Tied Up in Knots (Marshals 3)

“He’s here looking for Lorcan. It doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“But he didn’t want my help?”

“I think he’s hedging his bet, right? He comes here asking for me, and if you get involved, then he has his in. If you don’t… well… he still needs help finding his kid.”

“His kid,” Ian repeated.

“Which you are too,” I pointed out.

“Not really,” Ian said quietly. “I haven’t really been his since he left my mom and me.”

I turned to look at him. “Does being the most important thing in my life help at all?”

He leaned so his lips brushed my right ear. “It’s everything now, M. You know that.”

I shivered, feeling the goose bumps erupt down my arm. “Knock it off, I’m working. Giving me wood at my desk is not helpful.”

His low chuckle made me think of sex, which was bad when I was in marshal mode.

“Can you go back to your desk?”

He bumped me with his shoulder before looking at my screen and squinting.

“Why’re you doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Can you see that screen?”

“What?” His voice rose almost to a squeak.

“Holy shit, you need glasses.”

“I do not.”

“You need reading glasses.”

“I do not.”

“For fuck’s sake, Ian, ya do too.”

“Could you get back to finding Lorcan, please, so they can get the fuck outta here?”

Giving up for the moment, I went back to hunting the NCIC database.

“So what happened exactly?”

“Your dad says that Lorcan got picked up by CPD, but that they can’t find him.”

“So you’re thinking what, he’s sitting in a holding cell somewhere?”

“Could be, but I’ll bet you it has more to do with whatever he was picked up for. Maybe they’re squeezing him to get to somebody else.”

“So we’re assuming it’s drugs.”

I shrugged.

“Who has drugs?” Kohn asked from his desk.

“Shuddup,” Ian snapped.

“Oh, by the way,” Kohn added. “My mother wants to meet you guys, so she’s coming with me when I visit. Prepare yourselves.”

I stared at him. “Your mother?”

“My mother.”

I glanced at Ian.

“What? I’m sure she’s lovely.”

Kohn cackled. “Oh, she’s the best, but in your business she will be.”

“She always wants to know when me and Theresa are gonna have kids,” Kowalski chimed in. “And she thinks Theresa doesn’t feed me enough.”

Kowalski was a mountain. How could Kohn’s mother say he wasn’t eating enough?

“I don’t see anything here at all,” Ian said, having commandeered my mouse so he could scroll around. “I think you’re gonna have to call.”

“Call who?” I asked. Considering the US Justice Department investigating the Chicago Police Department’s use of force, deadly or otherwise, we were not at the top of their want-to-help-them-out list. I would have had better luck if I was a fed.

“Call Cochran,” Ian suggested.

“Are you nuts?” I asked, my voice going up way too high, but seriously, was he insane? “He fuckin’ hates me, and it goes both ways. And he might’ve gone to Plano already.”

“Maybe.”

I eyed him. “Do you know where Plano is?”

His scowl was instant. “Of course, it’s in Texas. Everybody knows that.”

I grunted.

“Just try and call him,” Ian went on. “From what the boss man said, you helped him out, didn’t let them do anything but the minimum for what he did to you. I’m thinking he owes you.”

Even though Ian’s logic was faulty, I called over to the Fourth District, Central, and asked to be transferred upstairs to Violent Crimes and Detective Cochran’s desk.

“Cochran,” he answered on the fifth ring, sounding as surly as ever.

“I need help.”

“Fuck you, Miro, you just ruined my life,” he retorted and hung up.

“Well, that was great,” I groused. “Now we’re never going to find him.”

“Find who?”

We both looked up to find Kage looming over my desk. He passed me the final paperwork on Cabot and Drake as he waited for an answer.

“Ian’s dad and stepmother say that his half brother got picked up by CPD, but he’s not in their system. At least, there’s nothing on their server.”

Kage nodded. “Come with me.”

In his office he used his speakerphone and called over to the Eighteenth District, Near North, and did the same thing I did, except he didn’t ask for a detective. He asked to be connected to the new acting commander, Duncan Stiel.

“It’s terrifying who they’ll promote these days,” Kage said jovially once Stiel came on the line. I’d never heard that particular tone from him. It was strange.

“Yeah, well, when a department on the whole looks quite this shitty, the good PR of furthering the career of an openly gay officer sounded pretty good to the brass.”

“You havin’ any trouble?”

“A little pushback but nothing major.” He sighed. “I’ve been on the job too long, too many guys know me, and at this point, saying anything about me or to me just shines the light back on them.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

“Hey, while I’ve got you, remember the ballet is tonight, and Hannah needs to be ready to go by six. Aaron will be by to pick her up then.”