Kristeva halted in the doorway and, even though it was open, rapped a knuckle against the doorjamb.* Chief Bowen, sitting at his desk, glanced up from a printout he was reading, blinked, then looked back down at it while gesturing him in. Kristeva shut the door behind him and approached the desk.
"Hope you're not tired of your new position just yet," Bowen said, turning a page.
All sorts of replies flitted through Kristeva's mind, but he chose none of them; he could tell he wasn't exactly welcome at the city post just yet, considering that the chief suspected the sheriff had had ulterior motives in transferring him there. So it was probably smarter to remain on his best behavior, at least, as long as he was able. "Actually I was looking into an old case and wondered if you might be able to shed some light on it, since I think you were active here at the time."
Bowen rustled through his papers as if looking for something. "Can't find what you need in the database?"
"The info is there, but it's kind of patchy. That's what puzzles me about it, seems there should be a lot more."
"What case?"
"A missing persons case from 198*. Det. Wesley Singer?"
The papers fell still in Bowen's hands. He continued staring at them for a moment, then looked up at Kristeva again.
"There have to be, what, dozens of old cases in there? Why are you looking up that one?"
"His niece stopped by earlier to check up on how it's going. Seems like it hasn't been going much of anywhere since 19**."
Bowen scowled a little, then returned his attention to the papers. "His niece used to come in here practically every damn week asking for updates. We didn't have any to give. The case is closed."
"Actually, technically, it's not. Just cold like an icicle. And you can't really fault a family member for wanting to know what happened, I figured that's the business we're in."
"Yeah, well, it's only business so long as you have something to offer, and we don't. From what we can tell Det. Singer hooked up with some lady he fell for while on the job and ran off with her. In case you can't tell, that's not the sort of story we appreciate having to tell anybody, especially not family, so it's easier to just say the case is closed. It may as well be, anyway."
"Is there actually any proof that he ran off with some woman? That's the line I keep getting, but I don't see anything in the file that proves it."
"Of course it's not like she's going to step forward and admit it, is she? She was part of the case he was investigating, was probably a criminal herself, and so had good reason not to come forward. Singer himself admitted he was getting too far into things. That's what happens when you take the job too seriously. Sort of like what you're doing right now, fiddling your fingers over a runaway husband."
"That 'runaway husband' was one of our own. I just figured we were supposed to take that sort of thing seriously."
"We pick our battles, Detective, just like Singer picked his when he ran off on the job. His niece is getting no updates because there's no case to look into. I'm sorry you'll have to let her down, but that's the way it is."
"Well..." Kristeva fought the urge to shrug in exasperation, and sighed instead. "Could you fill me in on what it was he was working on, exactly? At least?"
When Bowen looked up this time he was scowling. "What does that matter at all--?"
"You said this lady was part of the case he was working on. If he ran off with her, it stands to reason--"
"That investigation was closed years ago. Singer did his bit, the rest of my guys did their bit, it's over. Long before your time. There's nothing left to look into. Let it drop."
Kristeva frowned and was silent for a moment. "Did it have anything to do with child porn--? Or human trafficking?"
Bowen's head popped up this time, so abruptly that Kristeva couldn't help but feel something about his guess was on the right track. "What the fuck would make you think that--?"
"Because his niece mentioned some kid he was interested in helping out, and from the sound of it he was pretty obsessed about it. She said he didn't want what was happening to that kid to happen to anyone else. If that isn't some kind of child abuse case, then I don't know what it is. I can't speak for his morals, but you really think one of your guys would've turned his back on a kid just to get lucky with some woman--?"
Bowen leaned forward over his desk as if to take him into confidence, even though Kristeva stood several feet away. "I'm going to say this one time only. Back off. I lost three guys to that case, and almost lost a fourth. And even with as much of a pain in the ass as you are, I'm hardly going to go losing another. There's nothing for you to look into. The case is closed."
Kristeva bit the inside of his mouth. "Singer's case is still open," he said quietly, "and it's a missing persons case. I don't pick the work. There are holes in the information. Parts of the file are missing."
"Those are parts you don't need to concern yourself with. You're not going to find them." Bowen let the papers fall back into place and seemed to be fighting the urge to snap something at him, taking a breath instead and letting it out. "Look...I know you're not going to agree with it, but whatever it was that happened, it's best if Singer did just run off. It might not be what you want to hear, it might not be what his niece wants to hear, but it's what's best for his family, for the case, and for this department. Maybe he knew something we don't know, and bailing out was the smartest move to make. I really can't say. All I can say is the case is cold, and everyone but his niece has moved on, and I think it's best we don't know. Do you understand?"
A long silence filled the office. "You're right," Kristeva said after several moments, and Bowen furrowed his brow, evidently not expecting that reply. "I don't agree with it," he added, and the black scowl started to creep back up Bowen's face. Kristeva turned away before it could fully form. "If you didn't want me on this job, you shouldn't've put me on it. The undercover case isn't my business but Singer going missing is. If there are other ways to find the information, then I'll find it. Last I knew we don't pick what cases to ignore just because it's inconvenient."
"I'm telling you to back the fuck off," Bowen snapped as he opened the door.
"And I'm telling you I'm doing my job." Kristeva halted halfway out the doorway and glanced back at him over his shoulder. "You could always make it an order, you know? You're the chief and all, right...?"
Bowen glared at him. "And like you'd follow it?"
Kristeva pursed his lips. "Probably not." He paused while the look on the chief's face grew more and more unpleasant, yet he still gave no order. That's what I thought, he wanted to say, but decided not to, feeling like he was already on pretty thin ice. And part of him was starting to wonder if backing off was merely what Bowen wanted him to think he wanted, not what he actually wanted.
He chose to exit the office without saying anything else, shutting the door behind him and heading for his desk. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and paused long enough to shut down his computer, tapping his foot impatiently while it creaked and ground to a halt. He'd already looked through the boxes and drawers in the file rooms from top to bottom, and had the papercuts to show for it, but there simply wasn't anything there that he couldn't find in the online database, and he could tell the report in the database wasn't complete. The fact that there was practically no information about this woman Singer had supposedly run off with made this much clear. For being the solution to the mystery, there sure wasn't nearly enough focus on the details.
Bowen hadn't denied that further information existed, he'd just said that Kristeva wouldn't find it. That meant it was somewhere to be found. If not at the station, then somewhere else. He just had to figure out where that somewhere else was.
He pulled out his cell phone as he exited the station, and dialed a number which was answered almost immediately. "Hi. Trace?" His mouth twitched at the greeting he received. "No, I'm not sick of it here just yet. But I'm working hard on wearing out my welcome. I was just wondering if you could poke around in our--" he made a face and corrected himself "--the county records about a cold case from 198*. It's a city case but maybe you guys have some info on it. A Det. Wesley Singer...?" He paused. "That's right. 198*. Missing persons case. No...don't ask Rhoades about it. Just keep it between you and me and maybe Scott if you need him to help you out, okay? I'm already pissing the chief off, I don't need you guys getting torn a new one too." His mouth twitched again as he descended the front steps toward the parking lot. "Yeah...kisses and shit to you, too. Talk to you later."
He snapped the phone shut and tossed it onto the passenger seat as he got into the car. Then stared across the parking lot in the direction of a building that wasn't visible from here. The city court building. If the original case--whatever it was--was closed, then maybe that meant charges had been filed, deals had been made, whatever. If such records weren't at the city police station or the Sheriff's Department, perhaps they'd be at the court.
Without a second thought he pulled on the seatbelt and buckled himself in, pulling out of the lot and into traffic before he could give himself the chance to rethink his decision.
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