Steven James - Opening Moves

Why did he tell them the meat hook broke his jaw?

I had no answer.

So far, Basque denied any involvement in the death of Sylvia Padilla or anyone else. He claimed he was innocent, that he’d heard screams from inside the slaughterhouse, gone in to see what was happening, and found the woman as she was.

He said he’d pulled the scalpel out of her chest to try to help her, and then when I arrived, he got scared, tried to flee, and shot at me with his legally registered firearm just to protect himself, thinking I was the killer.

It was ludicrous. I could hardly believe that anyone with his IQ would try to defend himself with a story like that. I knew it would never fly with a jury. There’s no death penalty in Wisconsin, but I was confident this guy was going away forever.

In the slaughterhouse, we found evidence of previous homicides, including the body of Celeste Sikora, a woman who’d disappeared the night before Sylvia was killed, and DNA of a woman named Jasmine Luecke whose body was found in a trailer home outside of town. All of those cases would take time to sort out. For the moment I was just glad we’d caught the right guy.

Ralph was almost done with his coffee. “So, before I go, I gotta ask you-you and Taci? Any more news?”

I thought about what to say.

You had a year of loving someone special, of being loved in return-that’s more than some people ever get in a lifetime.

He waited. “You gonna be okay?”

“She’s happier, I think, knowing that I don’t have to be in second place. So…” I wasn’t sure how to put this, wasn’t even sure I was ready to say it, but I did: “I’m not gonna brood.”

We left it at that. He took one last swallow of coffee to finish off the cup, then reached into his computer bag and pulled out a box that looked like it might hold an office stapler. It was wrapped in a brown paper bag crudely wound in duct tape.

“What’s that?”

He slid it toward me. “A present.”

“I didn’t buy you anything.”

“I didn’t buy you anything either, bro. Just open it.”

It took me a while to work through the duct tape. “You wrapped this yourself, did you?”

“Yup.”

Once I got to the box, I tore off the end and tipped the item onto the table.

“A Mini Maglite.”

“My Mini Maglite.”

“Ralph, that’s-”

“It’s not that big of a deal. I’ve got another one at home.”

“Okay.”

“I figured you needed one. They come in handy.”

“Really, thanks.”

He nodded toward my still-untried coffee.

“I’m working up the nerve,” I explained.

“You’ll want to drink it before it gets cold.”

“Why?”

He looked at me strangely as if everyone should know the answer to that. “Coffee changes taste as it cools.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t help but think, You never know, that just might help. “So, you said sugar and cream? Helps with the taste?”

“Helps calm it.”

“Calm it. Right.”

He noticed packets of hot cocoa on the counter. “Hang on.” He walked over, plopped down a dollar bill, grabbed one of the packets, and nodded to the barista, who nodded back.

When he was back at the table he told me, “Mix this in with the cream and sugar. See where that takes you.”

Double-sugar high plus a caffeine high. Not a bad thought. “I’ll give it a shot.”

I emptied the sugar packets and pouch of hot cocoa into my cup. While I was stirring it all in, Ralph said, “We never finished talking about coincidences. From the other day. How you don’t believe in them.”

“No, I guess we didn’t.” The cocoa was almost dissolved.

“Well, don’t you think it was a coincidence that your gun jammed when you fired at Basque? I mean, how often does that even happen? Or that we arrived at his hospital room just in time to save his life? A couple seconds later and Padilla would have cut him apart.”

I mulled that over. “Well, if those were coincidences, are they really the kind to be thankful for? Twice saving Basque’s life?”

It looked like he was going to reply, but in the end said nothing and seemed to grant me the point.

“Alright.” Hesitantly, I lifted the cup to my lips. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Since I was sure it was going to be acrid and bitter, I wasn’t ready for what happened next.

The concoction somehow tasted both deeply sweet and bitter-but in a good way. And that aroma, which I had to admit really was enticing, actually became part of the flavor on my tongue.

It really was not that bad.

“Well?” Ralph asked.

“I think I could stand to drink this once in a while.”

He offered me a satisfied grin. “Give it a few weeks with the hot cocoa, then move on. Honey’s good too. Before you know it, you’ll be a true coffee aficionado.”

“Well, I doubt that would ever happen.”

“Never know.” He glanced at his watch. We had just a few minutes before we needed to leave for the airport. “By the way, that FBI jacket looked pretty good on you the other day at the bank.”

“Thanks.”

“Seemed to suit you.”

“Thanks.”

He leaned forward. “Why are you getting that master’s in criminology and law, Pat?”

The answer seemed obvious to me. “To more effectively do my job.”

“As a homicide detective.”

“That’s right.”

“How many homicides do you work in any given year?”

“Depends. A couple dozen maybe.”

“You’re not gonna believe this, but we get calls at the NCAVC every day.”

“I do believe that.”

“I consulted on more than a hundred homicides last year alone. You want to make a difference, a real difference, come to the NCAVC. Start helping law enforcement agencies nationwide find these guys, and put ’em where they belong. You’re experienced, you’re sharp, and with a graduate degree in criminology, you’d be a shoo-in.”

“Calvin’s sort of pressuring me to study with him.”

“PhD?”

I nodded.

“Naw, think about the Bureau, man.”

“I will,” I told him, and I realized I really would seriously consider it.

“Who knows,” he said, “we could work together again. You might not have to be the sidekick anymore.”

“The way I remember it, you were the sidekick.”

He scoffed.

I finished my coffee-cocoa combination and we stepped outside into the light, whispering snow. “By the way,” I said, “you never told me what happened in France.”

“France.” Just the way he said it spoke volumes.

“Yeah.”

The car wasn’t far. He trudged toward it. I walked beside him.

“I had a bad experience there with pillow mist. Bought some while I was doing a training for INTERPOL.”

“Pillow mist?”

“Yeah. You spray it on your pillow at hotels, you know. To…so they smell nice-what are you looking at me like that for?”

“You don’t strike me as the pillow mist kind of guy.”

“Hey, I like a nice-smelling pillow and I’m man enough to admit it.”

I had no idea how to respond to that. “So, what happened with the pillow mist?”

“I had a reaction. Allergies. My whole face swelled up for a week.”

“And you held it against France instead of pillow mist?”

“I told you. I like a nice-smelling pillow.” He climbed into the car. “Besides, they use the metric system over there.”

I decided what present I’d get him in return for the flashlight-a bottle of pillow mist. And I’d make sure it was measured in milliliters. Just for fun.

Then I pulled away from the curb to take Ralph Hawkins, my friend, to the airport.

2007