“I’m poor,” he said to her repeatedly. “You fucking cops are prejudiced against poor people, so you set that dog on me.”
Katie did her best to ignore him. She was grateful when K-9 Officer Gomez showed up to make sure the corporal got some good photographs of the bite marks on the burglar’s arm.
“What if that dog had got me by the throat?” he yelled at Gomez.
“Then I wouldn’t have to listen to your mouth right now,” Gomez said to him in a low voice and both Katie and the corporal smiled at that.
“Fucking wetback,” the burglar shot back.
Gomez’s lips pressed together slightly, but he showed no other reaction. Once the pictures were taken, he and the corporal left. Katie returned to ignoring the burglar, going through his property to find some identification. There was none and he refused to give the admitting nurse his name, either.
The nurse had looked at Katie, who shrugged. “Call him John Doe. We’re paying for it, whatever his name is.”
The nurse didn’t like that answer, but proceeded to treat the burglar. An hour later, the doctor came and spent fifteen minutes stitching his arm. Then, for reasons Katie couldn’t exactly discern, it was another two hours before the nurse discharged him.
At jail, she finally got the burglar’s name when one of the jailers in the booking area recognized him.
“Petey! Thought you weren’t coming back,” the jailer said.
The burglar gave him a withering look.
After that, booking went smoothly. Now, a cup of coffee and a light breakfast later, Katie stared into her open locker. She wanted nothing more than to sleep away the morning and then maybe get in a light workout in the afternoon before meeting Kopriva when he got off work.
She smiled mischievously to herself when she thought of what would happen next.
But instead, she had to appear in court at nine. That meant she had to find a way to stay awake for another hour and a half. It also meant she had to go home and change for court, resisting the urge to just flop onto her bed and sleep.
She pulled off her boots and put them in the bottom of her locker. At least she got paid overtime for court. Chisolm told her once that the first year or two he was on the job, they didn’t get OT. She couldn’t imagine that, especially given the snail’s pace that most court proceedings went.
As Katie shed the rest of her uniform, she glanced at her watch. She could afford the time to swing by and say hello to Kopriva on her way out.
Her mischievous smile returned.
TWELVE
Day Shift
0703 hours
“Yes, sir,” Kopriva said. “The tip you called in.”
“You joking me?”
“No, sir. This is the police.”
“No lie? Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Sir,” Kopriva said, “the tip sheet says you saw a black male with a white girl near Friendship Park?”
“Yeah. That nigger was playing with the little white girl.”
Kopriva cringed at the harsh word. “Was there a van anywhere nearby?”
“Van? No, I don’t think so. I think he was driving one of those pimp-mobiles.”
“Anyone else with them?”
“Yeah. Some mud shark that musta been her mother.”
Kopriva ignored the epithet. “The girl’s mother was with her?”
“Yeah.”
So much for that tip, Kopriva thought. “Thanks for your help, sir,” he said.
“You don’t think it’s the girl you’re looking for?”
“No,” Kopriva said.
“You’re not even going to check it out?”
“I’ll have a car go up to the park, just in case,” Kopriva lied.
“Poor little girl. It’s too bad, you know?”
Kopriva thought the man was talking about Amy and maybe a little decency was finally shining through, so he answered. “Yeah. It’s a shame.”
“The mother don’t have the sense to stick with her own people,” he said. “At least she’s got a white father, though. Even if her mom’s a mud shark, at least she’s not a half-breed.”
Kopriva set the receiver down on the cradle in weary disgustand rubbed his eyes. Then he balled up the tip sheet and threw it into the garbage.
“Two points, Stef,” came a familiar voice.
He looked over to see Katie standing in the doorway of the Missing Persons/Sexual Assault unit. She smiled at him and the warmth of her smile pushed the phone call he’d just taken a little further away.
“Maybe I missed my calling.”
“Oh, really? Let’s not make more out of it than it is.” She walked over to his desk. “How’re the calls coming?”
He shrugged. “Most are boring. A few are a pain in the…”
Katie looked around the room, saw that it was empty. She bent down and interrupted him with a short kiss. As always the softness of her lips and her scent combined to wash over him. The effect was calming and exhilarating at the same time.
Katie smiled again. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
“It’s all right,” Kopriva said, blushing slightly.
Katie noticed and was about to tease him about it when the unit secretary came into the office.
“Morning, Stef,” Georgina said and nodded toward Katie.
Kopriva returned the greeting and watched as the older woman settled into her chair near the entrance to the office. He knew there would be no more talking about anything that the whole department wouldn’t hear within half an hour, so he said, “You have court today?”
Katie knew about Georgina’s gossiping, so she played it straight. “Yeah, downtown.” She glanced at her watch. “In fact, I have to head out and get ready. I’m supposed to testify at nine.”
“Okay.”
She smiled at him again. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing well, Stef. I’ll tell the guys.”
He nodded, appreciating her ploy. It might not be enough to put off Georgina and her gossiping, but it was a solid tactic nonetheless.
“Thanks.”
“See ya,” she said and left the office. She gave Georgina a nice smile as she passed. Kopriva knew that wouldn’t be enough to stop the secretary from gossiping about her if the rumor was juicy enough.
Katie’s scent lingered in the air for a few moments and Kopriva closed his eyes and breathed it in. His shoulder and arm throbbed painfully and his knee ached, as always. He opened his eyes and reached into the only drawer in the desk that he had stored any possessions. He fumbled around and drew out his bottle of pain pills. Then he shook two out into his palm and threw them into the back of his throat. His coffee was lukewarm, so he was able to take a gigantic swig of it to wash down the pills.
I should have told her that I loved her, he thought. Right after she kissed me.
He’d been wanting to say that to her for some time now, but the words always seemed to stick in his throat. He hadn’t uttered them in years, and only once before. He wasn’t afraid of the words themselves, though. He was just concerned with what her answer might be.
That’s stupid, he thought, taking another sip of lukewarm coffee. She felt the same way. He could feel it in every smile and in every kiss. It was in the way she made love and in the way she said every word.
I’ll tell her. Soon.
He glanced over at Georgina and caught her staring at him with a hint of disapproval. He didn’t know if it was because of Katie or the painkillers and he didn’t care.
With a barely audible sigh, Kopriva reached for the next tip sheet.
0843 hours
The Chief of the River City Police Department gave Captain Michael Reott an appraising stare. Reott knew that some people found it intimidating, but he had come on the department with the Chief and nothing he did intimidated him.
That’s probably how he got to be Chief, though, Reott thought with a small smile.