I See You

Chapter Fifteen

        Cody was tired. Hell he'd left tired behind around five hours ago. He was actually skating towards a flat out exhausted. To make matters worse he still hadn't had his shower. He planned on giving this case another hour, then he planned to head back to his house, shower, jerk off, then pass out; maybe add some food in there somewhere.

        But he couldn't. It wouldn't happen no matter how badly he wanted to shove this PC down into a trash can and go home. But he knew he couldn't. Cody needed to do this for William and Emma.

        "You still looking through those juvie files?" Hank asked, dropping down into the chair across from Cody.

        "Yeah, I know there's a connection somewhere in this between that case number and my partial print on the bullet we found on the floor. There was just enough print to warrant opening all the files. I just need to find the link," Cody said, scrolling down another page. He had to wait for the Zip drive to be processed by CSI people for prints, and then he would get a good look at what was contained there.

        "I saw the evidence you logged this morning early," Hank said simply. Cody glanced at the older man with a frown. Waiting for the sarcasm, irritation Hank always displayed in his direction.

        "Yeah? Did you want to see my notes?" Cody pulled out the yellow legal pad he'd used to document not only the matchbox, but later the zip drive he'd returned to the house to retrieve properly. "I have the photos uploaded on the mainframe for you to look through whenever. And looked into whether or not William reported any break ins up to the date of his murder."

        "Yeah? What'd you find?"

        "Nothing. He hadn't called the police except for once nearly eight years ago, and that was to report a person having car trouble out in an intersection." Cody sighed and pushed the notebook away. "I linked those new evidence photos I posted. They should all be viewable for you."

        "Yeah, I saw them, ah," Hank rubbed his mouth before swearing quietly. "Look I'm sorry Rook—Cody. I owe you an apology for the way I treated you before." The older man sat up straight and gave Cody what had to pass for his more repentant look. "I don't often admit when I'm wrong, but in this, I was."

        Cody must be having some kind of stroke, or had Hank just admitted he was not only wrong but also sorry. Under the desk Cody pinched his upper thigh. The small pain proved he was indeed awake, and not having a mental break or something. Well, a lesser man would give the old man a hard time. But his Gran would beat him with her gumbo spoon if he shamed her by not behaving the way she and his Ma had raised him.

        "Well Hank, you know we all make mistakes sometimes." He leveled his stare on Hank. "Sure as hell know I have made more than a few over the years." Cody nodded once to show it was all done. "You can check the adult prints for a match."

        Hank nodded slowly with a look of begrudging respect on his face. "Yeah, oh by the way I had an APB put out on the Reeves brothers. Thought that a special invitation would speed things up for us."

        Cody sighed and lifted his mug to drink the tepid sludge this place called coffee. "Should, of course we find something concrete we're going to have to fight the DEA folks for the carcass."

        Hank snorted. "If we catch them, they're our guests." He stood and left Cody in his office. How the hell had that happened? When had his partner gotten less...difficult? Not that he was complaining but damn he was going to have whiplash if this kept up. Or worse had Hank been possessed by the spirit of a nice human being? Ethically could he leave him in that attachment? Even if it was for the greater good?