The Secret Life of
Partners Part Three
Mandy Martin was a mess.
Her straggly blonde hair fell in matted clumps around her haggard, dirt-streaked
face, and her clothes were torn and caked with mud. She would have been
extremely attractive if she hadn't been in such a state, and it was easy to see
why Sheppard had been dating her. As Eleanor Graystoke had said, Mandy was
extremely tall, with a willowy figure that wouldn't have been out of place in
the pages of a magazine. Like Sheppard, her looks caused people to wonder why
she was police. She had cat-green eyes, and a sharp bone structure, giving her a
feral appearance. When she spoke, her voice was low and measured, with a hint of
a Texas drawl barely evident.
"Mandy, you do know why you've been brought up to homicide, right?"
Lewis began the questioning, casually leaning against the wall of the box. Mandy Martin nodded, her eyes contemptuous.
"I suppose this has something to do with the bastard who offed Rene, right?"
Tim looked up at her from his notes, peering at her over his spectacles.
"You were the last person to see her alive, so we need to know what happened. What time did you leave her apartment yesterday morning?"
Mandy looked Tim up and down, taking in every last detail of his appearance.
"About seven. I had to go home before starting shift. I hadn't moved everything in yet. We were moving in together."
This remark stung
Lewis, who had occasionally considered asking Sheppard to make things more
official between them.
"Were you roomies, Mandy?"
Lewis didn't want to face the fact that Sheppard had dropped him for another woman.
"No, detective, we were fucking. Does that answer your question?"
Mandy had a malicious smile on her face that was directed at Meldrick Lewis.
"Didn't you used to fuck her too, Detective? I seem to remember Ren saying you were shit in bed. That was you, wasn't it, Mel?"
Lewis was fuming. His face had visibly reddened, and he approached the table. Tim stood up and held him back.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be in here, do you?"
He led Lewis out of the box.
"If you're going to
let her get to you, then what do you expect? She's gonna bite every chance you
give her, and then where will we be? You stay out here. Kellerman! You got a
minute? I need you in the box!"
Mike ambled over, and casually walked into the box. He turned the chair around, and sat facing Mandy Martin.
"Well, hello, Mandy," he drawled, his voice ironic.
Tim came into the box, pulled the door shut and leaned against the back wall, watching carefully.
"Well, Mandy, what did you do to get holed up in here with us, huh? Oh, I get it! You're the one who was screwin' Sheppard! I heard you were a real dyke."
Kellerman was being deliberately antagonistic, trying to draw
Mandy into his line of questioning. Orthodox methods were useless, due to the
police training she'd received, so harsher methods were called for.
"We pretty much all fucked her when she came to homicide, Mandy. Great piece of ass, wasn't she? Timmy, what did you think of her?"
Tim blushed as he was reluctantly pulled into the topic.
"She was hot, Mikey. Real hot!"
He felt as though he was somehow betraying Rachel by talking about Sheppard in that manner.
"I
think she even made it with Munch. You see that wrinkled guy out there? The
skinny one? She had it hot an' heavy for ol' Munchkin!"
Mandy's face was reddening, and she was clenching her fist so tightly that the tendons stood out in sharp relief. She was desperately trying not to respond, but was being given no choice.
"You know somethin', Timmy? I remember that night in the Waterfront. After you went home. Me, Munch, Lewis and Sheppard had it away on the bar. She was really into the whole gang-bang scene. That was sweet!"
Mandy was getting more and more agitated, trembling so much that the vibrations
shook through the table.
"She wasn't into men no more! It was me she loved!"
Mandy Martin dissolved into hot, stinging tears. Her Texas drawl became more pronounced as she fell apart in front of their eyes. Tim pulled a packet of tissues from his pocket, walked towards the table and offered one to Mandy. For a brief moment, he was reminded of the night he had met Rachel, causing him to smile unintentionally. Mandy took a tissue and noisily blew her nose.
"She told me she weren't interested in men since we started datin'. I was her first woman."
She was still snivelling, but had
managed to regain a modicum of control.
"When did you and Rene start seeing each other as more than friends?"
Tim regained control of the interview in a deceptively gentle manner.
"A few weeks? Months?"
He knew that if he didn't tread carefully, she would clam up and refuse to talk.
"We bin together 'bout four months. I din't kill her. I woul'n't do that! I loved her!"
Tim stood back and watched her impassively, working out his next move.
"What happened yesterday morning, Mandy? Did you have a fight?"
She shook her head vehemently, her filthy hair hitting her hard in the face.
"We never fought. Rene was always one fer talkin' things out
before it got too heavy. Said she din't wanna fight like she did with men."
Mike Kellerman was rocking on the chair, his eyes focused intently on Mandy.
"Then what did happen yesterday morning? Why'd you leave so early? You called in sick to work, so what was goin' on?"
Mandy looked at him harshly, anger flaring in her cat-like eyes.
"When I left Rene at about seven, she was in the shower. I called in sick so's I could move my stuff into her apartment. When I got back at nine, there were goddamn cops all over the place! I saw them pull her body out, and I just went mad. I spent all day in a gay bar in Little Italy getting drunk, okay? I'll give you the address if you wanna check!"
Tim shook his head.
"Did anyone see you yesterday morning between seven and nine? Anyone who
can tell us where you were and what you were doing?"
"No. I spent the whole time in my apartment. Look, will you just let me go, for Christ's sake? I wanna go clean up."
Mike looked at Tim, both knowing they were going to get nothing more from her.
"Okay, Mandy, but don't go far. We'll be talking to you again soon."
Mike opened the door and let her out of the box.
"Well, Timmy, she's either a hard faced bitch or she really didn't do it. Whaddya think about this one?"
Tim was deep in thought, and took a few seconds to answer.
"I think she knows something she's not telling us. I'd
better get Lewis. We've got some digging to do."
He found Lewis on the roof, tossing his football around.
"You okay, Lewis?"
Meldrick Lewis observed Tim with bleary, bloodshot eyes, the remainder of last night's drinking.
"Yeah, 'M okay. She say anythin'?"
Tim shook his head and perched himself on a small wall.
"She claims she wasn't there between seven and nine, and no one saw her at all. She does know something, though."
Tim was slightly preoccupied with Rachel's pregnancy, worrying whether she and the baby were okay.
"Meldrick, Rachel and I are keeping the baby. Just thought you ought to be the first to know."
Lewis smiled at Tim, and reached out to shake his hand.
"Hey, man! 'S great! When you gonna be a daddy?"
"It's due in March, so still a long time to go yet. Don't tell anyone yet, we're gonna tell people tonight in the Waterfront. Rachel wants everyone to know at the same time. I just can't believe that she wanted the baby too."
Tim smiled at Lewis. Just thinking about being a father and, someday, a husband made him so happy.
"I s'pose you'll be wantin' someone to cover 'gain tonight, huh?"
Lewis's smile betrayed his overly stern manner.
"Only if it's okay with you or Munch. Rachel's sorting out some food to make it a bit of a party, so we're gonna be there all evening anyway. Thanks, Meldrick. You ready to go kick some asses?"
Lewis nodded, tucked the football under his arm, and headed back to the squadroom. Tim was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"I think a good place to start would be with Officer
Merry Bell again. You wait 'til you see her, Lewis! She's some ballbreaker!"
************
Merry Bell was on her day
off. Lewis and Tim drove out to her small house in Little Italy, not far from
Mandy Martin's apartment. They'd just had word back from forensics that Sheppard
was shot with her own gun, but there were no fingerprints. However, there were
some slight traces of latex that corresponded with the police issue gloves.
Unfortunately, this could be explained by the handling of the gun at the scene
by various officers. Lewis brought the Cavalier to a halt outside a tiny
clapboard house in a state of disrepair. There was green moss growing on the
outer walls, and the screen door was hanging from its hinges, and blowing
slightly in the gentle July breeze. The sun was shining, and the house looked
out of place in the otherwise well kept neighbourhood.
A battle scarred mustard yellow Mercedes was parked beside the house, all four tyres flat and its rear windshield missing. The detectives climbed out of the car, and gave the area a cursory inspection. Close up, the house was covered in small graffiti, "fucking dyke" and "lesbian fucking whores" being favourite comments.
"Well, at least taggers here know how to spell!"
Lewis's voice ached with sarcasm. Tim swung aside the screen door, which promptly fell off its hinges, and knocked loudly on the main door. Some of the ancient blue paint flaked off as he knocked.
They could hear the sounds of someone lumbering
to the door, and were greeted with a shout of "Okay, okay! I'm fuckin'
comin'!"
Merry Bell opened the door wearing nothing but a huge bra and a threadbare pair of sweat pants.
"Whaddya want now? You not found the bitch yet? Well, she ain't fuckin' here!"
Lewis was somewhat startled by her appearance and demeanour, even though Tim had given him a general appraisal on the drive over.
"Officer Bell, may we come in? There's a few more things we need to ask you about Mandy. This is Detective Lewis."
Lewis nodded in her
direction. Merry Bell grunted, and moved her massive bulk aside to let them in.
She ushered them through to a tiny living room, most of the space taken up with
a weights bench and a set of dumbbells.
Lewis let out an impressed gasp.
"Wish I had stuff like this!"
He perched on the edge of the bench while Tim sat on a scuffed wooden dining chair. Merry Bell stood in the doorway, effectively blocking their exit.
"Whaddya wanna know 'bout that bitch now? Told ya all you needed to know yesterday. Don't know anythin' new today."
Tim gave her his most disarming smile and looked at his notes.
"Did you happen to see Mandy yesterday at all? At any point in the day? Say, between seven and nine yesterday morning?"
Merry Bell's face was thunderous.
"Yeah, I saw her. 'Bout eight, I guess. Came over to get the
rest of her stuff to take over to her new place. She had a coffee, got her
stuff, and then I threw her out. She annoys the tits off me, and I di'n't want
her in my place any more."
Tim looked at her placidly.
"But Mandy says she wasn't here yesterday at all. She says she was alone in her apartment then."
Merry Bell started to look a little flustered.
"I…. I don't remember. Maybe that was the day before, I dunno. Whatchoo wanna know 'bout that for anyway?"
Lewis noticed a crack in her facade, and went for it.
"If she wasn't here yesterday, how come you were late for work? You told your shift commander that you were helpin' a friend move some things to her new apartment. So what happened with you and Mandy yesterday?"
Merry Bell was looking more and more confused, clearly caught
out in a lie.
"Okay, I saw her yesterday. She'd asked me to go get her from the lady detective's apartment at seven. I buzzed up to tell her I was there, and she let me in. I di'n't know what she was goin' on' 'til then! We were still screwin' even though she was sleepin' with Rene. Mandy was only movin' in with her 'cause the rent on her apartment was too much and she'd bin kicked out. Like I said, I got there 'bout seven, and went up to the apartment. Mandy thought Rene was asleep and kissed me when I got there."
Merry Bell's voice started to get emotional as she
recalled the events of the previous morning.
"Then Rene come out of the bedroom, and started goin' mad! She was screamin' and shoutin' 'bout Mandy bein' no better than a man. Rene started to cry an' told Mandy to get the hell out, she di'n't wanna see her no more. Then Mandy started to swear at Rene, callin' her a selfish bitch, an' how she di'n't want her anyway as long as she was wearin' some cross she got last Christmas from some man."
Lewis blushed and hid his sorrow by turning towards the window.
"Mandy ripped the cross from Rene's neck, an' tol' her it was a useless piece of shit, an' she was gonna throw it down the toilet. Rene grabbed it back, an' hit Mandy in the face. That was when Mandy got this gun from a cupboard and screamed somethin' like "no fuckin' bitch ever hits me!" She went straight up to Rene an' shot her in the head. Then we got the fuck outta there as fast as we could."
Merry Bell
was in tears, seemingly distraught at the fact that she had helped her lover to
get away with killing someone.
Despite her size and demeanour, Merry Bell was managing to somehow look like a lost little girl, scared and ashamed at the same time. Lewis was the first to speak after this emotional outburst.
"I think you'd better come down to the stationhouse with us and make a statement. Can you tell us where Mandy is now? You seen her today?"
Merry Bell shook her head, knowing that she had betrayed a friend.
"I ain't seen her today, I swear! I know she got pulled in last night when she was drunk, 'cause she called me an' said she was gonna be there 'til you guys talked to her this mornin', and she'd call me for a ride. But she ain't called at all. You musta let her go, then."
Tim nodded, and they ushered
her out of the dilapidated house and into the Cavalier.
************
After Merry Bell had been processed, Tim and Lewis left her with Karin Khouri to write out her statement while they drove back to Little Italy to try to find Mandy. Lewis beat violently on the apartment door, and was answered with a woman screaming, "fuck off! I don't wanna see no one!"
Lewis kicked the door in a gesture of frustration.
"Baltimore Homicide, Mandy! Remember us? Your worst nightmare! Now let us in, or I'll kick your fuckin' door down!"
Tim heard someone cursing and clattering, and Mandy Martin opened the door.
"Amanda Martin, you're under arrest for the murder of Rene Sheppard. You're coming with us."
Lewis reached out and grabbed her arm, and she spat in his face.
"I ain't goin' nowhere with you pricks! Now get the fuck offa me! I ain't
done nothin'! I tol' you what happened. I left her in the shower. Now fuck
off!"
Tim shook his head in vague amusement.
"Well, Mandy, we've been talking to Merry Bell, and she says something totally different. Do you want to tell us what happened now or when we get to the stationhouse?"
Mandy looked at the two detectives with contempt, her cat-eyes flaring with anger.
"I guess I ain't got no fuckin' choice, have I?"
Slamming the apartment door behind her, she allowed herself to be
led to the car. Lewis shoved her roughly into the back seat, climbed behind the
wheel, and pulled away with a screech of rubber.
Mandy was sat in the box, alone, drinking a coffee from a Styrofoam cup. She had complained that she wasn't allowed to go downstairs to fetch her own mug from her locker, and had started to pick the Styrofoam cup apart. Tim, Lewis and Kellerman watched from the observation room, trying to decide who would go in to question her. Karin Khouri put an end to their discussion.
"Gee told me to tell you that I'm going into the box with Bayliss. He thinks that Mandy will relate better to a woman, may even get something out of her. Sorry, guys, but it's my court today. Come on, Bayliss, what are we waiting for?"
Kellerman and Lewis tried to
hide their surprise and resentment that a relatively new detective would be
asked to do a major interrogation over them, and they watched jealously as Karin
followed Tim into the box.
Sat opposite Mandy, Karin stared at the other woman, neither wanting to give way and blink first.
"So, Mandy, why'd you do it? Woman to woman, now. Why'd you kill Rene Sheppard?"
Mandy laughed derisively. Karin looked at Tim, knowing that this was going to be a difficult session.
"I told the other detectives this mornin', I di'n't kill her. I left her in the shower at seven, and came back at nine. No one saw me, an' you can't prove a thing."
Tim slowly walked towards the table, making eye contact with Mandy Martin the whole way.
"We
have a signed statement from Merry Bell, your lover, saying that you shot her
after a row about a necklace she wore. Are you saying that your girlfriend is
lying?"
Mandy laughed again.
"That fat bitch ain't no girlfriend of mine! Hell, yeah, she's lyin'!"
Karin got up from the table and slowly walked around behind Mandy. She stood right behind her chair and grabbed the back of the chair. Suddenly, she tipped it backwards, so that Mandy was forced to look up at her, and, for the first time, the arrogance left her eyes.
"So you didn't grab Rene's gun from a closet and put it to her head after telling her that her necklace was a "piece of shit"? You didn't fire at point blank range, just under the hairline? And you didn't panic, and leave the scene as quickly as possible with Merry Bell? And of course, you weren't still screwing with Merry while you were sleeping with Sheppard, were you?"
Karin
was close to shouting now, tipping the chair back even further, until Mandy
grabbed the table to support herself.
"Okay, yeah, I shot the bitch! She was askin' for it! She di'n't wanna let go of the detective she'd been fuckin' okay? An' yeah, I shot her with her own gun, too. Ironic, huh? I was the only person she'd ever told where her lucky gun was, an' I used it to kill her! I never loved her, anyways. I only wanted to live with her 'cause I been kicked outta my apartment for not payin' rent. So fuckin' what? Men do it every day, so why shouldn't I?"
Mandy seemed quite proud of the fact that she'd killed a homicide detective.
"An' I'da gotten away with it, too, if Merry hadn't been such a piece o' chickenshit. She looks tough, but she sure is a pushover. I s'pose you need me to write a statement too, huh? Well, I ain't gonna pretend that I'm sorry for killin' her. The bitch had it comin' a long time. She was always so fuckin' perfect, like she was better than me, just 'cause she worked homicide. Fat lot o' fuckin' good that did her, huh?"
Mandy broke into a deranged laugh.
Karin suddenly slammed the chair forward, causing Mandy to gasp for breath as she hit the table.
"Didn't you ever learn to have respect for your fellow officers? I guess not, or you wouldn't have killed Sheppard, would you? What did she ever do to you that was so bad, huh? Answer me! If you don't answer, I'll be very pissed at you, and I'm not pretty when I'm pissed!"
Mandy spat at Karin.
"You ain't pretty anyways! I woul'n't touch you with his, sweetheart."
At the word "sweetheart", Karin flipped.
"I thought I told you to have respect for your fellow officers? Huh?"
With each word, Karin kicked at the legs of Mandy's chair, often missing and kicking Mandy.
"Now I'm pissed. If you don't want to see me get real pissed, you better not fuck with me again. Get it?"
Karin kicked at the chair once more for good measure, and stormed out
of the box, with Tim quietly following.
"Hell, she got me so mad! What the fuck else was I supposed to do, Tim? Let her sit there and give us all that shit?" Karin ran her hand through her thick black hair, an exasperated look crossing her face. Tim shook his head. Privately, he supported what Karin had done to get Mandy talking, but he couldn't be seen to publicly condone it, especially with a female prisoner. "Hey, it's okay, Karin. If it had been a guy, I'd have done it myself. Look, I'm heading over to the Waterfront now. Why don't you come too? We're having a bit of a send off for Sheppard. It'd be good to have you there. And I know Rachel would like a friend there. She needs someone to talk to at the moment." Karin looked at Tim suspiciously. "What are you up to, Bayliss? I know that look…." Tim grinned and hugged her. "You'll just have to wait and see. Let's go."
************
The Waterfront was crowded. It was a little after eight, and most of the day shift had come over for a drink at Tim's request, under the pretence of giving Sheppard a send off. Lewis was behind the bar with Tim and Rachel, and the first round was on the house. Unexpectedly, Gee was also present, wanting to share the grief with his squad. Tim tapped on a glass with a spoon, calling the assembled detectives to silence.
"You all know what has happened in our unit over the last two days. We lost
Rene Sheppard, a friend and colleague, and no one can replace her. I think Lewis
has something he wants to say."
Lewis came out from behind the bar, and looked at his friends.
"I prob'ly knew Shep better than most. She was my partner since she joined the unit, an' I'm gonna miss her more 'n I can say. We were real close, closer 'n anyone else knew. We dated for 'bout a year, an' I'm gonna miss her."
He broke off with a choking sound, and took a long slug of his vodka.
"If she were here now, she'd be tellin' us all to stop blubberin' an' get drinkin'. Well, here's a drink for you, Rene!"
He
threw back the remainder of his vodka, and grimaced as it trickled down his
throat. A murmur of "Rene" and "Sheppard" rippled through
the crowd as they downed their drinks as a mark of respect.
"An' I think Timmy has somethin' he wants to say, too. Go on, Timmy-Boy, tell 'em all!"
Lewis poured himself more vodka, and stood beside Stivers, who put her arm around him. Tim looked at Rachel, who nodded.
"Uh, I don't quite know how to say this, so I'll just say it straight. Rachel and I are going to have a baby. It's due in March. Uh, I guess that's it."
The crowd was silent, just staring at Tim and Rachel. Lewis broke the silence.
"Well done, man!"
He walked up to
Tim, and clapped him on the back, and then kissed Rachel on the cheek. The crowd
broke into applause, no one looking more surprised than Gee.
Karin came over to congratulate Tim and Rachel.
"I knew there was something else bothering you earlier. Congratulations!"
She hugged Tim, and kissed Rachel on the cheek. She and Rachel had gotten off to a rocky start, but were starting to develop a deep friendship.
"When did you find out?"
Rachel smiled at her friend.
"Only yesterday. I didn't tell you then because I didn't know what Tim wanted to do. It turns out he wants this baby as much as I do. I don't know how we're going to cope, but we'll sort something out."
Karin laughed softly.
"Well, if you need anything either before or after the baby's born, you let me know, okay?"
She hugged Rachel once more, and disappeared to the ladies'
room.
Rachel turned to find Tim looking at her, eyes full of pride.
"I love you, Rachel. I want to take you home and take you to bed. Now."
Rachel laughed and threw her arms around him.
"Wouldn't we be missed here? I mean, it's supposed to be for Sheppard now, isn't it?"
Tim pulled her in close and bent to whisper in her ear.
"You're pregnant. It's the perfect excuse to leave early. Whaddya say? How about a restaurant and then home?"
Rachel nodded eagerly, and went into the office to fetch her things while Tim made their excuses. They walked out into the warm July evening, the sounds of the gathering ringing in their ears. Tim reached down and put his hands on Rachel's belly.
"I can't believe there's a life growing in there! And we made it!"
He kissed Rachel passionately, and she snuggled in closer.
"And I hope it's only the first life we make, Tim. The first of many."
She kissed him again, and they wandered on, arm in arm, through Fell's Point.