Pearce Hudson: #1 My Italian Devil

37. Never let you go

(Jake's P.O.V)

When I pulled into the garage it was around 4 in the afternoon. I had missed lunch at the office so I grabbed Pizza from a Domino's. Pearce and Ross hadn't come into the office since they've left in the morning. I assumed they were taking a nap. Part of me wanted to kiss Pearce awake but I knew she was tired from staying awake.

Taking a bite of my pizza I opened my front door. I flipped on the lights as Pearce's dog, Max came running. I petted him and let him finish off my pizza. I went over to the bookshelf and grabbed the red Bible. I had carved out a rectangle in the pages, to hide Dante's duplicated phone, in case he ever had his men go through my apartment. Better safe than dead. The Bible felt oddly heavy.

After hours of going through Capaldi's bank records, I grew bored and told the team I was going out to get a late lunch. I decided to give cracking Dante's phone another try.

Derek Jones's number flashed on my phone as it rang. "Can you swing by your place and wake up Pearce?"

"I'm here right now. Why don't you give her call?"

"I did she's not picking up. Probably sleeping."

"Alright."

"If she refuses to come tell her that BPD released a statement declaring Gomez's death an accidental drowning."

I knocked on Pearce's door a few times and she didn't answer the door. Using the spare key I had I entered her apartment. Everything was where it was except a blanket and pillow on sofa, which meant Ross had slept over. A pang of jealously hit me. I shook it away. Ross and Pearce were best friends, if he stayed over it shouldn't bother me.

I went to her bedroom and found the bed empty but it was made. I opened the safe in the wall of her closet and found her gun and badge missing. So was her laptop which was always on the kitchen table and car keys were gone.

I dialed Jones's number. "They're not here?"

"They?"

"Yeah Ross stayed over, there's an extra blanket and pillow on the sofa. Her car keys and laptop are gone. I couldn't find her badge or gun."

"Maybe they're chasing down a lead. Is her car still in parking lot?"

"I'll see."

Pearce's SUV was in it's parking lot, looking untouched. There were tire skid marks from another car in the space next to her car. Using the set of her car keys I had I unlocked the door. It was empty except for a backpack in the back seat. I grabbed the backpack and locked the car. I called her and Ross's phone but only reached voicemail.

Back in my apartment I emptied out the contents of the bag on the floor. I found Pearce's laptop in the midst of all the paper and files. I picked a file, which was autopsy report. Reading through it I realized it was James's autopsy. How did she get this? I booted up her computer as I went through the rest for her stuff. I found a USB drive with a sticky note that read 'Voicemail copy'. Her laptop unlocked and revealed bank statements, specifically Vivian Morgan's bank statements. Why was she looking into Viv's bank statements?

There were more personal information on Vivian: her son's medical records and a website of a clinical trial. None of which made sense. I plugged in the USB as I grabbed the other file, which had 'MOLE&MURDERER' sprawled on the cover in marker. I went through the file and audibly gasped. Vivian was a mole?!

The laptop dinged letting me know the USB was ready for use. In the storage I found a single audio file. I played it. I heard two voices at first, both of grunting and groaning, then I heard Jack Bloom's voice yell 'Pearce! Mole! In team', more grunting, which I chalked it up was struggling. The audio ended with Jack yelling 'May God be with you!' and then a crash. I knew one of the struggling voices were Jack but I couldn't figure out if the other one was male or female.