Cause to Kill

“It’s Black. What’s the update?”

“The minivan headed north up Charles Street. That’s all I’ve got. Wasn’t sure if I should check the bridges or not.”

“We’ve got a murderer on the loose,” Avery snapped. “You check everything. Your partner Jones is already way ahead of you. Where did he go after Charles Street?”

“Let me figure that out,” he said.

“No,” she replied. “You’re off surveillance duty for the day. I need you on something more important: George Fine. Harvard student. I’m here now. Ramirez’s been stabbed. He’s at the hospital. I need everything you can find on George Fine. Contact his parents if you have to. He’s in police custody. Does he have a house somewhere, maybe northwest of Harvard? Keys are right here on his desk. Any previous medical history? Talk to his friends, family, anyone you can, you understand? No password on his computer so you can go through that too. You’re on Harvard duty for the rest of the day.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

“No – you’ll get here now!” she yelled and hung up.

North, she thought. He went north from Lederman Park. Maybe over the bridge and right into Harvard? Then why would you go west after you picked up Cindy from the alley?

Talk to me, Fine, she thought and gazed around the room. Talk to me.

* * *

An hour later, Avery was at the hospital.

The knife had only slightly perforated Ramirez’s lung. Luckily, it had missed all the other major organs, but doctors needed to go in and stitch up the internal wound.

She headed to the waiting room.

Three plainclothes cops were already there. One of the cops had a frog-like face; he was pudgy but solid, with cropped black hair and narrow eyes.

Great, Avery thought. Finley.

Finley Stalls was one of the worst bullies in the department, a deeply unhappy Irishman who drank every night and walked around the office in a foul mood every day. He had a sardonic sense of humor, and although he was never the first person to pick on Avery, he was always the last one laughing.

All three officers gave her the same emotionless expressions that she was used to in the department. She was about to wave and try to dilute their typical charm when Finley nodded in her direction and spoke in his fast, practically incomprehensible Boston accent.

“Wicked good work,” he said.

She couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not.

The second officer chimed in.

“You trying to get the record for most partners killed, Black?”

Ah, she thought. Kidding.

“Come on,” the third officer scoffed. “Give her a break. It’s not her fault. Ramirez is a fuckin’ fairy around suspects. Always acts like the hand of God won’t get him hurt or something. Fuckin’ idiot. She got him here in one piece, didn’t she?”

“You catch the killer?” the second officer asked.

“We’ll see,” Avery said.

She waited for the next joke, the next verbal assault, but none came. The officers simply mulled around, and for the first time in a long time, Avery was able to mentally relax around a bunch of cops and try to focus.

She called forensics.

“Randy, any updates?”

Randy sat in a white lab in the basement of the department. A microscope was on her desk and she peeked through it while she talked.

“I’m glad you called,” she said. “Remember those natural drugs we talked about, the plants he might have had to paralyze and ultimately kill his victim? I received confirmation on that. The toxins in her body pointed to about sixty percent opium. Very pure. Has to be his own plant. Did you get any leads on that?”

“I talked to a drug supplier I know,” Avery said. “Asked who would be stupid enough to sell just the poppy seeds and have their heroin sales go down the drain. Waiting to hear back. I was hoping you had some other leads. I’m nowhere on LED lights and gardening supplies. You can get them anywhere.”

“Looking at fibers right now taken off the girl’s body,” Randy said. “One of them is definitely cat, maybe a tabby? I think our killer likes animals. Hopefully, he doesn’t just stuff them for show. There are dirt specks, too. Typical garden variety. I’d say you’re looking for a green thumb, and someone that has plants, animals, a real garden nut.”

Avery couldn’t fit the pieces together.

George Fine had no plants and no cats.

Maybe it’s at his other location, she thought. But wouldn’t there have been some evidence of that in his dorm? Books on botanicals, drugs?

“All right,” Avery said. “Call me if you find anything else.”

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Avery knocked on Ramirez’s door and entered.

Ramirez waved her in with his arms high and a smile.

“Look who it is,” he called. “My savior.”

“Not really,” Avery replied. “What did I do?”

“You kept your cool,” Ramirez pointed out, “and you acted like a real cop with a suspect in there, not some stupid rookie like me. It’s all good, though,” he scowled, “I’ll be out of here in no time. Doctor said I can leave tomorrow. I’ll be back at the desk by Friday.”

“That’s not what I hear,” Avery said. “Doctor said you need at least two weeks to heal. He wants you off your feet.”

“What?” Ramirez complained. “You better not tell the captain about that. Don’t make me go home and sit on my ass. You don’t know what my home life is like.”

“What’s your home life like?” she wondered.

Ramirez was an enigma to her: good-looking, in great shape, perfectly dressed, and seemingly bothered by nothing. The attack by George had shown another side: a bit careless, angry, and no real defensive training to have dealt with George’s speed and surprise. At first, he’d reminded Avery of all the men she’d had random one-night stands with a few years back. They, too, had been shiny on the outside, but once she’d peeled back a layer or two, they were a mess. She hoped that wouldn’t be the case with her new partner.

“Aw, man, you really want me to dispel the mystery?” he said. “OK, why not. I am in a hospital bed. I know I come off like Superman, but honestly? I’m just a normal guy on the inside, Black. I love the job but I don’t like to sweat, so I’m rarely in the gym and I’m definitely not the most deadly man on the force. You see this amazing physique? I was born with it.”

“Anybody at home?” Avery asked.

“Used to have a girlfriend. Six years. She left me a while back. Said I had too much trouble committing. Come on, Black! Let’s be honest. Why would a man as fine as myself commit to one woman, when there are millions out there?”

Lots of reasons, Avery thought.