The White Angel Murder

31

Jessica Turner hung up the phone. Chief Harlow and Assistant Chief Anderson sat across from her at her desk. A tech was at a laptop on the other side with a wire that ran from her cell phone to the laptop and then to a tracking device set up on the floor.

“Anything?” Harlow asked.

“Still working,” the tech said, “but he wasn’t on more than two minutes. I usually need at least three.”

Harlow exhaled loudly as if impatient. He tapped his fingertips together awhile and then decided to look over the office to occupy his mind. The photos were a nice touch but there were too many of them. How many photos did people really need of their children?

His eyes moved down to Jessica and he saw her biting the tip of her thumbnail, staring absently at the desktop.

“Detective Turner, something the matter?”

“No, sir. It’s just hard for me to believe … I just can’t picture him doing that.”

“I know. I’ve known Jon Stanton a lot longer than you. He used to sleep in this shitty apartment I had when he and Melissa fought. We’d stay up talking and drinking scotch. Well, I would drink scotch. He would drink milk or some other bullshit drink. He’s a friend of mine, but nothing anyone does surprises me anymore.”

“But why would he do it? He has no incentive. There’s no reason for him to-”

“You’re thinking like a civilian, Detective. You’ve seen the monsters just like I have. The blackness that’s in people, it doesn’t need an explanation.”

“I know, but-”

“Somebody, a high ranking, decorated captain, saw him do it. With his own eyes. George was following him that night on a hunch and the hunch paid off. You can question it all you want later. For now, we need to find him. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hey!” the tech shouted, “I got something.”

“I got something, sir,” Anderson corrected him.

The tech rolled his eyes. “I work for the city not the police. You’re not my bosses so have a donut and chill out.”

“Enough,” Harlow said, “what’dya got?”

“I can only narrow it down to a couple blocks but it looks like he called from less than a mile from his apartment. There’s some other complexes there, a tanning salon, a smoke shop, a grocery store and a warehouse.”

“Rodney,” Harlow said, “get units out there right away. I want people searching every fucking inch of those two blocks.”

“Got it,” Anderson said as he rose to leave.

“Detective Turner, I need you to get Chin and head to that restaurant. I’ll get some plainclothes over there to help with the takedown. I think it’s going to go fine, but just in case make sure you have your firearm. And don’t take any chances. He makes a move, you shoot.”

When everyone had cleared out of her office, Chin Ho walked by and whistled like he’d just seen a beautiful woman.

“You believe all this?”

“No,” Jessica said, “it doesn’t make any sense. And I know all the stuff about heart of darkness and all that, but he would need a reason. Why would he do it?”

Chin shrugged. “Who the hell knows? People are crazy.”