The Killing Ground: A Foxx Files Thriller (2 page)

“Gray.” Susan said quietly. “I’m sorry to call you in so late, but this couldn’t wait.”  Susan’s voice quivered uncharacteristically, and she cleared her throat several times before continuing. “It’s Julie. She’s…” Susan broke off abruptly, unable to continue.

“Oh, fuck.” Jordan murmured quietly. She and Susan weren’t exactly close, but they had formed a bond when they found out that both of them were lesbians. Julie Keppler was Susan’s partner. Julie was pregnant with their first baby, and Jordan’s immediate thought was that something had happened to the baby. On second thought, she knew it couldn’t be that or Susan would not have called her and especially not Matt into the office at this late hour. Her stomach wrenched violently when she realized with sick dread that whatever Susan was about to say was far worse.

Susan’s eyes locked on hers, and Jordan could see the hurt evident in them. “Julie is in the ICU at Mercy.”

“Oh, my God!” Matt leaned forward in his chair. “What happened?”

“Julie was attacked tonight.” Susan held a closed fist to her mouth and swallowed audibly. She raised apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry. I'm not usually such a mess.”

Jordan leaned forward, reached across the desk and put her hand on Susan’s arm. “Don’t tell us you’re sorry. You have every right to be upset. We’re here for you.”

“I know. Fuck, this is difficult. You know it is never this hard when it’s someone else. You know you learn how to disassociate yourself, but this, Julie. I don’t know how to disconnect.” Susan offered quietly, brushing away tears that welled anew in her swollen eyes. “Julie was attacked and raped.”

Jordan sank back in her chair. Suddenly, the feeling of Julie’s vulnerability slammed into her chest. “The baby?” She asked in a raspy voice.

Susan shook her head, unable to form the words.

Jordan stood up and went around the desk and against every rule of protocol, pulled Susan into her arms and hugged her fiercely. She waited while the tears fell and waited quietly, not offering empty words that everything would be all right, when right now nothing was okay. Everything was wrong.

Jordan waited and when Susan finally pulled away, her eyes were once again professionally guarded. She sat down and knew this time when she spoke, there would be no tears.

“Julie was attacked this evening.” Susan’s voice was even and monotone, belying her upset emotions, and her face was a carefully guarded mask devoid of any grief. “She was raped. Fortunately, someone happened by before her assailant could kill her. She’s lost a lot of blood. It's not looking good. The baby…our baby…” Susan stopped again, the pain evident in her voice. Jordan knew she was close to falling apart. However, after a moment, Susan continued gravely. “Right now we don’t know anything. If she…
when
she wakes up, I want you to take her statement.”

Jordan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “This isn’t exactly our jurisdiction. Chicago Investigative Services should be working the attack. You know how uptight they get when we play in their backyard.”

Susan pursed her lips. “This isn’t an official investigation. I’m asking you to work this on your own time.” She held up her hand to prevent protest. “I know it’s not ideal, but from what I gathered from our contact at the CIS, we’re looking at a serial killer. A killer they have not made any headway in apprehending. I don’t want this to get shelved. I want Julie’s attacker caught, and I need you guys to help…in an unofficial capacity.”

Jordan’s mind was working overtime. She stole a sideways glance at Matt. They had worked
off the record
cases before, even worked with the CIS in the past, but this time it was personal, and she wondered if Susan would keep an objective mind. They were bound to step on toes, and she wondered just how far they would have to push.

Susan handed Jordan a card. “This is the detective who is working point on this case. I want you both to make nice with the detective and glean whatever information you can get in addition to taking Julie’s statement.” Her fists clenched and the vein in her temple throbbed wildly, the only two signs that she was handling this in anything less than a professional capacity. “I need you two on this.”

Jordan caught Matt’s eye and she nodded slightly, sending him a silent message.
What the fuck is she getting us involved in?
She turned back to Susan, meeting her expectant eyes. “We’ll find him.”  She hoped her words sounded more convincing to her boss than they did to her own ears.

“So what are you thinking?” Matt asked as he held the door for Jordan.

“I think we just got thrown into the lion’s den.” She ran a hand through her unruly brown hair and expelled a breath. “I’ve never seen Susan that out of control. This one isn’t going to get swept under the rug.”

Matt stared off somewhere in the night sky. He shoved his hands wordlessly into his pockets, waiting for Jordan to take the lead as she always did.

“I say we pay this detective a little surprise visit first thing in the morning.” The corner of her lip curled up into the semblance of a wicked grin. “I want to catch her off guard. She’s more likely to let something slip if she isn’t expecting us.”

Matt smiled. In the five years he and Jordan had worked together, he had grown to appreciate her sixth sense. It had helped them out of more than one tight spot, and he wasn’t about to start doubting it now. If Jordan wanted to make an early morning visit, then he was all for it. Besides, from the sound of things, they were going to need every advantage available. 

Chapter 2

Jordan pushed a hand through her dark hair, trying to brush it out of her blue eyes. She was weeks past needing a haircut, which only added to her street hardened look. She flicked her eyes to her wrist, noting that Matt was his typical ten minutes late. Per Assistant Director Mitchell, she and Matt were getting an early start on last night’s case. She pulled Detective Rebecca Foxx’s card out of her leather jacket and fingered the plain type. She wasn’t sure what kind of woman she expected Detective Foxx to be, but she was pretty damn sure she wasn’t going to like the FBI’s intrusion into her case.

She shoved the card back in her pocket and let out a loud breath. “Fuck, Matty, where are you?”

As if hearing her sharp words, he came tearing into the parking lot, bringing his car to a screeching halt beside Jordan. He exited the car with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, Jordie. I was getting fuel.” He handed her a cup of coffee and loped around to the other side of her Nissan. “Come on, we’re late.”

Jordan grunted loudly, stifling her biting reply. They rode in silence to the Area 5 on Grand. The Chicago Detective Division, or CDD, was located in Area 5 of the Chicago grid. Grand Central, as dubbed by its location on Grand, covered all of northwest side of the City. It was part of the Bureau of Investigative Services or BIS. Detective Foxx worked in the Detective Division. The CDD handled the criminal investigations for crimes such as murder, rape or those related to narcotics, gangs or organized crime.

Jordan pulled into a freight zone on Racine Street and stuck an FBI parking tag in her window. She caught Matt looking at her comically. “What?” She asked innocently.

He rolled his eyes. “Nothing.”

Her only response was a smirk. Hell, Jordan knew if they couldn’t use their position with the FBI for something as harmless as parking in a freight zone, she knew there was no chance the FBI’s name would carry much weight with the Chicago Police Department either.

Jordan wasn’t sure what she expected to find when they walked into the precinct, but none of the Barney Fife misconceptions existed here. She glanced quickly around a small waiting area then focused her attention on the officer who occupied a small corner of the room. Jordan knew the CDD would resent their intrusion. She cast a smile in his direction, hoping that the smallest civility would work to smooth over their involvement. “I’m Special Agent Gray, and this is Special Agent Riley with the FBI.” They flashed their badges briefly, more in a show of attempted camaraderie than necessity, as the FBI’s jurisdiction outweighed the CDD’s territory. “We’d like to speak with Detective Foxx.”

Had Jordan not been paying rapt attention to his response in an effort to gauge the request, she might have missed the almost imperceptible rise in his eyebrow. She decided to attribute it to the FBI’s surprise visit and not as his opinion of Detective Foxx. She would wait and make her own opinion. She knew all too well that while women had made it a long way in a man’s world, yet they continued to struggle with narrow—minded assholes that still felt a woman’s place was at home. Perhaps Detective Foxx had bucked the system and the opinion that her fellow detectives and officers shared was that of a woman who was more forthright than she should be—a bitch to put it simply. Whatever the case, she would make that determination herself, and not based on the candid response of a youthful desk jockey.

“I’ll see if she’s in yet.” He picked up the phone and dialed slowly. Jordan shot Matt a sideways glance and stifled a chuckle. She stole a glance at his badge and smirked. Officer Jackson was showing his ass. He wanted to let the FBI know who was in charge here. After a short, hushed conversation, he hung up the phone and sighed loudly. “You’ll have to wait, Detective Foxx is tied up. She’s really not sure how long she’ll be.” He nodded at two chairs nearby. You’re free to wait…if you want.”

Jordan caught Matt’s eye again and nodded silently. They read his signal loud and clear. The CDD was not bowing down to the Feds. That was okay with Jordan. She had an immense reserve of patience when the situation called for it and today, the situation demanded it. If Susan Mitchell wanted their help finding Julie’s attacker, no amount of snubbing from Chicago’s finest was going to deter them. They sat down and waited, eyeing the invisible battle line that was slowly being drawn in the sand.

“Agent Gray.” Jordan’s head came up, and she focused on the woman who had just called her name. She made a show of checking her watch, letting Detective Foxx know right away that the thirty—five minutes they had waited was unacceptable, but she stopped short of letting the irritation show in her features. “
Special
Agent.” Jordan’s emphasis on Special was her way of setting the tone for this meeting.

Matt stood up beside her and smiled easily. “Special Agent Riley. Thank you for agreeing to see us, Detective Foxx.” He offered his hand and Detective Foxx took it begrudgingly. This was their thing. Jordan played the bad cop to Matt’s good cop. So far it had worked, but one look at Detective Foxx’s face let them know immediately that whatever game they played, they would lose.

“Against my better judgment.” She led them to her small office. From her glass office, she could see every desk in the house and Jordan could tell from the looks of the officers occupying those desks, Detective Foxx was not well liked. Respected, feared maybe, but not liked, and certainly not a woman that appreciated the FBI stepping over any lines. Jordan liked that about her. She understood that and in the few moments it took them to get settled, she studied Rebecca Foxx. The first thing a person would notice was her red hair, fiery would describe it well. Look away too quickly and they would miss the emerald-green eyes that Jordan thought might be beautiful if they ever smiled. She was thin, slightly shorter than Jordan’s five foot eight frame, but underneath her shapeless jacket, she looked lean and defined. The lines around those green eyes spoke volumes. This was a woman who had lived a lot of years in what Jordan guessed was sandwiched into about thirty years. If she was ever outside of the sallow white lights, and she smiled, Jordan decided she would be a beautiful woman.

As if sensing she was being watched, Detective Foxx looked up from the pad she was scribbling on and met Jordan’s inquisitive eyes. For a brief moment, a look of understanding passed between them. She leaned back in her chair and regarded the Agents thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t have even allowed you to stay, but when you look in the eyes of someone’s whose whole life has just been shattered, you figure that if ever there were a time to let the Feds come sniffing around in our investigation, this may be the time.”

Jordan shifted imperceptibly and she saw Matt’s leg jump. Detective Foxx’s statement caught them completely off guard. They had assumed that getting the CDD to give them anything would be a fight. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when a hand was held up.

“This is still our case, but even I know, the FBI has resources at its disposal that we just don’t have. You would have to live in a cave to not know that funding for the city police departments is way down and we just don’t have the manpower to cover a case like this.” She sat up quickly. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not handing this case over, and
when
it’s solved, the Feds don’t take credit, but you will have the full cooperation of the CDD.”

Jordan breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that, Detective Foxx.”

Detective Foxx took a moment to study Jordan. “Just so we understand each other, I’m doing this because my number one focus is catching the son of a bitch that attacked Julie Keppler and killed those other women.”

Jordan’s temperature climbed a notch. She resented the fact that Detective Foxx had to clarify the reason they were all there. This wasn’t an exercise in pissing off the CDD. Jordan could not care less about jurisdiction. She wanted the asshole just as much as Detective Foxx did, probably more.

Matt turned, sensing her agitation. “Detective Foxx, I think you will find that is our goal as well, and we have no plans to take the investigation away from the CDD. We are merely offering the FBI’s resources, as you call them and asking for some shared information in return.”

Jordan hid a smile. Good old Matty, always riding in on his white horse as the good cop. She watched Detective Foxx’s face for a sign that she wasn’t immune to his charm and good looks. She spotted nothing.

“I have no doubt,
Special
Agent Riley, that you have every intention of manhandling this case.” She mustered a fake smile, turning Matt’s political correctness right back on him. “Rest assured, that would hinder the successfulness of this joint investigation.”