Daylight (Atlee Pine #3)(20)
“Let me see some ID,” said the cop in an edgy tone. “Now.”
He looked at their creds and badges and then handed them back.
“We got a 911 about shots fired and somebody being down. Guy back on the street.”
“That was us,” said Pine.
“Who’s the dead guy on the street back there?”
Puller said, “An Army CID agent named Ed McElroy.”
“Why the hell would a kid be targeting an Army CID guy?” asked the cop.
“Wish I had the answer to that,” replied Puller grimly. “But I plan to find one.”
CHAPTER
12
WELL, THANK GOD YOU WEREN’T HURT,” said Carol Blum.
She was sitting in Pine’s room and had just finished listening to her account of the evening’s adventures.
Pine had taken off her jacket and flung it on her bed. She was sitting next to it, her gaze downcast. “But two people did die tonight, one of them an Army cop. And the other was what looked to be a sixteen-year-old kid.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call him a kid if he had a gun and shot someone intentionally. But why would he target McElroy?”
“Or was he actually aiming at me or Puller? Right before he was shot, McElroy stepped forward in front of us.”
“I suppose that could be possible. You are investigating a case that might make some people nervous. And the shooter might be connected to Tony Vincenzo and his drug ring.”
“The kid was scared, Carol. And something just felt off about the whole thing.”
“I suppose the local cops are handling the situation?”
“Yes, but Puller’s involved, too, because the victim was one of his agents.”
“What did Blake say to you?”
“That he was in deep shit. That no one would believe him.”
“Believe what?”
“He never got a chance to tell me.” She shook her head. “But there was something, something in his features. I don’t know. It just didn’t fit with the situation. It was like he had no idea why he was even there or how to even hold a gun.”
“What do you plan to do about it?”
“Blake probably has family around here somewhere. Maybe we can talk to them.”
“But I’m sure the locals will be doing that. Won’t you be encroaching on their investigation?”
“Probably,” conceded Pine.
“And I can’t see how what took place tonight is connected to our search for what happened to your sister.”
“I can’t see that it is, either,” admitted Pine, gazing determinedly at her.
“But I also know that look,” said Blum.
“That kid died violently right in front of me, Carol. I know stuff like that happens every day pretty much all over this country. And it’s not the first time it’s happened to me. But again, something just feels off and I’d like to know why.”
“But you let a series of murders in Andersonville interfere with your search for your sister.”
“And I helped solve them and at the same time learned a helluva lot about what happened to her. I can multitask, Carol. You should know that better than anyone.”
“But still.”
“Carol, the only reason I’m an FBI agent is because I want to see people who destroy other people’s lives brought to justice and pay for what they did. I want the families of their victims to have closure. I want . . . ” Pine’s voice trailed off, and she slumped over and stared at the floor.
Blum said gently, “You mean you want for others what you never got for yourself?”
Pine let out a long breath and said, “I can’t let this go. I can’t.”
“Well, as you said, we can find out who his family is and go ask questions.”
“Dobbs would have a stroke if he knew I was getting involved in another murder case. He wants me back ASAP.”
“Well, Clint Dobbs will just have to wait.”
“I don’t like putting you in situations like this, Carol. You work at the Bureau, too.”
“I chose to come on this . . . mission with you. I put myself into every situation we’ve faced so far. And I’m fully prepared to continue doing so.”
“You’re going way above and beyond the call of duty.”
“You’re not just my boss. You’re my friend, Agent Pine.”
“I wish you’d just call me Atlee.”
“I’ve been at the Bureau too long. Protocols like that are hammered into me. How will you go about finding any relatives of Jerome Blake?”
“Well, I can call Superman.”
“Superman?”
“John Puller. Didn’t I tell you? He’s able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.”
CHAPTER
13
THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON THEY set out to visit Jerome Blake’s mother. She lived in an old part of Trenton that was being gentrified. They saw this in numerous homes being remodeled and expensive late-model cars parked in the driveways of some of the newly renovated homes.
“It’s good to see old neighborhoods getting new life,” said Blum. “But the downside is the people who’ve lived here a long time get pushed out because their taxes go up. Or the home prices get out of control and a working-class family can’t afford to buy.”