Home Sweet Home Ch. 05

I'd like to give a continued thanks to Lastman416 for his advice and recommendations.

The sight of a police squad car parked in front of Riley's house had become an odd ritual. He had more than repaired his relationship with the local law enforcement, but somehow, life continued to find ways to bring them to his door on official business.

Riley sat with Diana at the kitchen table to be interviewed by Detective Joslynn Zielinski. Her family called her Jo Jo because her middle name was Josephina, but she phased out of that nickname after high school, finding it too silly for her profession.

Jo, the name she prefers to go by, was a ten-year police veteran, but only having a few months under her belt as a detective. As an authorized plain clothes officer, her wardrobe never drifted far from black, grey, charcoal, or other dreary colors. The only life in her style of dress were emeralds fastened to silver studs. The earrings matched her eyes so perfectly, when she blinked, it left the impression she never stopped looking.

Diana had called for a detective to come to Riley's house after her encounter with the suspicious man an hour ago. Jo arrived in a squad car driven by a patrol officer who was tasked with knocking on the doors of Riley's neighbors. Diana provided a summary of her interaction with the man, and Riley stated he hadn't noticed the man at all.

"Did the man Chief Jackson described sound familiar?" Jo asked Riley. He shook his head and raised a cup of coffee to his lips. He had offered everyone coffee, but they all declined. Riley was disappointed that Diana wouldn't discover how much his coffee had improved.

"Have you had any unexpected visitors. Unsolicited calls?" Jo asked.

"Nothing outside of a car warranty I don't have expiring," Riley said. He chuckled a little at his joke, then chased the awkward silence down with more coffee when no one so much as smiled.

"Did we get anything on his plate?" Diana asked.

"The car is registered to a resident of Indiana named Carlos Nogales. They sent a picture from the DMV and NCIC, but it's not matching your description," Jo said. She opened her phone and found the message an officer had sent her. She held the phone to Diana's eye level. With one glance Diana knew it wasn't the same man. "Not to say interesting things didn't come with that name. He's got a record."

"What kind?" Diana asked.

"Drug related. Did a stint for trafficking in Yuma. Three years, and then two years probation. After his time was up, he moved to Indiana," Jo said. She placed her phone on the table and then prepared her pen for note taking. "What about your tenant?"

"Tilly? What about her?" Riley asked.

"She was incarcerated for drug charges in Indiana. A few short weeks after she leases your second floor, the car owned by a man with a record of drug charges pulls into your driveway. In my line of work, there is really no such thing as a coincidence. There are only patterns," Jo said. Riley paused to think, but the more he did the less he wanted to speak. It made sense.

"You'd have to ask Tilly. I can't speak for her," Riley said. Jo watched Riley to measure his demeanor. She sensed his defensive instinct toward Tilly and knew he wouldn't weigh in on her possible involvement. Not yet.

"I'll have to talk to her," Jo said.

"She's next door talking to our neighbor. I'm sure she'll be back soon," Riley said.

Jo filled the time while they waited for Tilly by asking more questions. The patrol officer returned and provided Jo with his report. All the houses were on one side of the road, so there wasn't an across the street neighbor who had line of sight. No one said they saw anything.

Tilly returned to the house, timidly stepping inside from the indications of police outside and their presence within. Jo stood up from her chair and stepped into the living room. Tilly adjusted herself in the room until she could make eye contact with Riley. He was the only person she trusted to not walk her into a trap. His eyes didn't help her relax.

"Ms. Aberdeen?" Jo asked. Tilly turned her gaze to Jo, and then nodded. "I'm Detective Zielinksi. May I ask you a few questions?"

"What's this about?" Tilly asked.

"A suspicious man was on the property earlier today. We're just trying to figure out who that was and why he was here," Jo explained. "It'll be brief."

"Can I get a lawyer?" Tilly asked.

"I'm just asking questions," Jo replied.

"I understand that, and I want to help. But last time I talked to the police without a lawyer I served seven months in prison," Tilly said. Jo understood her reluctance considering her history with the police. "I'll answer anything with a lawyer. But not before I get one."

"Do you know a man named Carlos Nogales?" Jo asked just to study Tilly's reaction.

"I just said I'm not answering questions," Tilly said with force. A second later she thought she may have used too much force. "Without a lawyer," she said to caveat her reply.

"When you get a lawyer, please call me," Jo said. She removed a card from the inner breast pocket of her jacket and extended it out to Tilly. Tilly took the card, and nodded, knowing the context of Jo's words. Don't make me call you. Tilly excused herself from the environment and went upstairs.

"That's all I got Chief. The patrols are aware of the plate. If they find him, what's the order?" Jo asked Diana.

"Just questions for now. We don't have probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion of his intent. If he won't talk, he won't talk," Diana replied.

"He was trespassing," Riley said, all three cops turning to him. "Isn't that enough? It was enough for me and it was my house."

"As far as I know sir," Jo said, and waited for him to turn to her. "Your case was ruled unlawful, so that's not exactly a good yard stick. Trespassing is not as simple as people think. He wasn't warned not to be there beforehand and didn't stay when asked to leave. By the law, that's not trespassing."

"He ignored the order a few times according to Diana," Riley said.

"Was the order issued by you, or by Diana?" Jo asked. Riley decided not to argue with someone who clearly knew more about the subject than he did. "I know it's frustrating, but we can't arrest him even if we found him. Not with what we have."

"I understand," Riley said, not hiding his dissatisfaction.

"Thanks Jo," Diana said. Jo and the officer left the house, and Riley left the chair for the first time in hours. He leaned down, attempting to touch his toes to stretch out his back. "If he comes back, don't engage him beyond telling him to leave. Just call us."

"I will," Riley said. Diana didn't believe he would, but didn't say anything about it.

"I stopped by to thank you for letting Whitney geek out with you. Sorry it didn't happen that way," Diana said. She looked at her watch. It was after nine.

"Me too," Riley said. "Coffee?"

"No thanks," Diana said with a grin.

"I swear it's better this time," Riley said.

"I'll take your word for it. It's too late for coffee anyway," Diana said. "Workday tomorrow. Otherwise, I'd just stayover."

"I'd like to go with you, but if he comes back, I don't want Tilly here alone," Riley said. Diana feigned calm understanding and departed with a kiss.

The event had left Diana with mixed emotions. She didn't fully understand why his protectiveness of Tilly bothered her so much. After dwelling on it during her car ride home, she thought to herself she was too old to act like a jealous and accusatory girlfriend. The framework of her discomfort existed, and she couldn't deny it. Her boyfriend lived with a young, attractive, single woman. A woman he displayed his care for transparently.

Diana arrived home to an empty house. She had given Whitney a curfew she was within ten minutes of violating. She prepared a text message for her daughter but stopped herself from sending it. Whitney wasn't late yet, and she had never been late in the past. History told her to trust her daughter, so she did. Whitney arrived as the clock struck ten. Right on time.

"Cutting it kind of close," Diana said from the kitchen table, projecting her voice into the living room.

"I'm sorry, it's just been a crazy fun day," Whitney said as she removed her shoes and placed them inside of the cubicle shelf. "Want me to make dinner?"

"Little too late to eat. Thanks though," Diana said.

Whitney entered the kitchen and leaned on the chair across from her mother rather than sit. The two had always been well tuned into each other's moods. Whitney could see the unease on Diana's face. "You okay mom?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Diana said, then looked up at Whitney. "Really, I am," she said to preempt her daughter's doubt.

"You sure?" Whitney asked. Diana knew she wasn't getting away with it.

"Is it weird that my boyfriend lives with another woman?" Diana asked. Whitney stopped leaning on the chair and took a seat. It's how she expressed her commitment to the conversation.

"In my vast experience of never having a boyfriend," Whitney said, making Diana softly chuckle. "I'd say that's pretty weird," she said, but then added. "If it was taken in isolation."

"What do you mean?" Diana asked.

"I mean, yeah, it's weird if that was the only thing you knew about that. You know what I saw when I was there?" Whitney asked. "Riley is like a big brother to her."

"I don't know. I've been single for too long, I guess," Diana said.

"He's a big brother," Whitney restated. "A lot of bad things happened to him when he grew up. Same as you. You've spent your entire life helping people, and that's what he's doing. He's just doing it in his own way," Whitney said.

Diana recalled Riley telling her about Ginny. About how she saved him and other children. No matter how much trouble any of them found, she never saw them as irredeemable. Sometimes they just needed another chance or a different environment. That sounded an awful lot like Riley to her, and he suddenly made more sense. Riley didn't believe Tilly was beyond saving. Not even after she broke into his house and lost custody of the son she kidnapped.

"Thanks," Diana said.

"For what?" Whitney said, confused by the comment.

"For getting me out of my own head," Diana said with smile. Whitney returned the smile when she understood. "School night."

"I'm going. Is it alright if Alice picks me up for school tomorrow?" Whitney asked.

"Sure."

--

Riley kissed Diana goodbye and softly shut the door. He paused for a moment to think, and then looked over his shoulder toward the stairs. When Detective Zielinski had asked Tilly if she knew who Carlos Nogales was, her face said everything. She knew exactly who that was.

Riley hesitated at the foot of the stairs, looking at the wall his back caved in the moment he met her. When she threw a trophy at his forehead in a bizarre misunderstanding. The wall was repaired, but the painted over plaster left faint outlines that couldn't be unseen once noticed. Cracks that splintered a wall no matter how hard you tried to conceal them.

Taking a deep breath, he climbed.

When he reached the top, he realized he hadn't been upstairs since the day he carried Howie to bed after the boy had walked in his sleep to his bedroom door. Riley turned to Tilly's bedroom and saw it was empty. It was pristine enough to wonder if anyone ever slept there. He turned the other way and looked into Howie's. Tilly quietly sat on his bed, his small blanket wrapped around her shoulders, pressing a portion of it to her face.

"You okay?" Riley asked. Tilly kept her eyes toward her lap. "Tilly?"

"I've slept in here every night since I lost him," Tilly said without looking at him. Her voice was muffled from the blanket, so she lowered it, and repeated her statement to ensure Riley heard.

"It takes time," Riley said.

"Every day, before I come downstairs, I stand at the top, and force myself to smile before I go down," Tilly said. Riley entered the room and sat on the bed next to her. "I remind myself to change the way I look at the world. Howie wasn't taken; I lost him."

"Lost things can be found. Even lost people," Riley said.

"I know exactly where he is, and that makes it harder, not easier. To see the finish line makes you want to sprint toward it, but the distance is a mirage. When you run out of steam you discover you were on a treadmill. I'm a hamster in a wheel."

"One day at a time," Riley said.

"What are you, my AA sponsor?" Tilly asked.

"If that's what I have to be," Riley said. Tilly smirked and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Carlos Nogales is the guy who put the drugs in my car," Tilly said. She wanted to volunteer the information before Riley had to ask. Riley had said no more bullshit, but she still needed to protect herself. She'd tell Riley, but not the police. "I really didn't know."

"Why would he think he could?" Riley asked.

"My ex-boyfriend, Howie's dad, works with him," Tilly said.

"Who is Howie's dad?"

"Daryl Konrad, but everyone calls him DK," Tilly said.

"What does he look like?"

"Tall, tattoos, loops in his ears," Tilly said. That sounded like the man who came to the house today. He was either looking for Tilly, Howie, or both.

"I need you to tell the police this," Riley said, and felt Tilly nodding into his shoulder. "I'll call Mike and he'll come down and go in with you."

"It'll have to be in the morning. The restaurant opens at three," Tilly said. Riley let her be and called his lawyer.

--

As instructed, Tilly went to the police with Michael at her side the next morning. They met with Detective Zielinksi and provided the information she had requested. Michael told her what not to say, and she walked out without a scratch on her.

Jo talked to Diana after the interview and told her they now had a good idea of who had come to the house. A man named Daryl Konrad who was recently released from prison for drug charges. Diana confirmed it when shown his picture. He had connections to Carlos Nogales, a known drug trafficker. Daryl was arrested after a witness whose identity was sealed gave testimony against him. Both Jo and Diana had a good idea on who that witness was.

"Do you want us to keep a car on her?" Jo asked after they concluded Tilly could be in legitimate danger of retribution.

"I don't know yet," Diana said. Was the threat real enough? "Is he violating his parole by leaving the state?"

"Oh yeah," Jo said. "I've already made calls to Indiana. His name could pop up under national warrants within forty-eight hours, assuming they can prove he crossed state lines without permission. All they got is your statement and Ms. Aberdeen's ID. If he gets back and meets his parole officer, he might skate by with a warning."

"Tilly wasn't on probation when she left Indiana?" Diana asked, curious because Tilly was also recently released.

"The judge gave her time served at release. No probation. Plus, she never claimed residency in Indiana, she was always a resident of Illinois. Extradition was rejected, so that's irrelevant."

"What a mess," Diana said into her palms. Jo nodded her agreement. "For now, let's just add an additional rotation down the street during routine patrols. Make sure the teams have their pictures, his and Nogales's plates, and see if they're dumb enough to come back."

"You got it," Jo said.

Diana resumed her work on overtime requests, and every so often, looked at her cellphone placed on her desk. She wanted to call Riley but stopped herself when her hand went for the phone. He already enough on his plate with producing a show and writing a novel. She didn't want to add girlfriend drama to the mix.

At noon, she felt a presence at her door and looked up. Ethan Drake stood at the door with his hands in his pockets. His expression was somber from a disappointment he didn't know how to convey.

"What's up?" Diana asked.

"We're about to convene for the mayor's announcement of Malcom's retirement and the nomination of the next Chief of Police," Ethan said. The tone of his voice made Diana uneasy.

"Okay. Why do you look like you want to stab someone?" Diana asked.

"Because the mayor...he's...it's..." Ethan said, his voice stalling like a car out of gear.

"No," Diana said, openly distraught at what Ethan hadn't said yet. "That motherfucker didn't."

"He did," Ethan said. "I'll fight that tooth and claw, but I only have a vote in the event of a draw. I have to get at least four members of the council on board to block it."

"That son of a bitch," Diana said, but only loud enough for Ethan to hear.

"I'm sorry for saying it was a done deal. I should have known better," Ethan said.

"It's fine, it's not you," Diana said. She closed her eyes to focus on getting control of her negative energy before she attended the briefing. "Who did he pick?"

"Some guy named David Fitzgerald. He's from..."

"...McCombie. We've met," Diana said. David and Diana had a messy history. She knew if he got the position, she was gone. He could force her to retire to bring in a yes man. The Deputy served at the pleasure of the Chief. He didn't need the approval of the city council to appoint or remove his deputy. She could fight it with the county union, but the statute was cut and dry.

"What's he like? Ethan asked.

"He's a self-serving politician. He's not a cop, he's a prick. Just ask around. Three of my officers are McCombie transfers," Diana said. "About six years ago, I was assigned by the county internal review board as an impartial officer to investigate a claim of sexual impropriety against him. I ruled the compliant as founded, but the board didn't move, and the DA's office didn't charge him."

"He used his political capital to dodge?"

"Most likely. In the investigation, I unearthed a lot of unaired complaints. If you don't believe me, look at the turnover rate of female officers in McCombie. He was so handsy, they had a nickname for him: Titsgerald," Diana explained.

David Fitzgerald coerced a female officer who made a minor infraction. For a month she had been filing her reports incorrectly. He said it could destroy her career and prevent future promotions and advancement. Unless he made it go away, of course. The female officer regretfully took the deal, but he continued to hold it above her head. Keep doing it, or all will be revealed. It became too much, and she finally had enough.

It was he said, she said, and those go nowhere. Except the officer brought the receipts for the complaint. Hotel reservations. The logbook of his office guests. She even revealed the mistake that started the whole thing he provably covered up. Then his story of it never happening, morphed into a consensual affair, and the DA didn't pounce on a documented record of perjury. Never mind the fact an affair with a lower officer, consensual or not, was a terminable offense by itself.

David Fitzgerald had the nerve in the middle of the investigation to make a pass at Diana herself. She strongly rebuked him. As part of her investigation, she interviewed every former female officer of the McCombie police she could find. The consistency of their stories was astounding. Nothing of the current compliant was public, and there was no evidence to suggest these women were in contact with each other. She turned in her findings to the review board, who then did nothing.

Frustrated and confused, Diana had an idea as to why a few months later. He attended a charity event with the Governor. He was golf buddies with the county DA. Graduated high school with the man who would become the Illinois Attorney General. He had peddled favors to make problems disappear for powerful people and their friends for decades.

"Why would the mayor nominate this guy?" Ethan asked.