All He Has Left(12)
He turned around to peer back toward the dock on the other side of the water. It didn’t look like any police officers were still there searching for him. He pulled himself clear of the water, feeling completely exhausted. He’d done it. He’d managed to get away. But now what? His whole body was shaking. He needed to get into dry clothes before he got hypothermia. And then he had to find and rescue Piper.
SEVEN
Dani Nolan got the call from her boss while standing in the backyard of her two-bedroom condo in her flannel pajamas, waiting for her dog, Bailey, to finally take a crap. Her golden retriever could sometimes take forever. She had to first sniff every square inch of grass. Dani was extra frustrated tonight because of the crisp chill in the air. Looking at her phone, Dani sighed, wondering if this call was going to be personal or FBI related. She really didn’t have the energy for either at the moment. She just wanted to crawl up in her bed with Bailey and find something mindless to binge on Netflix until she fell asleep. It had already been a long week. She was looking forward to a much-needed day off tomorrow.
“Hey, Simon,” she answered.
“Dani, we got a problem.”
“We have lots of problems. That’s why we’re on a break, remember?”
“I’m not talking about you and me for once.”
“What is it?”
“Someone in our office was shot dead a few minutes ago.”
“Damn. Who?”
“Caitlin Kingston. Have you met her? She just started doing analytics work over in Martin’s department. Young gal—straight out of school.”
Dani repeated the name. “I don’t think so. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I need you to go find out.”
“Seriously? I’m in my pajamas already.”
“The sexy red silky ones?”
“Simon . . .”
“Look, I don’t want to send Mason over there for this.”
“Why? He’s actually on duty.”
“Apparently, the girl’s grandfather is kind of a big deal. I want to make sure we handle this right from the beginning. I don’t need any extra headaches right now. I trust you way more than I trust Mason.”
“If this is your way of winning me back, it’s a lousy strategy.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. But I need you there ASAP.”
“Fine. Text me the address.”
Fifteen minutes later, Dani drove her black Mazda SUV down a narrow street already packed with police and emergency vehicles. She’d pulled her brown hair into a ponytail and put on a black ball cap because her hair was still wet from her shower earlier. After parking and getting out, she tugged on her standard dark-blue jacket with FBI emblazoned in yellow on the back. She’d been trying to place the girl in the office who’d been killed tonight but was having difficulty. Dani was still new herself, having moved from DC only six months ago to join the local FBI unit. She’d never expected to come back home to Austin. DC was the center of the FBI world. She’d already put in thirteen good years there, working her way up the special agent ranks. But her father had grown ill over the past year, and she didn’t trust her kid brother to provide the kind of care he needed in his last days. Even at thirty-five, her brother was still a goof-off and could never seem to keep a job longer than a few months. He’d rather sit around his dumpy apartment and play video games all day.
Snaking through all the police vehicles, Dani finally stepped up in front of a white two-story modern house with police officers, medical professionals, and what was probably family all standing outside. A young uniformed officer was already making eyes at her while leaning against his car, doing nothing useful. She’d stopped being shocked a long time ago at how some guys were willing to flirt with her at crime scenes. As if they were all just hanging out at a sports bar.
“Who’s in charge?” she asked the officer.
The guy nodded down the sidewalk. “Detective Kramer.”
She spotted a fiftysomething man with a thick mustache in a brown sport coat talking on his cell phone and then made her way over to him. Noticing her walking up, he tilted his head with a wrinkled brow. He took another few seconds to finish his call, hung up, then glanced at the logo on her jacket.
“FBI?” he said.
“Special Agent Dani Nolan.”
“Detective Roger Kramer.”
“Victim worked in our office.”
“Right. I was told that. Well, welcome.”
“What can you tell me?”
“We got a 911 call around eight reporting a disturbance, possible gunshot, and a man spotted running away from the residence. We got here shortly thereafter and found the victim on the kitchen floor. Gunshot to the stomach. One of our officers said she was unresponsive. Minutes later, a man shows back up to the house, covered in blood, claiming to be a relative. Said he walked in on the shooting and tried to chase someone up the street.”
“You believe him?”
“At first, yeah. Some question marks, especially from the family of the victim. But he seemed somewhat credible. I mean, not sure why he’d come back to the crime scene if he actually shot the girl.”
“You said at first. Something change your mind?”
“Well, the guy hauled ass on us a few minutes ago.”