Influence

Chapter34

Detective Garcia's face changed color three times as Tam recounted her experience on the Knot Yours with Aiden. It was a good thing the detective was already half a bottle of wine in before she'd begun story hour or Tam feared the woman might suffer an aneurysm. She'd never met anyone so high strung, though to be fair, she could hardly begrudge Garcia her anger. She'd been in love with Goldie. That explained so much, including the treatment Tam had received while under investigation. It made it easy to forgive her. If someone Tam loved had been murdered, and the person most likely to be the murderer was in the same room with her, she might react much worse. The detective had shown a great deal of restraint.

"So, what now?" Tam asked as the two started on the second bottle of wine. "Are you going to take down the fentanyl smuggling operation."

"Oh, sure thing! Tonight, I'm going to march up to Aiden's bosses, whose identities are still a complete fucking mystery, and demand they give themselves up. I'm also going to teleport to China and arrest everyone on that end of things too. By tomorrow morning, I'll expect my shiny medal for ridding the world of illicit drug rings."

"Do you always become more sarcastic when you're drinking?"

"I'm a homicide detective. Homicide, as in murder. I don't do drugs. Recreationally or professionally."

"You used to work in narcotics. You were there when my parents were arrested." She waited for Maris to react to this new kernel of information."

"I didn't think you remembered me."

"You brought me a muffin while I was waiting to be interviewed. You told me you liked my hair."

"I felt bad for what you'd gone through. Different circumstances, but I had to endure a police interview when I was a kid too." She cleared her throat. "Anyways, that was all a long time ago. And this is beyond LAPD. I'm not a fed."

"So, you're saying, federal agents are going to be involved. Because, as much of a joke as you're making this, Aiden gave me a concussion and held a gun to my head. And the concussion part was sanctioned by his bosses. We may not know who they are, but they know me, and to them, I'm a liability. Even if I'm cleared of Goldie's murder, I'm not safe. Or did you miss the part of my story where I mentioned that I was being set up?"

"I missed nothing."

"I'm not trying to make Goldie the bad guy. But facts are facts. She did this to me. I was never more than a scapegoat to her."

"A scapegoat who invited you over to cry on your shoulder when her girlfriend dumped her?"

"She was using me."

"Or maybe the real reason she invited you to her place was to confess to you what she'd done?"

"Not until just now when you said it."

"She wasn't a sociopath, Tam. She probably felt awful about it."

"I'd like to believe that. It would be nice not to have my memories of her so tainted. But that doesn't change the fact that she's dead and I'm in danger. Aiden, all the people he works for and with—they need to be brought down."

"There's a lot more time and paperwork involved in bringing people down than television shows would lead you to believe."

"Detective Garcia--"

"Call me Maris. Look, I'll make the necessary phone calls. Fill in Ryan on whatever Jasper hasn't told him. I want to see them taken down too, but I have to work on my piece of things."

"But the pieces all fit together, don't they? She died because of the deal she made. And I'm not talking about her cosmetics line."

"Yet, you believe Aiden didn't kill her?"

Tam shook her head. "When we talked to him, he told us he'd never been to her penthouse."

"Goldie didn't live in a penthouse."

"Exactly. It's what I can imagine her telling him, though. She liked to play herself up. It's that projection of success she would have wanted to convey to him."

"It's what she thought she should want, not what she really wanted. There's a difference."

"In the end, there isn't. Whatever she wanted, she died without getting it."

Maris' face seemed to bend in on itself. She turned herself away from Tam's gaze. "What do you imagine she saw in the end?"

Tam blinked. "What?"

"She always saw the end of things. She must have told you about that. It's how her mind worked. She started at the finale and worked her way backwards to find her path. When she was on her balcony that night, did she see herself fly?"

Tam inched the detective's wine glass away from her. "You've had enough for tonight."

"There can never be enough." She pulled herself out of her chair. "But you're right. Enough with that. I need something stronger."

The doorbell echoed out to them through the house. Maris froze midway to her back door, then motioned for Tam to follow. "Stay behind me."

They moved inside. Tam stood at the edge of the alcove as the detective retrieved her gun from a drawer in a table near the front door. She stood, pressing her face to peek through the door's peephole, then lowered her gun. Her shoulders relaxed.

"Looks like the boys arrived in time to crash our sleepover."

"Let us in, Maris!" The doorbell buzzed again, followed by Ryan's fists pounding the door.

Maris raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck's got him so riled up?"

She unbolted to door and began pulling it open, only to have Detective Ryan rush at her. He pushed Maris back against the wall, securing her gun from her.

"What the fuck, Zachary." She kneed him in groin.

Jasper darted over to Tam, wrapping her in his arms. "Are you okay? I told you to stay at the hotel."

"You're not my father." She pushed him away. "What's happening here? You're lucky she's been drinking, or I have a feeling he'd be nursing more than a sore crotch."

"We were afraid..." He put his hands on her arms and gawked at her. "Did she hurt you?"

"Why would she do that?"

"Because, Tam... she was in love with Goldie."

"My God! Not that. Anything but that!"

His grip on her loosened. "You already knew, didn't you?"

"Maris is a very reasonable person once she understands that you aren't responsible for her girlfriend's death. We've had a productive conversation. She's up to speed on everything we know about the fentanyl operation." She glanced over Jasper's shoulder at the detectives. "Excuse me for a moment. Maris, do you need help?"

"No, I've got it, thanks." Maris pressed her partner's face against the floor. "Zachary, are you ready to play nice?"

______

A productive conversation, indeed... Are we ready to let Aiden off the hook for Goldie's murder or is he still a suspect? If not Aiden, then who? 

I hope you are still engaged in the mystery! There are still some big moments, surprises, and reveals to come!