“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” Jim balled up his wrapper and stuffed it in the bag. He tried to quell his anger. Jim probably hadn’t meant to be cruel, but that only made it harder. Mark took a deep breath. “I liked it fine, sir.” For the first time, he lied to the other man. “Thank you. I appreciate the meal.” He touched his stomach. “I’m full, that’s all.” A wave of nausea ripped through him and he prayed he would make it back to his cell before the food came back up.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jim drummed his fingers on the armrest of the cab as it inched through Chicago’s morning rush hour. His superiors had denied his official travel request, stating that they felt Officer Daly’s report was sufficient and that nothing more could be gained from that line of inquiry. Undeterred, he’d put in for some personal time and paid for the trip himself. So, he was here unofficially. That might be better anyway. If he didn’t find anything useful, he wouldn’t have to admit it to Bill.
Almost an hour later, Jim tossed his bag on the bed in his room. He thought about following it down and taking a quick nap, but it was already after ten. He had a lot of ground to cover before his return flight tomorrow evening. First on his agenda was finding Detective Jessica Bishop. According to his notes, she worked out of the fifth precinct. Jim changed from his rumpled traveling clothes and put on a crisp white shirt, blue tie and black pants. Just because it was technically vacation didn’t mean he couldn’t look official.
Jim paused outside the police station, double checking the precinct number. Satisfied he was at the right one, he pushed through the doors and strode up to the desk sergeant. “I’m looking for Detective Jessica Bishop. Can you direct me to her office please?”
“Who are you?” The man squinted up from his paperwork.
This was the tricky part. Bishop didn’t know him. This wasn’t official business so Jim couldn’t declare that he was with the CIA. He didn’t want to lie, either. He settled for a half-truth. “I’m Jim Sheridan. Detective Bishop and I have a mutual friend, so I thought while I was in town on business, I’d come by and introduce myself.” He pulled out his wallet and showed his driver’s license.
The sergeant raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged. “Whatever.” He waved a hand towards the right. “Her office is third door on the left. But she ain’t there now.” With that, he went back to whatever he was doing with the papers.
Jim braced his hands on the desk and leaned towards the sergeant’s face. “Any idea when she might return, or where she might be? I promised I’d meet her when I was in town.”
The man sighed and rolled his eyes. “Look, I ain’t her secretary. You might find her in the file room. It’s back that-away.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.
“Thanks. You’ve been so much help.” Jim headed in the direction the man had indicated and peered in three offices, inquiring in each if anyone had seen Jessica Bishop. No one had any idea and he was beginning to wish he had called first. He’d thought about it, but didn’t want to give up the advantage of surprise. He had found that it was easier to read a person that way. A door marked FILE ROOM was ajar, and he pushed it open and stepped in.
“You the one looking for me?”
Jim turned towards the voice behind him. She was taller than he expected, only a few inches shorter than his five-foot ten. He had seen a standard file photo of her, but in person, even with her hair in a tight bun, she was striking. She watched him warily.
“Detective Jessica Bishop?”
She nodded, her eyes never leaving his face. “And you are?”
Jim stuck his hand out. “Jim Sheridan.”
For a long moment, she studied him before she shook his hand. Her grip was strong and her eyes hard. “What can I do for you?”
Jim looked over her shoulder to the busy station. “I know this is unexpected. I flew out on the chance I could talk to you when I should have made an appointment, but do you have some time? I’d like to talk to you. Somewhere quiet, if possible. It’s about a mutual acquaintance.”
“Who is it?” Jessica glanced away, and he saw her reluctance and irritation. She held a stack of files and her eyes went from the clock then down to the files in her hand as though weighing in her mind if she had time to waste talking to him
“I see I’ve caught you at a bad time, but I promise you’ll be interested in who this acquaintance is.” He paused a beat letting her realize the importance of his next words. “I’d rather wait to disclose who it is until we can go somewhere else to discuss it.”
She raised her head, her expression wavering between annoyance and curiosity. “Look, I don’t know you from Adam, so why should I go anywhere with you?”
He stepped closer and said in a low voice, “I saw Mark Taylor the other day. I’d like to ask you some questions.”
She lost her grip on the folders, but juggled them quickly and looked like she was going to ask him something, but changed her mind. Hope had sparked in her eyes for an instant before she masked it with a shrug. “Okay. Let me get my purse out of my office.”
As she entered an office, she glanced over her shoulder. “Are you hungry? We can get some lunch.”
“That sounds great.” Jim realized that he was starving, his stomach reminding him that the granola bar he’d eaten on the way to the airport this morning was a distant memory. He waited outside the detective’s office. Purse in hand, the woman started for the door, stopped, turned back, and pulled a large white envelope from a desk drawer. Tucking it firmly under an arm, she breezed past him.
She drove, not saying much beyond asking him what kind of food he wanted. He shrugged and told her to pick the place. His hopes of putting her at ease turned to regret when she pulled up in front of a grungy hot dog stand. Jim hid a grimace. Maybe she was trying to give him food poisoning. He ordered a hot dog with the works along with fries, and Jessica ordered the same. He followed her to one of the picnic tables sitting on the hot pavement. Jim bit into the hot dog, and then grinned. “This is good.”
Jessica nodded, her mouth full. After taking a sip of her drink, she said, “Yeah, it’s one of my favorite spots.” She glanced around. “It doesn’t look like much, but what it lacks in ambiance, it makes up for in flavor.” A few wisps of her hair had escaped confinement and the gold strands fluttered as she tilted her face to the sun, eyes closed. “Besides, sometimes I just need to get outside for a bit.”
They ate, occasionally making awkward small talk. It was odd having lunch with a complete stranger, and he knew she felt more than a little uncomfortable. At least the food was good even if it was greasy as hell. He chuckled. That was why it was so good. If he ate like this too often, he’d get soft, and what kind of image would that project? He vowed to run an extra five miles to make up for the greasy meal.
The last time he had indulged in fast food had been with Taylor. Jim picked up the last bite of his hot dog, scooping up some errant pickle relish and replacing it on the end of the dog before polishing it off. That meal hadn’t ended as well. The guy had puked upon returning to his cell. The hot dog churned in Jim’s stomach at the thought. Taylor had been nearly catatonic for three days.
Jim took a sip of his soda, then used the straw to loosen the ice. There was always the worry about crossing the fine line between breaking the man’s defenses or just breaking the man. If he pushed too hard, he risked pushing Mark Taylor into insanity. Not hard enough, and they wouldn’t get any information. He glanced at Jessica and held up his cup. “I’m thinking of getting a refill, you want one?”
She swirled the cup, as though weighing it. “No thanks. I’m good.” Her eyes rose to his face, studying him. “For someone who flew out…from where ever the hell you came from, you sure don’t have much to say.”