golfing again soon.”
“I will. So what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you could pull some strings and have a kid placed with a family.”
“For you, anything. Tell me about him?”
“He’s sixteen and his mother died some time ago. His stepfather took care of him since then and he just passed away in a fire. I think he needs a family that doesn’t have anybody else his same age. He’d do really well with a couple or a couple with young children.”
“Okay. I’m not at the office now but when I head back I’ll find someplace good. Can you email me his info?”
“Sure thing. I’m going to keep him here at the station for now. How quickly can we do it?”
“We could get him in tomorrow or the next day if I rush. You can place him in a group home for now.”
“No, I’ll put him up in a hotel. Can you let me know as soon as you have a place lined up?”
“You got it.”
“Thanks, Cami. Take care.”
“You too. Bye.”
Stanton walked out of his office and to the front desk. He checked the roster and saw that a young rookie named McManis was on duty at the front desk. He went and hunted him down, finding him in the break room, eating some Twinkies.
“Got a kid here that we’re putting up in a hotel. There’s a Marriot t a couple miles west, near Greenview. I need you to take him there.” Stanton took out his credit card and handed it to him. “Use this to pay. Also tell the front desk to allow him any meals he wants.”
McManis rolled his eyes but took the credit card.
Stanton walked back to the interrogation room. Gunn was still standing there, his arms folded.
“So we gonna actually drill this little shit or what?” he said.
“No.”
“And, oh great and wise Jonathan, may I ask why not?”
Stanton ignored the sarcasm. “He didn’t do it.”
“What? You think you can tell that from a two-minute conversation about baseball?”
“I’m telling you, Stephen, he didn’t do it. I’m putting him up in a hotel for tonight , and tomorrow he’s gonna be placed in a good foster home. He’s got no relatives to go to.”
“Hey fuck that. He’s our prime —no—our only suspect in a homicide and you’re just gonna let him go?”
“I don’t think it was a homicide.”
“You heard the arson investigator just like I did.”
“He came to his decision too quickly. He was just processing the scene to match a hunch he had. It wasn’t objective; he wasn’t listening to the evidence.”
Gunn shook his head. “You don’t know shit about arson investigations, Jon. And neither do I. Let’s leave it to the experts.”
“I intend to.”
CHAPTER 7
Monique Gaspirini locked up the H&M store at ten, leaned against the glass, and sighed. It had been a long day. Two girls had cancelled on her and she had to open and close. And on top of that, the rush in the store hadn’t even given her time to grab lunch. The mall had been so packed that at one point they’d run out of bags and customers had to carry their items out by hand.
“Hey,” Dylan said as he walked up, “those guys left their number for you.”
“Which guys?”
“Those forty-year-old douchebags with the shiny hair. I think they were Iranian or something.”
“Oh, great. You can just toss it.”
“You’re on a roll, Mon. At least half the guys that came in today wanted to fuck you.”
She patted his cheek. “If you weren’t gay , you could totally have me.”
“Interesting offer , sweetheart, but you couldn’t handle this.”
He did the silliest impersonation of a sexy dance that she had ever seen. She burst out laughing and slapped his shoulder.
He said, “Jasper and Matt are still here. We’ll finish up. You go home.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, you worked since opening. Go home, bitch, and get some sleep.”
She kissed his cheek and then went in back and got her purse and cell phone and headed out the door, waving goodbye to Jasper and Matt who were goofing around on
“I will. So what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you could pull some strings and have a kid placed with a family.”
“For you, anything. Tell me about him?”
“He’s sixteen and his mother died some time ago. His stepfather took care of him since then and he just passed away in a fire. I think he needs a family that doesn’t have anybody else his same age. He’d do really well with a couple or a couple with young children.”
“Okay. I’m not at the office now but when I head back I’ll find someplace good. Can you email me his info?”
“Sure thing. I’m going to keep him here at the station for now. How quickly can we do it?”
“We could get him in tomorrow or the next day if I rush. You can place him in a group home for now.”
“No, I’ll put him up in a hotel. Can you let me know as soon as you have a place lined up?”
“You got it.”
“Thanks, Cami. Take care.”
“You too. Bye.”
Stanton walked out of his office and to the front desk. He checked the roster and saw that a young rookie named McManis was on duty at the front desk. He went and hunted him down, finding him in the break room, eating some Twinkies.
“Got a kid here that we’re putting up in a hotel. There’s a Marriot t a couple miles west, near Greenview. I need you to take him there.” Stanton took out his credit card and handed it to him. “Use this to pay. Also tell the front desk to allow him any meals he wants.”
McManis rolled his eyes but took the credit card.
Stanton walked back to the interrogation room. Gunn was still standing there, his arms folded.
“So we gonna actually drill this little shit or what?” he said.
“No.”
“And, oh great and wise Jonathan, may I ask why not?”
Stanton ignored the sarcasm. “He didn’t do it.”
“What? You think you can tell that from a two-minute conversation about baseball?”
“I’m telling you, Stephen, he didn’t do it. I’m putting him up in a hotel for tonight , and tomorrow he’s gonna be placed in a good foster home. He’s got no relatives to go to.”
“Hey fuck that. He’s our prime —no—our only suspect in a homicide and you’re just gonna let him go?”
“I don’t think it was a homicide.”
“You heard the arson investigator just like I did.”
“He came to his decision too quickly. He was just processing the scene to match a hunch he had. It wasn’t objective; he wasn’t listening to the evidence.”
Gunn shook his head. “You don’t know shit about arson investigations, Jon. And neither do I. Let’s leave it to the experts.”
“I intend to.”
CHAPTER 7
Monique Gaspirini locked up the H&M store at ten, leaned against the glass, and sighed. It had been a long day. Two girls had cancelled on her and she had to open and close. And on top of that, the rush in the store hadn’t even given her time to grab lunch. The mall had been so packed that at one point they’d run out of bags and customers had to carry their items out by hand.
“Hey,” Dylan said as he walked up, “those guys left their number for you.”
“Which guys?”
“Those forty-year-old douchebags with the shiny hair. I think they were Iranian or something.”
“Oh, great. You can just toss it.”
“You’re on a roll, Mon. At least half the guys that came in today wanted to fuck you.”
She patted his cheek. “If you weren’t gay , you could totally have me.”
“Interesting offer , sweetheart, but you couldn’t handle this.”
He did the silliest impersonation of a sexy dance that she had ever seen. She burst out laughing and slapped his shoulder.
He said, “Jasper and Matt are still here. We’ll finish up. You go home.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, you worked since opening. Go home, bitch, and get some sleep.”
She kissed his cheek and then went in back and got her purse and cell phone and headed out the door, waving goodbye to Jasper and Matt who were goofing around on
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