Captain Mercer was the one who spoke. He was brief and took only a couple questions. At the end it was clear that the police knew nothing of consequence. Yes, this could have been a retaliation for Juno’s death, but it might have been a fight over drugs, a girl, or even a random attack. And no, they had no further information to share concerning the deaths of Juno and Dominick.
Kari arrived at her desk and began to write the story. It sorely lacked details, but so did the police. She could only speculate that there might be a connection to the killing of a gang member from a rival group.
Kari worked over several different drafts and was nearly finished when a shadow fell over her chair. She glanced up to see Dee standing there. Her friend had two cups of coffee and a plate with two donuts.
‘I’m sure last night’s entertainment culminated in a good morning romp, so I know you didn’t have a chance to eat.’
‘I got home early and went to bed … alone.’ Then she reached out and took the cup of coffee. ‘However, I did miss my morning caffeine.’
Dee set down her cup and the saucer, then groaned in melodramatic fashion. ‘Kari, Kari, where did I go wrong?’ She sat down next to her and gave a solemn shake of her head. ‘Haven’t I taught you yet about the fun of having dessert after your meal?’
‘I haven’t seen Jason for several months. And….’ Kari hesitated, ‘well, you know, we have never been completely intimate.’
‘Here I was, thinking Jason was cut in the mold of another James Bond, the quintessential Brit.’
‘Jason informed me that all people within the British Commonwealth are Brits, while he is from England. That makes him English and a Brit.’
‘All right, you’re a Utahan American and he’s an English Brit. You’re avoiding the point.’ She held out her clenched hands like a plea for understanding. ‘Love is universal, kiddo. It doesn’t matter if he’s a Brit, a Yank or a three-legged alien. You’ve got to have some adventure and romance in your life. When do you get to the good stuff?’
‘If it’s meant to be, we’ll get there.’
Dee uttered a noisy sigh of disappointment. ‘I hope you’ll still be young enough to enjoy it.’
‘I’m leaving as soon as I get this approved,’ Kari informed her. ‘Thanks for the coffee, but I’m going to have lunch with Jason in a short while.’
‘Thanks a heap,’ Dee complained. ‘That means I eat double my pastry allotment for the day. Do you have any idea what you’re doing to my calorie intake?’
‘Offer one to Marge,’ Kari suggested with a wry grin. ‘Maybe a show of kinship would get you moved into a corner office.’
Dee snipped haughtily. ‘Thanks for nothing, kiddo. The corner office is the janitor’s closet!’
After a couple hours alone at Reggie’s apartment, Jason decided to take the light rail and meet Kari at the Sentinel office. She had rung him up and said she would be free shortly after noon. As he had plenty of time, he decided to visit the parking garage and look over the scene of the sniper shooting.
A uniform was still in the area, questioning passers-by if they had seen anything on the day of the shooting. Jason talked to him and discovered what little the officer knew.
‘So the police think the shots were to scare her?’ he asked, once he had learned what he could.
‘Both shots hit the passenger side of the windshield,’ the cop replied confidently. ‘If he’d have been trying to kill her, he’d have aimed for the driver’s side of the car.’
‘What time did the shooting occur?’
‘About….’ the cop looked at his watch, ‘thirty minutes from now. The shooting was reported at a quarter to twelve.’
Jason thanked the man and walked over to stand out of the way of the ramp. He watched as several cars left, and studied the building across the way. The shots had been fired from the roof. Kari said she had stopped to check traffic and was squinting because of the bright sunlight. That made sense, as she had just come from a dark garage, but still ….
Considering the area, the distance and angle of the shoot, it was obvious the man behind the rifle was experienced. He had used a .308 caliber weapon, a hunting rifle with the power to knock down either deer or elk. That meant the bullet would not glance off the glass as sometimes happened with a smaller-caliber gun.
The two boys were killed with a 9 millimeter handgun, three deadly kill shots for each victim. This was no amateur shooter. Most gang killings were haphazard with bullets flying everywhere. From what Kari had told him, this was a single shooter and he was very accurate and cool about the executions.
It was certainly possible that the man had purposely fired into the passenger side of the car. Then again, Jason didn’t feel like dismissing the shots as mere scare tactics.
Hampton held up the report. ‘No witnesses to the crime, other than a dark-colored car seen pulling away from Hector’s vehicle. No one got a good look, because they were focused on Hector smashing into the lamppost.’
‘Any traffic cameras up there?’ Grady asked.
‘The one at the intersection wasn’t working. We need to get lucky before this gang thing escalates into a full-scale war.’
‘Speaking of getting lucky,’ Grady remarked with a smirk. ‘Peggy was real cheerful when I passed her in the hallway yesterday.’
Hampton was immediately wary. ‘She’s a very upbeat kind of gal.’
‘Funny, but it’s the first time she ever smiled at me all friendly like.’ At Hampton’s scowl, Grady continued to tease him. ‘You two getting together has done wonders for both of your personalities.’
‘You keep pushing my buttons, Grady,’ Hampton warned, ‘and I’ll tell your wife that you’ve been having desserts for lunch again.’
That sobered his partner. ‘Hey! Don’t be doing something like that. She and I have been taking walks most every evening to stay fit.’
‘Yeah, well, she’ll have a fit if she learns about the apple turnover you ate yesterday and the piece of cake the day before that.’
‘All right, Ham,’ he growled. ‘If you’re going to get nasty about it, I’ll stop badgering you about your girlfriend.’
Hampton guffawed in an annoying manner. ‘I always knew who wore the pants in your family.’
‘Grab your hat, big mouth,’ Grady replied tersely. ‘We’ve got an interview with Jesse Ventura, aka El Hefe of the 39th Street Lobos.’
‘You sure know how to make a guy’s day,’ Hampton complained. ‘We get to talk to the head honchos from the two biggest gangs in town all in the same week. It doesn’t get any better, does it?’
‘Got to stop this feud before it gets out of hand. You want to be lead this time?’
‘He’s your meat, Grady. It’s your turn to be called all of the pig names.’ Hampton grinned. ‘At least, a good many of those will be in Spanish.’
‘Right,’ his partner replied. ‘I can pretend I didn’t take three years of Spanish in school. It always twists their tails a little when we force them to use English insults.’
‘This isn’t what we signed up for!’ Gloria barked at Tony. ‘What does Lincoln think he’s doing – starting a war?’
‘I didn’t know he was going to go after one of the Lobos or shoot anybody else,’ Tony lamented. ‘I swear, the only thing I told him was to scare the reporter and then break into her house and steal whatever he wanted.’
‘Another murder,’ Gloria seethed. ‘This is a nightmare.’
‘It isn’t my fault, Glory honey. I talked to him on the phone this morning and he said he didn’t want a bunch of bangers looking for him for the rest of his life.’
‘What about this second killing?’ she cried. ‘Is he expecting us to pay him more money for something we didn’t ask for?’
‘No,’ Tony promised her. ‘He opened fire at Hector so this would look like a gang retaliation. It was to cover his own butt.’
Gloria pounded a fist into her palm. ‘We’ve created a monster! That man is completely out of contro
l.’
‘It’s over and done with now,’ Tony promised. ‘Once Lincoln ransacks the Underwood place, we’re done with him.’
‘Unless someone starts looking at him for these killings,’ she contradicted. ‘I don’t trust him.’ She pinned Tony with a hard stare, her teeth bared in a sneer. ‘How much did you tell him? What all does he know … about us?’
‘Nothing!’ Tony whimpered. ‘I gave him the money and our instructions. He didn’t hook up the computer or check out the phones, and he didn’t find any photos stashed in the apartment. He only took the cash from Dom’s and Juno’s wallets so this would look like a gang hit or robbery.’
‘At least that part makes sense.’
Tony squeaked like a mouse. ‘This is it … right?’
‘Almost.’ She didn’t hide her anxiety. ‘Soon as he burgles Underwood’s place, we’re finished.’
‘Maybe there is a positive side to this,’ Tony offered. ‘I mean, if the gangs start shooting at one another, it will take the heat off of our problem.’
‘I didn’t want blood on my hands over this! I’d rather have let Don take half of everything I own.’
‘He hasn’t said anything about divorce, has he?’
‘No.’ She uttered a cynical grunt. ‘Don’s only got half a brain. He still thinks we’re both partners in a private world of marital bliss.’
‘Then we don’t have to worry.’
‘We have to worry if those pictures show up!’ she snapped. ‘Plus, we’ve got an entire police force looking for a killer– the very man we hired!’
‘You’ll figure a way to get that taken care of,’ Tony assured her. ‘You’re smarter than the Neanderthals out there beating the pavement. Besides, no one has been able to ID Lincoln. He has not been seen, except at a distance, and the reporter can’t even offer a description of him.’
‘There’s still one major problem, Tony,’ Gloria told him. ‘I didn’t find the photos.’ She dug her nails into her palms. ‘There was nothing on the phones and the laptop was clean, other than for a couple of porn sites. We can be thankful one of those two idiots didn’t post our pictures on the web for the world to see.’
‘So where are the pictures?’
Gloria made a helpless gesture. ‘Who can say? Either they deleted them after I paid the money or they used a storage device like a flash drive. I don’t think they would have given the photos to anyone else.’
‘I’ll bet they destroyed them after they got their money.’
‘Of course,’ Gloria was sarcastic, ‘everyone knows how truthful and honest blackmailers are.’
Tony wrung his hands, his voice whiny again. ‘But …’ he tried to put a positive spin on the situation, ‘but if no one else contacts us about ransom for the pictures…? Well, that would mean we’re in the clear, wouldn’t it?’
Gloria took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had to maintain control. Lincoln was supposedly done causing havoc; there had been no further blackmail threats and the reporter didn’t have a clue as to why someone had shot at her. ‘I suppose we might be safe,’ she finally allowed.
Tony straightened up and a guarded smile spread across his face. He was like a pet again, a big, loveable Labrador. Discipline the dog and it would sorrowfully hang its head. An instant later it would approach its owner meekly again, eyes beseeching, tail wagging, wanting to move past the scolding and get a pat on the head.
Gloria resisted the urge to give this dog a swift kick to the groin for these past major screw-ups. It would have made her feel better. But Tony had a fragile ego. He needed reinforcement to act like a man. He had always gotten that kind of support from his wife. Rather than have him go shuffling back to her, Gloria took the higher road.
‘How about the guns Lincoln used?’
‘I have them both.’ Tony gave her a helpless shrug. ‘Had to pay Lincoln five hundred dollars to get them. Took everything I had from my bank account.’
Another oath under her breath. ‘I hope to heaven we didn’t exchange one blackmailer for another.’
‘I told him we were done,’ Tony said. ‘Lincoln is guilty of three murders and would likely get a death sentence if he gets caught. Plus, I never told him what kind of pictures he was searching for. Without knowing our motive, he can’t point his finger at us. If he did, we could laugh at the absurdity of any accusations.’
‘All right.’ Gloria returned to future business. ‘To sell the notion that this is a gang war, it would help if we could plant the rifle on the Lobos and the pistol he used for Hector on the Hard Corps.’
‘As a Deputy District Attorney in the investigation, I can arrange to be on hand during the execution of any search warrant. Once the police have a few suspects and get a court order or two, I’ll see the weapons are found and traced back to the right people.’
‘Just make sure there are no prints from Lincoln or yourself on the weapons.’
Tony’s facial features tightened noticeably. ‘I started hunting with my father when I was fourteen. I know how to handle a weapon.’
Gloria didn’t apologize. In a dismissive tone, she said, ‘Whatever.’ Then she concluded, ‘The sooner we get this done the better.’
CHAPTER NINE
ONCE KARI WAS finished at work, she and Jason walked to the new City Creek Mall in downtown Salt Lake City. They had a light lunch at the café court and browsed at the numerous shops and water exhibits. To finish off the afternoon they spent an hour on the guided tour of the Utah State Capitol building.
Back at Kari’s apartment, Kari had a surprise for Jason. She set the tea kettle on the stove and then removed a familiar looking package of tea from the cupboard.
‘I did some research online,’ Kari explained. ‘Took me a few telephone calls and I had to drive up to the east side to get it, but I wanted you to feel at home.’
Jason smiled at her effort. ‘PG Tips is the brand of tea I drink most often. This is very thoughtful of you.’
Kari asked, ‘Chinese cuisine all right with you tonight?’
‘Fine. I like almost everything on the menu.’
Kari punched in a number and gave an order. Then she got two coffee cups and placed them on the small dining table.
‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a shower before we eat.’
‘That’s fine. I’ll ring up Reggie and leave a message not to expect me until late.’
The order of fried rice, egg rolls, sesame chicken and chow mein arrived before Kari had finished her shower. Jason, having changed a sizable amount of English currency for American money, paid the delivery person.
He did a brew up with the PG Tips so the tea was ready by the time Kari came into the kitchen. He paused to drink in the subtle beauty of the woman. She had touched up her light makeup and kept her hair dry, although there was a hint of moisture along her bangs. She wore a casual pink blouse, with a modest V-neck, and a pleated white skirt that was about knee length. As was her habit when at her apartment, she wore no shoes.
‘I might have warned you that I have excellent timing when it comes to paying for deliveries,’ she teased.
‘Yes, I would have taken the money from your purse, but I doubted I could get it sorted before the food was cold.’
‘A woman’s purse is her private labyrinth.’ She made an impish face. ‘It’s part of our allure.’
Jason laughed his agreement and she took a seat opposite him at the table. After taking a taste of the tea, she said, ‘Umm, I think I’m developing a taste for this. Two sugars and a dash of cream?’
‘As your taste matures, you’ll likely cut back on the sugar.’
‘Ah, yes,’ she joked. ‘Now that I’ve succumbed to English tea, I’ll soon acquire a more sophisticated taste.’
‘Quite,’ he replied.
They engaged in light conversation while dining. As Kari began to clear the table, Jason took note of a pile of papers on Kari’s desk.
‘It appears you still do a lot of your work at home. W
hat do you have on the murders?’
‘Not a lot.’ She explained everything that had happened concerning the two young men, the shots fired at her car and the death of the gang member from the 39th Street Lobos. She also told him about the strange man she had seen parked near Juno’s and Dom’s rented house. ‘There are no suspects other than the unknown man,’ she finished.
‘But you got nothing out of your interview?’
‘I wrote down what I could remember, but it was all gibberish.’
‘Anything might help.’
Kari removed the notebook from her purse. She flipped the page and found the few notes she had jotted down during and after the meeting. ‘I tried to rewrite the sentences as best I could, but they were full of silly, useless stuff.’
Jason looked at the page, studied it for a moment, shook his head and agreed. ‘It does look like nonsense.’
Once the few dishes were cleaned and put away, Kari put ice and Pepsi into two glasses and placed them on the coffee table next to the loveseat. Jason took a seat, while she switched on some soft background music, lighted a couple scented candles and then turned out the lights.
He raised his arm as she came over and joined him. After a few moments, they shared a kiss and warm embrace. Kari leaned back afterwards and murmured, ‘I imagine this seems rather schoolgirlish, but this is the ritual I use when we talk on the phone. I have candles and music and pretend you’re here with me.’
Jason gazed at her for a long moment, stroked her silken hair, then uttered a despondent sigh.
‘What is it?’ Kari asked, frowning an immediate concern.
‘I don’t know how to explain it.’
She sat up straight and studied him with her rich brown eyes. ‘You can try. I’m not as thick as some.’
He grinned at her English expression. ‘I’m afraid I might be the one who is thick. I want to hold you, kiss you….’ his voice became gentle, ‘do more than that.’
‘But?’ she coaxed.
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