Chapter Thirteen #3
When the man approached, he clued him in.
“I’m going to walk my partner back to the café to get his things so he can head to the hotel, and then I need a ride to the hospital. You free?”
The man was more than happy to help.
That was why he was sticking around. This was a mess, and the two Feds were going to need help.
“No problem. Let me clear it with the cops so you can leave the scene. I already had dispatch tag it as an FBI scene, so if you have a team who can handle this, get them here. Oh, and not one of the media guys was filming at the time of the shooting. They admitted that they were watching you, though.”
No shock there.
When Gene found out who released the dogs on them, he was throat punching them. This slowed down their investigation.
Dannie continued.
“The cops are trying to find some cameras, but this is a low-crime area. So far, nada.”
As for this place being low crime, that was until they rolled into town, apparently.
Gene hoped the local law could hold the scene for a while.
“It’s going to take some time to get Feds here to work that scene,” Gene admitted. “Our techs are out of the Salt Lake City office. That’s over an hour away from here.”
Yeah, it was.
Dannie didn’t mind helping.
“Our cops will hold it. The street will stay blocked off. I spoke to my boss. He said to handle anything you two needed to assist in this.”
Well, that sounded like Jerry.
As he went off to clear their release, since it was their scene, Gene was silent.
“I’ll have the detective pick us up some things, and I want him to help us with this investigation.”
Ethan lifted a brow.
What was this?
Had he not just told his partner that he didn’t like how the man had been RIGHT there when the shooting went down, despite leaving them over forty minutes ago?
It had to be something else.
Right?
“So that we can watch him?”
He knew he wasn’t in charge of this case, but honestly, he wanted to be in charge of this case.
“Yeah, until I can clear him. Then, I want him to help. It’s better to keep him with us, than out plotting if he is part of this.”
Ethan didn’t like this.
Not.
At.
All.
“Oh, I really don’t like that,” Ethan said, not mincing words. “Now, I’m twitchy.”
Yeah, he knew what he was saying, but the bottom line was they couldn’t handle this alone. Ethan was the ONLY one technically allowed to work this case.
That wasn’t good odds for them.
Gene was getting that feeling that this was about to go sideways on them if they didn’t get assistance.
“When you’re locked in our room, find out for me. I’m sorry to do it, EJ, but I take getting shot at personally. Desk duty my ass. I’m back on duty, and the first thing I want to do is get us help.”
Truthfully, Ethan didn’t mind.
Oh, had any other partner pulled rank, Ethan would have lost his shit, but the bottom line was that Gene could have died. He’d want to be in charge too, if that had been him nearly being shot.
He knew the place from where this was coming.
Gene.
Was.
Pissed.
Gene went there.
“Any issue with that?” he asked, trying not to be bossy, but…he was bossy.
Ethan shook his head.
“As long as we keep it on the DL from our boss, we should be good.”
That was a good point.
“Thanks, EJ.”
Oh, he knew what he was thanking him for, and really, it was fine. Ethan wanted to dig in, and it wasn’t easy to do both jobs at once.
“No need. I’ll also work on the profile. Because this tells us one thing,” he admitted.
Gene waited.
“For someone hyper-focused on a crime like this, then to come after the investigators, that means this person ISN’T in control.
While collectors get mean, this was excessive.
This was not controlled or planned out. My gut is telling me that we have someone with a split personality, or a disorder.
This is lashing out. That takes a fracture. To do it during the day…expect more.”
Oh, he didn’t like that.
DID was a rough mental disorder to tangle with, and he knew that because they’d dealt with dissociative identity disorder before.
And it got messy.
“So, we have a collector with DID?” he asked.
Ethan nodded.
“I’d bet on it. This is a mess. I need to get my thoughts straight. Then, we’ll hit it up later. We still have a lot of places to visit today.”
He was aware.
Gene needed to make sure they stayed on track. There was no doubt that Gabe would be all over this.
Like boss on employees.
“Let’s keep this lowkey,” Gene suggested. “We don’t need Gabe up in our business.”
Speaking of that particular Devil…
“He called me, I sent it to voicemail, so expect him to reach out to you at some point.”
Well, shit.
“Did he leave a message?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Nope.”
In this case, then, no news was good news, or so he hoped. If Gabe wanted to speak to them, he’d make it happen—one way or the other.
“Let’s hope it stays that way. I’ll get back to you fast,” Gene said, as the detective was heading their way.
“All clear,” Dannie stated. “They will hold it until you guys get your techs here. Any camera footage, if there is any, will be sent to my office, and I’ll get it to you. I just wouldn’t hold your breath on that. Again, nice part of town—until you two showed up.”
That wouldn’t be the first time that happened.
Unfortunately.
Gene went there.
“We’re going to ask if you’d like to help us,” he said. “We could use another set of eyes.”
He blinked.
Then, smiled.
“Legit?” he asked.
Gene nodded.
“Yeah, because we’re clearly in over our heads on day one, and holding a grudge isn’t going to help us.”
The man didn’t rub it in.
“I’m in. Want me to get my partner?” he asked.
Gene avoided that question.
Why?
Ethan was giving him the hairy eyeball as if that was one bridge too far in his coup to be in control. If he brought her on, after she insulted profiling, Gene might be riding the couch—alone with his rings.
PASS.
“What I want is a ride to the hospital to get this bullet out of my cast,” he stated. “It had to go through that metal parking meter sign and then hit my arm as I was diving. Thankfully, it got slowed down some.”
Or he’d be getting more surgery.
While the meds were awesome, being down without being able to help Ethan freaked him out.
“Sure thing. I’ll walk with you to get Ethan back to the café,” he offered.
That worked for them.
The trio walked down the street, and they were a sight to be seen. They both had blood on them, and Gene didn’t have his coat. It was covered in blood, and with the dead woman on the street.
As Ethan went in to get his things, Gene watched.
“After I get this cast taken off, and a new one on, can you get me a coat, and more clothes for both of us? I’ll give you my card.”
Dannie didn’t mind.
“Sure.”
“I’m going to need a ride to the hotel before you go shopping. Ethan is going to do research. Oh, and why were you still in the area and able to appear so quickly? Asking for two paranoid investigators.”
Yeah, Dannie got it.
If someone just took a shot at him, he’d be twitchy too.
“Trying to figure out if I was the shooter?” he asked, laughing.
Gene didn’t join him in that.
“Actually, yes, because our lives are in danger now, and I don’t really want to die.”
He pointed across the street to windows over a shop.
“My girl lives there,” he said, waving to her. She was standing in the window and waved back. “I stopped by to cuddle up with her before she heads out to the teacher’s memorial.”
Well, that explained that.
“My car isn’t far away. That’s how I knew where you guys were. I saw the rental in front of the café when I drove down the street to find a parking spot.”
Gene relaxed marginally.
He still had questions.
“Which is yours?” he asked.
Dannie was more than happy to tell him since he had nothing to hide.
“My vehicle hasn’t moved. I’m not the shooter.”
He saw the man’s ride, and it was the wrong color. Gene had caught a glimpse of the one that drove by, and it was a pale-colored sedan.
White.
Gold.
Silver.
The detective’s vehicle didn’t match. It was dark green, and a truck-like SUV.
He believed him.
“Trust me now?”
Gene was honest.
“No. I don’t trust anyone until I put the handcuffs on the killer. Then, everyone else around them gets my trust.”
He laughed.
“Paranoid much?”
Yes, yes, he was.
He was, after all, a Fed. They dealt with the worst of the worst, so being paranoid was to his advantage.
It was also a job requirement.
Only, he didn’t have to say anything. Ethan came out from the café with his bag, Gene’s, and a paper bag. Immediately, he handed the small bag to him.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“A cookie. You get cranky in a hospital, and you’re going to try and talk them out of putting that cast back on your wrist. Don’t, or I’m going to get angry and make you go back.”
He just laughed.
“I do love a cookie,” he said, winking at his man.
“I’ll take your laptop and bag back to the hotel. I’m going to need both to start runs.”
Ethan was watching the cop, and Gene knew why. They tended to think alike. There was no doubt that Ethan saw him talking to the man through the window.
“He was across the street visiting his girlfriend. The car we’re looking for is a light-colored sedan. He has a green truck-like SUV. She was waving at him.”
Ethan relaxed, marginally.
“Uh, I’m right here,” Dannie said. “Maybe trust the police?”
They both laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.
Yeah, they had bad news for this guy. Trusting the police was the first way to get your ass handed to you.
Trusting the government was the second.
Trust was earned.
But paranoia saved your ass.
Every.
Single.
Time.
* * * Blackhawk & Cantrell * * *
Not Far Away
The Second Part
Of The Plan
That should buy some time.
Already, the news was reporting a fatality at the scene of the shooting, and all he could hope was it would be one of the Feds who were assigned to this case.
When he saw the media reporting on it, he was compelled to go watch them.
It was just too perfect when he began walking down the street. That little voice in his head took over, and before he knew it, he made a gun appear.
In his defense, it was in the car he stole.
His initial intent had been to run the man down, but since there was a gun…
Well, why not use it?
Now, he was blocks away, and couldn’t remember how he got to this location.
He was still in the vehicle, and the gun was on the seat beside him.
“I don’t like this,” he whispered.
Well, the person in control didn’t care.
“Think about what happened. Think about how these women deserve what they did. They ruined your life. They stole from you. They are whores!”
He sat there.
“Now, we’re going to keep going. We have a busy, busy day ahead of us.”
That they did.
“She lives there. When she comes home, we’re going to take her and get ready for more punishment. It’s deserved. Do it for your family.”
He would.
But he didn’t like it.
The sane part of him wanted to fight, but he was weak when it came to the voice.
“Fine,” he said.
Closing his eyes, he found that resolve. When he opened them, the meaner part of him surfaced and took control.
As the woman pulled into her driveway and got out to get her groceries out of the back seat, he got out of the vehicle parked not that far away and headed toward her.
When she turned, she saw the person approaching.
“Oh, hey,” she said.
Before she could ask questions, the gun came up, and she was pistol-whipped so hard it knocked her out.
As her body hit the ground, there was amusement.
Justice was coming for her.
And it was LONG overdue.