In Plain Sight-Chapter 4

Captain O'Malley called Lena and Jack into his office mid-morning.

"Lena, you're lucky I don't ask for your badge. What you did was reckless and foolish. You could've gotten yourself killed. I had to pull a lot of strings to keep the media out of this. And Jack, you following her without telling anyone was irresponsible at best. Also, you know better than to leave your partner to deal with a dispute. That's a rookie mistake and you've been on homicide way too long for such poor judgment. Thanks to both of your sloppy detective work we now have both an attacker and a vigilante on the loose." He paused, taking several deep breaths, and then continued.

"If you both weren't typically my best detectives your asses would be kicked to the curb. But I'm keeping you as leads on the case; however, I'm going to separate the two of you when you're working the streets. Jack, you're going to fly solo, Lena you will work with Detective Davidson."

"Detective Davidson? He's sexist and not particularly competent," remarked Lena."

"Well, we are short-staffed now, so that's all I can offer. You know how to handle yourself. You brought this on yourself. Jack, you're unusually quiet."

"I'm just listening, which I bet you thought I couldn't do. You're the boss so aye-aye Captain."

"You're walking on thin ice Jack, so watch it," O'Malley said sternly.

"Message received."

Jack and Lena returned to the office they shared, each feeling like a tire with a slow leak.

"Well, I have ideas about how to proceed," said Lena. She was quick to move forward while Jack looked like he was still stewing.

"We'll work night shifts working the streets from 11-2 cruising the two-mile area in the upper east where most attacks have been occurring." She pulled out a map and outlined who would police what area. We will check in every hour."

"You're sexy when you bark orders," said Jack giving her a wink and a smile. She ignored him but there was a trace of a smile she tried to hide. She felt comfortable so far around Jack and was used to off color comments here and there.

"Ok, I'm going to see Davidson. See if I can get him to spend more time looking at my eyes than my chest when I go over plans. Check in with you later tonight. Be safe out there."

Lena knocked loudly on Davidson's door startling him. He closed his laptop quickly so she wouldn't see him surfing Facebook on company time.

She walked in and said, "This isn't a discussion so please listen up. You and I are now working night shifts together on the vigilante case. I'm the lead on this investigation, so I expect you to follow my lead and to follow the letter of law. No sloppy evidence gathering like in the Simmons case. This must be done right. And I need your eyes peeled on the area we will cruising. Do I make myself clear?" She felt empowered. "I will you see you in the parking lot at 11 tonight. Don't be late."

Looking speechless, he finally muttered, "Yes, Detective. I will meet you there and then."

She went home, showered and prepared herself for what she hoped would be an eventful and successful night.

It was now midnight and they had
been cruising for an hour. Lena checked in with Jack and neither one had spotted anything suspicious. There seemed to be fewer women walking alone perhaps heeding police advice in the papers about not walking alone late at night. So far Davidson was behaving himself though every now and then she would catch him closing his eyes for a second. She would play passive aggressive and crank the radio for a second.

Now 12:45, something caught her eye. She saw an attractive woman leaving a restaurant starting to walk down the street. Next she saw a man following her. She informed Jack over the radio and told him she was on East 86th Street and 2nd Ave. He said he was not too far away and would immediately head that way.

She slowly followed them down the road and the women started to enter an alley way. Just as Lena was about to cross an intersection, a truck plowed through the red light and Lena had to slam on her brakes.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. She quickly tried to make up time. When she turned down the alley she saw the attacker on the pavement and the victim holding onto someone. When she got closer, she was surprised to see it was Jack. She was amazed at his speed getting to the scene. She also let out a deep exhale that he was there.

She called the police to gather evidence and deal with the body. They arrived quickly, securing the crime scene. One cop immediately went to assess the body. He made some observations of head trauma but then he screamed, "Holy shit!"

He took his pulse and while very faint it was still there. He yelled, "He has a pulse!" Everyone looked dumbfounded.

"Get him to the hospital immediately. Start CPR and oxygen in the ambulance. We will be there shortly, hopefully he will be alert when we arrive. We need to know what if anything he saw of the vigilante," said Lena with a sense of urgency.

"Davidson and I will head to the hospital. Jack, how about you get a full report from this lady?"

With each of them having their assignments, they leapt into action.