19. Gauge #2
Deac sighed. “Apparently, she was one of the major components in Char’s father’s case, and her discoveries on his activities were some of the main evidence points brought forth in the trial.”
“Jesus,” Char whispered from the sink.
I wanted to go over there and hug her, but I was rooted to my spot.
Holy fucking Christ, the dead body in the van was a fed?
“Char’s case,” the sheriff said as he thumbed over to her hunched over the sink, “is the case that solidified her hiring. It put her on the map, so to speak.”
“Which is why she took it so fucking personally that Char’s hanging around us,” Deac glowered.
“So she’s not the original target,” Dallas said.
“No questions,” Deac said as he shot the man a look, “but you’re correct.
Char wasn’t the original reason for her being in town.
Doc was. I guess they figured out that he was dirty, and ATF attempted to mount an in-house case against him, but it didn’t work.
So they brought in one of their best and brightest from Internal Affairs to investigate him. ”
“And by investigating him, they stumbled upon you guys,” Char said from the sink.
Sheriff Nielson sighed heavily. “We figure that when she stumbled upon Char, it was probably just a coincidence in the beginning. But when she saw her hanging out around a crowd that she deemed inappropriate, she grew protective.”
“But also figured she could use it as a cover story in case things went south and her bosses asked too many questions.”
“She’s got a squeaky-clean record, so it would make sense that a temporary emotional blackout upon seeing Char would throw her into a frenzied state.”
“At least,” Deac said as he looked over at Nielson, “that’s the working theory.”
“Have you guys combed through what we sent you from the warehouse?” I asked as I shifted in my seat.
Deac pointed at me. “Yes, actually, and I want to talk about that email.”
I twirled my finger in the air. “I take it you’ve caught everyone else up in our absence?”
“Yes,” Char and Deac said in unison.
I had to admit, it made me chuckle, despite the pain still ricocheting up my spine. “All right, so. Who the fuck did she send that email to?”
Nielson grinned. “She didn’t have it sent to her. She sent it to someone else.”
“Well,” Deadlock said as he finally spoke up, “I have to say, that doesn’t shock me one damn bit.”
“Who did she send it to, then?” Rico asked.
Deac jammed his tongue into his cheek and snickered. “Captain Ryan fucking Murphy.”
I slowly stood from my seat. “You’re kidding.”
Nielson shook his head. “I wish we were.”
Deac took a step toward me. “We need to know everything that happened in that warehouse. Absolutely everything.”
“Is that all that happened at the precinct?” I asked.
Char finally turned away from the sink. “It’s the bulk of what happened. Really, it was us just dropping pieces in place to try and come up with a whole picture. That email is really the only revelation that came from it.”
“And it’s a big one,” Rat muttered.
“We do know her motive, though,” Deac said.
“What is it?” Dallas asked.
“To eradicate us. Isn’t that obvious?” Deadlock asked.
Char pointed at him. “Not always. Motive is a stark teller of what a person might do next, or what might be to come. It’s important to know.”
“If she’s ever looking for a job,” Nielson murmured.
“Don’t say something like that,” Char said with a grin as she walked over to Dallas’s side, “I may just take you up on the offer.”
“We’d be lucky to have you,” one of the sheriff’s deputies said.
“Hey. Eyes to yourself,” I glowered.
The deputy quickly pulled his gaze forward, but Char was too busy giggling to care.
Goddamn it, her giggles alone could’ve healed my soul.
“It’s good to see you,” I said.
She smiled at me before she came and graced me with her presence.
She grabbed the only free chair, pulling it at her side as the guys danced around her.
She slid it up to me, sat down, and I watched as she settled her hand on my knee.
Her small, teensie little hand. With those pudgy fingers of hers that felt so good against my chest.
I placed my hand on top of hers, dwarfing it with my palm.
“It’s good to see you, too,” she whispered as she spread her fingers and let mine sink between hers.
What I wouldn’t give to have parted her legs just as easily.
“Char figured it out, actually,” Deac said.
“Figured out what?” Rico asked.
“Motive,” Deadlock said flatly.
“Oh, oh, yeah. Right, right.”
“Char?” Deac asked.
She cleared her throat. “An eye for an eye. That’s what Bait said, right?”
“It is,” Mace said softly.
“I’ll never forget it as long as I live,” Plug said.
None of us will.
“Right,” Char said as she looked down into her lap. “Well, I believe her motive is to take you guys out.”
“Shocker,” Rat said flatly.
“More than that, though,” she said as she crossed her legs at her ankles, “I think she holds you guys responsible.”
“What!?” Rat exclaimed.
“How the fuck is this our fault?” Deadlock asked.
“Shut up, everyone, and let her talk,” Deac said gruffly.
Silence fell and Char cleared her throat. “Murphy’s an ATF agent. Right? Dirty fed. So my theory is that she blames you guys for pulling him into a life of crime. After all, you were his supplier for a while, right?”
“Right,” me and the guys said together.
Char shrugged. “So she sees me with you guys, sees what you supposedly did to Murphy, and it’s no fucking wonder she lost her goddamn mind.”
I grinned. “I love it when you cuss.”
“Awwww, thanks,” she said playfully.
It caused me to chuckle, and I didn’t give a shit about the pain in my back.
I only cared about the way she smiled up at me.
“That makes sense,” Rat murmured.
“It explains everything, too,” Deac said. “The cameras we found all over our delivery routes. Routes that Doc would’ve surely driven to get to and from us.”
“And the signal he threw. He must’ve figured out she was watching him,” Rico said.
“And the connection to Char. We have that now,” Deadlock said.
“What we don’t know,” I said as I raked my free hand through my hair, “is why she killed Murphy and is now trying to cover it up. Because you know that’s what she’s doing.
Sending an email like that to the man she’s investigating?
It’s just another part of her alibi to cover up the fact that she killed him. ”
“I want to see the footage,” Nielson said.
We all turned our attention to him, and I watched as he hiked his belted pants up under his overhanging gut.
“Are you sure?” Deac asked.
The sheriff nodded. “I want to see it.”
“Plug,” Deac said.
“Give me ten minutes.”
And sure enough, ten minutes later, we watched that footage on the television in the living room.
Plug had to do some fancy hooking up in order to get it going from the external hard drive that had everything loaded onto it.
We all watched the sheriff while he and a couple of his deputies watched the footage playing out on the big screen television.
He winced with the three muzzle shots. He slid his hands into his pockets and fidgeted with his fingers.
“Run it again,” he said when the footage paused.
Plug rewound it, and we watched it again.
And again.
And again.