“Great. We’re going to take a few extra precautions when we leave here. The captain and I are going to head out now and walk back to the station. You two will leave a couple of minutes later. Your sister will drop you off at the Pershing metro station,” she said to Hannah as she held up her phone. “This woman, who is one of the undercover officers you’ll be with at school all day, is currently sitting on a bench outside the station entrance. Her name’s Marie. She’ll follow you down the escalator. At the bottom, she’ll pass you. Follow her without making contact. She’ll lead you to a separate exit, where you’ll both be met by a car. Once you get in, she’ll explain the details from there.”
When she was done, Decker turned to Jessie.
“When you get back to the station, find me and we’ll deal with the other pending matters.”
With that, the captain and Parker got up and left. Jessie and Hannah waited two minutes before doing the same. As they walked out, it occurred to Jessie that after seating them, no one from the diner had approached them, even to offer coffee. Apparently Captain Decker had trained the staff here well.
A few minutes later, they pulled up at the station entrance. Marie, the undercover cop, was scrolling disinterestedly through her phone. Jessie was amazed at how young the girl looked in person. She had to be in her early twenties but with her floral dress, sneakers, and high ponytail, she could easily pass for sixteen.
“Remember, don’t acknowledge her in any way, just in case you’re being watched,” Jessie said. “I’ll be in touch throughout the day with any relevant updates. Please stay safe.”
“I will, Mom,” Hannah said playfully, dramatically rolling her eyes.
Jessie knew her sister was attempting to puncture the intensity of the situation and decided it was best to just play along.
“In that case, have a nice day, dear,” she said, adopting her best June Cleaver tone.
Hannah got out and walked to the escalator, impressively not even glancing in the cop’s direction. For a few seconds, the officer didn’t move, making Jessie worry that she truly hadn’t seen Hannah. But then she casually got up, never taking her eyes off her phone screen, and ambled toward the escalator. Only when she disappeared from sight did Jessie finally, reluctantly pull out.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Decker was waiting anxiously when Jessie got back.
When she stepped into the bullpen, he was wandering among different units, ostensibly checking in with all the detective teams. But she could tell he was antsy. When she caught his eye, he motioned for her to follow him out to the courtyard. Despite her apprehension that it might not be secure, she did. But just as he was about to open the exterior door, he suddenly changed directions and headed for a maintenance closet a little ways down the hall. He stepped in and she followed a few moments later.
“I’ll be brief,” he whispered, locking the door after her. “First, I just got word that the stay will be lifted at one p.m. I’ll receive a copy of the order at one oh-one and send it to you and Bray immediately. You should probably be outside the Otis Estate gate waiting.”
“We will be,” Jessie assured him.
Despite her best efforts to stay cool and collected, she felt a surge of excitement course through her. It was finally happening.
“As to our other concern about leaks, I’ve got good and bad news,” Decker continued. “As I feared, all the footage from the time Parker’s secure locker was infiltrated was wiped clean. A generic access card, untraceable to any particular individual, was used to gain admittance to different areas.”
“I’m hoping that’s the bad news,” Jessie said.
“It is. Like I said yesterday, I’m old but wily. Without getting into specifics, I’ll just say that, based on certain patterns associated with how and when access was gained, I’ve been able to narrow down the list of likely culprits. And your well-placed concern that the courtyard might no longer be secure either may help me narrow it even further. I hope to know more later today.”
“That’s it?” Jessie said. “You can’t tell me who I should be watching out for?”
“I genuinely don’t know yet. And I wouldn’t want to tip that person off if I did know. We could turn a liability into an asset if we play this right. But for that to happen, you have to stay focused on your case.