A Dangerous and Cunning Woman Read online

  Diane rolled her eyes and scanned the road for threats. “We’ll see, I guess.”

  “I mean, don’t get me wrong. You’re not a bad officer. It’s just… I don’t know, I can tell he’s something special, you know? One in a million.”

  “Oh? He took out six—”

  Her partner completed her sentence in a sing-song fashion Diane hated. “—hostiles with one shotgun shell, and blah blah heard it before. No, well, maybe. I’ll have to get the details from Lambert at the bar later. He’ll tell me what’s what.”

  Diane felt her brow press down. She tried to soften up and concentrate on patrol. After a pause, she said, “Is that how it is? The boys get together and tell each other what’s what?”

  He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I think it’s strange that when a woman does a good job around here, nobody says anything. And I’m not making this about me. Like how about when Sanderson bagged those carjackers? I didn’t hear anything from you men except what a nice rack she’s got.”

  “It is pretty impressive,” he said, sucking in a breath as he glanced down at Diane’s chest and frowning at the sight of it. “Uh, how she bagged those perps, like you said. I dunno, maybe we just—”

  Diane finished his sentence. “—take it for granite?”

  “Do what?”

  “You take it for granite. If one of you guys would have done it, you’d be high-fiving for a week. A woman does it, and it doesn’t matter as much.”

  “Granted.”

  “Huh?”

  “You said, ‘take it for granite’.”

  “Well, I meant to say—”

  “Twice.”

  Diane winced at her mistake. She studied every day without fail. Her goal was 20 new words a day, 140 words a week. Her vocabulary was expanding as a result. She’d get a thrill when she used a previously unknown or unfamiliar word correctly. But words were only part of speaking. Phrases were more challenging. She preferred to stay silent when she wasn’t sure of herself but this one got away from her. Granted. That made much more sense.

  As she beat down her embarrassment, she noticed a man on a street corner. Addison had stopped for a red light and Diane had turned away to pout against the passenger window. The man’s face was unmistakable. She patted her front pocket and considered pulling the most wanted criminals flyer out to confirm, but she’d studied it enough to make the call. The reward money closed the sale for her, despite being a reduced amount for taking him down while on duty.

  Hendricks cried out as she abruptly exited the cruiser. She gripped the butt of her sidearm and raised her left hand to signal to the man to stay put. “Clarence Mills. You are under arrest for the murders of Jane Wilson and Zachary Oh.”

  The man’s eyes widened, then he raised his hands defensively. “Listen, miss, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Diane put her hand in his shoulder and spun him around. She gripped his coat collar and marched him toward the closest wall. A small crowd gathered to see what was happening. Hendricks flipped on the lights and hurried toward the crowd, urging them to stay back. “Police business,” he said. “Disperse at once as I cannot guarantee your safety.”

  “Some cop,” said an older woman, who dragged a two-wheeled cart behind her as she departed.

  “Aw, yeah, this is gonna be good,” said a young man, his teeth sparkling under mirrored sunglasses.

  “Hands behind your back. Do not resist. All personal items are subject to search and confiscation.” Diane reached up and pulled one of the suspect’s arms down, then the other. The man didn’t resist physically but continued to protest his innocence.

  “Code blue,” he muttered, then much louder, he said, “just what the city needs, a hardass cop trying to look busy.”

  Diane shoved him against the wall. “Shut up. Everything you say will be used against you.”

  “I’ve got rights. I know people, too. Powerful people. This is going to cost you big time.”

  “I said shut up.” Diane maintained a clipped, gruff tone. She reached for her handcuffs and applied them to the man’s left wrist, then jostled him to secure his right.

  A half-second later, his right elbow slammed into her chest and sent her to the pavement. A few bystanders had crept closer on her left side, and the suspect shoved them aside as he made a break for it. “Get out of my goddamned way,” he said, sending a businessman to the ground. Diane shook her head and scrambled to her feet. She knew she wouldn’t receive the full reward for this one, but she intended for this to pay off in other ways. As her dreams of glory and extra cash began to fade, she chased the suspect on foot. Addison called out after her, but she wasn’t going to stop.

  Not now, she thought. Not with a suspect so close to capture, wearing her cuffs. She wasn’t going to be known as the girl who let the big one get away. Tomorrow, she’d be the example for Cade Goodwin.

  The suspect crashed into a man walking out of a corner store, sending canned goods in all directions. Diane felt a surge of adrenaline propel her toward him. Her score. Her glory. Her reward. He wasn’t getting away clean.

  The suspect reached into his coat and produced something long and black. Diane pulled her sidearm from its holster and released the safety in a single fluid motion. A second later, she pulled the trigger and a burst of blood shrouded his head before he crumpled onto the sidewalk.

  Diane slowed to a jog, then stopped to catch her breath. Her heart pounded and filled her ears, blocking out the sound of her partner approaching from behind. He stopped and gripped her shoulder. “Pembrook… what in the hell… why did you…”

  Diane shook her head and staggered toward the suspect. She kicked him and trained her gun on his head, then holstered her weapon when the body didn’t move. She rolled him onto his stomach and pulled his arms behind his back, then finished applying the cuffs. She took a deep breath and knelt beside the slain man.

  The man the suspect had knocked down lifted his head from the sidewalk. “Why did you bother with that for? He’s dead, ain’t he?”

  Diane nodded. “Yeah, he’s dead. And under arrest for the murders of Jane Wilson and Zachary Oh. Resisting arrest. Assaulting a police officer. Fleeing a crime scene. And anything else I can think of when I do my report.”

  Hendricks bent over to pick up something. Diane squinted up at him. He riffled through a black leather wallet. “Who did you say he was, again?”

  “Clarence Mills. Number five most wanted.”

  “This says Detective Kyle Tanner.”

  “That’s a fake name.”

  Her partner flashed the man’s badge. “I don’t think so. What I do think, Pembrook, is you’re in a whole mess of trouble.” Diane started to stand up. He pushed her back down. “Stay there. This is an active crime scene.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “You’re part of it. Sit tight.” He switched on a communicator and reported the incident. Ten minutes later, six squad cars arrived and cordoned off the area. Cade Goodwin was among the responding officers. He sidled up to Diane and patted her head.

  “Hey, hot shot. Looks like you’ve seen a little action.”

  Diane jerked her head away and sneered. “Beats writing parking tickets.”

  “Don’t knock it. It’s not a bad way to spend a few hours once you get the hang of it. The key is, you just have to make sure the ticket goes on the right vehicle.”

  “I bet that took hours to sink in.”

  Officer Vojczek patted Goodwin’s back. “Hey, here’s the stud. I heard you tagged a banger over on Third.”

  “Just winged him. That’s okay. Anyone who wants to haul him in can just follow the blood trail he left them.”

  “Gunslinger Goodwin. You’re the man.” Vojczek wandered off, leaving them alone.

  Goodwin smirked at Diane. “Oh, I saw some action too. True, cuffing him would have been nice but he’s off the street, and really, isn’t that all that matters?”
/>   Hendricks and another officer stepped forward. Hendricks was agitated and trying to get a step ahead of the other man to impede his progress. “No way, Gilbert, she’s my partner, and my responsibility. Let me do it.”

  “Shut your yap, Jimmy. The boy’s up and coming around here, and Kenner wants us to make sure he sees it all and does even more. He’s getting the collar. Cuff her, Goodwin. Show her how it’s done.”

  Diane was forced to lay face-down on the sidewalk. Goodwin stripped her of her weapon and handed it off to Officer Gilbert, then yanked her arms back to apply the cuffs. He pulled her up from the pavement and leaned into her ear as he marched her toward a nearby cruiser from behind. Her stomach curdled as she felt his hot breath against her skin.

  “Everything you said will be used against you.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Diane cowered in the corner of her cell and coughed up blood. Officer Vojczek rubbed the knuckles of his right hand and walked through the door, only to be replaced by Officer Gilbert. “On yer feet, cop killer,” he snarled.

  Diane shook her head and turned away. Gilbert grabbed her by the hair and pulled her upright. He squeezed her cheeks with his thumb and forefinger and smiled. Diane felt the urge to retch at the sickening smell of alcohol on the man’s breath.

  “That’s right, I been out celebrating,” he said, looking her over. “A two-fer: welcoming Gunslinger Goodwin to the force, and seein’ the last of your mangy ass. I’ve got to speak with Kenner about the quality of the babes around here. Your roommate’s alright. I wouldn’t kick her out of bed unless I had something better hot to trot, but you, feh. All the meat on your bones won’t turn you into something I want to stuff.” Diane bit down on the skin between Gilbert’s thumb and forefinger and he let out a howl. The cell door burst open and two officers jabbed Diane with stun sticks. She sent a burst of spittle in all directions as she dropped to the floor.

  Gilbert kicked her in the ribs and spat on her head. “Nothing you don’t deserve, cop killer. We have enough problems out there day in and day out. What made you think we needed you taking out one of our own, huh?”

  “M-most wanted… l-list,” she wheezed.

  Gilbert waved off the guards and gave Diane another kick. “What’s that? You wanted to be number one on the list? Too bad, scum sucker. You want to be notorious, you do the thing they did that you didn’t.” Don’t…” He kicked her in the ribs with each word. “Get… caught.” He spat on her head again and unzipped his pants. “I piss on scum like you.”

  Diane squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable. To her surprise, a scuffle broke out and Lieutenant Griggs pulled Gilbert away from Diane, his face red with fury.

  “That’s a two-week suspension for you, Gilbert, without pay. Get out of my sight, or I’ll make it four and send you up for command review. Go.”

  Gilbert began to speak, but the look on the lieutenant’s face make him think better of it. “Aw, the brass always gets to screw ‘em. Just once, leave some for the boys.” Gilbert zipped up his pants and left the cell block. Diane struggled to stay conscious, but she was sure she heard other voices accompany him as he left.

  Griggs crouched down beside her. “Officer Pembrook, do you wish to press charges against Officer Gilbert?”

  Diane looked up at him through a blurry eye. “Just… want…. home.”

  Griggs waved to the guards. “We need a medic in there on the double. And don’t think you’re in the clear. There will be a full accounting and appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken.”

  A medic wearing blue scrubs hurried into the cell and sat Diane up against the wall. He took her vitals and swabbed her forehead with an alcohol-soaked gauze pad. “Looks like you’ve seen a little action. I’ll get you patched up.”

  Griggs stood up and shook his head disapprovingly at Diane’s pathetic form on the cell floor. “Shameful. Miss Pembrook, on behalf of the leadership of the Panther Division, I give you my solemn word that disgusting treatment like this will never happen again on my watch. All prisoners, regardless of offense,” he paused to address the guards and a few eavesdropping officers, “shall be treated with respect and basic human dignity.”

  Diane grimaced as the swab brushed across a gash near her temple. “Thank you, lieutenant. I… ach… appreciate that.”

  Griggs gave her a thin smile and clasped his hands behind his back. Diane knew from her time at the academy, short as it was, that this meant a lecture was coming. She wasn’t sure what was worse: the certainty of broken ribs or listening to his self-satisfied ramblings about… something or other. She didn’t know what topic he’d choose. It sure as hell couldn’t be marksmanship. She took the suspect out with one shot, clean. Cade Goodwin couldn’t say the same.

  “Miss Pembrook, though I abhor the actions of your fellow officers this afternoon, Officer Gilbert did raise a salient question: what possessed you to fire upon Detective Tanner? All accounts show that he did nothing to deserve it. Lethal force is an option, but the situation must demand it. Answer me honestly.”

  Diane winced as the medic stitched up the gash. “He was on the most wanted list. I ordered him to freeze, I placed him under arrest, and he hit me and ran. I wasn’t going to let a top ten criminal get away clean.”

  “Did you have a positive ID on the suspect before you initiated the arrest?”

  “I’d been studying that sheet all night, so, yeah, I felt pretty positive.”

  “Was that before or after he gave the Code Blue?”

  “Before. What difference did that… ow!” She glared at the medic, who told her to keep still. “What difference did that make? He was a suspect, and I was running him in. Simple as that.”

  Griggs shook his head. “Not so simple, Miss Pembrook. Detective Tanner was on the verge of bringing down a terror cell that has been planning to level six city blocks by the month’s end. Getting him embedded with the cell took time, planning, and patience. You dashed all of it with a single pull of your trigger. You have no idea how disappointed I am in you, having trained you personally.”

  Diane began to second-guess herself, but his last sentence lit a fire under her. She wasn’t going to be shown up by Griggs or anyone else. She was right, and everyone else was wrong, she concluded. Best of all, she could prove it. “He was on the most wanted list. He resisted arrest, he made a sudden move consistent with drawing a weapon, and I responded with appropriate force.” She felt a thrill at those final words, and a huge debt to Sapphire for giving her a dictionary to study.

  Griggs took a step back, as if pushed by the force of her argument, then reached into his pocket. “Was this the list you are referring to?” He handed a folded piece of paper to Diane, who took it from him. Her eyes darted across the flyer then looked up at Griggs plaintively.

  “This isn’t it.”

  “Miss Pembrook, am I to understand that your personal effects, from which I took that very item, and were collected by badged, uniformed, sworn officers of the law is now counterfeit?”

  “Yeah, this picture has been changed. Same name, same everything else, but the picture is wrong.”

  “To be clear, from the time you were escorted into the building, booked on charges, and relieved if your personal effects which were sealed in a locker only myself and a small number of trusted individuals can access, a forgery was planted? Is that your defense, Miss Pembrook?”

  “I… I studied it all night. I know what I saw. That was Clarence Mills. I got the right guy.”

  Griggs snapped the paper from her hands, folded it up, and slipped it into his pocket. “Ludicrous. Absolute hogwash. If there’s one thing I know about you, Miss Pembrook, you’re rash. You’re impulsive. There isn’t a single problem that you believe can’t be solved at the point of a gun. You’re everything I didn’t want this force to be after Arbor Day. Oh, I knew we’d be scrambling, desperate for warm bodies to provide some semblance of law and order. But you, Pembrook, you’re the epitome of who we don’t want. And do not
doubt for one moment I will be pressing for the maximum penalty under the law.”

  Tears spilled down Diane’s cheeks at his words. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Griggs sniffed dismissively. “You’ll take that foolish belief to your grave. But there is an upside to this… unpleasant situation.”

  Diane felt ill. “What?”

  “You’ll be used as a case study for the next batch of cadets. They’ll learn from your poor example and become better officers as a result. I will no doubt see you in command review. Good evening, officer.”

  The medic packed up his kit and followed Griggs from the cell. The door closed and locked with a noisy clang. Diane buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  “I didn’t do anything wrong. It was him. I took him out. Clarence Mills is dead.”

  Two weeks later, Diane was pacing back and forth in her cell awaiting word of her fate. First Lieutenant Kenner was rumored to have met with the chief and a decision would be coming down soon, she was told. She didn’t have many visitors while she was kept in lockup. She craved Lyssa’s touch, her breath in her ear, something, anything to cling to as she sat alone in her imposing cell. She had been locked up before, but the rudimentary brig was heavenly compared to her present surroundings, she noted. She had a full mattress, complete with box spring back then. Her back ached at the sight of a plain green cot with a thin pillow at one end and no blankets.

  The old brig didn’t have any plumbing. The new cell block was designed with serious incarceration in mind, not simply a place to stick unruly cadets while they dried out or cooled off. Diane had her own toilet and sink and was certain she was being kept isolated for far longer than common prisoners would have been. The cell had no windows to the outside world, and the lights were always on.

  As she paced, she thought about other changes. The city was still on the mend from the devastation of Arbor Day. Dramatic progress was made in some areas, which gave Diane an unrealistic idea of how far along the harder hit, and poorer areas should have been by now. She wasn’t there, doing the tedious work of rebuilding. She had a city to protect. A sliver of it, anyway.