Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Then what’s this about?” Sam demanded.
I patted his thigh, because sometimes he got grouchy when other people didn’t just get to the point. But I liked backstory and explanation, as did most people. Sam was one of the only people I knew who preferred bullet points in all things.
Salazar took a breath. “The Colima cartel put a hit out on your daughter.”
I gasped, and Sam threw an arm around my shoulders and leaned me close, wrapping me in his arms. “When?”
“We became aware of it two weeks ago,” O’Meara explained.
“And you’re just telling me this now?” Sam asked, his voice icy.
Mabe grimaced. “Our new boss, Gregory Ayers, he felt that we had a chance to apprehend the shooters and gather good intel on the cartel.”
“I see,” Sam said flatly, letting me go and leaning forward to pick up his cell phone from the coffee table. “So Lieutenant Ayers, the new head of Narcotics, made the decision to use my daughter as bait.”
There was a knock on the door then.
“That’s my partner, Mekia Hall,” O’Meara rushed out. “She was meeting me here.”
I got up and went to the door, opening it for the beautiful woman waiting outside. “Good evening, Detective,” I greeted her. “You changed your hair since I saw you last.”
“Yes, I have,” she agreed, her hair now cut close to her scalp. “I’m surprised you remember me.”
“You and Detective O’Meara were both so kind and concerned about Ruby that night.”
She nodded. “That’s right. Ruby Bishop and her father, Theodore, wasn’t it?”
“You have an excellent memory,” I assured her. “With all the cases you must have, that’s impressive.”
“Well, hard to forget a three-year-old in a pink bunny suit that the chief deputy found running around in the street.”
I nodded.
“Do you know how the little girl and her father are doing now?” she asked, walking into my house and waiting while I closed the door.
“They’re good,” I told her. “Ted, Mr. Bishop, moved back to Tulsa with Ruby to be closer to his family.”
She grunted, the judgement clear in the noise. “I suspect that was the best choice for the little girl. He was the better parent, so I’m sure his parents would make better grandparents for that sweet child.”
“Without question,” I agreed, walking to my kitchen table and grabbing another chair. “Would you like anything to drink?”
“No, Mr. Harcourt, I’m good,” she said, following me to the living room. I put the chair down at the end of the couch near O’Meara, and he immediately passed her a small piece of paper folded in half, which she opened and read.
Retaking my seat beside Sam, I saw that he put his phone face down on the coffee table and looked at O’Meara.
“Your partner is here, so explain.”
Hall took a breath, and Sam turned his gaze on her. “Lieutenant Ayers made the call to have your daughter placed under surveillance. Detective O’Meara and I spoke to our acting boss at the Fourth, James Kidd, and he contacted Stafford, your liaison at the DEA.”
Sam nodded and stood up. “So first I’m going to call the police commissioner and have Ayers fired, and then I’m going to remove Kidd and send my guys to murder Stafford.”
“Sir––”
“Are you kidding me?” he roared. “The marshals service will take over this––”
Hall stood up, the only one with the balls to face Sam. “Sir, your daughter is not in any danger, as we can report that all three men sent here to kill her, are dead.”
Sam jolted, staring at her.
I was stunned.
“Would you sit?” Hall asked him.
Taking a seat beside me, Sam reached for my hand, and I took his immediately.
Hall cleared her throat before retaking her seat as well. “They were discovered this morning in a hotel near the Magnificent Mile.”
“Oh,” I said with a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good news.”
O’Meara scowled at me. “No, sir, that is not good news. We had a whole task force with eyes on them, but before we could take any of them into custody, they were killed.”
“How?” Sam asked.
“We can only surmise it was a sniper. There were three different bullet holes in the window that faced the Water Tower, and all three men were killed by a single bullet to the head.”
“Huh,” I said, but no one was paying any attention to me. All four detectives were looking at Sam.
“Their room,” Salazar said, “was on the twenty-seventh floor.”
Sam nodded. “They were killed by a very well-trained sniper is what you’re saying.”
“Yes,” Hall agreed.
“And what are your thoughts?” Sam asked, sounding so much calmer than he had been just minutes before. But that made sense. He was no longer in fear for his daughter’s life. At least for right now. I was certain he would check, as soon as we were alone, and find out if there would be others sent. I didn’t know anything about the inner workings of a cartel that I hadn’t learned from TV or the movies, so I didn’t know if more men would be sent or not.