‘I noticed that Miss Underwood not only dropped by their house, she’s the one who wrote the story in the paper.’
‘We drew the short straw there,’ Hampton complained. ‘She’ll be hounding us about anything and everything we learn.’
‘I don’t want her getting a free hand on this,’ the captain said. ‘We don’t need a nosy reporter in the middle of our investigation.’
‘You’re right,’ Grady said. ‘And she proved what a bloodhound she can be. If she gets the scent, she’ll follow it to the ends of the earth.’
‘And drag us along with her,’ Hampton lamented.
‘I feel a need for my stomach medicine,’ the captain complained. ‘Every time I think I have my ulcer under control….’ He didn’t have to finish.
‘We’ll let you know when anything new develops on the Westmoreland case,’ Grady volunteered.
The captain left them. When he was out of earshot, Hampton leaned over closer to Grady. ‘There’s one positive thing we have on our side. Without the Brit being involved, we only have to ride herd on Underwood.’
‘You’re right, Ham. Maybe our favorite lady reporter will be content to simply report the news, rather than trying to create it.’
‘You’re just trying to make me happy.’
‘Speaking of happy, I’ve got a lot of unhappy people for us to check out on this double murder.’ Grady returned to their current case. ‘Any one of the other gangs may have had reason to strike at the Hard Corps.’
‘I’m not sure talking to Victor is going help. He’ll be more interested in payback than helping us.’
‘We’re going to need a break to stop a gang war, Ham.’
‘So how many names have you got on our list to interview?’ Hampton asked. ‘I mean besides Victor Orozco?’
Grady took his gun from the top drawer of his desk and slipped it on to his belt. He joined Hampton and headed for the door before answering.
‘We’ll start with about twenty. But that’s before we include outside gang members from all over the city.’
‘That’s just great,’ Hampton’s voice was thick with cynicism. ‘This would be tough enough if it was only Victor’s brother. With a judge and the district attorney breathing down our necks, we’d better not miss anything.’
The phone rang for Hampton. It was Peggy from Dispatch but there was no time to make any small talk. She blurted the news and he grabbed hold of Grady’s arm.
‘Thanks!’ was his response before he slammed down the receiver.
‘What’s up?’ Grady asked, surprised at the shocked look on his partner’s face.
‘Someone just took a shot at Kari Underwood!’
CHAPTER SIX
BY THE TIME the detectives arrived Kari had control of her shaking and had some color back in her complexion. She was sitting behind her steering wheel, with the car door open. She had been treated by a paramedic for the minor cuts and removal of a couple tiny shards of glass. She had just completed an incident report with a uniformed cop when an unmarked car pulled up out in the middle of the street. Two familiar men got out. One went to speak to a uniform while the second hurried into the parking garage and up to where she was sitting.
‘What the hell are you into, Miss Underwood?’ Grady demanded to know, puffing from the exertion of running up the driveway’s incline. ‘Who shot at you?’
‘I didn’t see anyone,’ she replied. ‘I pulled out to the street far enough to check for an opening in the traffic, and the window exploded.’
‘We talked to a couple witnesses who heard two shots,’ the policeman who had taken the report informed Grady. ‘They thought it sounded like a large-caliber rifle and came from across the road, somewhere up high. However, we haven’t found anyone who saw the shooter.’
‘I want all the nearby traffic cams looked at, plus any other security cameras that might show us the buildings across the street. Get people to check the rooftops and see if anyone saw a person who could have been carrying a gun. I want every office and room in that building checked; talk to anyone and everyone coming from, going to, or residing in the building.’
‘We’ve started a canvas and called in additional units,’ the cop replied.
‘Good work.’ Grady dismissed the man. Then he reached into the car, placed a consoling hand on Kari’s shoulder and looked directly into her eyes.
‘Are you sure you’re not hurt?’
‘No. I got sprinkled with a few tiny pieces of glass. It didn’t even require any bandaging.’
‘Thank goodness for that.’
Kari motioned to the adjacent seat cushion. ‘I think one of the bullets went into the passenger seat. I heard it hit.’
‘We’ve got forensics on the way. They’ll remove the bullet and look for the second one too. You did hear two shots?’
‘I didn’t actually hear the shots, but I can count the holes in the glass.’ She was still dazed by the attack. ‘Why would anyone shoot at me?’
Grady scowled at her. ‘You’ve been sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. You did a piece on the drug cartel and talked to Juno Orozco. Considering Juno got himself killed shortly after your visit, someone must think you know something.’
‘All Juno told me was to get lost.’
‘Our shooter must think he told you something worthwhile,’ Grady said. ‘You admitted to knowing about a drug shipment coming in from Colombia each month. You might have asked the wrong question when you were snooping around.’
Kari swallowed hard, fearful that this might only be the beginning of her woes. ‘But I didn’t learn anything about drugs coming into the valley,’ she murmured weakly. ‘I really didn’t.’
‘You might want to work that information into your article when you write about being shot at,’ Grady advised. ‘We can hope whoever is responsible for this shooting will read the story and believe you.’
Kari perused the punctured windshield. ‘Any idea if comprehensive insurance pays for bullet damage?’
Grady grunted his doubt. ‘I’ll check back with you later. Ham and I have an interview with Juno’s brother. We need to go talk to him.’ He hesitated, then added: ‘And I’ll make sure he knows you didn’t learn anything from Juno about any drug shipments.’
‘Thank you, Detective Grady,’ Kari said sincerely. ‘I appreciate your help … and your concern.’
He sighed. ‘Try not to get into any more trouble.’
Victor Orozco had tats on both arms, his neck and the knuckles of both hands. Four diamond-studded earrings decorated his earlobes and his black hair hung to his shoulders. With a face like an angry gargoyle, he bared his teeth in a sneer whenever he replied to either Hampton or Grady.
‘Someone took a shot at a reporter a few minutes ago.’ Grady tried to rattle the man’s cage. ‘If we find out you were behind that, you’ll never see the light of day again!’
‘Hey, man, most of my guys don’t read the paper. You ain’t gonna do no good trying to jack me around for something like that.’
‘Maybe it’s one of your rivals,’ Hampton tried again. ‘You having trouble with one of the other gangs?’
‘Nobody messes with the Hard Corps,’ he drawled. ‘We own the streets.’
‘How about the 39th Street Lobos?’ Hampton queried. ‘They don’t let anyone tread on their turf.’
‘That’s over on the east side, Mr. Policeman.’ He slurred the title, as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. ‘We don’t worry about that side of the hill. Let the Lobos brag about their little piece of the valley; they know better than to cross our boundaries.’
‘Someone took out your cousin.’
Victor’s expression darkened at once and he regarded them with eyes full of hate. ‘We’ll find out who did it, Mr. Policeman. You don’t have to worry about it none.’
‘We don’t want a war in the streets, Victor,’ Hampton warned. ‘If you bangers kill each other, that’s fine with us. But this time an innocent man was killed.’
‘We know he abused a girl or two,’ Grady said.
The sneer again. ‘You need to catch up with news of the socially élite, Detective. Dominick never wanted what was offered freely. He was a perv who enjoyed the fight and submission.’
‘You’re saying he preferred to beat up girls,’ Hampton deduced.
‘The boy liked it rough. That’s all I’m saying.’
‘And Juno? Why would anyone go after your cousin?’
Victor’s expression grew cold. ‘That’s something I’m gonna find out.’
‘I told you, we don’t want a war on our hands,’ Hampton warned him again.
‘Won’t be no war,’ Victor replied easily. ‘Maybe a massacre, but no war.’ With another smirk, ‘And if you don’t like the smell of burning pork, you and your boys in blue will stay out of our way.’
‘I could arrest you for threatening a police officer,’ Hampton advised him.
The gang leader displayed a completely innocent mien. ‘I swear, Your Honor,’ he pretended to plead his case, ‘it was grief over the loss of my cousin that caused me to call them detective pigs uncomplimentary names without thinking. I’m a law-abiding citizen, a pillar of the community. Ask anyone.’
‘Get out of my sight,’ Hampton snorted. ‘We’re done.’
Victor rose to his feet and ran a hand through his unkempt and greasy-looking hair. ‘It’s about time,’ he said. ‘I could get a bad name, hanging around this here sty with you porkers.’
‘Keep working your mouth and you’ll be hanging by your thumbs!’ Hampton jeered.
Victor grinned at the impotent threat and left the interview room.
‘Glad you didn’t let him get under your skin,’ Grady teased, once the gang leader was out of earshot. ‘I’m always telling Kitten’ (his pet name for his wife) ‘how mild-mannered you are.’
Hampton’s unhappy expression relayed his dissatisfaction concerning the interview.
‘Let’s head for home,’ Grady said, glancing at the timepiece on his wrist. ‘We’ll start again tomorrow.’
Jason was sitting in the caféteria when the desk sergeant, Nebo Riley, hurried over to speak to him. ‘Call from the States for you,’ Riley reported, an anxious look on his face. ‘I tried to transfer it to your phone but it wouldn’t go through.’
Jason removed his mobile. ‘This sod-awful contraption! I’ve put in a new battery twice and made three requests for a new phone. It hasn’t worked right since I went to the States last year.’
‘I put the call on my own mobile,’ Riley informed him, holding it out for him to use.
‘Thanks, Riley. You’re the best desk sergeant we ever had.’
Riley didn’t reply, allowing Jason to push the ‘mute’ button so he could use the phone.
‘Jason Keane here,’ he said.
‘Jason! It’s Reggie. Reggie Cline, your cousin.’
‘Of course, Reggie,’ Jason said warmly. ‘It’s good to hear your voice again. What’s happened? Why are you calling me?
‘Kari didn’t want me to tell you this, but I thought you ought to know.’
When he didn’t continue, Jason prompted him. ‘OK, so what is it she won’t tell me, but I ought to know?’
‘Someone shot at her yesterday. I’ve been awake all night but—’
‘Shot at her!’ Jason exclaimed. ‘Who shot at her?’
Reggie began again. ‘Well, I waited until morning to call you – it’s a little after six, so I thought—’
‘Tell me what happened, Reggie.’ Jason cut off his meandering chatter.
Reggie explained about the shooting and said the police had no suspects. He added that there might be a connection with a double murder, but there was no way of knowing if that were true.
‘You’re sure she’s all right?’
‘Yeah, Jason, I talked to her last night. That’s how I knew she wasn’t going to tell you about it. She claimed it was probably a random thing or maybe a mistake. The police were going to talk to a couple gang leaders and try and clear it up. She wrote a piece for the paper a few days ago concerning drugs in the valley. She doesn’t think it had anything to do with the attack, but she doesn’t really know.’
‘The police and gang leaders? Concerning Kari and this attack?’ Jason mulled over the information aloud. ‘Why would a gang be after her?’
‘The article she wrote mentioned the Colombia drug cartels being mixed up with one or more of the local gangs. It could have been the motive for the shooting.’
‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
‘Whoa there, cuz!’ Reggie exclaimed. ‘Kari will scald my hide if you come rushing over here because I told you about this. It’s why she warned me not to say anything.’
‘You better keep your distance from her until I arrive then, because I’m going to speak to my DSI straight away. I’ll let Kari and you both know when to expect me.’
‘I guess I can’t stop you, so I’ll be happy to see you again,’ Reggie said. ‘I’ll have your room ready. Just need to put on fresh sheets.’
‘I’m grateful for the hospitality, Reggie. I’ll see you soon.’
Kari had never met Gloria Streisand but knew her from press interviews. She was a natural redhead, with beautiful, below-the-shoulder-length hair. Her green eyes were a rich emerald and her complexion was as smooth and fine as porcelain. A youthful thirty-five, she was shapely enough to be considered voluptuous.
Gloria was also an excellent speaker, with a strong voice and carefully measured conviction. It offset any notion that she was overly feminine or too soft for her job. Her record for prosecuting was sound and she seldom lost a major case.
She was businesslike, sitting next to Grady with perfect posture, attired in a neatly tailored suit. The three of them were alone in the interview room.
‘I read your column about drugs in our parks,’ said Gloria, opening the conversation. ‘You mentioned there might be a connection between one of the local gangs and a drug cartel in Colombia.’
‘Yes, but I didn’t name names.’ Kari shrugged, ‘I was never able to find out which gang or gangs might be involved.’
‘The police think that might be why you were shot at.’
‘It’s one theory,’ Grady corrected. ‘I told the DA that you also talked to the two boys who were killed: Dominick Westmorland and Juno Orozco. We have to consider that the shooting might be related to that visit.’
‘I don’t see how. Those two didn’t give me any information.’ Kari made a helpless gesture. ‘I was trying to get a lead on which gang might be connected to the Colombians, but Juno was not forthcoming. As for Dominick, he was busy ogling me and making crude remarks to try and impress me as to what a big man he was.’
‘Did you speak to them about anything outside of the gang issue?’ Gloria wanted to know. ‘Maybe you touched on another subject that was more sensitive than you realized.’
Kari wondered at the odd glint of interest in the woman’s eyes. ‘No, they were both very tight-lipped and gave me nothing of value.’
Gloria continued the stare, a trait that probably intimidated many guilty subjects. ‘You’re sure? Nothing that might have implied that they were involved in something illegal to make a lot of money?’
‘They did have some brand-new toys – a wide-screen television, and Juno was connecting a game of some kind. He had just taken it out of the box and there was a stack of unopened DVDs on the coffee table. When I offered to pay them for information they pretty much laughed at me.’
The DA shifted her gaze to Grady. ‘If that’s the truth – if she got no information – why would someone target her?’
The detective displayed an equal puzzlement. ‘It has to be related to the gangs or drugs. I scanned her articles for the last month and Miss Underwood hasn’t covered anything else of ma
jor importance.’
Gloria pondered on his answer. ‘The logical assumption is that someone from a gang linked to the cartel believes she discovered something about the importing or distribution of drugs.’
‘It does seem a likely motive for the shooting,’ Grady agreed.
‘Any leads from the bullets that forensics recovered?’
‘They are a .308 caliber, a popular gun with deer hunters. We’ve complied a list of nearly a hundred registered owners. There’s probably twice that many unregistered.’
Gloria scrutinized Kari for a long moment. ‘And there’s no other reason for anyone to be shooting at you? No jealous boyfriend? No fights or feuds with anyone? No clandestine investigation you are running on your own?’
‘No, ma’am. Far as I know, I don’t have an enemy in the world.’
‘It might not be related,’ Grady interjected, ‘but Miss Underwood saw a car parked up the street from the boy’s home. She didn’t get a good enough look at the guy behind the wheel to give us a description, but there’s a chance it was the killer. He might have thought she could identify him.’
‘Have you any leads on the man?’
‘No, but he was driving a Ford Taurus with a banged-up front fender.’
Gloria rose to her feet. ‘All right. We’re done here, Detective. Please keep my office informed of any pertinent information.’
‘We’ll let you know as soon as we find something, Ms District Attorney.’
The woman left and Grady let out a breath that he seemed to have been holding. ‘Whew!’ He sighed his relief. ‘That woman reminds me of my fourth-grade principal. She could take one look at you and know if you had done anything wrong. I remember ducking into a bathroom to avoid meeting her in the hallway one day.’ He displayed a silly grin. ‘Turns out I stepped into the girls’ lavatory! And that is exactly where she was headed!’
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