“I live for them. Bring me the file and I’ll take a look.”
“Thanks. And Cleo is calling a staff meeting for two this afternoon.”
“I thought we suffered through those on Monday mornings.”
“We do. But Cleo is making her own rules.”
Maddy left without closing the door, and Lacy looked at the screen on her desktop. She scrolled through the usual lineup of emails she could either ignore or postpone, and stopped at one from Jeri Crosby.
Can we talk? I’ll call you. Number is 776-145-0088. Your phone won’t recognize it.
Lacy stared at the email for a long time as she tried to think of ways to avoid a response. She wondered which of the half-dozen cell phones Jeri was using. Hers buzzed and the number appeared.
“Hello, Jeri,” she said as she walked to the door to close it.
“Thanks for yesterday, Lacy, you have no idea what that meant to me. I slept last night for the first time in forever.”
Well, I’m glad you did. Even with Allie’s warm body next to her, she’d had trouble shutting out the events of the day. “That’s nice, Jeri. Yesterday was quite interesting.”
“To say the least. So, what’s up?”
The question threw her as she suddenly realized that her new friend might feel the need to call every day for updates. “What do you mean?”
“Well, what do you think? What’s next?”
“I haven’t thought about it,” she lied. “A day out of the office and I’m still trying to catch up.”
“Sure, and I don’t mean to bother. Forgive me, but I’m so relieved that you’re on the case now. You have no idea how lonely this has been.”
“I’m not sure there is a case, Jeri.”
“Of course there is. Did you look through the files?”
“No, I haven’t got there yet, Jeri. I’m busy with other stuff right now.”
“I see. Look, we need to meet again and cover the other victims. I know it’s a lot for you to digest so soon, but, I dare say nothing on your desk could possibly be as important as Bannick.”
True. Everything in the office paled in comparison to allegations of murder against a judge.
“Jeri, I can’t just drop everything else and open a new case. Any involvement on my part must be approved by the director. Didn’t I explain this?”
“I guess.” Brushing it aside, she continued, “I’m in class today and tomorrow, but what about Saturday? I’ll make the drive over and we can meet somewhere private.”
“I thought about this driving home yesterday, for three hours, and I still don’t see how we have any jurisdiction. We’re just not equipped to investigate a murder, singular or plural.”
“Your friend Hugo Hatch was murdered, in a staged car wreck, and I believe there was another murder in the casino case. Right, Lacy? You were involved in that one up to your ears.” Her tone was becoming aggressive, but there was still a fragility in her voice.
Calmly, Lacy replied, “We talked about that and I explained that there were real detectives in that case, even the FBI.”
“But you made it happen, Lacy. Without you, the crimes would not have been solved.”
“Jeri, what am I supposed to do? Go to Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas, and Marathon, Florida, and dig through old police files and somehow find evidence that isn’t there? The police, the pros, couldn’t find it. You’ve been trying for twenty years. There is simply not enough proof.”
“Six dead people, all killed the same identical way, and all six had a connection to Bannick. And you think that’s not enough? Come on, Lacy. You can’t let me down here. I’m at my wit’s end. If you turn your back on me, then where am I supposed to go?”
Anywhere. Just please go away.
Lacy exhaled and told herself to be patient. “I understand, Jeri. Look, I’m busy right now. Let’s talk later.”
If she heard this she didn’t acknowledge it. “I’ve checked around, Lacy. Every state has a different way to deal with judicial complaints, but almost every state allows an aggrieved party to initiate an investigation in some anonymous way. I’m sure it can be done in Florida.”
“Are you willing to sign a complaint?”
“Maybe, but we need to talk some more. It seems possible to do it with an alias or something. Don’t you think?”
“I’m not sure right now, Jeri. Please, let’s talk tomorrow.”