Chapter 43
“So, you’re Agent Striker’s new partner, are ya?” the cop asked as he rolled down his window.
“Chief Abner?” Alex said, peering into the LAPD squad car.
“Just AA—everyone calls me AA.”
Alex frowned. It was a strange nickname. She was glad to see him, though. Surprised that he had been driving by the OC Field Office while Alex was getting some fresh air.
Surprised but grateful.
“Okay, AA. And yes, I’m Agent Frost—Alex Frost. You think I could…” she glanced over her shoulder. “You think I could get in?”
“Sure,” AA said with a grin. “I’m actually searching for Con. Got word that we should be on the lookout for Edward Samuelson driving a green Mustang.”
Alex got in the passenger seat. She felt strangely comfortable around AA, probably because outside of Marcus and Con he was the only person she really knew in Orange County.
Really… knew?
That was a stretch.
But she was lonely and disturbed by the video of Martin Yeo she’d found embedded within the pirated version of Shadowstrike .
“I don’t know where Con is,” Alex admitted.
“Went off on his own, did he?” AA said, a cheerful lilt to his voice. “Yeah, the man has a reputation for doing that. It’s nothing personal, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
AA started to drive, slowly putting distance between them and the field office. The further they got, the more relaxed Alex became.
“He’s tough on partners, isn’t he?”
AA laughed.
“That’s an understatement.” He grew serious when he saw the look on her face. “I’m sure you know about his sister by now?”
Alex nodded.
“Was she really The Sandman’s first victim?”
AA shrugged.
“Who knows? Matthew Nelson Neil admitted to all twelve murders but never said anything about Valerie Striker.”
“But the video?”
“Everyone’s seen the video,” the burly cop said with a shrug.
This wasn’t the answer that Alex was seeking, and she felt as if AA was holding something back.
“I’m just trying to understand him.”
Another chuckle.
“Good luck with that.”
They drove for a good ten minutes. High rises soon flattened out as they reached the suburbs.
Alex wanted to ask more questions but knew if she did, she risked sounding desperate. She needed AA to open up willingly and on his own accord. And Alex thought the best way to get him to do that was to remain quiet.
It worked.
“You want to know what I think?”
“Please.”
AA rubbed his lower lip along the underside of his white mustache.
“I think… I think that Con wants Matthew to have taken his sister. Although he’s never said, I think that something happened between him and his sister before she went missing. Something serious. And I think he feels guilty about it.”
Something did happen, Alex knew. Con had said as much. They’d gotten into a fight, although her partner had been scant on the details.
It warmed her to think that Con had shared this detail with her but not AA, which she suspected Con had known for much longer.
She didn’t think they were very close, she didn’t think that Con was close with anyone, but still, it meant a lot to her.
AA suddenly pulled over outside a sprawling townhouse.
“Where are we?” Alex asked, looking around.
The siding on the house was painted a dark green and the impressive front was adorned with large white columns.
AA grinned.
“Edward Samuelson’s house.”
This surprised Alex—she’d pictured Edward living in a small dingy apartment—and then she recalled that, despite his complex extortion scheme, Ed made good money.
Not as good as Adon or Martin, but still damn good.
“Want to go check it out?”
Alex nodded and they got out of the car together.
As they approached, Alex suddenly realized why she felt so comfortable around AA, and it had nothing to do with the fact that they’d previously met at Martin Yeo’s.
It was because he reminded Alex of her father.
Kind, well-meaning, but driven. Not unscrupulous but unscrupulous-adjacent, if there was such a thing.
Even though AA had no jurisdiction here, and this was technically Alex’s case, not to mention the fact that Marcus had explicitly stated that the LAPD police chief was not to be involved, she let the man take the lead.
And he did so naturally.
Hand on the gun on his hip, AA walked to the front door and knocked. Alex veered to the right and placed her hands against the bay window to peer inside.
Considering that there was no car in the driveway and that the man had obviously left IP in a hurry, she deemed it incredibly unlikely that he was just hanging out at home.
The lack of movement from inside this house confirmed her suspicion.
“Mr. Samuelson? LAPD. Open up,” AA hollered as he knocked again.
The place was deserted. No steaming mugs of coffee on the table, no half-eaten plate of food.
“Mr. Samuelson?”
AA tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He started to turn the knob when Alex’s phone rang.
He stopped and looked over at her.
On the rare chance that Edward was inside and was just waiting for a chance to attack, Alex moved away from the window before answering.
It was Con and he sounded desperate.
“Alex? I need to see you. Please, I need to see you, now.”