Chapter Twelve #2
“Go back and re-interview the other victim who survived,” Gonzo said. “See if you can establish any connection between him and Besozzi. It’s possible that Enright was his target all along, and he went after the others to create a sense of panic over random attacks that weren’t random at all.”
“We should dig deeper into the ones who were killed, too,” Malone said. “I like the theory that Enright was his target and the others were hit to ramp up the panic and concern over seemingly random attacks.”
“I’ll put my people on that,” Hill said, “and I’ll let you know if we find anything that will help.”
“We need the Marshals Fugitive Response Team helping us to look for this guy,” Farnsworth said.
“We’ve already called them in,” Conklin said. “I’m due to brief them in thirty minutes. Were you able to get anything in the way of a description that might help before he started shooting?”
Gonzo forced his mind back to those hellish few minutes on the sidewalk. “It was dark, so I couldn't see much beyond longish dark hair, olive-toned skin, a black coat. Everything happened so fast. I didn’t get a good look at him before he started shooting.”
“What do we have in the way of cameras in that neighborhood?” Farnsworth asked.
“We’ll get with Lieutenant Archelotta on that,” Conklin said of the lieutenant who commanded the IT division. “And I’ll have Patrol go door-to-door to see if any homeowners have outdoor security cameras that might’ve picked up something.”
“The Patrol officers who went after him,” Gonzo said. “Did they report in?”
“There was no sign of him by the time they got to the corner where he disappeared on foot,” Malone said.
“No blood or anything on the street?” Gonzo asked. “I got off a few rounds. I was hoping one of them hit him.”
“Not that they were able to see, but we’ll look again in the morning.”
“I need to go to New Carrollton to see his folks,” Gonzo said, the sick feeling in his stomach rising up all over again at the thought of what he had to do to good people who didn’t deserve it.
But then who ever deserved to have a family member murdered?
“I’ll go with you,” Malone said.
“That’s not necessary.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“What about Sam?” Gonzo asked. “Has she been told? And Cruz?”
“The Secret Service had a fortress up around the lieutenant’s home,” Malone said. “I’ve left a message for her and expect to hear from her in the morning. Cruz has been notified and is on his way back to the District.”
“From where?”
“Florida apparently.”
For the first time since Arnold was shot, Gonzo thought of Christina, who would need to be told before the news hit the airwaves.
“What about the media?” Gonzo asked. “They go nuts anytime they hear the call of an officer down.”
“We’ve managed to fend them off, but we’re on borrowed time,” Malone said. “We need to go to New Carrollton.”
Gonzo nodded. The captain was right. He hoped he could get through this gruesome task without vomiting.
“I want someone with Arnold around the clock until he’s buried,” Gonzo said. “I’d do it myself but as acting commander of the squad—”
“I’m his liaison officer,” Tyrone said. Every officer chose a colleague to see to the details if they happened to be killed in the line of duty. “I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.” To Malone, Gonzo said, “I need a minute and then we’ll go.” He left the room and went straight to the restroom to wash the blood off his hands and to splash cold water on his face. His stomach was a disaster, and he’d be shocked if he didn’t puke at some point.
Officer down. Officer down. Officer down.
Gonzo couldn’t get the image of the gaping hole in Arnold’s face out of his mind. He suspected that memory would haunt him for the rest of his life.
If you shut the fuck up, I’ll let you take the lead. I’ll let you take the lead.
His stomach burned, and there was no stopping the vomit that was coming whether he liked it or not.
Bolting for a stall, he bent over the toilet and heaved up the meager contents of his stomach.
It went on until dry heaves gripped him, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
This could not be happening. Any second now he was going to wake up in his bed with Christina by his side to tell him it had all been a bad dream.
What he wouldn’t give for that to be true.
He wiped the sweat and tears from his face with shaking hands. The sound of the gunshot echoed in his ears. It had taken one shot to end the life of a promising detective, a young man in his prime. One shot.
Gonzo’s legs were rubbery under him as he forced himself to stand and face what had to be done.
He flushed the toilet and left the stall.
At the sink, he splashed more cold water on his face and rinsed the foul taste from his mouth.
His hands trembled so violently that water splashed onto the countertop around the sink.
Christina. He needed to call her, so she’d hear it from him and not on the news.
But how did he say the words that would devastate her?
How did he tell her this horrific news without terrifying her all over again?
Ever since he was shot, she was clingy and needy, and understandably so.
The last thing in the world he wanted to tell her or anyone was that Arnold had been killed.
But he couldn’t let her hear it from anyone but him or on the news.
So he pulled the phone from his pocket and placed the call.
He could tell by the way she said hello that she’d been sleeping. Of course she was sleeping. It was two in the morning.
“Baby.”
“Tommy. You’re working late.”
“Yeah. Baby, listen, are you awake?”
“Mmm.”
“Christina.”
“I’m awake, Tommy. What’s wrong?”
“It’s… I didn’t want you to hear… I…”
“What?”
“Arnold’s dead.”
The anguished sound that came from her went straight to his broken heart. “No. Tommy. What happened?”
“He was shot.”
“Wh-where were you when it happened?”
“Right next to him.”
“Oh, God, baby. Are you…” Her soft sobs brought more tears to his eyes. “Tommy. I’m so sorry.”
“I have to go tell his family.”
“Does it have to be you?”
“Yeah, it does.” He ran trembling fingers through his hair. “I gotta go, baby. I don’t know when I’ll be home, but I’ll call when I can.”
“I love you so much. I’m so sorry this has happened to you and your partner.”
“Thanks. Do me a favor and stick close to home with Alex until we get this guy. He’s in the wind, and I need to know you guys are safe.”
“We’ll stay home. Don’t worry about us.”
“I’ll call you.”
“Let me know if there’s anything at all I can do for any of you.”
“I will. Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Gonzo put the phone back in his pocket and took a series of deep breaths, preparing himself to deal with the horror show unfolding on the other side of the bathroom door.
He had to go out there and face it. He had to go out there and provide leadership to a heartbroken squad.
He had to go out there and tell Arnold’s parents what’d happened.
He had to go out there and get the guy who’d killed his partner.
Only after all of that was done could he go home to his love and fall apart. Until then, falling apart wasn’t an option. Summoning all the fortitude he could find, he walked out of the bathroom to rejoin the nightmare already in progress.
Malone was waiting for him. “You okay?”
“I’ve been better.”
“I can take care of his family on my own, Gonzo.”
Before the words were out of the captain’s mouth, Gonzo was shaking his head. “I owe it to him to do it myself. They know me. It needs to come from me.”
“We need to go out through the morgue, and we need to go now. The press is all over the main entrance, looking for info about the officer-down call. They’ve checked the hospitals, so they know it’s a fatality.
The public affairs people have pleaded with them to sit on that info until we can notify the family, but we don’t have much time before someone gets itchy. ”
Gonzo nodded in agreement. “The others, the squad…”
“Are doing what needs to be done to find the shooter. The activity will help.”
“Okay.”
He and Malone moved briskly through headquarters, drawing the attention of every officer they passed. No words were spoken. None were needed. Malone insisted on driving, and Gonzo didn’t have it in him to argue. They took off out of the parking lot and headed north to Maryland.
“Nothing from Sam?” Gonzo asked.
“Not yet.”
Gonzo’s heart ached at the thought of her waking up to this unimaginable news. It ached even worse at how badly he’d failed her and the rest of their squad by letting this happen on his watch.