Chapter 22
THAT”S THE LINK
Rebel Pierce
“J.D., I don’t know what to tell you. The old man who took the envelope is dead. He was killed in a mugging two days after Earl was killed.”
“Fuck,” J.D., groaned, running his hand through his hair.
“A mugging my ass,” Caesar mumbled, flipping through some of the papers.
It didn’t take long for J.D. and Caesar to show up at my place after I called to let him know what I’d found. Whoever was behind this wasn’t dumb. They were definitely killing everyone that was involved.
“Who was he?” J.D. asked.
We were sitting on my couch in my living room going through all the information I had so far. Papers, still photographs pulled from surveillance footage were spread across my coffee table. We were all huddled together, J.D., Caesar, and myself, trying to make sense of everything. I didn’t think I had missed anything, but having another set of eyes to help couldn’t hurt.
I handed him the newspaper clipping of an obituary for the coroner, John Keegan. He grabbed it and read over it.
“Medical report?”
I handed that to him too. The man had been stabbed over twenty times. In my opinion, it seemed excessive for a robbery, but then again, I wasn’t a police officer.
“That wasn’t a fucking mugging just like Earl’s death wasn’t a suicide,” he said handing the medical report to Caesar.
Caesar quickly read through it, then whistled. “Over twenty fucking times.” He tossed the paper on the coffee table. “That was a damn hit for sure. Up close and personal. Do you know the detectives involved with the case?”
I picked up a stack of papers. “I’ve got it here somewhere,” I mumbled, flipping through the papers. “Here it is. A detective Monty Lewis and Sean Abrams. Definitely not upstanding cops either. Both have several complaints of excessive force, they’ve both been under internal affairs investigations twice, and nothing has stuck. They investigated Earl’s death and John Keegan’s.”
“That’s the link to both deaths,” J.D. said. “Cops would know how to commit a murder and cover it up.”
“So, what are you thinking?” I asked.
“I’m thinking they killed Earl, the coroner, and possibly had something to do with Dani too,” J.D. said.
“I agree,” Caesar said.
“What other information do you have on them?” J.D. asked.
“The usual. Financials, medical reports, employment records.”
“What’s the financials say?” J.D. asked.
“They both definitely have more money, properties, and vehicles than most cops could afford on their salary. But I wasn’t able to find anything on family. It might be inheritance.”
Before they responded the sound of my door unlocking and opening, had both J.D. and Caesar jumping up from the couch, and pulling their guns. Before I could tell them, it was probably Rumi, my sister walked into my living room. She stopped dead in her tracks with her eyes wide when she saw the guns aimed at her.
“Could you please put the damn guns away guys,” I said. “It’s just my sister.”
“Fuck,” Caesar mumbled, sliding his gun back in the waist of his jeans and sitting back down.
“Sorry,” J.D. said.
This wasn’t the way I wanted her to meet J.D. and I definitely didn’t want her to have a run-in with Caesar.
“Rumi, this is J.D.” J.D. gave a small wave. “What are you doing here?” I asked, even though I knew.
I’d been MIA for a few days which explained the bags of food she was carrying.
“Well, when I don’t hear from you in a few days, I know you’re not taking care of yourself. So, I brought food.”
“How you been, Rumi?” Caesar asked, and it was like the temperature dropped fifty degrees.
“I’m going to put this in the kitchen,” Rumi said not replying to Caesar or J.D.
When she was in the kitchen, I looked at J.D. and Caesar who still had his eyes trained on the room where my sister disappeared.
“She’ll come around, Caesar.”
“I doubt it, but I don’t blame her. He’s probably the best thing that’s happened to her.”
My heart broke for Caesar. He did some dirty shit to my sister, but they were so young when they married. And he wasn’t ready for that type of commitment, and neither was she no matter how much they loved each other. Like I said her fiancé was a good guy, he just wasn’t the right guy for her. Caesar was, and I hoped she recognized it before it was too late.
“Don’t give up on her yet.”
He let out a sigh, his frustration evident in the silence that followed. Over the years, he had attempted to reconcile with my sister but once he signed the divorce papers, she cut off all ties with him. It was hard for both of them to do.
“We’re going to get out of your hair,” J.D. said, getting my attention. “You mind if we take the information on the cops?”
“Do I want to know what you’re going to do with it?” I asked.
He just smirked. His silence told me all I needed to know. I gathered all the papers and stuffed them into a manilla folder, then handed it to him.
“If I find anything else, I’ll let you know.”
“Make sure it’s not days before I hear from you.”
He stepped closer to me, and I couldn’t stop the smile from crossing my face. “Did you miss me?”
“Actually, I did.”
My eyes widen. I wasn’t expecting that answer, but I can’t help the giddiness moving through me.
“I missed you, too.”
The softness in his gaze touched my heart. I didn’t think he thought the feeling was mutual.
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” I said, feeling the need to explain. “I just get hyper focused sometimes and lose track of time.”
“That’s what I told him,” Caesar said from behind him.
Rumi and Caesar would bring me food all the time when I went radio silent because they knew how I’d get when working. I hadn’t spoken to anyone which was the reason my sister, who was hiding out in my kitchen, was here with food.
“I understand, but you need to take care of yourself,” J.D. said, grabbing my hand. “And make sure you call, text, or something.”
“I will.”
“Alright, we’re going to get out of here. I’m sure your sister is tired of hiding from Caesar,” J.D. said, chuckling and heading towards the door. “Tell her it was nice meeting her.”
“Tell her she doesn’t have to hide from me,” Caesar said loud enough for her to hear from the kitchen.
“Ssh. You’re gonna make it worse,” I said to Caesar as he rolled his eyes and walked out.
I was already sure I was going to get an ear full from her when they left. And I wasn’t looking forward to it. I turned my attention to J.D. and he pulled me into his arms. I laid my head against his chest and inhaled his spicy scent, closing my eyes. I didn’t want him to go, but I had shit to deal with and I had to deal with Rumi.
He kissed the top of my head then I stepped away. “Don’t forget to text me or call.”
I smiled. “I won’t. I promise.”
“And make sure you lock up.”
I rolled my eyes. “I will. Be careful.”
I didn’t know what they were going to do with the information I gave them, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.
“Always.”
He winked and walked down the hallway. When he disappeared around the corner, I closed my door.
“What the hell were they doing here?” Rumi asked.
I groaned. I didn’t want to deal with this. I wanted to get back to work. But I knew she wouldn’t let me until I told her everything.
“Have a seat and I’ll tell you what I can.”