07: The Good Samaritan Pt. 3

“You heard me right, Vik, that thumb drive has aided in the arrest of seven 4^th Street Riders with affiliations to the Family with two more scheduled within the week. Where did you find this thing?”

“I had help from a friend. We were able to have Philip ‘Sketch’ Martin arrested for the murder of Jake Foyers and with the evidence on that drive we have more than enough to prove motive. The rest should be easy. CSU collected enough trace evidence from the scene but we never had anything to compare it to. I hear we already have a positive on a hair follicle found on the ground beneath the exhaust, we don’t really need more to make our case but I anticipate it’ll all add up.”

“That’s great! I’m happy to know it all worked out for you. And I can’t tell you how invaluable this information has been for the Bureau. We are able to hit the Family hard with this. That’ll put a nice kink in their operation for a while. We may not be able to get them for Mike but, this is a nice, little kick to the nuts if you ask me! You know what? We should celebrate, what are you doing tonight?”

“Uh tonight’s no good for me. I’m working on an assignment straight from Mason so I won’t be great company plus I have a court appearance later on.”

“Ok how about tomorrow? I’ll take you to Sully’s and you can order anything you want.”

“I don’t know, Cole. It all depends on where I am in this case. I don’t like letting my leads get cold.”

“Come on, it’ll be good for you to get out. I know you. If you get too wrapped up in a case, you’ll let it consume you. Don’t make me twist your arm, Vik.”

“Uh, ok would Friday work for you? Like you said once I get wrapped up…”

“Friday would be great! It should be fun. Listen, the team is heading into a conference with the Director that I need to attend. I’ll call you later tonight and check in.”

“Alright. I’m gonna head in also and get back on task. I’ll talk to you then. Goodbye, Cole,” Victoria hung up and turned in surprise noticing Derrick leaning against a lamppost behind her.

“This is getting to be a little ridiculous. How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough. So, I’m a friend now huh?” he asked behind a twisted grin causing Victoria to roll her eyes.

“It was just a figure of speech. But you have graduated from annoying twit to bothersome gnat.”

“Ah, I’m moving up then! Pretty soon I should be ‘thorn-in-side’, that means I’m growing on you,” Derrick leaned forward with a wink.

Victoria bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling and rubbed at an imaginary itch on her nose. “Did you stop by for a reason?”

“As a matter of fact. I thought I’d come and see how things were going on the case but from what I heard, you got Sketch?”

“We did, all thanks to you.”

“Yeah, well I’d say it was more Jake pointing us in the right direction.”

“A voice from the grave. That doesn’t happen too often in my line of work but when it does it really feels as though the victim got the justice he or she deserved. Some evidence is still being processed but that won’t delay the case. Martin is due in court at 3.” She started toward the door and felt Derrick’s hand on her arm.

Turning her to face him he shrugged and blew a breath slowly through pursed lips. “You should know that Sketch will most likely figure things out. He’ll know where that thumb drive came from and when he sees you at trial, he will know you’re a cop.”

“Yeah and?”

“And Sketch isn’t likely to take this lying down. He has reach Victoria and he’ll want revenge.”

“Are you worried about me, Mr. Constantine?” Victoria smiled inwardly and placed her hands on her hips. “This isn’t the first time I’ve come across a thug who was also a sore loser. I can take care of myself.”

She tried to turn again and again he stopped her. “No, I don’t think you understand. Sketch isn’t like other criminals you’ve arrested, he’s much worse.”

“And what exactly makes this scumbag any different than the other lowlifes and hustlers I see in the street every day?”

“It’s hard to explain but just trust me. He is capable of committing acts you’d have never thought possible.”

“Fine, Derrick, I’ll remember to sleep with my nightlight on and one eye opened. Can I go now? I have work to do.” He made a showy motion of stepping aside with a gentleman’s bow allowing the Detective to breeze past him toward the door.

“Oh, uh, Victoria,” he stopped her just as her hand reached out for the handle. “I’ll see you in court.”

After a short delay, the bus transporting the prisoners to the City District got held up in traffic awaiting police escort, the trial was underway. The room had filled quickly with press buzzing just outside the courthouse waiting on any news they could print. Victoria took a seat in one of the chairs in the hall outside for her turn to be called up to the stand and testify about the role she played in the case.

She waited patiently and watched as the defense attorney paraded dozens of ‘character’ witnesses in and out of the court room on behalf of Philip ‘Sketch’ Martin which she knew all amounted to garbage. The majority of the people that spoke on his behalf were criminals and shady in their own rights. The only thing they could do was damn the man in guilt even more.

Derrick had passed by a handful of times, shooting her a curious look each time and she did her best to ignore it. Although he was quite handy in aiding in the arrest of the man responsible for Foyers’ death, she couldn’t help but feel as if his help came at a price. And though he hadn’t said as much, she suspected he got a lot more out of seeing Sketch behind bars than anyone else.

In her mind his behavior was sketchy to say the least. He popped up at just the right moment to seize an opportunity that would net a huge win for the police and Federal Bureau of Investigation yet was quite dodgy when it came to the matter of the Family and how he came about the information that ultimately brought Sketch down. She needed to know what he gained from this whole ordeal and she would have to dig in order to find out.

“Detective Carson? They’re ready for you,” the Bailiff poked his head out the door.

Victoria took the stand and was sworn in. Soon after, Sketch’s defense attorney Rebecca Graham stepped in front of her to begin. “Detective Carson, you served as lead investigator on this case and it is my understanding that you were responsible for recovering the evidence that was used to charge my client with the murder of Jake Foyers is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mind taking us through how you were able to locate the thumb drive that contained the photographs and bank records that allegedly depict the defendant, Philip Martin, conducting illegal importing?”

“Working in concert with an eyewitness and someone close to the victim, the Avondale Police department met up with the defendant at his establishment on 4^th street. After our witness spoke with Martin, he handed over a bag containing the victim’s personal effects given to him by the victim’s girlfriend. Inside of the bag was a key to a safety deposit box under the name of the witness. He unlocked the box with Martin present and then proceeded to hand me the drive that contained the documentation.”

“So, what you’re saying is you conducted an illegal search of the items left in my client’s care to locate evidence to pin him to your murder investigation?”

“No, I did not. There was no need for a warrant or any formal documentation on my part. Martin was not under investigation nor was his place beneath the scrutiny of the department at the time. The thumb drive was accessible only after Martin handed my witness the bag containing a key and he did so willingly.”

“Did you at any time identify yourself as an officer with the Avondale Police?”

“No, there was no need.”

“No need? Isn’t it true that you not only failed to identify yourself as police but you gave the defendant a false name?”

“No, it’s not. I never spoke with Martin at any point until his arrest.”

“Of course not. You had nothing on the defendant and over a year the case went cold. You had no idea whether or not Martin had ANY involvement until you met with your eyewitness and collected that thumb drive at which point you planted that evidence in that box.”

“Objection!” District Attorney Roy Hamilton stood and voiced his opinion. “Defense is making wild accusations against a highly decorated law enforcement officer. She has no proof whatsoever that points to the Detective falsifying evidence!”

“Sustained. Move on Mrs. Graham,” Judge Greenwall spoke and Rebecca again took the floor continuing with her line of questioning.

“Did you have a warrant to search through the victim’s belongings that were left to the defendant?”

“As I said a warrant was not needed as he gave the witness permission into the bag to collect the key to the safety deposit box and Martin was not under suspicion. I was conducting an investigation and through that I came across the computer data that without a doubt confirmed Martin’s guilt in the murder. At which point a formal arrest was made, charging Martin with the murder of Jake Foyers.”

“No further questions,” Rebecca growled and Victoria smiled toward Derrick as she stood to exit the witness box.

After giving her testimony, Victoria exited the courtroom beaming over the verdict she was assured was a no-brainer for the jury. Work went painlessly the last few hours which allowed her an early day and Victoria headed for the nearest grocery store to get some shopping done.

“What are you doing here?” Victoria asked walking up to find Derrick standing at her door. He approached her and shook free her grocery bags from her arms. Escorting him to her door, Victoria removed her key and stepped inside.

Derrick took one step toward her and froze. Looking around the frame of her door he sighed and stepped back. “Well, are you coming in or do you have plans of running off with my groceries?”

He grinned to himself and stepped slowly over the threshold of her door. Victoria guided him to the kitchen and he set her bags on the island for her to unpack. “Well?” she asked waiting on his explanation.

“I just wanted to make sure everything was ok. After Sketch’s threat in court today I…”

“Man, this guy really has you spooked, doesn’t he? What exactly has he done to you to make you so nervous and so sure he’s going to kill me where I stand?”

“I told you before it’s not something I can explain to you but I just need you to trust me. And it’s not safe for you to be out like this alone at night either. Anything could happen when you least expect it.”

“That comes standard with police work. I anticipate that at any moment I could be gunned down walking to a corner store or washing my car in my front yard. But I took the job knowing the risks because I believe that no matter what, justice will always prevail.”

“Well just in case I think you should take this,” he responded and opened his palm revealing a little white box.

“What is this?”

“It’s for your protection. Open it.” Victoria pulled open the lid and flipped back a slip of tissue paper to find a small bracelet. It had a double cord braided wire looped inside of a large circle that shimmered red beneath the overhead lights of her kitchen. “It’s just a little something to say ‘I’m sorry’ and to make up for the trouble I’ve caused you.”

“Um, Derrick it’s nice and all but…I’m not really a jewelry person. Plus, I have no intentions of accepting a gift like this from someone I barely know.”

“Please. It’s nothing to mean what you think, it’s merely a thank you gift for helping me put away my friend’s killer and I insist you keep it. I’m sure you’ve received items like this from families of other victims whom you’ve helped. Just think of this as a trinket along the same lines.” Deciding it was best not to put up a fight, Victoria turned her wrist and tied the bracelet in place as Derrick looked on in satisfaction.

She felt the cords tighten slightly on her arm and looked at the braiding on the tiny ropes. They seemed to contour to the curves of her wrist like ivy climbing up a wall and locking into place. She rubbed the spot a moment, feeling the material tickle her skin lightly but the sensation quickly vanished. “There. Happy?”

He nodded vigorously and she returned to putting her groceries away. “So, who is he?”

“Who?”

“The guy you lied to on the phone.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t lie to anyone.”

“You told whomever you were speaking with, Cole, I believe you called him, that you were too busy tonight to have dinner. Yet…” he pointed toward a microwaveable meal setting beside the Lost Boys DVD on the counter and smirked. “The case wrapped today in court so unless Ed Mason is making you go all over it again, you are fairly free tonight. So, I figured you lied because…”

“It’s none of your business.” Victoria looked up at him and blew a sigh through clenched teeth. She stepped in front of the items on the counter and crossed her arms against her chest. “What I said on my personal phone call is nothing you need to concern yourself about.”

“Well, he’s obviously someone important to you considering your change in mood. Although, the lack of personal photographs around your home or office would suggest otherwise. Is he the one that bought you that very beautiful and very expensive necklace hanging around your neck? Garnet, isn’t it? The birthstone for January. You know they say that gem is a symbol of friendship, loyalty, devotion.”

“Are we done here?”

“Some believe it also gives its wearer guidance in the night and protection from nightmares…if you believe in that kind of stuff anyway,” he half smiled as he leaned back against the oven watching the gemstone sparkle. “You shouldn’t take it off. It’s good for you.”

“Right well anyway, thank you for stopping by, Derrick. I won’t ask how you knew where I lived but I will tell you not to come back here again, ever.” She led him toward the front door but he stopped her before she could slam it in his face.

“Wait a second, you invited me in.”

“Well let’s chalk that up to a bad idea on my part.”

“Indeed. You should be more careful who you invite into your home. You never know when you’ll let the wrong one in.”

“Ooo…k…look, I have a gun and nearly a decade of experience with it. If that is some sort of veiled threat…”

“Not at all, Detective. I trust you’re a very capable woman. It’s what I admire most about you.”

“Whatever, Derrick. You have yourself a good night.”

“There’s one last thing I need you to remember. When you get in above your head and need help, let Hope guide you.”

“What?”

He graced her with one of his customary smirks, bowed cordially at her feet and stepped out of the doorway. “Sweet dreams, Victoria.” She quickly closed and locked the door behind him.

As she watched him leave from her dining room window, her fingers absently teased at the bindings of the gift he was so adamant she wear. The cords again tightened and she became unable to push two fingers beneath them. “What the hell? Stupid thing. ‘Let Hope guide you?’ Whatever.”

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