Left for Dead

57

10:00 A.M., Tuesday, April 13

Tucson, Arizona

On Tuesday morning, Al Gutierrez walked into the office for the morning briefing, expecting all hell to break loose. He had spent the whole night worrying about it and wondering what stunts Sergeant Dobbs would pull to make Al’s life as miserable as possible.

To his surprise, the watch commander stood up and read a fax from the Phoenix Police Department citing that one of the Tucson sector’s agents, namely Al Gutierrez, had provided major assistance to Phoenix PD in breaking one of their recent homicide cases. The note ended by saying that kind of cross-jurisdictional help was all too rare most of the time and, as a consequence, was greatly appreciated.

Al managed to sneak a glance at Sergeant Dobbs’s stony face while the letter was being read. He didn’t look happy.

Al, on the other hand, was happy. Lighter than air. Thanks to Detective Rush, he had public acknowledgment that he had helped with something important, and he wasn’t done helping, either. He planned to contact Detective Rush to let her know that he’d be happy to go straight back to PMC to continue looking after Rose Ventana the moment his shift was over. And if Dobbs gave him any grief about it? Tough.

Al Gutierrez had been looking for a job when he found this one. And if push came to shove, he could always go apply at Phoenix PD.