One Step Ahead

Tell Me You Didn't

6:15 PM 

      Sanger sat in his office, bouncing the end of a pencil on the top of his desk, as he waited for his "guests" to arrive. Eloise had met him as soon as he had entered the building, informing him that she had contacted Detective Garza, and that he had agreed to accompany his niece to the interview. She had also told him that the officers searching Elton Keel's apartment had found no sign of the journal, and that the computer forensics department had received the dead man's laptop, and were attempting to go through his files.

      Pulling his eyes away from the repetitive motion of the pencil, he saw the hulking form of Ed Garza walking down the hallway toward his door, with his niece, Lisa Fernandez, at his side. He motioned for them to enter, and they stepped inside, Garza shutting the door behind them, and indicating to Lisa that she should be seated.

      She sat, eyes downcast, as Sanger put down the pencil and leaned forward, steepling his forefingers under his chin. "Hello, Officer Fernandez. How are you feeling today?"

      "Not so great, sir. I can't close my eyes without seeing ..." She broke off with a sob, shuddering visibly.

      "I understand completely, it's difficult enough to process a scene like that, and even more so when it's someone you know. Trust me, I know, I had to do the same thing just a few days ago. You won't ever forget it, but in time you will be able to put it far enough to the back of your mind that you'll be able to sleep through the night again."

      "God, I hope so!"

      Sanger nodded gravely as the young woman's uncle patted her shoulder, then resumed speaking. "Now, I need to ask you some questions regarding your presence at the crime scene, Officer. What, exactly, was your reason for visiting Mr. Keel?"

      "We're ..., I mean, we were..., friends," The rookie officer was facing Sanger, so she didn't see her uncle roll his eyes and grimace at the statement. "He was supposed to get ahold of me yesterday, and he never did, so I went by to see what happened. The door was kinda open when I got there, and he was just sitting there, not answering me, so I called it in. I got connected with Darius Jones, and he asked me to check on him, and ..."

      "Why were you concerned enough to call 911 so quickly? Didn't it occur to you that maybe he just fell asleep at his desk?" Sanger queried. 

      She hesitated, then reluctantly said,  "I wasn't sure. He told me once that he used to do speed or poppers when he was in college, if he needed to make a deadline, and I was kind of worried that maybe he started up again, and maybe took too much or something."

      "I suppose I can understand that," the detective acknowledged. Then, since he had gotten her to open up a bit, he changed tactics and revealed the actual reason he had asked her to come in. "But you said that he was supposed to contact you, correct? Tell me, Lisa, did this have anything to do with the items that have gone missing from the evidence locker?"

      The young woman started visibly at the question, and Detective Garza pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "Lisa, please tell me you didn't."

      She sat silently for several moments, then tears began sliding down her cheeks, and she looked up at the two men pleadingly. "I just wanted to help him get his career going, you have to understand that! I knew Mom and Dad would have a fit if we wanted to get married and I was making more than he was. He was going to bring it back yesterday afternoon, but I told him to wait a bit, because of what you said about having him arrested if he came to the press conference. I was covering part of Will's shift, so I told him to come by afterward, but he never did. If I'd just told him to go ahead and come, maybe he'd still be alive!"