Susan Sleeman - Behind the Badge

Changing his focus, he nodded at the brush. “Show me the body.”

As the faint whine of sirens spiraled in the distance, she limped into tall grass, a grimace of pain marring her beautiful face. He followed, illuminating the area ahead of her. About ten feet in, she stopped suddenly.

Diffused rays slid over a young male lying on his back. Russ swung the beam to the man’s face, landing on open eyes staring into the blackness above.

Sydney gasped and swung around him. She rushed toward the main path. Even though Russ knew it was a lost cause, he bent down to check for a pulse. As he suspected, this man hadn’t made it and he ID’d him right away. Carl Dixon, a man every officer in the area knew from his frequent blips on the police radar, including his most recent arrest, for selling drugs.

All that ended with three gunshots to the chest at close range, from what Russ could see with his flashlight. Once they thoroughly processed the scene, he’d know more. But first, they needed to vacate the area before further contaminating the scene.

He found Sydney near the path, gaze fixed in the distance, hands clasped on her hips, exhaling long breaths as if trying to expel what she’d just seen.

Haunted eyes peered at him. “He’s dead, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And what about the killer?”

“Couldn’t catch him. He took off on a dirt bike.”

Disappointment crowded out the fear on her face. “Did you at least see him?”

“From the back. He was my height or a little taller, but lean. Wore a black stocking cap. The bike has a plate so it must be street legal. I caught the first few digits.”

“That’s something, then.”

Russ didn’t want to tell her it would do little for them in terms of searching DMV records, as three digits would return thousands of bikes, but he didn’t think she could take any more bad news so he kept quiet. “Let’s head down to the parking lot.”

He gave her the flashlight and urged her to take the lead down the steep hill. Once on solid concrete, she handed it back to him. Holding it overhead, he watched her closely for dizziness or other impairments from her fall. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, but a head injury could mean a concussion. He’d have the EMTs check her out when they got there.

He pointed at a rough-hewn bench. “Maybe you should sit down.”

“I’m fine.” Her voice cracked and she seemed embarrassed about overreacting to the murder.

“It’s okay to be upset, Syd. A horrible thing happened tonight.”

“I’m fine, really. I’ll be back to a hundred percent by morning.”

“Don’t expect too much too fast.”

“I said I’m fine.” She straightened her shoulders into a hard line. “It may be my first year on the job, but I can handle this.”

“You just witnessed a homicide. If you’re like other officers, you’re probably feeling guilty for not preventing it.”

“I deserve the blame,” she said, her eyes overflowing with guilt. “I should’ve been carrying. Now a person is dead and a killer is running free. What if he hurts someone else?”

Russ knew that look. Had worn it himself. He took a step closer and softened his voice. “You can’t think that way, Syd. You have a life outside the job. You couldn’t have known something like this would happen when you left your gun in the car.”

She backed away, studied his face for long moments, her pained expression turning suspicious. “What’s going on here? Is this about me being a woman?” She pulled her shoulders even higher.

“What?”

“If I was a guy, you’d be jumping down my throat and railing on me for being dumb enough not to carry at all times.” Her voice had turned angry.

He held up his hands and took a moment to regroup.

Maybe she was right. Not in the way she meant, discriminating against her because he thought a woman couldn’t do this job. This had more to do with their past. He’d never interacted with Sydney the deputy, just Sydney, the woman with captivating blue eyes that could leave a man thinking about her into the wee hours of the night.

He needed to adjust his thinking and see the fiercely determined deputy standing before him. She was trying so hard to overcome her guilt and hold herself together at a time when many rookies fell apart.

He’d respect that and get on with it. “All I’m trying to say is I’ve been where you are, and I’m here if you want to talk about it. But we can move on.” He paused, waited until her anger receded a bit. “How about telling me what happened before I got here?”

She shielded her eyes from the light. “There’s really nothing much to add. I was on the hill checking on the construction of my town house. I heard gunshots and dived for cover. The killer called out my name, asking me to come out.” She shivered, then clamped a hand on the back of her neck as if she could stop it. “He said he wanted to talk to me, but I think that was just his way of luring me out so he could kill me, too.”

“You made so much noise falling down that hill, he had to know your location. If he wanted to take you out, even with your vest on, a few rounds in your direction would’ve done it.”

“So you think he really did want to talk to me about something. But what?”

“We figure that out, we ID our killer. The first step is analyzing your connection to Dixon.”

“No real connection. I arrested him a few times, but that’s all. I—” Her voice drifted off as flashing lights rounded the bend in the road, catching her attention.

His men were almost here. He wanted to keep questioning her, but she was distracted. He needed to move her out of the action.

“I need to get Officer Garber to secure the area. You can wait in your car and we’ll continue this when I’m done.”

She opened her mouth as if to question his decision, but then closed it. He escorted her to the car and watched as she gingerly settled in, a soft moan escaping when she bent her knee.

“I need to call this in to my supervisor.” She picked up her cell from the cup holder.

Great. Krueger.

Sergeant Karl—with a K—Krueger, as he liked to call himself, had also applied for the chief’s job, and when the council selected Russ over him, a fierce rivalry developed. If Krueger, representing the county sheriff’s department, showed up and offered to help in the investigation, and Russ turned him away, Krueger would let it slip to the public that the city police—and Russ—weren’t doing all they could to catch this killer.

Maybe he could convince Sydney to hold off. “Do you really want Krueger coming out here right now?”

“Honestly, no. Fortunately, he’s out of town until tomorrow, but I still need to call in.”

Yes, finally, something in his favor tonight.

“Go ahead, then. I’ll be right back.” Russ crossed the lot to meet Bill Garber, his most senior officer.

He’d climbed from his car and was surveying the area. Russ could see the excitement of a murder investigation burning in Garber’s eyes. Not that Garber would be happy someone died, but the thrill of using skills he didn’t normally get to use in this small town was intoxicating.

Russ met him at the road. “I want this entrance sealed off. No traffic, foot or vehicle, beyond that bench.” He pointed at the bench near the path. “And call the ME. Tell him to hurry. With the fog moving in we need to get the body out of here before we can’t see anything.”

Garber nodded. “Should I call county for their portable lights in case?”

That’s what Russ liked about Garber. Always one step ahead. “Do that. Let me know what they say. I’ll be at Deputy Tucker’s cruiser taking her statement.”

Garber’s eyes filled with questions, but Russ walked away. He wouldn’t waste time now bringing Garber up to speed. Back at Sydney’s car, Russ chose not to sit but stood next to the door. That way he could block her view of the scene and keep an eye on what was going on at the same time.