Zero Day (John Puller, #1)(20)

“I can see that. I’ll let you know if I need a hand.”

“You lose many of your guys over in the Middle East?”

“Even one was too many,” replied Puller.

CHAPTER

13


PULLER HAD SKETCHED preliminary drawings of the main floor and the basement. He had put together his loose-leaf notebook with his name, rank, and the date, weather, and lighting conditions on each page, as well as compass north designated. Measurements had been done to all relevant landmarks and other objects in the rooms.

Cole, who was watching him finish the drawing, asked, “Army taught you that?”

“Army taught me a lot of things.”

“Why do you think they came back, Puller?”

“To get something. Or leave something. I just don’t know which one.”

Cole let out a long breath filled with frustration. “Never thought that could happen. Coming back and killing the cop guarding the crime scene.”

He put the sketchpad aside and drew from his rucksack a 35-millimeter camera, tripod, flash, and flash extension cord. He also stuck a device that looked like a flashlight into a holder on his belt.

“My guy already took pictures,” Cole said.

“I like to take my own. Procedures we have to follow, like I said.”

“Okay. But he’s good and you’re welcome to what we have.”

“I appreciate that. Where is he, by the way? Shouldn’t have taken him that long to scrub the car.”

Cole went to the window. “Speak of the devil,” she said.

“Landry Monroe,” said Puller.

“How’d you know?”

“Saw his name on the log.”

“We call him Lan.”

“Tell me about him.”

“Twenty-four years old. WVU grad. Criminal Justice. Certified in CS processing. Been with the department for two years.”

“Where’d he get his certification?”

“State runs a program.”

“Okay.”

“It’s a damn good program, Puller.”

“Didn’t say it wasn’t.”

“I could tell by the look on your face.”

“What’s your goal here?”

“What?”

“Your goal.”

“To catch whoever did this,” she said grimly.

“Mine too. And if we work together and follow each of our protocols the odds are a lot better that we’ll find the people responsible.”

They stared at each other for an uncomfortably long few moments.

Cole turned, went to the door, and called out to the man, who had his head buried in his car’s trunk. “Lan, get your stuff and get in here. Got somebody who’s really looking forward to working with you.”

She turned back to Puller and pointed a finger at him. “Let’s get one thing straight. He’s a kid. You can rough him up some, show him stuff that’ll make him better, but you are not to crush his confidence. You’ll be leaving West Virginia after this, but not me. I have to work with him and he’s all I’ve got. Understood?”

Puller nodded. “Understood.”

Lan Monroe came in about thirty seconds later juggling bags and knapsacks. He was black and wearing green scrubs. He stopped at the front door and dropped his gear to put on booties and latex gloves. He signed the on-site log held by one of the officers on perimeter security and stepped inside.

Monroe was not much taller than Cole, with narrow shoulders and the bulk of his weight carried in his gut, hips, and butt. His legs were thick and short. His head was shaven and he wore wire-rimmed glasses that had slid halfway down his nose.

Cole said, “Lan, meet CID special agent John Puller.”

Monroe smiled and looked up at Puller, who was nearly a foot taller than he was. He put out his hand. They shook.

“Nice to meet you, Special Agent Puller.”

“Just make it Puller.” He glanced at the bags. “Your equipment?”

“Yep.”

Cole said, “Did you do Larry’s car?”

Monroe nodded. “The prelim didn’t turn up anything. There was no blood in the vehicle. I had it towed back to the station. I’ll do a more thorough scrub there.”

Puller said, “Sergeant Cole said you’d taken pictures. Can I see them?”

“That’s a big ten-four, good buddy.”

Monroe dug into one of his bags while Puller glanced over at Cole with hiked eyebrows. She shrugged and attempted a smile.

Monroe got his camera out, powered it up, and showed the range of pictures on the flip-out viewfinder.

“Thirty-five mil SLR?” said Puller.

“Yep. That’s what they had us use at school. Now, I did three shots of everything, one in relation to nearby objects, one with ruler, and one close-up without.”

“Good. What aperture setting did you use?”

Cole shot Puller a hard glance. He ignored it.

Monroe remained oblivious to these exchanges. He said, “F/16 with everything three feet or more away, f/28 for the close-ups.”

Puller nodded approvingly. “What were your angles of photography?”

“I did everything from eye level.”

“Did you do a three-sixty overlap?”