Kim felt like she was about to vomit in her mouth. Kane was the precise type of man that she despised, with the sort of dress and haircut more appropriate to someone ten years his junior. She sighed and approached Jacob’s desk.
“So, Woodside has a new assignment for us. You’re not going to like it, but—”
“We’re to escort Alex Kane while we solve the Rat Pack case, until either the case is solved or he feels he’s learned enough to move on. Captain Woodside told me this morning before I filed my report from yesterday.” Jacob looked up at Kim’s bewildered expression. “What’s the matter, Detective Daniels? Were you not informed?”
She did her best to compose herself. “No, no, I was. Just now.”
“Hmm.” Jacob returned to the paperwork on his desk. “You should probably call him over here. I was just about to brief Officer Phillips on our initial findings. Woodside wants him to join our team should we require any technological assistance.”
“How does Woodside know anything about Officer Phillips?”
“I mentioned him twice in my report. Once for helping us discover that there were multiple participants in the murder (something I technically knew already), and once for helping you find the speakers from which the music originated. He thinks that, with better computer equipment, he can find the remote source directing the signal to the speakers. Since we ended up discovering a speaker in each corner of the room, his assumption is that there may be a high-bandwidth wireless source nearby. The speakers bore no connection to each other that we could find, so something must have put out a strong enough signal to hit all four speakers at the same time.”
“And Phillips can find out where the signal is coming from?”
“That’s our hope,” said Jacob. “Right now I’m working on his official title so he can begin the team. He wants it to sound—and I quote—cool enough to be its own movie.”
Kim peered over Jacob’s shoulder. “P.I.I.—Private Internet Inspector. N.E.T.—Nascent Electronics Team. How is he a team? Is he supposed to be leading us in this scenario?”
Jacob shrugged. “This isn’t really my forte. What do you think of this one?”
He tapped a line on his notepad, which read C.R.A.I.G.—Computer Reconnaissance and Artificial Intelligence General.
“Really? General? I think we should stick with calling him Officer Phillips. If Woodside wants to promote him—to General, especially—he can earn it.”
Phillips stood near the water cooler, not far off from Alex, though not engaged in Alex’s conversation. He appeared to be scrolling through something on his smart phone, but Kim caught him occasionally looking up at her and Jacob. She hated to admit that his puppy-dog eyes were actually somewhat endearing. Between Phillips and Alex, her team had gained both a dog and a child. Or perhaps Alex was the dog.
“Now, which one of you lovely ladies wants to pat me down?”
All right, that’s it. Kim snapped her fingers and called to the officers.
“Girls! Briefing room. Now.”
Phillips looked up from his phone. “Just them? What about the rest of the officers on the scene yesterday?”
Kim flashed him a half-smile, though Phillips couldn’t tell if it was genuine. “You can come, too.”
She turned and walked off toward the briefing room, Jacob standing to follow. Several other officers grabbed notepads and pens from their desks as they stood to join the procession. Alex stood, indignant.
“Hey, Officer Ginger! I think you’re forgetting someone.”
Kim pursed her lips, more than a little irked by the muffled laughs of the male officers. Alex could feel the floor shake as she covered the room in a few long strides, standing face-to-face with him. He backed up a little bit, fighting the urge to tug on his collar, showing his nervousness.
“What did you just call me?”
Alex stammered for a response. Jacob chimed in.
“I believe he called you ‘Officer Ginger,’ Detective Daniels. A probable reference to your hair color, though the phrase is often associated with your pale tone and freckled skin as well.”
Kim took in a deep breath. “Thanks, Jacob.”
“Of course, ginger is also a spice, but it’s improbable that he would be referencing such a thing. Unless something about your personality has somehow relieved him of his gastrointestinal woes, which ginger is prone to do. In fact—”
“Thanks, Jacob!”
Jacob’s eyes widened in realization.
“Oh, you’d like me to be quiet.” He turned to Phillips. “When she speaks in that tone, it means she’d like you to be quiet. It’s a good thing for anyone to know before speaking with her, although curiously she appears to only use it with me.”
Fists clenched, Kim felt her fingernails digging into her palms. The pain was a nice relief from dealing with the pompous windbag in front of her and the clueless genius behind. She grabbed Alex by his shirt and held it tight.
“My name, as far as you’re concerned, is Detective. Not Detective Daniels, not Detective Kimberly, and sure as hell not Officer Ginger. You do not use my real name, you do not give me ‘cute’ nicknames. You address me only by my title. Do you understand?”
“Mostly,” Alex nodded as best he could in Kim’s grasp. “I was only confused on the one part.”
“Which part?!” she squeezed his shirt even tighter.
Alex gasped. “Who are Daniels and Kimberly?”
Kim let go of Alex, who knocked the water cooler over trying to keep his footing. She couldn’t feel good about herself, threatening someone so stupid. But that wasn’t going to stop her.
“Those are the names of the ‘officer’ who’s going to put a bullet in your crotch if you mess up my investigation.”
She turned and walked away, speaking to him over her shoulder.
“Get your spoiled ass to the briefing room, Kane. You’ve got a lot to learn.”
Kane scratched his head as he fell in line. She was by far the most attractive woman he had ever met.
Chapter Six
The whiteboard against the far wall of the briefing room contained very little, apart from a few photos of the crime scene along with some preliminary information gathered on the scene. A red bit of yarn was taped near one of the bottom corners, tied in a loop through a hole punched out of a thin packet. This was the information Phillips had printed from online, reviews of Rat Pack Entertainment, the apparent name of the makeshift casino in which they’d found the body.
“All right, listen up,” said Kim. “Most of you were on the scene as this information was discovered, and there hasn’t been too much new information in the past twenty-four hours, so I’ll try and keep this briefing…brief.” A few of the officers chuckled. Kim rolled her eyes.
Alex leaned over to Phillips. “She rolls her eyes a lot, doesn’t she?”
“I only transferred to the Major Case Squad yesterday, so I don’t know her too well. But yeah, yeah she does.” Phillips grinned. Alex suddenly got the feeling he’d seen the young officer before, but he wasn’t sure where.