of adipocere? It was identified as a chemical… um… perchloroethylene.”
“What the fuck is that?”
“Don’t know. We’ll have to do research.” Kallie reached for a piece of her toast and continued to read the report.
“Call the forensic investigator. They will be able to tell you.” Davidson leaned back in the booth and took a sip of his coffee.
“The forensic what?” Kallie’s head snapped up, and she swung her eyes from him to Davidson.
“Forensic investigator. We have six assigned to the coroner’s office. Mainly they are for the high-profile, unexplained deaths not classified as suspicious. They've been brought in on the drug front due to the workload. They work in conjunction with our office and are great with the technical jargon. Most have advanced degrees and hundreds of hours at death scenes. Who responded to your scene?”
“Didn’t get one, or at least we cleared the scene before one showed up.” Brock shoveled his scrambled eggs onto a fork.
“With the Mexican and Dominican gangs waging a turf war, I imagine they were all out. I think I read on the hot sheets there were seven murders the night you got the call on the Treyson case.” Davidson freed his wallet from his suit jacket, produced a twenty, and laid it beside his plate. “Google that shit. It will get you started. I’ll go put in an official request for a forensics investigator to go through the case since no one appears to have been assigned.”
“Will do.”
“You got anything solid yet?”
Brock shook his head. “We’re still plodding through what we have, trying to sort through the noise to reach the facts.”
Davidson squared up and leveled his steel grey eyes at him. “Your old man talked to me last night. Asked if we needed additional resources. I told him no.”
Kallie slid her plate in front of her. “As long as you have Hansen and Bettis going through the elder Treyson’s list of disgruntled associates, we can handle this.”
“That’s what I thought. Call me if you need anything.” He slid from the booth and dragged his wool coat with him. Brock watch him leave. The man was built like a linebacker and was respected by damn near everyone in the precinct. He was fair and above board. He’d walked more than a mile in detective shoes. He knew the frustrations, the need for high cover, and when to pull a case because there were no more leads to follow.
He finished his toast in two bites and wiped his hands before he grabbed his phone from his pocket and slid the trace report toward him. He thumbed through the pages until he found the word he needed to type into the search engine. He keyed it in and took a long drink of his coffee, taking the top off, signaling the waiter he needed a refill.
The waiter shot by, filled his cup and waited for him to open Kallie’s cup, filling that one, too. Brock added his cream and sugar as Kallie watched and shook her head. “You should be five hundred pounds.”
“Nah, I work out. Sometimes at really weird hours, but I work out.”
“Yeah, that’s why I like Vito’s gym. Open twenty-four/seven.”
"Well, imagine seeing you here." Sean McBride slid into Davidson's empty seat.
"Dude, what brings you to The Desert?"
"Leg work, man. The cases never end." Sean turned his attention to Kallie. "Hi, I'm Sean McBride. I've had the unfortunate destiny of being this guy's best friend since birth, and you are?"
Kallie wiped her hand on her napkin and extended it across the table. "So, you've put up with this guy your entire life? How did you do it?"
“Man, pure intestinal fortitude, let me tell you.”
"Hey, I'm right here, you know." Brock tried for mock outrage. It ended up as a laughing snort, which started Sean laughing. God, he missed spending time with his friend.
"He's a jerk and a dick at times, but I wouldn't have anyone else on my six when I need backup."
"Awww… love you too, you dork." Brock dodged a wadded-up napkin that Sean pitched at him.
"You two work together or..."
Sean left the question open and fuck it, he barged through it. "Kallie is my partner on the Treyson case."
"Where's Jordan?"
"Fibbies called him up to work the Grappelli case."
"Damn, sorry to hear that. He was gone for almost what... three years before?"
"Yeah." Brock nodded.
"So, you'll be his partner for the foreseeable future?"
"No. My partner is coming back from an overseas assignment. We've