This is a work of fiction, using characters from the film, “LA Confidential". No insult or invasion of privacy or infringement of copyright is intended. The story is for readers over the age of 18 only, and contains adult language. The writer is not responsible for any "discomfort" caused to the reader by this language and these situations.
Shadows
©2007 by: C4C
CHAPTER SIX
They met in their usual bar, one not generally frequented by their fellow officers. As they downed their first round, trying to escape from the events of the hideous day, they talked about the weather, the Dodgers... anything but work. But the more Ed talked, the quieter Bud grew.
Finally, Ed said, "What's going on, Bud? Is Lynn okay?"
"Uh… she's fine." After a pause, "she's expecting."
"No kidding?"
Bud shot him a look. "What… did Lynn tell you?"
"No, of course not, but I sort of guessed from what you said, yesterday."
Bud shifted uncomfortably, Ed could tell he was embarrassed. He reached across the table and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Hey, congratulations, that's great news!" He raised his glass. "To you, Lynn and a healthy baby."
"Thanks."
Ed saw that he was troubled. "What is it, Bud? Aren't you happy about this?"
"Yeah. Sure I am. Not sure what kind of father I'll be, but the kid'll have Lynn, he'll be okay."
Ed smiled. "You'll be a great father. So, what's wrong?"
"I… uh… I need a favor. Backup."
"Backup?"
"Yeah, you know, our line of work. If something happens to me--"
"Oh, come on, Bud, you're just nervous--"
"Damn right I am. I'll protect that kid with my life. But if I can't, I have to know they'll be okay, the baby and Lynn. Will you watch out for them? Be his Godfather?"
The look of shock on Ed's face made Bud laugh.
"Come on, don't be so surprised. Who else would I ask?"
"No, I… uh… I didn't know you were that religious."
Bud shrugged. "Don't know if you'd call it that. I just need to know my family will be okay. And you're the only one I can trust with that." He paused. "Are you up for it?"
"Of course. I'd be honored."
The two of them gazed at each other in silent acknowledgment of how far their relationship had come.
"Well," Bud said, hurriedly, "I better get home, I told Lynn I'd try and get out early."
"Oh, the perils of married life," Ed joked.
"Go on, laugh all you want. You'll be there one of these days--"
"Oh, sure. Give Lynn my congratulations, will you?"
"Are you leaving, or what?"
"No, I'll just sit here and unwind." He sighed, ruefully. "Nobody's waiting at home for me."
Bud got to the front door of the bar and saw that the rain was coming down with a vengeance. He was searching his pockets for his car keys when the door burst open and Joy bumped into him, literally.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lt. White," she said, both surprised and breathless. Her hair was a little wet and her cheeks were flushed from running.
"Are you okay?" Bud asked, helping her to steady herself.
"Oh, yes, I was on my way home when the rain started so I came in here to keep dry."
"So you live around here?"
"Yes. It's a nice neighborhood, off the beaten path, you know."
"Can I give you a lift?"
"Thank you, but I could use a hot drink."
"Well, Exley's in there if you can use the company."
"Is he?" she said, innocently.
"Yeah, he is. See you at work."
As she walked into the main bar area, she spotted her other boss and stopped in her tracks. He spotted her, too. In the instant when their eyes met she felt a warm, intense feeling of excitement and mixed also with embarrassment as she knew she didn't exactly look her best at the moment. But she went up to him, anyway.
"Captain Exley."
Ed stood up. "Hi, Joy. What are you doing here?"
"I live around here. Small world, eh? I just saw Lt. White."
"We were having a drink."
"So I gathered."
Ed made his move. "Well, why don't you join me. That is, if you’re not waiting for someone."
"No, I'm not waiting for anyone. She cocked her head and gave him her sweetest smile. "I'd be happy to join you."
Bud, who had only just located his keys was taking in the charming scenario with great enjoyment. He pushed the door open and prepared to rush into the pouring rain, thinking, he couldn't wait to tell Lynn about this interesting development.
The next morning, he woke up, hearing Lynn in the bathroom in the throes of morning sickness. Again. 'Shit,' he thought to himself, hoping like hell that it would end, soon. He couldn't help feeling guilty.
He decided to give her some privacy. Still just in his pajama bottoms, he walked into the kitchen to make coffee and take a look at the paper. The headlines were full of the murders at "The Velvet Glove," and the press had already started feeding the police to the sharks. It did not improve his mood.
When half an hour had gone by and she still hadn't surfaced he went to investigate and found her back in bed. He sat down next to her and stroked her hair tenderly.
"What's wrong, baby, bad morning?"
Lynn tried to downplay her discomfort. "Not really, par for the course. I feel better now. I've got a doctor's appointment at ten, so I thought I'd get a little more sleep." She looked at him a little more carefully. ''You don't look so hot, yourself. You tossed and turned all night."
"Don't worry about me, you get your rest. Let me know what the doctor says." He dressed quickly and left. He didn't want her to know he was starting to relate going to work with walking into hell and he swore he could feel the heat biting at his heels, even now.
Bud arrived at the station to find Ed already embroiled in a heated conversation with the District Attorney. Not in the mood for this shit just yet, he started to head to his own office when he heard Joy calling after him. He wondered when the hell she had started getting into work at this hour and then, remembering the night before, answered his own question. He smiled for the first time this morning.
She greeted him brightly and handed him a memo.
"Hi, Joy. What's this?" As Bud scanned the note, his face darkened.
"A message for you. The phone was ringing when I came in and the woman on the other end said you needed to contact her right away. She sounded really upset.''
"I don't want you to ever take messages from this woman again," he growled. "Got it?"
"But… I just answered the phone, I had no idea--"
"Well, now you do," he shot back, shortly. Crumbling the paper into a tight ball, he threw it in the direction of the trash basket, stomped into his office and slammed the door.
Ed opened his door just at the end of the scene, finding Joy just standing there, a little stunned.
"What the hell just happened?"
She just shrugged, at a loss for words. He went to retrieve the wadded up note and read it.
"Go into my office, Joy. I'll be there in a minute."
"I'm fine, Captain…"
He gave her a look that meant business.
Bud went on working, not acknowledging his partner's presence as Ed entered his office and closed the door.
"What the fuck was that all about? Who the hell is Wanda?"
"None of your fucking business," Bud muttered, still writing.
"White, anything that goes on in this office is my business."
"Well, that's tough shit, isn't it?"
Ed sighed, inwardly. He could see that Bud was just barely holding it together. His voice had that barely contained calm tone which Ed knew, by painful, past experience, bore the potential for disaster. A beat of silence passed as they held their stance until finally the Captain backed down.
"All right. We'll table it… for now. We've got work to do. I want you to get some people down to the coroner's office and check out every Jane Doe under the age of eighteen from the last six months."
"Right," Bud said, as if nothing had happened.
"I'd like you to oversee it personally."
Bud finally looked at Ed. "Consider it done."
"Bud. I'm going to get to the bottom of this."
Bud merely looked down at his paperwork. Ed left the room.
Joy looked over the array of paperwork on the wall beyond Exley's desk. There was a sweet picture of an elderly couple who she surmised he was his parents. The photo was prominent because he had attached his father's honorary shield to it. Right next to it was a nice shot of Ed and Bud in their dress uniforms and next to them was a gorgeous blonde. Joy was so in her speculative thoughts she was unaware of Ed standing quietly beside her and giving her the once-over. He liked what he saw.
"Is that Lt. White's wife?" she asked.
"Yes, that's Lynn."
"Wow, she’s gorgeous--"
"Doesn't deserve her, does he?"
"I didn't say that." They paused, still looking at the pictures. "That was the day he got his Medal of Valor."
He nodded, slightly. "That was for saving my life."
"Sounds like quite a story. I'd like to hear it, sometime."
"Maybe I'll tell you, sometime." Ed touched her arm. "Look, I don't know what happened out there. But he's never mentioned this Wanda person and he should never have taken it out on you."
She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Believe me, it's not that. Bud is very, very married."
Joy decided to bite her tongue. "I can see why you say that, she's lovely."
Ed shook his head. "I don’t know what's eating him today. He's never like that around women, anyway. Look, let me make it up to you, how about dinner, Saturday night?"
"Captain, you don’t have to coddle me."
"I'm not. I had a nice time with you, last night. I'd like to continue that."
She smiled back at him. "Okay. It's a date."
Bud was just heading out the door when Ed managed to catch him, saying hurriedly, "Bud, I got a call from forensics at the Velvet Glove. They need us there right away!"
When they arrived, the entire team of detectives and police officers were waiting for them, silent and grim-faced. Ed and Bud exchanged glances that said what they were thinking: this was going to be bad.
The men were led to a storage shed behind the club. As the officers opened the doors, the all too familiar stench of death assaulted them, full-force. Both Bud and Ed brought handkerchiefs to their faces as they took in the ghastly sight.
In the far-left corner, a shallow grave had been dug in the dirt floor. Two decomposing corpses lay in it, their arms and legs tangled around each other in a grotesque death embrace. Pieces of flesh still clung to the exposed bones which had obviously been shattered in a desperate battle for life. Glassy, doll-like eyes stared out of once pretty faces now darkened by death. Dried caked blood and brain matter made it almost impossible to determine hair color.
Bud, coughing from the odor, stepped closer. He drew his pocketknife and hunkered down. Two small, filthy purses had been tossed in for good measure and lay next to the bodies. Carefully using the tip of the blade, he tipped one of them over and succeeded in spilling the contents all over the ground. He swallowed hard at the pathetic items now strewn around their former owners. Girlie stuff: hankies, make-up and a small bottle of cheap perfume. No I.D. He looked at Ed who returned his bleak stare.
"Leave it alone, Bud, let them handle it," Ed said quietly, gesturing at the waiting specialists. Bud rose to his feet as Ed barked out orders to barricade the perimeter and post extra guards. He met with Bud on the sidewalk outside.
"Well," he said, "now we know what happened to two of them. I'm having the entire site dug up. Maybe the other girl will show."
Bud interrupted him. "Yeah. Maybe. Look, I have to get to Scarlet. She might be in trouble. I can't leave her hanging out there. I'll get back to you later."
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