Chapter 7

Zane woke the next morning and rolled over hoping to find Hope beside him but she was gone. She had left a note for him and he read it eagerly.

Sorry to love and leave.

It’s not you. I thoroughly enjoyed last night and I enjoy you too. You’re an interesting man.

I think it's best that I go and that we don’t see each other again. I’m guessing that the next time you see me will be when you arrest me if you arrest me. It will be best if you do, rather than repeat last night. Even better would be for you to leave. Take a transfer and go settle in another town far from here. You can’t stop what’s coming and neither can I. But we are on opposite sides and I can’t change that. I’m pretty sure you won’t either. Even if you wanted to, other people aren’t willing to give you the opportunity.

Please don’t let your ego get in the way. Listen. Think about it.

I’m trying to help you.

Hope.

Zane read the note. It was cryptic. Why would he leave? Of course, criminals wouldn’t invite him to join them. Unless they wanted a corrupt cop on the force on their side which would make sense. Surely that would be a better option? But from what Hope was saying, he wasn’t wanted. Why? Did they have another cop on their side already? If so, who? And why wouldn’t she say?

He wouldn’t just go away. This was his town. And asking for a transfer would probably result in a demotion. It wasn’t easy to expect to be a police chief in another town on direct transfer. He had worked his ass off to get elected as police chief in this town and he hoped he would maybe make mayor at some point so leaving was out of the question.

He was disappointed as he prepared for the day. Disappointed in himself for sleeping with Hope. He should have arrested her and been done with it. But he couldn’t go back. What was done was done. He could just make sure that he didn’t have another moment of weakness.

He tried to cheer himself up as he played with her name on the way to work.

There’s no Hope in hell that I’ll sleep with her again.

She must be Hoping I’ll let her get away as she has in all the other places.

She better Hope she doesn’t run into me again.

He felt better by the time he pulled up at the station. He found Brian with a plaster over his left eyebrow.

“Morning,” Zane greeted him. “Got that cut seen to by the doctor?”

“Morning. Yep. Not too bad. I’ll be fine.”

“Great!” Zane replied. “We need to focus on arresting that woman’s ass as soon as we can. I’ve got a feeling she’s not going away any time soon. The sooner we shut her down the better.”

Brian looked at Zane saying nothing. He looked as if he were pondering something then nodded, “Sure. But where do we start to look?’

“Well, I pulled off a ton of stuff on her yesterday. She’s been around a long time peddling her shit in other places around us. She’s been caught many times and always seems to escape. Every time. It’s not happening here. We run a clean town and she’s not going to ruin it for us. I need you to start calling some of the surrounding counties and states and

speaking with the officers that dealt with her case. Let’s see what we can come up with. She also seems to be proud of her nickname, ‘Flamingo’. She says it means kindness and says that she puts a lot of kids through school with the money she makes from peddling drugs.”

“When did she tell you that?”

“When she had me tied up last night,” Zane said. “Seemed damn proud of it too. You’ll have to ask in the other towns around here. I doubt kids in Hurstville know of her yet.”

“So she destroys kids' lives on one hand and then tries to appease her guilt by putting other kids through school?”

“Something like that,” Zane said. “See what you can find about homeless or poor kids getting sponsored by someone for school.”

“Sure chief. That’s a big ask but I’ll get on it. What are you going to be doing?”

“I’m going back to where we caught her. But before I do that, I’m having a chat with the kids we arrested with her.”

“Uh ... about that ...”

Zane stopped and raised his eyebrows expectantly waiting for Brian to continue.

“A hotshot lawyer waltzed in here last night and demanded the release of all of the kids. He had proof that bail had been agreed and posted, and Terry let the kids go.”

Zane opened his mouth then closed it. He felt his face flush with anger. Who in the world had enough power to get bail posted after hours? What the hell was going on in this place?

“It’s all legit,” Brian said handing the files to Zane.

Zane glanced through the files quickly. He doubted the kids would talk to him now. He wondered if they were even still alive. It was beginning to feel like things were working against him very fast. He felt anger rise within. Anger for stupidity. His stupidity. Anger at Hope. While he had been screwing her in his house, he had been getting screwed in another way. His prisoners and potential witnesses were being released. He had nothing.

He had the feeling he was dealing with a well-oiled machine where everything worked like clockwork. He was potentially one man against what was happening. He felt his stomach turn uncomfortably.

“Why didn’t Terry call me?” Zane asked.

Brian shrugged. “Guess he didn’t see the need to. Everything in the file checks out. Maybe he called Judge Borth and confirmed with him. Don’t take it too hard Zane. If you want the guys to call you for every little thing you’ll never get any rest. Never mind making them feel you’ve got no confidence in them.”

Zane sighed. “You’re right. Thanks, Brian,” he said. Then he took the files and left the office.

He climbed in his cruiser and drove to the county courthouse. He parked and entered the building. It was still early and the court had not started for the day. It used to be quiet but lately, he had seen the increase in crime that had begun to stretch his resources as well as the hours of the courthouse.

“Good morning,” he greeted Angel, Judge Borth’s secretary.

“Oh, good morning,” she replied smiling broadly when she saw it was him. She stood and asked, “How can I help you Chief?”

“I need to see Judge Borth urgently please Angel. It’s about the youngsters that were released on bail last night.”

“Just a moment Zane,” she smiled. She picked up the phone and buzzed Judge Borth.

“I have Chief Zane here to see you.” She listened for a moment and then put the phone down. “You can go in Chief. He can see you now.”

“Thanks, Angel,” Zane said and entered Judge Borth’s office. Judge Borth was seated behind his desk writing something when Zane entered. He didn’t look up. Zane had known Judge Borth a long time. They generally agreed on cases and got along well on matters of the law. Zane’s arrest record was impeccable and he had never had a case dismissed due to any failures in p[olice or legal procedure.

“Good morning Zane,” Judge Borth said as Zane closed the door behind him.

“Good morning Judge,” Zane replied.

“You want to see me about something?” Judge Borth asked indicating Zane should be seated.

Zane sat down. He waited for the judge to finish what he was doing. When Judge Borth was finally finished writing he looked up and smiled at Zane.

“I did want to see you, Judge. It’s about the young kids that were released last night on bail. You signed the order. Can I ask who put up the bail?”

“I got a call from someone in DC. They told me that the kids were linked to a senator who had asked that bail be posted and the kids released. It’s their first offense and they’re all underage. I agreed, set bail, and signed the release order as soon as I had proof that the funds had been transferred to the court’s account.”

“Can I ask who the senator is that the kids are linked to?”

“I don’t even know that,” Judge Borth replied.

“So who asked you to release them on bail?”

“A colleague in the justice department. You know what the politics are like in DC.”

“I don’t, Judge. I’ve got a nasty feeling the kids have been let off and will never come to trial.”

Judge Borth’s chair creaked as he leaned back in it. “That’s a broad statement to make Zane. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was an accusation too.”

Zane looked Judge Borth in the eyes. The judge had aged over the years but his eyes still looked like those of a young man and he was still as sharp as the day that Zane had first met him.

“Not at all, Judge. Not at all. I just have a feeling we’re not going to see the kids again.”

“Well, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Save the state some money. Why we want to try people for misdemeanors beats the hell out of me. Those kids would have taken up the best part of half a day and for what? To get off on a first offense?”

“It’s not just about them Judge. They were recruited by a queenpin of all things who seems to be setting up shop to peddle drugs in this town. She managed to escape after we arrested her yesterday and I needed those kids to maybe cast some light on where we can find her.”

“She escaped?” Judge Borth asked dismayed.

Zane nodded.

“Well then Zane, I suggest you get your ass into gear and start finding her instead of standing here and busting mine about releasing a couple of underage kids,” Judge Borth said coldly. Zane had never been addressed in such a manner by Judge Borth. While he wanted to press the issue of the children’s bail, he decided it might be best not to.

“Sure Judge. Thanks for your time.” Zane stood and left, Judge Borth’s office greeting Angel on the way out.