He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
The track marks on his neck told a different story. Probably any profits he made from the window washing went straight into the vein. There was a satchel on the ground that probably represented all his worldly possessions. “You live around here?”
“Over at Saint George’s Mission.” He shrugged and glanced over my shoulder. “Heeey, isn’t that what’s-his-name?”
I glanced back to see Volos and the redhead were watching us. My stomach dropped as though it had been thrown off the Bessemer Bridge. In my annoyance over the homeless guy, I’d completely forgotten about Volos. They were a good bit away from us, but I definitely didn’t want that kind of attention. I pulled my baseball cap lower over my forehead.
I pushed Bob toward the Jeep. “All right, sir. We’re going to head down to the precinct. On the way maybe you’ll remember where you left your permit.”
Bob reared back like I’d asked him to hold a snake. “I ain’t ridin’ in that thing.”
“Relax, it’ll be fine.”
“How do I know where you’re really taking me? Maybe you got a plan to kidnap me and make me your sex slave.”
I scanned a dubious gaze over the man’s ratty gray hair, serious dental hygiene crimes, and the dirt caked black under his nails. “It’s tempting, but I think I can control myself today.”
A quick glance in their direction and I realized Volos was starting toward us. When Bob realized this he said, “Maybe I should ask what’s-his-name to be my witness so if you decide to take advantage of my body I got proof.”
“I swear on my mother’s grave that I will not touch you.” Not a hard promise to make to a man who smelled as if he hadn’t showered since Nixon was in office. “Now let’s go.”
Touching him as little as possible, I helped Bob into the car and strapped him in with his hands cuffed behind so he wouldn’t bolt. As I jogged around to the passenger side, I saw Volos and the girl had gotten bored watching us and were getting into a waiting limo with the license plate VOLO$. Just before he got into the car, Volos looked back in our direction. Just in time to see me put the car in drive and peel out of the lot like a woman with the devil on her tail.
“That was who I thought it was, right?” Bob said.
“Yep.”
“Too bad you didn’t let me say hi. I bet he woulda offered to bail me out on account of me being a victim of the system and all.”
I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, Bob. The system’s treated you a lot better than that guy would.”
Chapter Six
I escaped processing an hour later after leaving Bob in the capable hands of the intake sergeant. Since Eldritch hadn’t officially signed the paperwork that put me on leave yet, no one gave me any hassle about arresting someone, but I didn’t get lots of speculative looks. Guess the gossip train had left the station to spread the word about the shooting.
By the time I reached Eldritch’s office, I was exhausted.
“You’re late,” he said without looking up.
“Sorry, sir. I had to arrest someone.”
He looked up quickly. “How the hell did you manage that? You said you were on your way to the station.”
I shrugged. “Window washer flashed a piece at me.”
He shook his head. “What’s this world coming to?”
“So you have some paperwork for me?”
He made quick work on explaining the forms I needed to fill out to make the temporary assignment with the MEA official, as well as paperwork regarding overtime—to be paid by the MEA—and some releases saying that if I got killed in the line of duty the MEA claimed zero fiduciary responsibility.
“Fucking Feds,” Eldritch said after I’d filled them all out. Guess he wasn’t a fan of their red tape, either.
“Listen—thanks for talking me up.”
He waved it off. “Just remember who you really work for.”
“Does that mean I’ll still be reporting to you?”
“Technically you’ll report to Gardner, but I’ll want you to keep me up to speed on any major moves in the case.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he shook his head and barreled on. “Shut up and listen, okay? If Gardner thinks she can just stroll into my precinct and swing her dick around”—he paused, as if he caught the incongruity of that statement a second too late—“anyway, I won’t have them making moves that could compromise ongoing investigations or put the cops on my command in harm’s way.”
I nodded. “Understood.”
He ignored my tone. “Anyway, good luck with it.”
“Sir,” I said, bringing up something that had been bothering me ever since I found out the MEA was taking lead, “if Harkins was anything to go by, every foot-patrol officer is at risk as long as that shit’s on the streets.”
He blew out a breath. “Budgets are tight, so I can’t put extra officers on each shift.”
“With all due respect, I’m pretty sure once the media gets hold of this, the mayor’s going to be asking why something wasn’t done.”
He pursed his lips as he thought it over. “I suppose I could have foot patrols partner up for the time being. Let’s just pray Gardner’s team is on the ball. Because if it does get to the mayor, it’s going to be a shit storm.”
“Plus we don’t want any officers harmed, right?”
“Of course,” he said too quickly. The phone on his desk buzzed. He punched a button. “What?”
“Sir, you have a visitor.”
“Who is it?”
“Ramses Bane.” The voice speaking through the intercom sounded as shocked as Eldritch looked and I felt to receive that news. “He said it’s regarding Officer Prospero, sir.”
My stomach flipped inside out. “What the hell?” I whispered. This day could not get any weirder.
“Send him in,” Eldritch said. He disconnected and looked up at me. “Any clue?”
I shook my head. Bane was the grand wizard of the Sang Coven, and I knew him because he’d been allied with Uncle Abe for years. But I had no idea why he was showing up at the station to talk to my boss about me.
“Stick around,” Eldritch said. “But play it cool.”
I nodded and went to stand behind the captain.
A few minutes later, a guy about my age with long white hair, dark sunglasses, and an ankh tattoo in the center of his forehead strolled through the door. This wasn’t Ramses Bane, but his son, Hieronymus.