Chapter One #2
Cooper paused for a beat. “A federal investigation that’s under way,” he replied, deliberately ambiguous.
He didn’t care to get into specifics just yet.
Certainly not while the Planning and Development Department’s Inspections Division was still being looked at.
In spite of Horace Eckhart being let off the hook from having to face the music of suspected public corruption, by death, the case could well extend to other building inspectors being corrupt.
Gretchen lifted a brow. “What kind of investigation are we talking about?”
“Bribery.” Cooper decided it was worth noting for Gretchen to chew on in representing the division.
“Seriously?” Her jaw dropped as though the notion was absurd.
Cooper sought to downplay it for the time being.
“It’s just part of the FBI’s broad look into public corruption in Maricopa County.
Though Eckhart’s name came up, it doesn’t mean he was actually guilty of anything.
” Cooper scratched his jaw. He was pretty sure that Eckhart was culpable, in fact, of collecting bribes.
“Anyway, the case will most likely die with him now deceased,” Cooper told her falsely, which she seemed to accept.
Without further ado and needing more answers about Eckhart’s unforeseen demise from someone still alive to provide them, Cooper left it at that and headed for the exit to the stairwell, preferring the exercise to the elevator.
OUTSIDE, COOPER CALLED the special agent in charge to share the disturbing news.
“Horace Eckhart’s dead,” he told her when she answered the phone.
Amelia voiced anticipated shock as she blurted out, “What—?”
“Yeah, caught me off guard, too,” Cooper admitted. “He was killed last night, apparently in a carjacking.”
“Hmm…” She sucked in a deep breath. “That’s weird, even if not so much—”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Cooper started to walk toward the parking lot. “I’m headed over to the police department to get a better read on what went down and why we weren’t notified about Eckhart’s death.”
“Okay.” Amelia paused. “We can take it from there.”
“All right.” To Cooper, this implied that she might want to move away from the public corruption case without Eckhart to go after.
But as the lead investigator, he preferred to keep all options on the table in the investigation.
Especially if there was reason to believe that there was more to the building inspector’s death than met the eye.
Cooper got into the SUV and started it. As he drove to the Phoenix Police Department headquarters on First and West Washington Streets, he couldn’t help but be more than a little suspicious about the timing of Horace Eckhart’s death.
Was it simply a case of rotten bad luck on his part at the worst possible moment?
Or a deliberate effort to silence him as the primary—but by no means only—suspect in a public corruption investigation?
Cooper was still mulling this over when he arrived at the PD.
He went inside the twenty-seven-story tower that was not far from Phoenix City Hall and the Municipal Court, and was directed to the floor that contained the Violent Crimes Bureau’s Homicide Unit detectives.
He spotted the cubicle that belonged to the person he was looking for, Homicide Detective Hallie Flores, and saw the slender twentysomething woman with long dark hair in a braid, sitting at the workstation studying a laptop with the intensity that Cooper often did with his own laptop and the important info on it relative to an investigation.
When she looked up at him, he realized they hadn’t met before, and introduced himself. “Special Agent Cooper Reid.”
“Agent Reid.” She met his eyes curiously. “I’m Detective Hallie Flores. How can I help you?”
“I understand that you’re the detective investigating the death of Horace Eckhart?”
“That’s right.” Hallie sat back in her dark blue office chair thoughtfully. “What’s your interest in the case?”
She obviously has no idea, Cooper mused, accepting it as simply a matter of miscommunication between the departments. “Mind if I sit?” he asked, eyeing the black vinyl guest chair by her desk.
“Please,” she told him with a nod.
Once seated, he regarded her and said, “Eckhart has been the subject of a federal investigation into public corruption.”
She arched a thin brow. “Really?”
“Yes. We believe he’s been taking bribes from developers and others in their orbit to further their agenda.” Cooper leaned forward. “In fact, I was planning to bring Eckhart in for questioning when I learned of his death.”
“Hmm,” Hallie said contemplatively. “Tough luck.”
“I think it could be more than that,” Cooper told her. He had to add, “If I’d known about this sooner from your department, it could have saved me a trip to the Planning and Development Department.”
“Sorry about that.” She made a face with regret. “Up until about an hour ago, Horace Eckhart was just another John Doe—with no identification on him… I’ve just been trying to put the pieces of his life together since, without realizing he was on your radar.”