me on a good day, which is not a compliment,” he said. “You should go home and get some rest.”
“I plan to,” she assured him.
“I wanted to thank you for your assistance, Hunt. We were really short-handed and you came through for us. Because of your help, Corinne Weatherly’s killer is in custody, a second murder was prevented, a prostitution ring was broken up, and a predatory producer may finally have to pay the piper for years of abusing his power. Not bad for a few days of work.”
“Thanks, Captain,” she said, sensing there was more coming.
He paused, unsure how to proceed. Eventually he just came out with it.
“Any chance you’d be interested in running it back again?”
“What do you mean exactly?” she asked.
“I mean, would you consider consulting for us from time to time, when we’re in a bind or have a case that is particularly messy?”
“You mean like Garland Moses did?” she pressed.
“Something like that.”
“He ended up coming in every day, even though he was never an LAPD employee. I’m not interested in that.”
“We’ll take what we can get, Hunt,” Decker said flatly.
“I’ll think about it,” she replied. “Why don’t you give me a call when you have something interesting and I’ll let you know if I’m available?”
“I’ll do that,” he said.
“I have no doubt.”
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
Jessie could smell the bacon from the hall.
When she walked into the apartment, both Kat and Hannah were at the table, dressed and having breakfast. Her sister saw her, got up immediately, and went to the fridge.
“How do bacon and eggs sound?” she asked.
“They sound good,” Jessie said, plopping down in a chair. “Thanks.”
“Not a problem,” Hannah said from somewhere behind the refrigerator door.
“How did it go?” Kat asked, bleary-eyed.
“Short version: we caught the killer and a few other folks to boot. I can fill you in on the gory details later. Right now I’m operating on fumes. How did the stakeout go yesterday?”
Hannah closed the fridge door and looked at Kat, who shrugged.
“Short version,” she said, “I nailed the guy. There ended up being some complications with the client but that goes with the territory.”
“Fill me in on the gory details later?” Jessie asked.
“Sure,” Kat said, though not with much enthusiasm.
Jessie looked at Hannah, who appeared fixated on the eggs in her hands, and then at Kat, who seemed to be trying very hard to act casual, and felt a flicker of suspicion.
“Any particular reason you two are acting so squirrelly?” she asked.
“Nah,” Kat said, “I just think Hannah got a rude awakening at how boring stakeouts can get. We should have brought a Scrabble board or something.”
“What’s Scrabble?” Hannah asked, smirking.
“That’s the girl I know,” Jessie said. “By the way, I have some news. Garland left me his house in his will. We can probably move in next week.”
There were several seconds of stunned silence before Kat found her voice.
“That’s amazing! When were you going to tell us this?”
“I just did,” Jessie said.
She looked over at Hannah, whose eyes were rimmed with wetness. It took her a moment to gather herself.
“He was a really good guy,” she said softly.
“Yeah, he was,” Jessie agreed. “I was actually planning to go see Ryan and tell him too. The place is well-suited for his recovery. And the walls aren’t paper thin, so I won’t have to hear you blasting your music.”
“That’s nothing compared to the stuff I’ve had to hear,” Hannah quipped. “If I wasn’t already in therapy, I’d need it after that.”
Jessie smiled but did not apologize.
“Do you want company on the hospital visit?” Hannah asked. “I can go with you.”
“Thanks. Next time, I think. I was hoping for a little solo time on this trip. I haven’t had much in the last few days. Do you mind?”
“Of course not,” Hannah said. “It’ll give me more time to plan how I want to decorate my room.”
Jessie smiled. That was the most excited she’d heard Hannah in a while. Maybe things were finally turning around.
*
Ryan was off the ventilator.
Doctor Badalia warned her not to get too excited. It was a good sign but he was far from out of the woods. In fact, it was potentially more risky because Ryan might try to push his recovery too hard now. He would need to go slow and Jessie would have to make him if he balked. He also warned her that, while they had yet to find any memory or cognitive issues, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t emerge later.