“I told Shelly I’d meet her at 0630 tomorrow. I’d like you to be there,” Pat said as she continued to watch Mac.
“Shall I pick you up?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I think I’ll ask Norwood to.” It would give her a chance to have an overdue talk with him.
“All right.” Jael turned and looked at her. “Pat, I don’t want you going anywhere on your own until we find out for sure what’s going on. If you don’t agree, I’ll be forced to either talk with Culver or have Mateo put someone on you.”
Any other time, she’d object. Not now. Even though she didn’t think she was in danger, she understood the need to make sure nothing else happened. “Then you won’t argue when I say the same thing about you.”
Jael actually snorted. “I’ll be taking precautions.”
If Pat had her way, they all would be.
15
“This had better be good,” Jael rasped as she dropped back onto the mattress, cellphone to her ear.
“Sorry to wake you, Sarge, but we may have caught a break.”
Suddenly wide awake, Jael sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. As she did, she glanced at the clock and groaned. After leaving the hospital the night before, she’d picked up Chelsea and Brandon, as well as Mac’s younger brother and sister, and brought them home. After making sure they understood they weren’t to leave the house, she met Norwood near Mac’s place. Norwood climbed into the back of her car and shifted. A few minutes later, she fastened a collar around the coyote’s neck and attached a lead. Anyone not looking closely would see nothing more than a woman out walking her dog.
For the next two hours, the coyote searched the area around the house for anything that might help them identify the man who shot Mac. As he did, Jael searched the house. When she finished, she packed a change of clothes for Jackson and a few things she knew Mac would want in a duffle. After locking up the house, she led Norwood, still in his coyote form, back to her car. After dropping him at his car, she returned home and fell face first into bed. That had been less than an hour before.
But that didn’t matter. Not if she’d heard correctly.
“Say again.” She stood and hurried across the room to her closet.
“We may have caught a break,” Shelly Tanaka repeated.
“Tell me.” Jael pulled out a pair of jeans and a DPD tee shirt before moving to the dresser.
“We got lucky with one of the security videos. A house down the street from the captain’s captured a different angle of the van. The techs managed to enhance it and there was a rental company sticker on the back bumper. Sears and Nguyen rousted Zee Logan from the DA’s Office. He then rousted a judge and got us a warrant. Sears and Nguyen served it on the rental company and are getting the rental records as we speak. In the meantime, we used the GPS in the van to get a location. We’re rolling on it now.”
“And?”
There was always an and.
Or a but.
“It’s been stationary since approximately two hours after the captain was shot.”
Damn it. That meant the shooter probably abandoned it and was long gone. Still, it was more than they had a few hours ago.
“All right.” She thought for a moment as she tore her sleep shirt over her head. Then she strode purposefully toward the adjoining bathroom. “Have unmarked units close in and take up positions to watch the location. They are not to move in. Let’s make sure we aren’t walking into an ambush.”
“Understood.”
“Send me the location and everything you’ve got.”
“On its way.”
She thought for a moment. “Have you let the LT know?”
“That’s my next call.”
Jael frowned. Part of her wanted to reprimand the detective for not immediately letting Pat know. The other part understood why she hadn’t. Everyone in the squad knew she was the closest thing Mac had to a partner now that Mac sat at the captain’s desk. They also knew Jael wasn’t working any other case just then. Besides, everyone knew how close Mac and Pat were and Jael had no doubt Tanaka wanted more information before talking to the lieutenant.
“All right. I’ll be on my way in a few minutes. Set up a cordon around the area and hold until either the LT or I arrive.” She thought for a moment. “Have Sears and Nguyen continue working the driver. Get a last known on him, criminal history, etc., and then get a location for him.”
“Already done.”
Jael nodded to herself. “Good work, Shelly. Let’s see if we can’t close this down before sunrise.”
Half an hour later, she pulled up behind Tanaka’s car and smiled slightly. The detective, not wanting to tip off the shooter if he was still in the area, had instructed those responding to the scene to do so in either their personal vehicles or have the motor pool give them something that didn’t scream “Cop!”. It was a good tactic, as long as the perp didn’t see them and attempt to flee. The thought of Tanaka trying to catch him in her smart car brought a smile to Jael’s lips. Tanaka would probably do better to get out and chase him on foot than try to pursue him in her so-called car.
Chuckling softly, Jael climbed out of her pickup. Unlike Norwood’s truck, hers looked like a real work truck. Dirty, scuffed and dinged, it had seen better days. But that unremarkable exterior hid an engine that would put almost anything on the road to shame. The only thing keeping her kids from wanting the truck was its looks. They wouldn’t be caught dead driving it and that was fine with her.
As Jael looked around, Tanaka and others appeared from their vehicles. Doors were almost silently closed. Jael watched as they moved quickly and silently in her direction. A few moments later, they stood at the rear of the pickup and waited.
“Anything?” she asked softly.
“No.” Tanaka shook her head, frowning. “There’s no indication he’s inside the van.”
It couldn’t be that easy, could it? Still, they might get lucky and find something in or around the van that would help find the perp and understand why he targeted Mac.
“What did the LT say?”
“To keep her in the loop. She was going to touch base with Sears and Nguyen. Then she’s calling Logan to make sure there’s at least one judge on standby if we need more warrants.”
That surprised Jael. She hadn’t thought wild horses could keep Pat from there. But it was the right decision. It reinforced Pat’s confidence in Tanaka as the lead detective and it left the lieutenant in place to run interference for them if necessary.
“Then tell me where you want me and let’s get this done.” Jael reached inside the truck. A moment later, she pulled on her Kevlar vest.
Three minutes later, Jael crouched behind her truck, gun in hand. Peaking around the edge of the bumper, she scanned the area. The white van sat at the rear of a shopping center parking lot across the street. Most of the storefronts in the center appeared to be vacant. Trash littered the lot. The lights, what few of them still worked, were located well away from the van. The cloud cover added to the darkness around the van.
And that worked in their favor.
Once each member of the team reported they were in position, Tanaka ordered the patrol cars blocking each end of the street to stand ready. Just because they believed the shooter had abandoned the van didn’t mean he really had. They needed to be prepared in case he tried to flee.
“Move in,” Tanaka radioed.
Shadows seemed to separate as detectives and Officer Murray, clad in street clothes, emerged from their hiding places. They moved quickly, almost silently, in the direction of the van. Gun in hand, Jael zigged and then zagged across the street. Instinct born from her time in the Marines kicked in. She might not have the enhanced senses of shapeshifters but everything seemed to come into stark focus as the world narrowed to the van and the area immediately around it.
Tanaka lifted her right fist, signaling everyone to stop. Then she silently ordered Buttkowski and Murray to move closer to the van
. They crouched and approached. With Buttkowski covering her, Murray quickly glanced through the van’s driver’s side window before ducking back. When she did, she shook her head. Buttkowski nodded and inched past her. He pressed his hand to the hood of the van. When he pulled it back, he motioned for the rest of them to move in.
“Norwood, Cruz, block the entrances to the lot. Everyone, fan out. I want every in of the lot checked before we cordon off around the van. We’ve got a warrant to make entry, but I want to wait until we get a forensics team here. So let’s get busy.”
Dawn had broken by the time Jael climbed out of the rear of the van. She stripped off the disposable gloves she’d pulled on more than an hour earlier and tossed them into a nearby bag. Then she stepped away from the van, motioning to the waiting tech that she’d finished. He nodded and reached for his kit and got to work. Not that she expected him to find much.
“Detective, a moment,” she said as she approached Tanaka where the woman stood talking with another of the Crime Scene techs.
“You look like I feel, Sarge,” Tanaka said as they moved away from those working on the van.
“If you mean tired, mad and frustrated, you’re right.” Jael tilted her head back and inhaled deeply. A moment later, she exhaled and sighed. “We might get lucky and find prints or touch DNA but I wouldn’t bet on it.”
Tanaka nodded, a frown tugging down the corners of her mouth. “Explain something to me, Jael. Who the hell rents a van to drive to a hit on a police captain?”
“Hell if I know, Shelly.” And wasn’t that one of the million-dollar questions? “Any update from Sears and Nguyen?”
“No. They were still waiting for the company to finish pulling their records the last I heard. Seems Corporate wanted their attorney to look over the warrant before they handed over anything beyond the GPS information.”
“All right.” Jael glanced at her watch. “Finish up here. If you need to, leave Buttkowski or someone else in charge here so you can make your meeting with the LT. I’ll check in with her and then I’m heading to the hospital. Hopefully, the doctors will let me see the captain. Maybe she’s remembered more about what happened.”
Like why the shooter seemed familiar.
But first things first. She needed to update Pat and see if she’d heard anything more from Sears and Nguyen.
* * *
Silently, the door swung open and a dark figure stepped inside. He paused and looked around. A moment later, he pointed to the bed. From the deeper shadows of the corridor, a second figure emerged and moved into the room, his shoes silent on the thick carpet. Once he was in position at the far side of the bed, the first man moved to stand opposite his companion. For a moment, he looked down at the couple sleeping back to back, undisturbed by their entrance.
Dark as the room was, he knew who they were. Unlike the sleeping man, he hadn’t taken any risks. He’d done his homework and now it was time to deliver his message.
Almost casually, he reached out and switched on the bedside lamp. The sleepers stirred. Their eyes opened and they blinked at the unexpected light. Before they fully woke, the two masked men acted. The sheet and blanket were tossed back. Rough hands flipped the couple onto their stomachs. Their hands were quickly secured with flex-cuffs. Then their feet. A moment later, they were flipped again and positioned so they sat against the headboard. When the man opened his mouth to say something, the first man acted quickly, pistol-whipping the him across the face. Ignoring the man’s moans and the blood now flowing from his nose and mouth, he nodded once more to his partner.
The second man looked around the room. Not seeing what he wanted, he disappeared down the corridor. He returned a few moments later, dragging a kitchen chair behind him. The first man nodded, smiling behind his mask, as his companion placed the chair at the foot of the bed.
“W-what do you want?” the woman asked, doing her best not to show her fear.
“Shhh.” He lifted a finger to his mouth. “I need to have a little discussion with you and your husband. Be good and do as we tell you and nothing will happen to those two kids sleeping down the hallway.”
The mention of the children did it. The couple struggled against their bonds. They might have grunted like animals, very scared animals, as they did but they didn’t speak. The two masked men let them, knowing it wouldn’t be long before the couple realized there was no escape.
“P-lease, just tell me what you want,” the bound man cried as he watched the men pull his wife from the bed.
A moment later she was dumped onto the chair. The sound of duct tape being pulled from its roll filled the room. Within minutes, the woman was firmly taped to the chair at chest waist and legs. Her nostrils flared as she breathed. Now her fear was so strong their captors could almost taste it. The chair danced on the hardwood floor as she struggled against her bond when the second masked man once again approached her husband where he sat against the headboard.
“Leave him alone!” she rasped a moment before the first man rammed a fist into her stomach, leaving her gasping for air.
“I told you to be quiet, Captain Wysocki,” the first man chided as he grabbed the sheet and pulled it from the bed. She winced as he tore a strip from the sheet. “We can do this easy or hard. It’s your choice.” He held the wad of material in one hand, close to her mouth.
For a moment, she pressed her lips tightly together. Then, seeing the knife the second man pressed to her husband’s throat and the thin trickle of blood that appeared beneath its point, she opened up. She gagged as he stuffed the material in, making sure to completely fill her mouth. In short order, he wrapped duct tape around her head several times, making sure it was tight enough to not only prevent her from spitting out the gag but to muffle almost any sound she made.
“See, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” He lightly patted her cheek and laughed as she jerked her head away. “My partner here is going to finish securing your husband. We can’t have him trying to interrupt our little discussion, can we?”
Wysocki’s eyes blazed in hatred before fear once again filled them as she watched the second man gag her husband.
“Now, I have to say I’m very disappointed in your husband, Julia. I hope you don’t mind me calling you by your first name, but Roy and I have come to know one another very well over the last two years. He’s told me so much about you that I feel I know you as well.” He grinned and sat on the end of the bed, his knees so close to hers they almost touched. “Do us both a favor and don’t try to deny that you know what he is.” He waited, enjoying the way she glared at him before dropping her gaze and shaking her head.
“Good girl.” He lightly patted her knee, chuckling softly as she jerked at his touch. “In case he hasn’t told you, Roy works for me. He’s been running a certain product for me the last couple of years. Unfortunately, at least for the two of you, he got sloppy and greedy. He foolishly thought he could steal from me and I wouldn’t know it.”
He glance over his shoulder to where his companion held Wysocki’s husband against the headboard. Then he turned his attention back to her.
“I tried to be reasonable. I gave him a way to earn his way back into my good graces. A way that would save you and your children. It really was a very simple job. All he had to do was walk up to Santos and kill her. But Roy here managed to screw even that up. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. He’s been a fuck up all his life, hasn’t he?”
Wysocki glared at her husband and then nodded once.
“Worse, he failed to follow the other orders we gave him.” One by one, he ticked off each of Ray’s failures, ending with failing to leave the van where he’d been told. “So now I have to worry that he did something to tip off Santos or her people, something that might lead back to him or, worse, to me.”
Wysocki shook her head. Whatever she tried to say was muffled by the gag.
“I know, my dear. He really is a disappointment.” He leaned forward, forearms on his knees. “But you really should h
ave done more to help him with his little problem instead of trying to hide it from your fellow cops.”
He shoved off the bed. Wysocki’s eyes followed him as he moved to stand next to her husband. As he did, the other masked man took his place behind her. She flinched as he rested his gloved hands on her shoulders. But her attention remained focused on the bed.
“Now Ray here has a bad problem, as we both know. It’s why you didn’t take his name when you married him. It’s why you’ve done your best to destroy the careers of any cop unfortunate enough to run across him while doing their duty.” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal case. Wysocki inhaled sharply to see the syringe he suddenly held. “How many times did he promise to get clean if you’d just make sure the latest officer who discovered his little problem kept his mouth shut? You must love him a great deal to risk so much for him.” He lifted the syringe and a moment later, she saw a quick spray of liquid emerge from the needle.
“But he didn’t get clean and you kept turning a blind eye. You even removed drugs from evidence to supply him so he didn’t have to buy off the street more often than absolutely necessary. You violated your oaths as a cop in order to protect him. Love makes you do such terrible things sometimes.”
She struggled in vain against her bonds and the firm hands on her shoulders as the man slowly inserted the needle into her husband’s neck.
“Don’t worry, Julia.” He returned the syringe to the case and slipped it back into his pocket. “That’s just a little taste, something to relax him so he won’t give us any trouble.” He lightly patted her husband’s cheek and returned to his place at the foot of the bed.
“But as bad as he’s been, you’ve been worse, haven’t you? You knew what he was doing and you did nothing to stop him.”
She frantically shook her head.
Nocturnal Revelations Page 15