She glanced around. “You own a kink club. I think you damaged your own reputation.”
Stryker chuffed out a laugh. “But I wasn’t running a damn brothel out of it.”
“Last year, you offered me off-the-books hacking help to get a violent criminal off the streets,” Tiana continued. “I’ve got a possible serial killer on my hands. Put aside your personal feelings and do it again.”
Serial killer?“Assign it to a different detective and you’ve got yourself a deal,” Stryker said before setting down his mug.
“Cooperate with the investigation.”
“I am,” he replied.
“That means, don’t force my detective to get a warrant just to review your club surveillance. Emerson is good,” she continued, “but she needs someone who can scour the dark web, use that fancy facial recognition software you have—I can keep going. The list is endless.”
“The PD has a data forensics team,” Stryker pushed back.
“And they’re stretched to the max.” She set down her mug. “I’m asking you to make yourself available to her. Become a primary,confidentialresource. She’s got two dead women and the cleanest crime scenes we’ve ever seen. Do the right thing.”
Silence.
Tiana was waiting this one out. Not the first time he’d seen that determination in her eyes.
More silence.
Dammit. He wasn’t gonna win. For April’s sake, he’d play nice with Easton, despite their rocky history. “I’ll do it to stop a killer.”
Tiana smiled. “That’s all I’m asking. Use those crazy-good hacking skills and help me—help Emerson—before this lunatic takes someone else’s life.”
* * *
Instead of squeezing into the crowded elevator, Emerson trotted up the stairs and into Homicide. Despite getting a whopping three hours of sleep, she was ready to work. She shoved her handbag in her desk drawer and made her way to the break room. Between thinking about the killer and knowing she’d have to deal with Stryker, she’d had a restless night. Chasing down a psychopath would be the easier task. No doubt, Stryker would put her through hell just so she could view the surveillance at The Dungeon. Steeling her spine, she filled her mug and returned to her desk to check email.
Even though the judge had agreed to send over the search warrant, it hadn’t come in yet.
Bing!
She read the incoming email.Ah, crap, I forgot about this.Huffing out a sigh, she pushed out of her chair as a coworker did the same.
“Why does this always happen to us?” asked fellow detective, Nikki Cardoso.
Emerson glanced around the department. None of the other detectives seemed fazed by the email. “Let’s beg out.”
The women beelined for the captain’s office but Tiana Perry wasn’t at her desk.
“Looking for me?” Captain Perry asked as she approached her office.
“Good morning, ma’am,” Emerson and Nikki said as they moved out of the doorway.
After entering, the captain asked, “Do we have a problem?”
“We got an email,” Nikki began. “Something about being interviewed forDMVMagazine.”
Captain Perry sat behind her desk and logged in to her computer. “That was arranged weeks ago.”
“We don’t have time,” Emerson said. “Can you assign someone else?”
“Detectives, you were chosen by Media Relations, along with a dozen others from different departments.” She tucked her short, dark hair behind one ear. “This is a great opportunity for the public to see that we bring value with our Abuse Prevention program, our LGBTQIA+ Liaison Team, even our lost bicycle hotline number.”
“The public can read all that on our website,” Emerson protested.