Cheryl Tardif - Submerged

“I need a coffee. I’m going to the break room.” He glared at Shipley. “Yes, I know it’s not a scheduled break. Don’t be here when I get back.”

Shipley shrugged. “This isn’t over, Taylor. You crossed a line here.”

Marcus whipped around. “No. You crossed a line when you decided to interfere with my call. We have limited resources. We’re in a Code Red situation. No EMS, no Fire, no rescue vehicles of any kind and only one squad car. Even STARS is busy, so no helicopters. The clock’s ticking. If we don’t find Rebecca, Colton and Ella soon, this won’t be a rescue operation. It’ll be a body recovery operation.”

With that he stormed off toward the break room. Leo trotted behind him, saying nothing.

Marcus grabbed a fresh mug, filled it with coffee and took a long swig before he realized he’d forgotten to add cream and sugar. He strode to the fridge and retrieved the cream. His hands were shaking so badly he slopped most of the cream on the counter.

“You need to calm down,” Leo said.

“That man is an ass. Why is he even doing this job? He doesn’t give a shit about anyone besides himself.”

“That’s not true,” someone said.

Marcus turned and saw Carol in the doorway.

“Haven’t you heard the story about his wife?” she asked.

Both Marcus and Leo shook their heads.

Carol grabbed a cloth and began cleaning the counter. After a minute she said, “Peter Shipley’s wife was killed seven years ago. Right before Christmas.”

“That doesn’t explain why he’s got such a hate-on for me.”

“Marcus,” Carol said, handing him a clean mug, “his wife was shot during a convenience store robbery. The man who killed her was looking for money. So he could buy drugs.” She gave him a piercing look.

Marcus blinked. “He was an addict.”

“Yes.”

“Well, that explains why Shipley’s hate radar is focused on Marcus,” Leo said.

“I’m surprised you didn’t know this,” Carol said.

She left the break room as quietly as she’d entered it.

“You didn’t know about Shipley’s wife?” Marcus asked Leo.

“I’d heard rumors.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Leo shrugged. “I guess it never came up.”

“Because I was always too busy hating him back.”

“This isn’t the time to worry about Shipley. I suspect you’ll have lots of time to think about him later.” Leo motioned toward the doorway. “We should head back to our desks.”

“He’s still an ass.”

“I agree.”

“You’re frowning, Leo. How come?”

“I’ve never seen you get so worked up from a call.”

“Someone tried to kill a woman and her kids. She’s doing her best to keep calm. She can’t even hold her children right now.”

“I can’t imagine how she must feel,” Leo said.

“I can. I know exactly how she feels. Helpless. Hopeless. Alone.”

“So you did your best to help her, give her hope and make her feel less alone. There’s nothing wrong about that.”

“Tell that to Titanic.”

Leo patted Marcus’s arm. “They’ll find her in time.”

“I hope so.”

“Until then, we have some work to do.”

Marcus stepped into the hall, then stopped. “Did you try the husband’s cell phone?”

“Yeah, no answer.”

“Rebecca said they’re separated and that he went to Fort McMurray for a job.” Marcus’s brow rippled.

“What’s wrong?”

“I keep thinking about this truck, the one that hit her. It ran her off the road intentionally. Someone wanted to kill Rebecca. I can’t wrap my head around someone being so coldhearted that they’d attempt to kill a woman and her two children.”

“There are a lot of evil people out there, Marcus.”

“I know. But still… he’s willing to kill two children. That makes him a monster.”

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“Do you?”

“You’re wondering if the husband had anything to do with this.”

“Well, he is conveniently away on business at the exact time someone tries to kill his wife.”

“Does he own a truck?”

“His wife says no.” He strode down the hallway. “But maybe he rented one. Let’s find out.”

Leo followed him back to his desk. “You know, if we’re right and the husband tried to kill her, he may not be done. We should probably tell someone our theory.”

“Not Titanic.” Marcus chewed on his lip, thinking. “I’ll call John Zur. He’s a detective friend and a good guy.”

“You know we’re breaking a hundred rules now.”

“Why stop now, Leo? Let’s go for a hundred and one.”

He dialed the number. When Zur answered, Marcus told him about Rebecca Kingston and the mysterious truck. “I’m wondering if the husband, who is conveniently away, had something to do with the hit and run.”

“I’m on the road,” Zur said. “I’ve been called out to that apartment fire in Hinton. Suspicious circumstances. But I’ll call in and let the captain know about the husband.”

“I was hoping you could check him out.”

“I’ll do what I can, but we’re spread thin right now. Must be a goddamn full moon. Too much going on tonight.”

“I understand.”

“Have they found the wife yet?”

“No.”

There was a pause. “I’m sure they’ll find her.”

“What if they can’t find her in time, John? We’ve got one police vehicle looking for her along a good stretch of highway. That’s it. And Rebecca and Colton are injured. Her daughter, Ella, is asthmatic.”

“Marcus.” Zur’s voice held a thread of warning. “Stay focused and objective.”

“I am focused. I want to find this woman and her kids. That’s my objective.”

“Do not get emotionally invested.”

“How the hell do I avoid that?”

Zur let out a light chuckle. “I hear you. Believe me, it’s not easy. I battle that every day. In the end, we have to remind ourselves these are cases. And we’re nothing more than a temporary fix to whatever the problem is. Eventually they go on with their lives and we go on with ours.”

“I think this Wesley Kingston may be a danger to his wife.”

“He’ll be investigated, Marcus. By me. I was assigned the case.” Zur sighed. “You know as well as I do that the spouse is usually our first suspect. Until we rule the husband out, we’ll be looking at him very closely.”

“You do that, John.”

“Listen, I’ll call you if I hear anything back on Kingston.”

“I’ll be waiting.” Marcus said good-bye and hung up the phone.

Minutes later Leo tapped his desk. “I’ve got nothing. No other vehicles are registered to Wesley Kingston except an SUV. A Buick Rendezvous. You sure she saw a truck? An SUV’s hefty enough to do some real damage.”

Marcus shook his head. “She saw a truck with hunting lights.”

“Maybe he rented it.”

“We’re still not a hundred percent sure it’s the husband.”

“You need to find out more about her. Where does she work?”

“I don’t know.” Marcus gave him a glum look. “I didn’t ask. Where are we on emergency vehicles?”

“Nothing’s changed.”

“Shit.”

Marcus jumped to his feet and began pacing around his cubicle. He glanced at his watch. Time trudged along, each second ticking by with relentless precision.

“I’ve gotta do something, Leo.”

“You are. You’re doing your job.”

“Screw the job.”

Over his shoulder he spotted Shipley leaning against the doorway to his office as if he had no cares in the world.

“Problem, Taylor?” Shipley called out.

Marcus ignored him and returned to his seat. Then he picked up the phone and dialed. “John, any word on Rebecca Kingston?”