Bang Switch

by Jamie Lee Scott

  “Because I think a cop killed Geo.”

  That statement sucked the air out of the room.

  “Why?” Kate didn’t have enough energy for more than the one word. It brought all of her fears and convictions to the forefront. She thought she’d been set up to be attacked by Payaso. Now she felt she had a kinship with Abby.

  “Earlier in the day, two cops came by. Your name was actually mentioned. They wanted to thank him for saving your life. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I already knew about Geo. I needed to be sure you’re for real. And if you’re a dirty cop, then just shoot me now and be done with it.”

  Kate raised both hands in surrender. “I promise, I’m one of the good guys. Now I’m going to share something with you that I haven’t said outside therapy. I think the ambush was a set up. I think Silva knew where I was because he was told by someone in the department. I’ve narrowed it to two people, but I can’t tell you more than that.”

  Abby sucked in a breath. “I was right. I knew it.”

  “Please tell me your reasoning,” Kate said.

  “Well, the officers who spoke with Geo came in and had a chat. I didn’t see them; I just heard the conversation. You see, I was standing at the top of the stairs. Geo told me to stay upstairs, in case something went terribly wrong. So I did. I’m pretty sure those men thought Geo was home alone. My car was in the garage, where it always is unless I’m going somewhere. Geo’s Range Rover blocked the entire driveway, because he was a terrible driver and I’d rather him park in the middle than take down my neighbor’s fence.”

  “Did the police specifically ask if he was alone?” Kate was pretty sure this was Zane and Jake, so she wasn’t worried about them.

  “I don’t remember. But they didn’t bother me. It’s what happened next.” Abby paused.

  “I’m listening,” Kate said, waiting for the revelation to come.

  “Several hours later, there was another knock at the door. Geo didn’t tell me to stay upstairs this time, but I had no reason to go downstairs. Like I said, I’d taken the morning off and was behind on work. But Geo seemed to know the person who was at the door. I don’t remember his exact words, but he said something like, ‘I guess you have more questions for me, huh?’”

  “Did you hear the other person speak?” Kate asked.

  “No, that’s just it. Not a word, and then I heard the heavy thump. Not another word. And I never heard the front door shut. I tell you, I knew right then that Geo was dead. I heard a weird sound, like a muffled gunshot, only weird, then the thump on the floor. My heart beat so loud in my ears, I almost didn’t hear the footsteps coming up the stairs.”

  “Whoever shot Geo came in the house?” Kate couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “Yes, and he didn’t care to be quiet, so I knew he was going to kill whoever he found in the house. I quickly slipped off my shoes and pushed them under the bed. My office is in a spare room. Then I pressed the button to turn off my desktop screen.” She stopped to collect herself, her voice shaking. “In the closet is the ladder to the attic. I tried to be as quiet as I could, but he was too busy whistling to have heard anyway. I pulled the ladder down, climbed the stairs and pulled the ladder back up.”

  “What was the tune the man was whistling?” Kate asked.

  “You’re not going to believe this, but it was the theme to The Andy Griffith Show. Would a gang member be whistling that tune?”

  Kate shook her head, then picked up her tea and took a long sip. Her throat had gone dry, and she needed something to keep from coughing.

  “So, I waited. But he never opened any doors that I could hear, and then the whistling faded. I stood by the dormer window, looking for a familiar car, waiting for this man to walk out the front door, so I could see him. But I stayed off to the side in case he looked back, but he never did.” Now Abby picked up her glass and drank. “You’re the only person who knows this.”

  Kate couldn’t believe Abby hadn’t told the police the truth. “Your story is safe for now. But when we catch this guy, will you be willing to tell your story again?”

  “I don’t think I can, to be honest. This guy was ruthless, and he moved around my house like he didn’t have a care in the world. Teflon, you know?”

  Kate asked, hoping beyond hope for an affirmative answer, “Did you ever see his face?”

  Abby shook her head. “I never saw a car drive by the house, either. But he wore gray sweatpants, like a jogger, and a matching gray hoodie. The thing that stood out was that he wore boots. Who wears boots with sweats?”

  “Cowboy boots?” Kate tried to picture the man.

  “No, like polished work boots. Sorta like what you see on soldiers.”

  “Like a cop might wear?”

  Abby showed her a photo. “And then I found this a few days later.”

  Chapter 19

  Before Kate left Abby’s house, she told her, “Stay afraid. Here’s my card. You call me if anything seems strange. And if anyone knocks at your door, and you don’t know them, don’t answer. If you do recognize them, and it’s a cop, still don’t answer. Call me. Understand?”

  Kate felt Abby trembling as she took the card. “Okay. I hoped I’d feel better after telling you, but now I’m more scared than ever.”

  “I’m sorry, but I need you to be scared. Do not say anything to anyone. You were right to lie to the cops and say you’d just gotten home. That was smart. I promise, I’ll keep your number in my phone and keep you posted.”

  As she drove away from Abby’s lovely neighborhood, she didn’t notice a single house. Instead, she watched cars, looking for anything out of place, anyone who might be following her. If Moore was connected to any of this, he’d be the person who knew she was back. She hoped he’d keep his word and not tell anyone.

  As if on autopilot, Kate felt as if her car had driven itself to Code 7. She needed to talk to a cop, and she couldn’t talk to any of the ones she worked with. She knew there was a chance she’d run into Zane, but that was a chance she had to take. Pops was Zane’s dad, and he’d always welcomed Kate with open arms, even now. So he’d be the person she could safely talk to.

  As she pulled into the parking lot, the place had already started to fill up. She hoped he’d have time for her.

  Opening the front door, Kate was reminded of how the bar made her think of the Showtime series Shameless. The dark paneled walls, dark wood tables and chairs to her left, with high stained-glass windows so no one could look inside, and yet, the room got a little sunlight, so the drunks would know when the sun had gone down. Not that they cared. On the right, the length of the wall was the bar. Polished wood and high-back bar stools, a beer tap with six kinds of beer, and a wall full of hard liquor on shelves in front of a wall-sized mirror.

  “Do my eyes deceive me?” Pops, whose real name was Wyatt Gwilly, said from the far corner of the bar.

  Somebody broke a game at the pool tables and Kate jumped at the sound of the balls crashing into each other. Then she smiled. “Hey, Pops. Long time, no see.”

  He set down the glass he’d been polishing and picked up another. Pops wasn’t a hugger, and she was glad of it. She walked to the far end of the bar and sat on the last stool.

  Pops sat the glass in his hand down and said, “What will you have?”

  “Maker’s, neat, please,” she said.

  “You driving?” he asked.

  “Not after I drink a few of these,” she said as she watched him pour the amber liquid into her rocks glass.

  “Just tell me when, and I’ll get you a ride,” he said.

  Kate lifted her glass in a mock cheers movement, then sipped the whisky. Ah, she couldn’t remember when a drink had tasted so good. “It’s been awhile.”

  Pops picked up another glass. “It has. Have you talked to Zane lately?”

  Kate shook her head. “He’s next on my list.”

  Pointing at her glass, Pops said, “Is that what this is for?”

  She shook her h
ead again. “As a matter of fact, no. It’s so I can get up the courage to ask you to listen to a very long tale.”

  “What sort of tale?” he asked, putting the glass down and tossing the bar towel over his shoulder.

  “A cop’s tale.” Kate drank down her whisky and put the glass on the bar. “Hit me again.”

  “How about you tell me a tale while you drink a glass of water, then I’ll hit you again.” Pops scooped ice from the bin into the glass he’d just polished, pressed the water button on the soda gun and filled the glass.

  Kate cringed when he placed it on the cocktail napkin on the bar. “You drive a hard bargain.”

  “It’s the least I can do for my favorite ex-daughter-in-law,” he said.

  Kate took a minute to look around the bar, stopping to see what news stories were on the TVs, and who was playing pool. Then she put her elbows on the bar and leaned forward. “This has to stay between us, okay?”

  He nodded.

  Then Kate told him everything. She started with the drug house on M Street, the informant, getting jumped, the hospital, Geo’s murder, and ended with the story Abby had just told her. She knew the story was safe with Pops. And she needed a non-partisan ear.

  “Anything stand out at you?” she asked.

  “A lot. Where do you want me to start?” he said.

  “Start with who you think could have done what they did to me,” Kate said, already feeling the warmth of the whisky in her veins. She drank the water to cool off a bit. The whisky had taken the edge off faster than she’d expected.

  “Someone who cares more about what they have to lose than anyone or anything else. They would probably put their own family in jeopardy if need be, because it’s all about him. And I say him, because of the story Abby told you.”

  “And the whistling. I tried to think who likes to whistle at the station, and I can’t come up with a single cop.” She had her elbow on the bar, and rested her chin on her fist. “Got any ideas?”

  “This is what I think: you were jumped to keep you from getting any information you needed about your murders. Someone wanted you stopped. You were getting too close. Maybe the thing with the gang guy, what was his name?”

  “Silva, they call him Payaso, for the Clown.” It bit into Kate’s gut to say his gang name aloud.

  “The Clown, seriously?” He choked back a laugh.

  “Not like a children’s party clown. More like IT.”

  “Stephen King’s IT?”

  “Yeah, I guess. But just not a good and funny clown. Maybe like that guy on American Horror Story,” she said.

  “Oh yeah, what season was that?” He frowned as if trying to remember. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I think that guy got carried away. Maybe he was supposed to rough you up, scare you.”

  Kate moved her head slowly from side to side in an exaggerated way. “Nope. He was supposed to kill me, I know it. But he wanted a piece of me first. That was his cocky mistake. And if Geo and I hadn’t killed him, he’d be dead anyway. It was going to be his last hurrah, he just didn’t realize it.”

  Pops frowned, thinking it over. “Didn’t that clown kill everyone involved with the M Street house?”

  “No, he didn’t kill Kim Vega. She died of an overdose the day she got out of jail. I guess the time in the clink made her inject too much heroin.”

  “And you don’t think that’s related?”

  Kate hadn’t even considered it until now. In all the time she had to think about it, she never connected the dots. She was slipping. Or maybe it was that she expected the chick would die soon anyway.

  “You got me. So I lived, what next? No one tried to kill me in the hospital.” Until now, she hadn’t even considered it could happen.

  “As long as you don’t remember anything, you’re golden. Not a liability. The moment you say you know something, you’re a target again.”

  The lightbulb flashed in Kate’s brain. “Yes, I need to be the target again. Lure this prick out.”

  Pops reached across the bar and grabbed Kate’s hand. “No, that’s not what I was getting at.”

  “But I need to do it. I need to get this asshole, um, jerk…”

  “Dollar in the swear jar,” Pops said. “No, make that two dollars for the P word you used.”

  “Sorry.” Kate stood from the bar and dug around in her pocket. “Will you take a debit card?” She handed him the card. “No one carries cash anymore.”

  Pops shook his head. “Next time.”

  Kate put the debit card back into her pocket and sat back on the bar stool. “Like I was saying, I need to bring him out.”

  “Kate, this is a dangerous game. It’s not worth getting killed over.”

  “But he killed the guy who saved my life. I owe Geo that much. And what about his aunt? She’s living in fear.” Kate heard the whining in her voice and hated herself for it.

  “Abby can move. Didn’t you say she works from home? She can put her house on the market, saying she can’t live where her nephew was gunned down by a Mexican cartel gang member and get the heck out of Peculiar.”

  “She’s lived there her entire adult life. She shouldn’t have to move,” Kate reasoned.

  “I know, but life isn’t fair. I mean, look at you and Zane.”

  Kate put her hand up. “No, we aren’t going there.”

  Chapter 20

  Opening the back door leading to the kitchen, he could hear the voices in the bar, and the clink of glasses. He knew his pops was polishing the glasses that he’d taken out of the commercial dishwasher, putting them in the racks above the bar. It was his daily routine. He’d turn on local news stations, Fox News, some crazy reality show, or Judge Judy, and watch while he polished glassware with a wet rag. No spots on the glasses at Code 7.

  He’d seen Kate’s car in the lot and hesitated, not knowing if he was ready to see her again or not. He knew he wanted to see her, but wasn’t sure how to react. There was so much anger and hurt from being shut out. He had so many questions, and knew better than to ask them, because she’d run again. Not that she ran to begin with; she slowly walked away, but she did walk. And then his lieutenant, knowing she’d returned before he did. Fuck Bryce; he was supposed to keep Zane informed.

  Then again, Bryce had just called to tell him they’d found Taser marks on Sousa’s body. That was something to redeem him. Taser meant there was a good chance a cop had something to do with Sousa’s murder. And it was a murder, not an overdose. That was something he’d been assured of, too. The needle had been in the wrong arm. So many signs. He wanted to talk to his dad, get his take on things. And he wondered how much of what Rex had told him was the truth. There was a real possibility Rex killed Sousa.

  Waiting, listening, okay, eavesdropping on the conversation, he hoped beyond hope that he’d learn something about what had happened while Kate was gone, and why she’d cut all contact. But it was small talk. Zane smiled when he heard her ask about Wally. Had he learned any new tricks? He wanted to walk in on them, but would it look like he’d been listening in?

  How long had he been standing there when the voices went silent, and he heard the TV turned really loud? Listening from the kitchen, he moved to the door, so he could see the large flat screen TV his dad watched.

  Damn if the chief wasn't getting his fifteen minutes of fame out of this one. But it was the words that came out of his mouth next that caught Zane off guard.

  “I know you are looking for information about our slain police officer, Chad Sousa, and there will be more to come, I assure you. But I’m here to announce that future updates won’t be coming from me. In the future, the updates will be coming from Captain Ollie Francois.”

  At that moment, Captain Francois stepped forward. In full dress uniform, he looked ready to address the media with any further questions, but Rambone wasn’t quite finished.

  “Due to unforeseen personal circumstances, I’ll be taking an extended leave of absence. Assistant Chief Tia Dixon will be stepping in durin
g the interim until I can return. This is a personal matter, so I will not be discussing details. I’m sorry to leave during such a pressing investigation, but rest assured, Assistant Chief Dixon is fully capable. Dixon isn’t here to speak with us today due to a court hearing, but she’s fully apprised of the situation, and will work closely with Captain Francois on the Sousa case.”

  Zane stopped breathing.

  He heard Kate say, “That coward.”

  Pops said, “Kate.”

  Zane picked that moment to make an entrance. “Well, that was a hell of a speech.”

  Pops turned the volume back down, not caring what Francois had to say.

  “Son, look who decided to grace us with her presence.”

  Zane knew his grin looked like a Cheshire cat, but he couldn’t help himself. She looked really good.

  Kate stood and came around the bar. “Zane.” She hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek.

  He hugged her back, not wanting to let go. He did though, fearing if he hugged too long, she’d disappear. “Good to know you’re still alive.” He smiled wide to let her know he wasn’t being an asshole.

  “Sorry. I know I have a lot of explaining to do.” She stood close and looked at Zane. “I was just here to chat with my ex-father-in-law. He always makes me feel better. And I owed him an apology for staying away so long and for not inviting him to the house.”

  He looked at her, too. She looked good. Her hair looked like it had grown some, and she had it in a top knot. It was her “go to” fashion statement, fingers for a comb, and a thick elastic band. Her brown bangs were a little long and nearly covered her eyes. She looked tanned, and maybe a few more freckles.

  “You been getting some sun?”

  “I’ve been working at a fucking horse barn cleaning up horse shit, can you believe it? Part of my recovery.” She glanced at Zane’s dad.

  “Kate.” He hated swearing, hence the swear jar.

  “Twenty-five years, old man, twenty-five years, and you get after me for saying shit.”