Hollow Point

by Mike Ryan

  “I guess that’s why you’re as good as you are, huh?” Andrews asked.

  “I’m good at reading people.”

  “So I see. All right, so look, these aren’t the first two shootings that we’ve attributed to this guy.”

  “How many more?”

  “The first one that we think he did was a couple weeks ago. The victim was a low-level drug dealer.”

  Recker looked at him strangely, not seeing the connection to a minor drug player and two police officers. “So how you figure they’re related?”

  Andrews took a sip of his beer. “Well, it gets a little more complicated than just that. First, he was killed with a forty-five hollow-point bullet.”

  “Not really what you would call conclusive evidence.”

  “No, but there’s more. Then last week, another guy dropped dead, courtesy of a forty-five hollow-point bullet.”

  “What was his line of work?” Recker asked, assuming it was something illegal.

  “That’s just it. He wasn’t a criminal. He was just a regular guy.”

  “Then how does it fit?”

  “Apparently, this guy rode his bike to and from work every night. Same route every time. About five days after the drug dealer went down. And the path that he rode every night, was the very same area that the drug dealer frequented. Matter of fact, they were killed one street apart from each other,” Andrews said.

  “That is a pretty big coincidence.”

  “Yeah. So, we’re figuring, that maybe the guy saw a transaction go down, something he wasn’t supposed to see, and he got taken out for it.”

  “Question the guy’s family or anything? Maybe he told someone what he saw,” Recker said.

  “Ahh, we checked. He was a young kid, about twenty-two, still lived with his mother and younger sister. They didn’t know anything about it. I doubt he would’ve told them anything and bogged them down with that kind of stuff.”

  “That’s fine, but I still don’t see how that relates to the two officers getting shot.”

  “The first officer that got shot was Anthony Rios. He’s a seven-year veteran on an undercover assignment. Guess how he figures into this?”

  “He was buying off the drug dealer?”

  Andrews nodded. “Bingo. Guess where he was shot?”

  “Same area.”

  “Same street as the drug dealer.”

  “What was his name?” Recker asked.

  “Kevin Maldonado.”

  “What was Rios’ assignment?”

  “To get in close with Maldonado and figure out where he’s getting his stash from. He was a name we started hearing more from, moving up the ladder, you know what I mean?”

  “I think so.”

  “We think there might be an emerging drug player in the city and we believed Maldonado had ties to him.”

  “What about the cop this morning?”

  Andrews threw his hand up and looked disgusted as his eyes glanced around the room. “That we don’t know. We haven’t figured out yet how that comes into play.”

  “No ties to any of them?” Recker asked.

  “Not that we’ve uncovered so far. Rios was in a narcotics unit. The officer that got shot this morning was Peter Kirby. He works in a patrol unit. As far as we can tell, he hasn’t had any interaction with Rios or Maldonado.”

  “And you’re sure it’s the same shooter?”

  “Same type of bullet, same markings. We’re pretty sure it’s the same guy.”

  “And you don’t have any other leads or suspects?”

  “Not yet, no,” Andrews answered, shaking his head.

  “How ‘bout something in their personal life? Maybe the answer lies there, and they killed the drug dealer and other guy to make it look like it’s something else.”

  “Well, we obviously haven’t been able to check out everything with Kirby yet since it’s still fresh. Rios, though, nothing turned up adversarial.”

  “And nobody on the street knows anything?” Recker asked.

  “Not so far.”

  “Did you check with Vincent to see if he knows anything?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “You may not believe this, but I try to keep my conversations with him limited. I don’t want to ask him favors that I might have to repay later,” Andrews said.

  “What is it that you’re actually asking me to do?”

  “Poke around a little, see what you can dig up. I dunno, maybe we’re missing something, maybe something got overlooked.”

  “Seems a little weird that you’re here asking this of me,” Recker said. “Seems like you’d have the whole department and then some at your disposal for this.”

  “Well, you’re right there, but when you don’t have any leads or suspects to work off, you get desperate pretty quick. Especially when it’s cops that start falling. And believe me, they’re the only reason I’m even here. If it was just a bunch of criminals getting whacked, I wouldn’t be here either.”

  “You think there might be more to come?”

  Andrews sighed. “I don’t know. I hope not. But, something’s telling me there’s gonna be more if we don’t wrap this up quick. And I’d make a deal with just about anyone to make sure no other cops get it.”

  “Rios is still alive, though, right?”

  “Yeah, was released yesterday and pulled off the undercover assignment this morning.”

  “He doesn’t have any ideas?”

  “None. He’s as in the dark as the rest of us.”

  “And if I actually make headway on this?” Recker asked. “What is it that you want me to do? Wrap him up in a bow for you?”

  “I guess that depends on what the situation calls for. If there’s any way that you can let me know so I can take him in, I’d appreciate getting a heads up on it. If it’s a situation where your life is on the line and you gotta take him down, then you gotta do what you gotta do. If that’s the case, I’d still appreciate it if you could let me know so I can wrap the case up.”

  Recker had all the information he needed at that point and wanted to start winding things down. He didn’t want to sit there too long and make himself a target, just in case. He was pretty sure Andrews was leveling with him about everything. He didn’t get any sense the detective was trying to mislead him or manipulate him in any way.

  “All right, I think I’ve got enough to start with,” Recker said.

  “Does that mean you’re on it?”

  “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  A relieved look came across Andrews’ face and he broke out a smile. “Just so we’re clear on everything, I can’t offer you money or anything for this.”

  “It’s fine. I’m not interested in money.”

  “OK, well, if there’s anything I can ever do for you, just name it. Within reason. I can’t get you out of jail or anything if you ever get brought in. Maybe I can help you avoid that if I ever hear someone’s on the verge of nailing you, though.”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  “Well, thanks a lot. Really appreciate this,” Andrews said.

  He hesitated for a second, not sure whether he should put his hand out and offer to shake Recker’s. He didn’t know if the man known as The Silencer would be all that interested in shaking the hand of a police officer. Andrews finally stuck his hand out, nervous about the response, hoping he wouldn’t just get blown off. Recker, after a brief hesitation himself, put his hand out to finish the handshake. Andrews got up to leave, before remembering a few final questions.

  “Oh, uhh, do you have a name or something to call you?” Andrews asked. “Kind of weird just calling you Silencer, you know?”

  Recker wasn’t sure it was in his best interests to reveal any part of his name, but then figured why not? It was an alias, anyway, and even if Andrews decided to run it through his computers, it wouldn’t come back with anything. There was really no harm in him knowing his name.

  “Mike.”

  �
��One final thing,” Andrews said. “How can I reach you or get in touch if I have something else for you or if you find out anything?”

  “I got your number.”

  “You do? How?”

  “Like you said earlier . . . I’ve got my ways.”

  4

  Recker stayed seated as Andrews left the bar. He alerted Haley the detective was on his way out and for him to keep an eye on him. Andrews immediately got in his car and pulled out of the parking lot. As soon as he did, Haley let Recker know.

  “Mike, Andrews is gone.”

  “See anything out there?”

  “No, quiet as it was before.”

  “Did he get on his phone or anything as he walked to the car?” Recker asked.

  “No. Didn’t do anything suspicious. Went right to his car and left right away.”

  “All right, good. Pull around to the back door and pick me up.”

  “You got it. On my way.”

  Recker got up from his table and walked over to the bar. The bartender on duty that night was also the owner of the place.

  “Charlie, you mind if I go out the back?” Recker asked.

  “Yeah, no problem, let me just open it up for you.”

  Two years earlier, Recker saved Charlie from getting robbed. From that night on, Charlie let Recker know if he ever needed anything, to let him know. Recker took him up on that and used his bar a few times for meeting purposes. Charlie was always very grateful for The Silencer in helping and saving him that he never breathed a word about him occasionally showing up. He always felt better, and safer, when Recker stopped by periodically and he was happy to help him out in whatever way he needed. Even if it was just the use of a table for an hour or two.

  “How was your meeting?” Charlie asked, as the two walked to the back door.

  “Went fine, thanks.”

  “Good. Glad to hear it.”

  “Thanks for letting me use your place,” Recker said, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Oh, no problem, champ. Anytime you ever need it, just say the word, you know that.”

  Charlie unlocked the back door and opened it a sliver before closing it quickly.

  “You want me to peek out there just to make sure there’s no shenanigans out there?”

  Recker smiled, appreciating the gesture. “No, I think it’s OK.”

  “Well OK, if you say so.”

  Charlie opened the door again and the two shook hands before Recker walked out. Haley had the SUV parked only a few feet away so Recker hopped in the passenger seat. As the car started to drive away, Charlie gave the pair a wave goodbye, though he didn’t know who the driver was.

  “You know that guy?” Haley asked.

  “Yeah. He owns the bar.”

  “I think he recognized me.”

  “No, you’re good.”

  “You trust him?”

  “Hmm?” Recker asked, staring out the window. “Oh, yeah. He’s fine. I stopped a robbery here last year. He told me if I ever needed to use his place for anything to just say the word.”

  “Oh. Good deal.”

  “Yeah, I’ve used the place a few times. He’s trustworthy. Even if he sees you, he won’t say anything.”

  As they drove back to the office, they talked specifics of the meeting.

  “What’d you think?” Haley asked. “Think he’s on the level?”

  Recker nodded. “Yeah. I think he is.”

  “Still seems weird to me.”

  “Certainly isn’t normal,” Recker said.

  “You think he was holding something else back?”

  “Why? You think so?”

  “I dunno. I guess I’m just having a hard time getting a grasp on this.”

  “I think he’s afraid more bodies are gonna drop before they find out who it is and is just trying to prevent it as much as possible.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  They continued tossing questions back and forth with each other as they discussed the situation, each coming up with some ideas as to what might have been going on. Once they got back to the office, all the lights were still on as Jones was banging away at the computer keyboard. As soon as he heard the two of them enter, he swiveled his chair around to greet them. He looked the two of them over as they walked closer to him.

  “I don’t see any holes,” Jones quipped.

  “They had bad aim,” Recker shot back.

  Jones looked to Haley for the straight story. Though they hadn’t reported running into any trouble, Jones couldn’t always tell when Recker was joking. Even when he was in a gunfight, he sometimes played it off as if it was no big deal. So the times he said he wasn’t, but made a joke referencing it, Jones sometimes looked at him cross-eyed.

  Haley shook his head. “There was no trouble.”

  “Let’s keep this short,” Recker said, grabbing a chair, and sitting. “Mia’s waiting up for me.”

  “Let’s get to the gist of things then, shall we?” Jones asked. “Your thoughts from the meeting?”

  “He seemed like he was legit. I didn’t get any bad vibes or think he was trying to pull the rug out from under me.”

  “What exactly did he want?”

  Recker shrugged. “Seemed like he just wanted help if we could give it.”

  “And that’s all there was to it?”

  “Well, not quite. He did reveal that there have been more than two shootings that they attribute to this shooter.”

  “Oh?” Jones said, looking confused. “I didn’t hear of anything else.”

  “The other two victims weren’t cops. One was a drug dealer and the other was an innocent person who they think may have been a witness to something.”

  “Witness to what?”

  “Don’t know. But the undercover cop, the drug dealer, and the witness, were all shot in the same area. Two on the same street, the other on the next street over.”

  Jones ran his fingers over his mouth, deep in thought. “Now that is interesting, isn’t it?”

  “The police don’t seem to have any leads or suspects,” Recker said. “I think they’re just worried, at least Andrews is, that more bodies are gonna drop soon before they get a beat on whoever it is.”

  “I guess they’re just trying to throw their nets out as wide as possible in hopes of catching something.”

  Recker threw his hands up. “Guess so.”

  “Did he give you any other details, files, anything we can use to start looking into it?”

  “No. What do we need that for? Since when couldn’t we find out whatever we needed on our own?”

  “Good point. I just thought it might be a little quicker,” Jones replied.

  Recker stood, ready to call it a night. “Well, I guess we can get started on it in the morning.”

  “Well at some point tomorrow, anyway.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Have you forgotten we have other things to attend to?” Jones asked. “We’re not here to serve at the whim of the police department. I told you earlier that we were close to working on another case of our own.”

  “Guess we’ll be pulling down double duty.”

  “Is it something that requires both of us?” Haley asked. “Maybe I can take the case and Mike sticks on the police thing?”

  “We’ll discuss it more tomorrow,” Jones said. “As I said, we’ll handle our own business first. As much as I respect the police and don’t wish any harm to come to them, they do have their own investigation capabilities.”

  Recker seemed indifferent. He certainly wasn’t against helping the police out, but understood Jones’ point of view.

  “How bad is this upcoming case?” Recker asked.

  “It looks as though it could be quite severe,” Jones answered.

  “How soon is the threat level?”

  “Could be tomorrow. Possibly the day after. I have not nailed down a definitive time frame yet.”

  “You haven’t nailed it down or they haven’t figured it out yet?
”

  “They have not said specifically yet.”

  “All right. Well, I guess we’ll figure all that out tomorrow.”

  The three men then went their separate ways for the night. Jones stayed up for another hour to work some more, while Recker and Haley went to their respective apartments. Just as she promised, Mia was up and watching TV to pass the time as she waited for Recker to get home. As soon as he did, she rushed over to him and threw her arms around him as they passionately embraced for a minute or two.

  “I take it everything went well tonight?” Mia asked.

  “Just like I told you it would.”

  “I know. I’m sorry for worrying.”

  “It’s fine,” Recker replied with a kiss.

  Mia helped him take his coat off and walked over to the closet to hang it up. As soon as she put it on the hanger, she put her hands inside the pockets to make sure there was nothing in there Recker might need. She pulled out a piece of paper and saw a woman’s name and phone number written on it. Slightly alarmed, though not terribly so, as she was sure he had a good explanation for it, Mia closed the closet door and started walking toward the couch where Recker was now sitting.

  “Would you like to explain what this is?” Mia asked, holding the napkin up in the air between two of her fingers.

  Recker squinted for a second, not sure what it was. He quickly realized what it was and batted his eyes. He was a little mad at himself for not ditching it or giving it to Haley. He had completely forgotten about the woman who gave him her phone number. As she waited for an explanation, Mia put her hands on her hips, giving off a vibe that she was either annoyed, jealous, or both. In reality, she was sure there was a logical reason behind it. She trusted him completely and didn’t give the tiniest thought to him ever cheating on her. But she liked to have a little fun with him sometimes.

  “Oh, that,” Recker said.

  “Yeah, this.”

  “Well, there’s a funny story behind that.”

  Mia made a huge fake smile. “I’ll bet.”

  Recker laughed. “No, really. I was sitting at a table in the bar waiting for my contact to show up and this woman walked up to me and gave it to me.”

  “And you just conveniently put it in your pocket?” Mia asked.

  Recker faked a cough as he cleared his throat. “Well, I was actually going to give it to Chris to see if he wanted to call the girl up or something.”