Chapter 39
Dom was under no illusions. This guy was nothing more than a paid killer.
He wasn't going to talk. Not without the right incentive. Well, it was time to figure out what that was. They’d taken him in, booked and processed him, and then made him sit overnight.
While Dom got a few hours of sleep. It hadn’t been enough—he still felt pissed at the world today in general.
When he thought about what he was doing today—it was pissed for specific reasons.
Dom wasn’t in the mood to play games today. Not after word had come about Heather.
Gunnar and Daniel were out of the hospital now, recovering, but Heather…no one knew what the future held for that woman now. Cherise had told him they were concerned about sepsis and antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria and shit Dom understood just enough about to know it wasn’t good.
He studied the young guy, looking for any tells. Late twenties, about six-two with very nondescript features. Nothing remarkable, nothing impressive. But put him in a crowd of people—he wouldn’t stand out.
That was probably exactly what the man’s employers were looking for.
From the way he held himself, the man practically shouted ex-military.
He'd laid eyes on enough special forces to recognize it.
Just something about the way the guy was watchful.
The way he held himself. Much like Dom's own father did.
His dad had a rather more illustrious background with military secrets than most people knew.
Well, Dom suspected this man had secrets in his background, too. And something broken in him. Or greed—sheer, unadulterated greed.
And Dom suspected the ego was the way to get started. He waited until the officer in the room with them Mirandized the man, then he sat down.
"I guess she surprised you, huh?"
The man just blinked at him.
Dom pulled out the chair and sat down. He wasn't going anywhere for a while, and he was making that known. He didn’t enjoy this part.
Dom preferred to just ask questions outright, not finesse guys like this.
But he’d been around the game long enough to know how to play it.
First, he just had to feel the guy out. Find his triggers.
They always had triggers. "Detective Miller, I mean. She just came out of nowhere, didn't she? She made a hell of a tackle, too. I’ve seen the security videos. Bam! She had you down. A man our size. Taken down by a woman. Shouldn't take any shame in it. I understand she’s trained in at least two types of martial arts. Rumor is she’s won a few competitions, too.
Beautiful woman. You enjoy getting to roll around on the floor with her? ”
Dom had seen video footage now. Miller studied tae kwan do and Brazilian ji jitsu.
She’d tackled the guy and then grappled the guy, right to the linoleum floor, and disarmed him.
The guy’s shock had been written on his face, perfectly clear even in security videos. Dom had gotten a laugh out of that.
There. There was a flicker at that. Interesting.
Guy had enjoyed it. It had excited him. Dom would bet money on it.
Fighting with an opponent, especially a female one, had gotten the juices flowing.
This wasn’t a thrill killer—he would bet money on that.
Killing probably didn’t excite him at all—but a woman? That sure would. "Did you notice?"
"Can't say that I did."
The guy was smirking at him in return. Playing it cool. But Dom had seen it. The man hadn’t liked being bested by a woman at all. Especially one so much smaller. It had offended his ego. But it sure as hell had turned him on.
Ego, pride, excitement. Interesting.
"Well, we have you pretty dead to rights.
Attempted murder charge will stick. Of course, you assaulted a cop, while attempting to murder another.
That's not going to go easy for you. The arrest was clean, paperwork-wise. So tell me, why did you do it? What did you have against Brett Naylor? What had he ever done to you that would make you risk this?”
“I’m not sure what you are talking about. I was just minding my own business, wandered into the wrong hospital room while there to visit my…old friend. That woman just took it upon herself to assault me.”
“Do you really think we are going to buy that? I’ve seen the knife you carried.
Well, knives, rather. You were there to kill Detective Naylor.
And the funny thing is…we are putting together the why.
See, Naylor was injured during…an incident…
over a month ago. By dirty cops. Now here you are, trying to kill him. So tell me why?”
“If he’s dirty, I’m sure he has plenty of other enemies. Like I said, I just wandered into the wrong room and everything. I’m as innocent as a choir boy.”
“Sure you are.”
"I'll talk to her, maybe. You get her here. We can roll around some more. I’d enjoy that. But until then, I want my lawyer. Attorney, right now. And…give her my number and a heads up: I’ll see her again sometime. She can count on that."
Well, didn’t that sound threatening and everything?
Madison rounded the hallway right by the interview room just as the door opened and a rather large, muscular man creature stepped right out into her path. She looked up. Into brown eyes. “Dom.”
Strong hands went around her waist. “I didn’t think you were in for another few hours.”
“Miriam asked to trade shifts, someone kept prank calling her last night and she overslept her alarm. And she is with Hope’s family today.
I told her I’d cover the first four hours for her.
Hope needs her.” And Madison thought it sounded beyond weird.
Miriam had been getting prank calls for a few weeks now.
Almost like someone was doing it to scare the younger woman.
“I am half-tempted to ask one of my digital forensics people to run her number. See what’s going on.
She’s starting to get scared. And she’s not sleeping at all. ”
“You think this is related to something here?”
“She says it started after she transferred here, yes. Well, she’s not fully transferred yet.
Not yet—but I am going to try to get her here permanently.
She is working half her shifts here and half in the Wichita Falls lab.
” Miriam was one of the best, Madison would say that honestly.
They needed her. Especially with Hope and Haldyn both out.
If Madison had her way, they’d keep Miriam after Haldyn and Hope returned, too.
Maybe they could give Wichita Falls Pete.
That would make Madison’s life a lot easier, too.
Pete was really being a jerk lately.
“I see. I’ll…make a note of it. Talk to her about it.”
“I was looking for…someone from Major Crimes. I have this.” She held out the DNA report in her hand. She hadn’t seen Dominic Vincent Acardi since the night she’d fallen asleep in his arms on her mother’s couch. Talk about awkward right now. And the man was just not taking his hands off her waist.
Madison wanted to press closer. She hadn’t exactly slept well last night, either. And he just felt…perfect…around her.
Maybe it was time she admitted it—if some cosmic fate was assigning Major Crimes major pains to her and all of her friends, this one was apparently hers. Forever.
She was going to be tormented and taunted by him forever. Maybe she should just accept her fate?
“What is it?”
“Fingerprint match to the guy who attacked Brett and K.J.” She’d checked the reports herself as soon as she’d arrived.
Everyone in the post was talking about the latest attack.
“He has a warrant, you know. Lila ran him five minutes ago, and then told me to give you the message if I found you before she did. I cross-referenced him in AFIS, too. His prints popped about four years ago in Wyoming. I am also waiting on his DNA to be run. We were a few samples behind this morning. Pete flaked on me yesterday.”
That was happening a lot lately. Something was going on with that man—she just couldn’t figure out what. Seemed like something was going on with just about everyone lately.
“Wyoming. Imagine that.”
“I think he lives there. That’s where AFIS’s hit pointed, too. But…that’s your department, not mine. So have at it, big guy. His name is Denver Creevey. Address in…Sublette County, Wyoming and apparently Finley Creek, Texas.”
“Thanks.”
Okay, so why was he not stepping back like she’d pinched him, like he normally did whenever she got this close to him? Dom was not following predictable patterns here. Madison wasn’t sure what to think about that. An unpredictable Dom was just too much to contemplate today.
“Any word on Heather?” Madison asked.
Dom just shook his head. “All I know is that her family gave permission for Holden-Deane’s people to try a new antibiotic. Now, everyone is just waiting.”
Madison pressed closer. “It isn’t fair. Hasn’t Heather been through enough lately?”
“I know.”
He was holding her right there in the hallway. Where anyone could see.
Madison didn’t care one bit.