handle and nodding towards Robin.
“Book her. Let her sweat it out in the cage till she’s ready to talk.”
Robin stands up, and reaches for her handcuffs, but Tiffany scrapes her chair back shaking her head and backs up into a corner shaking and cowering.
“No, please.” She starts crying hard and looks like she might be sick. “Please, I can’t go to jail. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything!”
Robin gently places her hands on Tiffany’s shoulders.
“Shh, you’re going to make yourself sick. Calm down. It’s going to be ok. We’ll get you a change of warmer clothes, you’ll be able to lay down, and you can collect your thoughts.”
Tiffany shakes her head, and slumps down. Robin supports her weight to help her sit down with her knees drawn up, instead of allowing Tiffany to just crash to the floor.
“You don’t understand. ‘I’ cannot go to jail. God, Robin, please! ”
“Tiffany, you just have to tell us what you know and you can go.”
“I’m pregnant! There, are you happy? I’m pregnant! Andre got me pregnant.”
She starts sobbing in her knees, and Robin gently runs a hand over her soft blonde hair, trying to comfort her.
“Does he know?”
“Yes. You can’t be pregnant and working at Freddy’s, but I didn’t know how I was going to find a new job while I’m pregnant. He said he would help me with the baby. He said he’d take care of us. Last week, he said he wanted to get out of town, but he had to settle a deal before we could leave. He showed up at the restaurant today with a gym bag full of money and told me he had to lay low for a while because the Gleasons were after him about a deal gone bad. He said he would send me more money as soon as he could, and when things were settled, he’d come for me.”
“Why didn’t you just tell us this, instead of making up the suicide story and the guy in the truck?” Tiffany releases a scoffing laugh and wipes at her eyes. “Because, it’s one thing to be a missing person, and another to be a missing criminal. I have no idea what he had going on with the Gleasons, but they’re shady people. They’re always into making bad deals and ripping people off. I just figured, if he’s mixed up with them, y’all would probably frown upon that.”
“Do you know where he got the money?”
“He said he emptied his bank account. You’re not going to take it are you? Robin, please, my baby.” She starts to cry again, and Robin shakes her head. “No, I don’t think that will happen. Come on, get off of the floor.”
Robin pulls her up from the floor and helps her sit down at the table. Grace hands her a box of tissues that Eric passed through the door, and Tiffany quickly dabs at her eyes and nose.
“Oh, god, my makeup must look awful.” Tiffany looks at the black and pink smudges on the tissues, and then crumples them as her bottom lip begins to tremble again. Through a deep body shaking sob, she says. “He’s gone, isn’t he? I have to raise this baby all on my own.”
“I don’t know, but we’re going to do our best to find him. Did he mention anything about the other officers and why they were with him?”
She shakes her head and grabs a few more tissues to blow her nose. She clears her throat and wipes her eyes.
“No, and I was too in shock to think to ask till it was too late and he was gone.”
“Did you see them leave, what vehicle they were in, and what direction they went?”
“He told me to go straight home with the bag and hide it. He waited for me to pull out of the lot. When I came back, they were gone, but their cars were still there. I didn’t see them leave. I promise.”
“Ok, have you eaten?” She shakes her head. “Not in several hours.”
“Ok, we’re going to get you something more comfortable to wear and order you some food. I want you to hang out a bit longer, ok?”
“Ok. He’s done something bad, hasn’t he?”
“I honestly don’t know, Tiffany. Thank you for telling us what you know. We’ll do our best to help you through this, and to find the answers we all need.”
“Thanks.”
Robin gets a pair of inmate issue tan pants, a tee shirt, and a blanket, and then brings Tiffany to the employee lounge .
“Make yourself comfortable. You can watch TV or read some magazines. I’ll have someone come in to see what you’d like to eat.”
“Can I make a phone call?”
“Not yet.” Tiffany nods and accepts the pile from Robin. “Ok, I understand. Thanks Robin. You know, your wife is kind of scary.” Robin releases a small laugh and gives Tiffany’s arm a sympathetic squeeze. “Try to relax.”
