Revenge is Best Served Cold

"Fuck Eric."

"No," I corrected him. "I think Eric wants to fuck you. And so do I. I think I'm going to have to take you in for booking. Might take a couple hours for the fingerprinting and all, then overnight in the drunk tank. You won't be able score in the holding cell."

He scratched his arm. He moved close enough to the car to put his bony hand on the roof.

"Look Max, I don't know much," he said in a much softer voice.

"Tell me what you do know Lester, and maybe I'll tell Eric I couldn't find you."

He leaned even closer. I could tell he hadn't bathed in at least a week. Fuck... he reeked.

"Max, I didn't see Shevchenko, but his right hand man..."

"Scar on his chin?"

"Yeah... yeah. Big dude. Scary motherfucker." He used his hand to indicate how tall.

"Anyway, he asked me to get him a bunch of supplies. I got the stuff he wanted and left it in a shopping bag in the back of Syd's parking lot."

Now Lester sounded like he was my best friend. This was the good stuff.

"What'd you get for him?"

"Weird shit. Dog food, hypodermic needles, cotton balls, rubbing alcohol... "

He put his fingers to his head trying to stimulate the two neurons left in his brain.

"Anything else?" I asked, jarring him to answer.

"Uhhh... yeah... dog biscuits."

"What was he going to do with all that stuff?"

He stood up and spread his hands apart. "I don't know... how the fuck should I know that?"

"Just asking." I leaned back into the car. I was done. I got what I wanted. Now I needed to see how it all fit together.

Lester started shuffling down the street towards Syd's. Lanny wheeled out into traffic and drove back to the station.

"That was pretty good Max," he said with that goofy grin.

"Yeah?"

He flexed his hips as he drove, wiggling his hand into his pocket. He pulled out the Rolex we took from Lester and waved it under my nose while he kept his eyes on the road.

"Haven't had a chance to drop this off at Stolen Property. There's no way anyone could have already contacted Eric or Jess," he observed correctly.

I turned so he could see me roll my eyes.

"He didn't know that," I said to him, confirming what he observed.

"I don't ever want to fuck with you Max."

"You're going to find out what I do to someone who does."

* * *

We had a late afternoon stop at Grand Lake Donuts. I was feeling a need for a caffeine/sugar rush, and there was no better place than Grand Lake when they brought out the evening's inventory.

Marge was rolling in a rack of freshly made donuts when we walked in.

"You wouldn't happen to have a chocolate old fashioned on that rack, would you?" I asked, craning my neck to see what was coming in. I was pouring coffee for Lanny and me when Marge shouted from behind the counter.

"I saved a dozen for you Max." She pointed to a box on the counter with my name neatly printed on it. I thought I was going to cry. "I heard about Lehka. These are on me. You go find her." She waved her fist. I got the message. I picked up the box and Lanny followed me out. I slid the box between us and dropped into the passenger seat. I handed Lanny his coffee and then we took turns reaching into the box. I could feel that the donut was still warm and the chocolate was a bit soft. I took a big bite and washed it down with hot coffee. That picked up my spirits.

We were pulling into the station's parking lot when I felt my phone buzz. It was Maddy, and she told me that she might have come up with something. I was hoping it was the break we'd been waiting for. I told Lanny and he dropped me off while he found a parking space. I hurried into the main building, cutting over to the annex. Lanny would find me. I had to walk past Ramos, who had manned the locked room holding the information on confidential informants for at least the last ten years. He always stared at my tits and made no effort to disguise his leering look when I passed him by. He was a dirty old man, but I respected him for not trying to hide it. I stuck out my chest and let him look.

"Good seeing you Max," he said, making a motion with his hands like he was squeezing my tits.

"Ramos, put your hands back inside your pants where they belong," I told him, laughing. I needed a bit of levity, and I think I brought a chuckle to him as well.

I got to Maddy's desk, who was deep in thought staring at her computer screen. She tapped a few more keystrokes and then looked up at me. I could see the excitement in her eyes.

"Max, I was reviewing the blotter. It seemed like nothing the first time I saw this entry."

She pointed to her screen while I looked over her shoulder.

"A complaint about a barking dog," I recited from reading the screen. "So that's it?"

"Didn't seem like much. But then I looked at the notes made by the person logging in the complaint."

She scrolled down. "Look here," she said, putting her finger on the corner of the screen.

"The woman who called in the complaint had gone to the house next door to complain to the owner about the barking dog." Maddy then kept reading. "The woman said that the dog's owner came over later to her house and threatened her."

She stopped reading and looked at me. "In her description of the man she said he had a prominent scar on his chin. I thought about the new guy who's working as Shevchenko's right hand man. Scar on his chin. I had some officers in the area drive by the dog owner's house. The dog in the back yard? It was a Bolshoi, a popular dog in the Ukraine. It fits Max."

She showed me a picture of the dog, and a picture of a Bolshoi that was on the internet. A beautiful tall lean dog with long flowing pure white hair. That was the way Shevchenko saw himself before his face was sprayed with glass.

"We just shook down Lester," I told her. "He said he bought dog food and dog biscuits for Sergei."

I kissed her on the cheek.

"You're brilliant Maddy."

I tugged on Lanny's shirt sleeve.

"Let's go see Cap."

Sheehan was thrilled to hear that we had a solid lead. She called the SWAT commander to join us in her office. We worked on a rescue plan late into the night.

* * *

We drove to the address of the woman filing the complaint. It turned out to be one of the nicer neighborhoods in Cincinnati, an older section with large trees lining a wide boulevard. The house we suspected Lehka was being held at was an attractive Craftsman style house with a manicured front lawn. We drove past it. I pressed my phone against the window to take a video. The lights were burning in the bedroom windows and I could see shadows of people behind the curtains in the living room. I guessed they were pretty confident that they were well hidden. I never would have looked in this neighborhood.

I now didn't trust my usual instincts and instead of parking a block away we parked five blocks away and hoofed it back in plain clothes. We went to the next door neighbor's house owned by a Mrs. Eva Grigoryan, a woman of Armenian descent. She was expecting us and let us in. She was recently widowed, and looked to be in her 70's.

She started our conversation with an apology. "Please excuse the house. I didn't have a chance to clean it before you came." She motioned for us to step ahead. "Why don't we sit down in the living room?"

She was a frail looking woman who was well dressed. She was wearing white gloves. She ushered us into a room framed with rich wood. The room was immaculate. Nothing was out of place. I wondered what she thought was dirty.

Lanny and I sat down on the sofa. I was afraid to touch anything.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea?"

"No thank you ma'am," Lanny answered for the two of us.

"We'll if you don't mind, I'll get a cup for myself." She left the room. Lanny and I looked at each other.

"Nice place boss," he said, looking around the room at the beautiful antiques that graced the room.

"This is where the rich folk live. That means it's harder for Shevchenko to move in and out of because you're more likely to be noticed in this neighborhood. It's also the last place we would look. He was a clever bastard. But not clever enough. His dog gave him away."

We heard a dog barking. I got up and went over to the adjoining room and pulled back the curtain. I could see a white dog in the faint light. The Bolshoi no doubt.

The dog was a fucking barker. I could see why this lady called the police. I would have. It was clear the dog was lonely and was trying to get someone's attention.

Mrs. Grigoryan came back with her coffee. We talked about our plans that night. She was very sympathetic when I told her that two police officers were likely being held captive next door. I told her a SWAT team would visit us shortly.

We sat there and waited for them to show up. Eva told us about her recent experience on a cruise up the Danube. I heard footsteps in the kitchen.

Those guys were good. I didn't hear them open the back door and slip inside.

"Drake, Miyake, good to see you guys."

They were in charge of the SWAT operation. They still knew how to work in stealth mode.

"Max... Lanny," Miyake said. "We're going to make the house call at 20:30. We've got just ten minutes."

"Hope this works Max," he added.

"I'm sure Sergei is smart, but he's also arrogant.," I told him. "This is what an arrogant guy does. He thinks he can push everybody around."

The SWAT guys went into the other room to set up their command post. Most of their team were at a rally point several blocks away.

Lanny and I were going to be back up. We'd stay in the living room. Someone dimmed the lights.

Mrs. Grigoryan left the room and went upstairs to her bedroom.

A couple minutes before 22:00 two heavily equipped SWAT team members made their way past me to assume positions near the front door. They had also apparently snuck into the house without me hearing them.

Right about then two uniformed officers were knocking on Shevchenko's door to relay another barking dog complaint. I could see their headlights move away after they left.

A few minutes past 22:00 I heard the thud of the shoes of a big man come up the wooden stairs onto the porch. He rang the doorbell.

Eva turned on her upstairs light as if she was going to go downstairs to answer the door. The officers answered instead, pulling a surprised Sergei into the living room and pinning him face down on the floor. One officer had him pinned down and the other had a taser pointed at him. They were able to get his wrists bound together with a zip tie.

One of the officers pulled him into a sitting position so we could see his face. A handgun was taken out of his inside coat pocket. His chin had an unmistakable jagged scar. The dog was still barking in the background. I squatted like a baseball catcher in front of him. He glared at me with hate emanating from his ice blue eyes.

"Where's Shevchenko?"

"Go fuck yourself."

"I think you have it backwards Sergei," I told him. "Kidnapping... assaulting a police officer... possessing a concealed weapon without a permit for starters. I think there's going to be a lot of guys in prison who are going to want to fuck your ugly ass."

I moved close enough so I could smell him. "Now's the time to cooperate."

Nothing but a death stare.

I could tell I wasn't going to get anywhere with him. I could only hope that the raid would yield Shevchenko, Emil and my precious Lehka.

Chapter Six

Lehka's Story

Doubt, and then...

I was laying on my mattress and wondering how long I had been there. How many days? Was it more than a week? I had no idea. My arm ached. My body ached. I felt an intense craving. I needed something soon.

When was Sergei coming?

It was too dark for me to count the needle marks on my arm but I could feel at least a dozen bumps where I injected myself. I had just about given up hope that Max would ever find me. I resigned myself to becoming a drug addicted prostitute, not caring if I lived or died.

Where was Sergei?

My skin started to itch. My body was telling me it was beyond time for my fix and I didn't like the unsatiated irresistible want. I knew now how people could be controlled by their addiction. I was starting to shiver again. I drew the dirty blanket around me tighter to fight off the incessant cold.

I heard loud thumping above me, then loud footsteps. Shouting. The sound of exploding wood.

More shouting and a gun shot. I cowered in the corner of the room squatting with my arms over my head. Footsteps thumping down the stairs.

Something very good or very bad was about to happen. I could hear blood rushing in my ears.

The door burst open accompanied by a blaze of artificial light. A large shadowy figure hovered over me and then lifted me up.

"You're safe now," he said to me. I clutched the police officer's uniform with balled fists, hanging onto him as if I was holding onto my life.

I remember I started crying. I can't remember when I stopped.

Chapter Seven

Safe and Sound?

It was a few tense minutes and then Lehka was spirited into the living room. I wrapped a warm blanket around her. I stared into hollow forlorn eyes and a gaunt face framed by greasy matted hair. She was thin, so thin. Tears formed in my eyes but I blotted them with my sleeve so she wouldn't see them. What had she been through?

I gave her a big, long hug. It was wonderful to see her. A miracle really. But her body was limp as a noodle. She didn't respond at all. It was if all the life had been wrung out of her.

She looked terrible and smelled awful. Then I saw the angry red marks on the inside of her arm. I understood right away what they had done to her.

I wondered if they got Shevchenko and Emil. Or if anyone was hurt. Then I hugged Lehka again, who was still crying.

I felt awful for her. They broke my dear Lehka. Would I ever be able to put the pieces back together?

* * *

We were riding in the back seat of the cruiser on our way to the hospital to have her thoroughly examined. We heard on the radio that Emil was rescued and that they were still looking for Shevchenko. Lehka was riding wrapped in the blanket I'd given her. I put my hat on the floor and let her rest her head on my shoulder. She smelled to high heaven and undoubtedly had been treated as a head of cattle. I was so mad I could have spit nails.

"Max," she said in a whisper of a voice. "All I could think of was how much I missed you."

God that broke my heart.

"I don't want to be apart again," I told her. Having someone you love taken away gives you the proper appreciation of what you had.

She showed me her arm with the needle tracks in it.

"Max... they did this to me."

"We're going to get you better honey," I assured her. After ten days of use, she might have a powerful craving sometime soon. I had to find out.

"Did they... inject you right after you were taken?"

She nodded.

"When was the last one?"

"I don't know... but too much time has passed. Max, I need something now... can you help me please?"

I had a flashback to Brianna. The same pleading eyes. They tugged at my heartstrings. What was I going to do? Go on the street and score for my girlfriend? That wasn't going to happen. She needed medical attention, not another fix.

"No Lehka. We're going to have you see a doctor," I told her.

I figured we had a few hours before she had a serious problem. I could see that her pupils were dilated, she was sweating and her hands were shaking..

"Max... what's going to happen to me?"

"You'll be taken care of. You might get sick going through withdrawal but doctors will be monitoring you."

She scratched her arm. "Max... wait... get me something now... "

A chill went down my spine. I was hearing Brianna and not her.

* * *

The squad car arrived at the hospital with Lehka nestled against me. It did my heart good to see that there was a team of doctors and nurses waiting outside the emergency entrance for us to arrive. Lehka was put in a wheelchair and spirited away. I had a great sense of relief to hand her off to professional hands. I worried about what the drugs had unleashed in her.

I finally had a chance to check my phone. Five missed phone calls from a number in Columbus. I pushed the call button and "E. Singh" appeared on my screen. That was Lehka's mother.

"Who is this?" she asked.

I let out a deep breath. "Officer Pemberton."

"Max?"

"Yes, Max."

"We've met before." The tone of her voice turned friendly.

"Yes we have Mrs. Singh. At Lehka's commendation ceremony."

"Yours too," she added correctly. She was telling me that she knew that I was the backbone of the operation that earned Lehka her medal. I got the same medal.

"Of course," I answered.

"Where's my daughter? Your Captain Sheehan would only tell us that she was missing, nothing more. Did you find her? We're so worried."

"Yes we did Mrs. Singh."

"Thank God. Is she OK?"

I didn't want to tell her everything. Not yet. And anyway we still didn't really know exactly what happened to her.

"I think she'll be fine."

"So can we see her? We're actually on our way over from Columbus."

"No, Mrs. Singh. She's in the hospital."

That didn't come out right.

"The hospital?"

"Just for observation. She's been in captivity for over a week. She's... uhh... a little worse for wear right now. You'll be able to see her soon Mrs. Singh."

"We'll be in Cincinnati in a few hours. I expect to see my Lehka today. Understand?"

I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was used to getting her way. On matters concerning her daughter I knew she was going to be a hurricane force.

"Look Mrs. Singh. I think Lehka needs a bit more time to herself before she can see anyone. She's had a rough time and..."

"I need to see my daughter," she insisted. I doubt she heard a word I said.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Singh. I..."

"She talks about you a lot."

"What?"

She was clever. She knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with a frontal approach so she was going to probe in another way.

"Lehka... she talks about you a lot."

"I'm flattered."

I was wondering where she was going with this.

"And she moved to Cincinnati for six months."

"Yes, isn't that something." Oh God, she got something and I was about to find out.

"To be with you?"

Jesus, she was going to make me out her. This was not the right time.

"Uh no, Mrs. Singh. We don't live together."

At least I was being somewhat truthful.

There was a pause on the phone. I could hear the traffic in the background from her side and could feel my heart beating faster.

"That's not true, is it?"

Shit. The moment of truth. I tried to deflect her but she wasn't having any of that either. I could see where Lehka got her strong will.

"How do you mean Mrs. Singh?"

"Don't play coy with me Officer Pemberton. We video chat with Lehka twice a week. I can see in the background where she lives. There's someone else living with her. I can see clothes that don't belong to my daughter. Those clothes belong to you, don't they Max?"

Fuck. Now I knew where Lehka got her detective skills. She knew all along. There was no point in lying to her.

"Yes, Mrs. Singh, though right now we're living apart."

"Some lover's quarrel?"

"No Mrs. Singh, it was something else." The something else was my drinking. I didn't think it was the right time to vet that topic as well.

"I see. So Lehka's a lesbian?"

I paused before I answered. The boulder was already rolling downhill and there was no way I was going to stop it.

"As far as I know," I admitted. Then I heard her scolding someone and not talking to me.

"See Veehan? I told you she was a lesbian but you never listened to me." Then I heard a man say "Oww, can't you see I'm driving?" I could see Mrs. Singh punching her husband in the arm.