CHAPTER NINETEEN

They didn't have to wait outside Parker's office this time. She called them right in.

Jessie didn't even bother to sit down. Standing beside her, Ryan had the rebellious posture of a high school kid who'd been called into the principal's office for an offense he didn't commit.

Jessie did her best not to follow suit. She tried to remember that Captain Parker was under just as much pressure as they were. But unlike them, she wasn't in a position to do anything about it. She just had to trust that they would get the job done. It must be incredibly frustrating. And yet.

The door had barely closed before she started ripping into them. "Just to be completely transparent, I got another call from Chief Decker not long ago, but that's not what has me hot right now."

Jessie and Ryan remained silent, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It didn't take long.

"What really has me up in arms was the call I got ten minutes ago from Captain Craig, who oversees the Media Relations division. According to him, you bullied your way into Marcus Blackwell's office and you, Detective Hernandez, proceeded to assault him."

"That's not accurate," Ryan said, speaking slowly in order to control his tone. "Frankly Captain, I'm surprised that you would even entertain the idea that it was."

"Accurate or not," Parker retorted, unfazed by his objection, "I'll tell you this: if you thought social media was blowing up over this case before, take a guess what it'll be like now that all of Blackwell's various sites and platforms come for you and this department."

"I'm not sure that will happen, Captain," Jessie said, trying to lower the temperature. "We've uncovered information about Mr. Blackwell that, if it became public could make him look very bad. He knows that."

Well, according to Craig, Blackwell's on the verge of blasting out the tale of the indignities he suffered," Parker told her." And on top of that, he's apparently also considering suing the department. "

Ryan exhaled loudly, seemingly trying to push the frustration out of his body before it got the better of him.

"Does it matter at all that we had good cause to be there?" he challenged. "That we thought he might be destroying evidence of his involvement in a murder? Or that he assaulted Jessie?"

"Sure it matters," Parker acknowledged. "And your actions would all be fine if he was our guy. Is he our guy, Detective Hernandez?"

It was clear that she already knew the answer. If he was, then Blackwell wouldn't have been in a position to call Captain Craig in Media Relations. He would be in a cell.

"It doesn't look like it," Ryan said, obligated to explain where things stood even if it was self-evident. "His alibi seems almost certain to hold up. And so far, Jamil and Beth can't find any evidence that he contracted someone for the killing."

"So that's not great," Parker replied acidly.

"That's not the point," Ryan insisted. "He was a good suspect in the moment. Everything we had at the time pointed to him. As I said, there were exigent circumstances. We legitimately thought that evidence—including potentially blood on his body—had been or was about to be destroyed. And did I mention that he assaulted Jessie?"

"Yes, twice now," Parker shot back. "And my understanding is that his assault amounted to him grabbing Ms. Hunt's arm. You make it sound like he punched her in the face. It has me wondering if this has gotten a little too personal for you, Detective."

Jessie had had just about enough of this and decided now was the time to make that clear.

"What would you have us do, Captain Parker?" she asked, "Just give the guy a pass because he's a billionaire with an online megaphone? Is that how we're conducting investigations now?"

Parker shook her head vigorously.

"I expect the top investigators in a unit specifically created to deal with these kinds of people to be more diplomatic—," she explained, but Jessie wasn't having any of it.

"That's not our job," she interrupted forcefully. "HSS wasn't established to massage the delicate sensibilities of the rich and famous. It was formed to catch the killers of victims who were high-profile. We are here for the dead, like Chloe Baptiste and Isabella Moreno, not the possible perpetrators still rolling in bathtubs of cash."

"Ms. Hunt, You don't seem to understand—," Parker objected .

"No, you don't seem to understand, Captain," Jessie challenged. "You used to run the Vice unit. Were you there to protect the johns? Of course not. And we're not here to coddle some billionaire, no matter who he complains to. We go where the evidence leads us. And in this situation, it led us to him. He may have ultimately alibied out, but we don't have the benefit of hindsight. I can't speak for Detective Hernandez, but I apologize for nothing."

She stopped talking. Though she didn't look at Ryan, she could almost feel him grinning next to her. There was a long silence before Parker finally replied.

"Are you done?" she asked.

"Actually, no," Jessie said. "I've got one more thing to say. A suspect grabbed me forcefully. That is assault. If he'd have done it to you, you'd have kicked him in the teeth. Detective Hernandez was pretty restrained, considering the circumstances and the fact that we're married. Blackwell's lucky he doesn't have a broken arm."

Ryan stayed silent. Parker shook her head. Jessie couldn't tell if she was angry or chastened.

"Maybe putting you on this case was a mistake," the captain said quietly. "I'm thinking you both may just be too close to it. It almost seems like you've got a vendetta."

"I know that I do," Jessie countered. "I have a vendetta against serial killers."

Parker was about to reply when Officer George buzzed in.

"Sorry to interrupt, Captain," she said, "but I've got the medical examiner on the line. He says it's urgent and he can't reach Hernandez or Hunt."

Jessie pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw that she'd missed a text and a call from Kolek. Apparently, she'd been too focused on the argument to notice.

"Put him through," Parker said, and then addressed Kolek, "you're on speaker. Hernandez and Hunt are here too."

"Excellent," the man said, sounding excited. "I wanted to let you know that our preliminary exam of Isabella Moreno revealed something interesting. We found a strand of hair on her body that wasn't hers. We put it through the system and came up with a name."

"Who?" Parker asked.

"Julian Crest," Kolek said. "He was charged with statutory rape six years ago. Apparently, the case fell apart when the girl wouldn't testify, but his DNA is still in the system. "

"I know that name," Jessie said. "Isn't he that fitness guru who's hugely popular online?"

"I don't know," Kolek admitted.

"That's all right," Ryan said. "We'll have Jamil and Beth give us a rundown, including his location, so we can get to him ASAP."

"That is, assuming we're still on the case," Jessie prompted. "Are we, Captain?"

Parker scowled at her and for the briefest of seconds, Jessie thought the woman might actually dump them. Then she gave them both a curt wave.

"Get moving," she growled.