The Whispering Room

Lapierre sat back in her chair and studied her for a moment. Her eyes were dark and hooded. She couldn’t seem to turn off her sensuality even when talking to another woman. “As soon as you open up that can of worms, you’ll have feds crawling all over the place. Betts is their boy.”

“Somebody’s already opened it,” Evangeline said. “I seriously doubt those guys just happened upon the crime scene yesterday morning.”

“You think someone here tipped them off?”

Evangeline shrugged. “They found out somehow. And they were there for a reason.”

“And you think that reason has something to do with Sonny Betts.”

“It’s worth looking into. Courtland was his attorney, although according to both Mrs. Courtland and Betts, the two parted ways after he was acquitted.” She paused, then said, “From everything Mrs. Courtland said, it sounds as though the feds might have been leaning on Courtland pretty hard. If they convinced him to drop a dime on his client, that’d be a pretty good motive for murder.”

“Mrs. Courtland also mentioned something about a dead cop,” Mitchell offered. When Evangeline blasted him a warning glance, he barely shrugged.

“What about a dead cop?” Lapierre’s tone sharpened.

“As in, Courtland said he didn’t want to end up like that dead cop.”

The captain’s gaze lit on Evangeline and her attitude subtly shifted. “I see.”

Damn you, Mitchell.

“Theroux?”

“Yeah, Captain?”

“You have anything more to add?”

“It would sure be helpful if we knew who those two agents were yesterday and what they’re up to.”

“I’ve got a contact or two in the federal building.” Lapierre absently tapped a manicured nail on the desk, as if her mind were suddenly somewhere else. “I’ll make a call, see what I can find out.”

“What do you want us to do about Sonny Betts?”

“We need to be careful how we handle that situation so we don’t step on any toes. And right now we don’t have anything but a hunch tying him to Courtland’s murder.” She reached for her phone, indicating their meeting was over. “One more thing,” she said as they stood and headed for the door.

They turned in unison.

“This whole thing leaves a real bad taste in my mouth. This isn’t just murder. There’s something dark going on here, and I don’t much like where this case seems to be headed. I’ll like it even less if somebody starts leaking to the press. You get me?”

They both indicated that they did.

“Then go find me the killer before somebody else turns up dead on my watch. And, Theroux?”

“Captain?”

“Don’t make this personal. It’s not about you and it’s not about a dead cop. It’s about finding Paul Courtland’s killer. Understood?”

“Understood.” Evangeline resisted the temptation to add but what I do on my own time is my business.

As it turned out, she had another chance to make that argument a little while later when Lapierre called her back into the office, this time alone.

“I’m taking you off the Courtland case,” Lapierre said without preface.

Evangeline had not expected that. She stared at her superior in speechless outrage.

“Mitchell will take the lead. Turn over all your notes to him.”

“Am I allowed to ask why?” Evangeline said through clenched teeth. She was furious, but she also knew losing her temper would do far more harm than good with Angelette Lapierre.

“I saw the way you looked when Mitchell brought up that conversation about a dead cop. You’ve already fixated on the notion that Johnny’s death is somehow tied to Paul Courtland and Sonny Betts. Fixated, I might add, without a shred of evidence.”

“That’s not true,” Evangeline protested. “I’ve done nothing but work this case by the book.”

Lapierre gave her a cool appraisal. “That may be true at the moment, but I see the potential for conflict of interest and I’m nipping it in the bud before we have a compromised investigation.”

Evangeline glared back at her. “What brought this on so suddenly? You weren’t concerned this morning. Someone must have said something.”

Lapierre folded her hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Actually, your behavior since Johnny’s death has caused me concern for quite some time now. You’re obsessed with finding his killer, so much so that you’re in danger of losing your objectivity. And a detective with tunnel vision is no good to me or anyone else.”

“So that’s it.”

“That’s it for the Courtland investigation, but there’s no shortage of misery in this city. You’ve got a shitload of other cases to work on. Do us both a favor and let this one go without a fight. There’s no way you’ll win it.”

Wordlessly, Evangeline stood and started toward the door.

“Evangeline?”

She glanced over her shoulder. It was the first time the captain had ever addressed her by her first name.

“Contrary to what you may think, I like you. You’ve got the potential to be a damn good investigator. Don’t do something stupid to derail a promising career before it ever gets traction.”

“With all due respect, Captain…”