Chapter 13: The Detective's Dilemma

POV: Detective Martinez

The gunshot woke me up at three in the morning.

I rolled out of bed and grabbed my service weapon before my feet hit the floor. Twenty years as a cop teaches you to move fast when bullets start flying.

The sound came from my front yard. Through the bedroom window, I could see a black car speeding away. My mailbox was destroyed, blown apart by what looked like a shotgun blast.

Attached to the mailbox post was an envelope.

I knew I should call backup. Should follow procedure. Should do a hundred things that good cops are supposed to do. Instead, I walked outside in my pajamas and grabbed the envelope.

Inside was a single photograph and a handwritten note.

The photo showed my daughter Sofia walking out of her college dorm. She was laughing at something her roommate said, completely unaware that someone was watching her with a camera.

The note was simple: "Find the girl or lose yours."

My hands started shaking. Not from the cold Chicago air, but from pure terror. Someone had just threatened to hurt my little girl.

I went back inside and made coffee with hands that wouldn't stop trembling. The kitchen table was covered with case files about the Capone family. Photos of Vincent Capone, reports about gang violence, witness statements from people too scared to testify.

And right in the middle of it all was a file marked "Scarlett Justice - Missing Person."

Director Justice had called every detective in Chicago personally. His daughter was missing, and he wanted her found immediately. He was offering a promotion and a bonus to whoever brought her home safely.

What the Director didn't know was that I already had a pretty good idea where his daughter was hiding.

My phone rang. The caller ID showed a number I knew by heart, even though I wished I could forget it.

"Romano," I answered.

"Did you get my message?" Tommy Romano's voice was smooth as always. Like he was discussing the weather instead of threatening my family.

"I got it."

"Good. Then you understand what needs to happen."

"Tommy, I've done everything you asked. I've given you information. I've looked the other way. But I won't hurt an innocent girl."

"Hurt her?" Tommy laughed. "Who said anything about hurting her? I just need you to bring her to me."

"What do you want with Director Justice's daughter?"

"That's not your business. Your business is doing what you're paid to do."

I looked at the envelope full of cash sitting in my desk drawer. Tommy Romano had been paying me for three years now. Small favors at first. Looking the other way during raids. Forgetting to file certain reports.

It started when Sofia got sick with cancer. Insurance wouldn't cover all the treatments, and a detective's salary doesn't stretch far enough to save your child's life.

Tommy offered to help. Just a few small favors in exchange for enough money to pay for Sofia's medicine. It seemed harmless at first.

But small favors became bigger favors. And bigger favors became crimes. Now I was in so deep that there was no way out.

"Ray, are you still there?" Tommy asked.

"I'm here."

"I need Scarlett Justice delivered to the pier by midnight tomorrow. Can you do that?"

"I don't know where she is."

"But you can find her. You're a detective, after all."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then Sofia won't make it to her graduation next month."

The line went dead.

I sat in my kitchen staring at the photo of my daughter. Sofia had beaten cancer. She was healthy and happy and planning to become a teacher. She had her whole life ahead of her.

Unless I failed to find Scarlett Justice.

My phone rang again. This time it was Director Justice himself.

"Martinez? I need to see you in my office. Now."

"Sir, it's four in the morning."

"I don't care what time it is. This is about my daughter."

The drive to FBI headquarters took twenty minutes. Director Justice was waiting for me with coffee and desperation in his eyes. The man who commanded respect from every law enforcement officer in the city looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Sit down, Ray."

"Sir, about your daughter—"

"I know you have contacts in the criminal world," Justice interrupted. "Informants. People who owe you favors."

"Yes, sir."

"I need you to use them. Find Scarlett. Bring her home."

"What makes you think the criminals have her?"

"Because she called me last night." Justice's voice cracked. "She said Vincent Capone saved her life."

I tried to keep my face neutral, but inside I was panicking. If Scarlett was with Vincent, then she was exactly where Tommy Romano expected her to be.

"Sir, that's good news. If she's safe—"

"Safe?" Justice slammed his hand on the desk. "She's with the most dangerous man in Chicago! He's using her somehow. Playing some sick game."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Find them. Both of them. Bring my daughter home and put Vincent Capone in prison where he belongs."

Justice pulled out a thick envelope and pushed it across the desk. "There's fifty thousand dollars in there. Find my daughter, and there's fifty thousand more waiting."

"Sir, I can't accept—"

"You can and you will. This is my little girl we're talking about." Tears filled the Director's eyes. "She's all I have left after her mother died. I can't lose her too."

I took the envelope because refusing would have looked suspicious. But now I had two different people offering me money for the same job. Tommy Romano wanted me to deliver Scarlett to him. Director Justice wanted me to bring her home safely.

I couldn't do both.

"Ray," Justice said quietly. "I'm trusting you with the most important thing in my life. Don't let me down."

I left FBI headquarters with my head spinning. In my car, I pulled out my phone and stared at the two numbers I needed to call.

Tommy Romano, who would kill my daughter if I didn't deliver Scarlett.

Director Justice, who was counting on me to save his daughter.

Before I could decide which number to call first, my phone rang. Unknown number.

"Detective Martinez?" The voice was young and scared.

"Yes?"

"This is Scarlett Justice."

My blood turned to ice.

"I need your help," she continued. "Someone just tried to kill me and Vincent. They know who I really am."

"Where are you?"

"I can't tell you that. But Detective, I think there's a traitor in the police department. Someone's been giving information to the wrong people."

She had no idea she was talking to that traitor.

"Scarlett, listen to me. You need to come in. Your father is worried sick."

"I can't. Not yet. But Detective?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful who you trust. Someone close to my father is working for the mob."

The line went dead.

I sat in my car staring at my phone, knowing that everything was about to fall apart. Tommy Romano expected me to deliver Scarlett by midnight tomorrow. Director Justice expected me to bring her home safely.

And now Scarlett herself was asking for my help, not knowing that I was the corrupt cop she was warning me about.

My phone buzzed with two text messages that arrived at exactly the same time.

The first was from Tommy Romano: "Tick tock, Detective. Your daughter's life depends on what you do next."

The second was from an unknown number: "We have your daughter. Deliver Scarlett Justice to the warehouse on Fifth Street by midnight, or Sofia dies."

Someone else had entered the game.