The Genesis Chamber Read online

  “Bite me,” she sniped back as she extended her right arm and raised her middle finger within inches of his face.

  The Genesis Chamber

  Chapter 3

  Andy and Maria arrived at police headquarters and made their way towards the homicide department. They passed Lieutenant Jack Regan, who stopped in his tracks as the smell of stale alcohol filled the air. The lieutenant turned to face the detectives.

  “Cooper!” he shouted. “A word in my office, please. Alone.”

  The detectives turned around as their superior disappeared into his office.

  “Uh oh.” She shrugged. “Sounds like he’s on one of his power trips again.”

  “I’m guessing he can smell stale alcohol.” He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

  “What?” She sniffed her jacket. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

  “Here.” Andy passed Maria the piece of paper Coop had given him earlier. “You go and look into this while I see what he wants.”

  Andy started towards Regan’s office. “Freshen up while you’re at it. You stink like you’ve been more than a little intimate with a bottle of Jack Daniels.”

  She scowled at him as he disappeared into the lieutenant’s office.

  Regan had sat behind his desk by the time Andy entered the office. “Close the door and sit down,” he ordered. The detective closed the door and slowly sat in the chair opposite. “What’s going on, Cooper?”

  “Boss?” he said, with a puzzled look on his face.

  “Hernandez.” He leaned forward on his desk. “She looks like shit, and smells like she’s been sleeping under a bridge.”

  “That is a very real possibility, sir.” He laughed.

  “It’s not good. It doesn’t look good for the department, and it certainly doesn’t look good on you.” He pointed at Andy. “She’s your partner, for Christ’s sake.”

  “She might look like a sack of shit but…” He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “It doesn’t interfere with her work.”

  “Maybe so, but for how long?” Regan opened a file on the desk and started flicking through its contents. “How many times have we seen this behavior from her?”

  “She’s just letting off a little steam—”

  “Well, that steam could result in this department being brought down if she compromises an investigation due to her nocturnal activities!” he snapped.

  “I hear what you’re saying, boss.” The detective tried to calm his superior down. “I’ll have a word.”

  “Make it soon.” Regan closed the file and sat back in his chair.

  Andy noted the name on the cover of the file: Maria Hernandez. The lieutenant had obviously been checking up on his partner.

  “Now, down to business.” Regan interlaced his fingers across his chest. “How is the investigation going with these gangbangers shooting up my town?”

  “Slow, boss. You know how it is with these guys; they smell a cop and they clam up.” Andy shrugged. “They like to deal with things their way.”

  Regan paused for a moment. “Step it up. We need to draw a line under this before some innocent bystander gets caught in the crossfire.” He smiled and leaned forward onto the desk. “Although, if it were left to me, I’d round them all up, stick ‘em in a room and let them shoot it out till they were all dead.”

  The detective smiled at that thought. “Failing that, boss, what do you suggest?”

  “Let’s get a few more cars and uniforms on the streets.” He opened another file and started writing some notes. “Make more of a police presence, to reassure the public we’re making some effort.” He closed the file and handed it to Andy. “You head it up for me.”

  Andy got up and took the file. “Will do.”

  “One more thing.” The lieutenant stopped him as he reached the door. “Leave Hernandez in the office. Let her sober up away from the public eye.” He opened another file and buried his head in it. “That’s all,” he added, without taking his attention away from the paperwork he was looking through.

  Andy left the office and headed for his desk.

  “What’s happening?” His partner met him on the way.

  He hesitated and took a breath. “Maria, I’ve got some bad news for you.”

  “Uh oh, what’s Lieutenant Buzzcut been crying about now?”

  “Lieutenant Regan wants you to lay off the sauce.” He dropped the file on his desk and faced her.

  “Yeah? What’s new? I thought you said bad news.”

  “I did.” He braced himself. “He wants you on desk duty till you sober up.”

  “Desk duty!” Visibly agitated, she pushed past him. “Are you serious? I’m going to rip him—”

  He managed to grab her by the wrist. “Maria, he’s right.” She turned back to him with an incredulous look. “Look, you’re a good cop, but you’re drinking your career into the toilet,” he pleaded with her. “Take this as a warning. If he was the real bastard that you think he is, he could have taken your badge by now. But he’s giving you some breathing space.” She looked back towards the lieutenant’s office. “Why don’t you stay here and look into that missing kid for Coop? He’d probably appreciate a quick response on it,” he reasoned with her as he released his grip.

  “Yeah, perhaps you’re right,” she conceded, and sat behind her desk.

  “Okay.” Andy breathed a sigh of relief. “Let me know later how it goes.” He started walking towards the briefing room.

  “Hey, whoa, slow down.” She stood up. “Where are you going?”

  “I’ve got to head up the investigation on the gang-related shootings.” He didn’t stop. “Regan wants more cars and uniforms on the street to act as a deterrent.”

  “Great. You get to kick ass and I get to kiss ass.” She sat down, deflated.

  Andy stopped as he felt the vibrations from his cell phone. He retrieved it out of his pocket, checked the text message, and put it back in his pocket as he turned back to his dejected partner. “I’ve got to go. Drink coffee, keep your head down, and I’ll catch you later.”

  He ignored her despondent look and continued to the briefing room. “I want all detectives in the briefing room now!” he shouted to the other officers in the office.

  Maria sat helplessly as she watched her partner enter the briefing room, followed by the other detectives. For the next hour she tried to peek through the briefing room window to see what Andy was organizing. Finally, the door opened, and all the detectives left and headed off in different directions.

  “How are you feeling?” Andy showed his concern as he approached her.

  “How do you think I’m feeling?” she snapped. “My ass is going numb. But on the upside, I’m getting the feeling back in my head.”

  His attention was grabbed when the phone on his desk rang. He immediately picked up the receiver.

  “Cooper . . . When . . . ? Get some units there, ASAP. I’m on my way.” He slammed the phone down. “Gotta go.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “There’s been another gang shooting,” he informed her, as he wrote the address down on a notepad.

  Maria jumped up and opened the drawer of her desk to retrieve her weapon. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

  “Hey, where are you going?” He put his hand up to stop her.

  “We’ve got a shooting to go and investigate.” Her enthusiasm was apparent as she holstered her weapon.

  “Not you,” he protested. “You stay here until the lieutenant thinks you’re fit enough to be back among the public.”

  “You’re shitting me, right?” Her eagerness quickly turned to anger.

  “No.” He moved closer to her. “Listen, if it looks like I’m going to need backup on this, I’ll call the lieutenant and tell him I need you. That way you get out of here without pissing him off.”

  She frowned and looked like she was considering what he was offering. Then, her frown dissipated. “Okay, thanks. You’d better call, though.”r />
  “And you’d better sort your shit out so we don’t get into this situation again.” He turned to leave. “Use this time to look into that thing for Coop.”

  She sat back down behind her desk, looked around at the now-empty office, and started to look on her computer for any information leading to the missing kid.

  ***

  In a district on the south side of downtown Orlando known as Little Haiti, Andy Cooper turned the corner and immediately saw the police tape. The scene had been cordoned off not long after the incident the night before, but had been left until the forensics team had arrived to process the evidence. He pulled the car up as close as possible and watched the swarm of activity for a moment. Forensics, in their white suits and face masks, were busy collecting anything that would tell them what happened. Uniformed officers were canvassing local resident’s houses for witnesses.

  He took a last gasp of the cool air inside the car before getting out into the already stifling Florida heat. He decided it was too hot for his jacket, so he left it in the car. As he approached the tape, a uniformed officer lifted it for him to pass.

  “What have we got here?” he asked, surveying the scene in more detail.

  The uniformed officer led him around the scene by pointing. “One male adult here, one male adult and one male minor in the doorway to the house. CSI’s doing their thing now, sir.”

  “There’s a kid involved?” He looked shocked.

  “Yes, sir.” The uniformed cop pointed back to the house. “Just inside the doorway over there.”

  “Damn.” He shook his head in disbelief and walked over to the first body, which lay half on the sidewalk and half on the street. Next to the body there was a .38 Smith & Wesson and a red baseball cap, which had rolled a few feet away after the victim had fallen. There was a forensics officer taking a few photos.

  The detective watched as forensics rolled the body over, took more photos, and did a search of the body. The only thing found was a mobile phone in his jacket pocket. “Any ID on this guy?” Andy asked.

  The CSI placed the cell phone in a clear plastic bag and sealed it up before placing it in his evidence box. “None whatsoever, Detective. I’m going to print him now and run them through our database.”

  “Let me know when you have something.” Andy looked up at the house. The front door was open, and he could see the body of a white Haitian male slumped in the doorway. He looked back to the forensics guy. “Are we clear to go in the house?”

  “We’re all done in there, sir, just waiting for you to give the go-ahead to remove the bodies.”

  “Thanks.” Andy gradually made his way up the steps to the front door. As he ascended, he stopped as the body of what he guessed to be a twelve- to thirteen-year-old boy came into view. Andy sighed and continued. A uniformed officer stepped into the doorway from inside the house.

  “Detective Cooper. Homicide.” He moved his forearm away, allowing the officer to see his badge. “And you are . . . ” He looked at the name badge on the uniform. “Wilson. Okay, Wilson, what are we looking at?”

  Wilson took out his notepad. “We haven’t got much at the moment, sir. This place belongs to Ilyas Surin.” He pointed at the body of the male adult. “A known Haitian drug dealer and gangbanger. Lives here with,” he pointed to the body of the boy, “his thirteen-year-old-son.”

  “Well, that accounts for these two.” The detective nodded to the body outside. “I suppose we’ll have to wait for forensics to come up with something on the guy in the street. Are we lucky enough to have any witnesses?”

  “We’re canvassing the neighborhood right now, but you know what it’s like around here.” Wilson pointed to a house directly across the street. “The old woman over there told us she heard shouting, looked out of the window, and saw a guy on the sidewalk either pointing or waving a gun at Surin. The kid appeared and tried to drag him back into the house. Surin’s gun went off. The guy outside started firing like a maniac and tried to run. Surin fired one last shot and dropped our mystery guest.”

  Andy quickly surveyed the scene again. “Hmm… What’s your take on this?”

  The uniformed officer pondered for a second. “If I was a betting man, I’d put money on this being a straightforward drug deal gone wrong, sir.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.” Andy patted Wilson on the shoulder. “Finish up and get the reports to me as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Andy descended the steps and took a long, hard look at the body on the sidewalk before getting back in his car and heading back to the station.

  ***

  Maria jumped up and ran towards Andy when he entered the office. “Thanks for the call, partner.”

  “What?” he asked, caught off guard.

  “You were supposed to call the lieutenant and get me out of here!” she pushed.

  He held his hands up in protest. “No. What I said was if I couldn’t handle it I would call the lieutenant and tell him I needed you.”

  “And?”

  “It was a straightforward drug deal gone wrong.” He put his hands down and continued to his desk. “Only tragic thing about it was a young kid got caught in the crossfire.”

  “A member of the public?” She was visibly disturbed by the news.

  “No.” He sighed as he sat down. “The drug dealer’s son. Looks like he was trying to drag his dad back into the house and got hit.”

  “Shit!” she gasped, as she sat opposite him. “Do we know who the shooter is?”

  “Was. And no. No wallet or ID on him.” He shook his head and started to fill out a report sheet. “Forensics is running his prints at the moment. We’ve got a witness whose version of events supports the theory of a drug deal gone wrong.”

  “Sounds boring.” She suddenly sat upright and looked excited. “You should see what I’ve got.”

  “Anything interesting?” He didn’t look up from his work.

  “Hell yeah!” She picked a small pile of papers up. “This kid that Coop asked us to look into. He’s not the first. I checked with missing persons. And they told me that, get this, there have been eighteen twelve- to thirteen-year-old boys gone missing in the last two months.”

  Andy instantly looked up at her. “How many?”

  “Eighteen,” she emphasized. “In two months.”

  “Any leads?” he quizzed.

  She shook her head. “None, all still open cases.”

  “There’s no bodies?”

  “No.” She passed a few pieces of paper to him. “There’s an average of one hundred kids that go missing in the whole state of Florida every month, which I am quite alarmed at. But, for eighteen to go missing in this area alone in such a short time isn’t right.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He nodded. “But, without any bodies, it’s not our department.” He passed the papers back to her. “You’re going to have to throw it back to missing persons.”

  “What?” She snatched the papers back. “Are you fucking serious? Have you seen these figures? This could be huge—”

  “Look, Maria.” He cut her short. “We’ve got enough on at the moment with all these gang-related shootings. And as you know, I’m temporarily without a partner—”

  “These aren’t numbers that someone has plucked out of the air,” she persisted. “According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the state of Florida ranks third in the nation for reported missing persons, most of whom are children—”

  “Enough!” he shouted. “I hear what you’re saying, but like I said, we’re homicide, not missing persons. The last thing we need is to be taking the workload from another department. We’re already stretched.” He returned to his paperwork. “And if you don’t sort your shit out, we’re going to be down another detective permanently.”

  Maria looked at the paperwork in her hands and reluctantly put it in a folder. “Okay, I’ll tell Coop we checked it out and it’s being dealt with by the relevant depart
ment.”

  “Now you’re thinking.” Andy signed the sheet he was filling in and put it in a file. “Come on, I’ll give you a lift back to the diner for your car. I’ve just got to stop at Chris’s on the way.”

  “I still can’t believe you made Jen go to work there,” she jibed.

  “It’s for her own good!” he snapped back at her.

  “Well, I think—” she began.

  He held his hand aloft and cut her short. “You are in no position to think, let alone advise me on my daughter.”

  She defensively held her hands up. “Hey, in the words of Coop, I’m only saying.”

  “Well, if you keep only saying, you’ll be walking from here.” He stood up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  She stood up and watched him head towards the elevators. With his back turned away from her she quickly picked up the folder containing the information she had found, and hid it under her jacket before rushing to catch up with him.

  The Genesis Chamber

  Chapter 4

  The traffic was already stacked up as the detectives drove out from the parking lot of police HQ. It took over twenty minutes to drive the normal ten minute-journey but, eventually, they pulled up outside AppTech, the software company owned by Andy’s identical twin brother, Chris. They entered the futuristic, glass-fronted building and were immediately greeted by the head of security, John Sinclair, at the reception desk.

  “Good afternoon, Detectives Cooper and Hernandez.” He smiled as he tapped on the keyboard in front of him and opened the visitor’s book on the counter for them to sign in. “How are we today?”

  “Fine thanks, John,” the male detective responded, and signed the book. “How are you?”

  “Everything is fine.” He checked the signature, then slid the book to the female detective, who signed it without hesitation. “Would you like me to buzz you up?”

  “Is Chris in his office?” Andy asked.

  “Just a moment, I’ll check,” he said, punching a few digits on the keyboard to bring up the security camera in his employer’s office. “Yes, he’s at his desk,” he confirmed, and reached under the counter to pass two ‘Visitors’ badges to the guests. “Just pin these on and I’ll let you through. Don’t forget to hand them back when you leave.”