Wild Fire (Chaos #6.5)(54)

The more Eddie said about how the Stephenses had looked after that woman, the more Dutch thought he was going to be sick.

“Instead,” Eddie continued, “she shares she was having one helluva tiff with her boyfriend who’d found out she was sleepin’ with some other guy. Stephens shows when this guy is in the throes of bein’ seriously fuckin’ pissed his piece is steppin’ out on him, so much so, he’s jackin’ her up and brandishing a weapon. Since he is, as she put it, ‘not himself,’ he lost it when Stephens arrives. So Stephens takes a bullet.”

“Holy shit,” Dutch whispered.

“Yeah.” Eddie did not whisper.

Georgie pressed closer.

He gave her his eyes.

When he did, she read them and hers got big.

“She gave us a name,” Eddie carried on. “And incidentally, Hank and me are close when this is goin’ down, but Hank’s on the phone with Lee, talkin’ about Lee and Indy lookin’ after his and Roxie’s kids so Roxie and him can hit Breckenridge to do some skiing, ’cause they got whacked with a huge early snowfall last night, and they’re feelin’ some slope time and then some alone time. I overhear Browbridge. Hank overhears her. Lee has already filled both of us in that he and his boys are on the job and they know where Carlyle Stephens is and what he saw. The detectives get a name. Unsurprisingly there’s a mugshot. Hank texts that to Tack, and a judge is called out of his bed early on a Saturday morning for a warrant.”

His heart racing, Dutch curled his hand around the back of Georgie’s neck and brought her closer.

Eddie kept talking.

“Browbridge is now a font of information and can share where he is. And as such, James ‘Jimmy D’ Dooenck was picked up five minutes before I phoned you. He’s been charged with murder. And as cooperative as she was, the minute the man was cuffed, she was charged with false reporting and accessory.”

“Fucking A,” Dutch pushed out.

“Chaos strikes again,” Eddie said.

When he did, Dutch stared unseeing at Georgie.

“Now, as a cop, there is no way in fuck I’d advise a citizen to charge into an uncertain situation. As a man, and the man I am, I get it, and so does every cop I know. And I’ll tell you what, this case has been stickin’ in all of our throats. So you got our gratitude. And the officers on this case are gonna push hard neither of them get a deal. No matter that woman finally did the right thing, she’s been lying for three months. And no matter what else they’re involved in, and I suspect you know what I’m talkin’ about with that too. But I’m gonna warn you, and I’ll do it advising you warn Carlyle Stephens and his family, if they got good shit to stop bad shit floating around the streets of Denver, they’ll probably both swing deals.”

“Right,” Dutch grunted.

“Good work, Dutch,” Eddie said.

“Yeah.”

“Later, man.”

“Later.”

Eddie disconnected.

Dutch dropped his phone hand.

“What?” Georgie asked.

“Jessica came clean. They picked up Khalon’s killer this morning.”

“What?” she cried, bouncing up to her knees, a smile spreading on her face.

Seeing that, he started grinning.

“How did that happen so fast?” she asked.

“I don’t know. But I suspect it’s about something Vance said to me.”

“What’s that?”

“Vance said people like this, the shit they’re tied up in, don’t like mess or distractions. She made a mess. Chaos picked up Bronson and he probably reported that to his superiors. It’s been a while since we’ve been in the game, but we’ve proved, repeatedly, we get the job done and we don’t fuck around. Eddie said she came in and she was tweaked. So my guess, they served her up to serve up the killer, and in the meantime, they probably packed up that warehouse and are currently setting up in Pueblo or something.”

“Well, whatever, has Carlyle confirmed this is the guy?”

Dutch nodded.

She threw herself at him to give him a hug.

He lifted and rolled as he returned it but did it so he ended it with him on her and Georgie on her back.

“This is amazing, Dutch,” she said, beaming up at him.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Does Carlyle know?”

She asked that as his phone rang.

Since it was still in his hand which was at the end of his arm that was around her, he pulled his arm from under her and looked at it.

It said Tack Calling.

“I’m about to find out.”

He kissed her quick and took the call.

“Yo,” he greeted.

“Yo, Dutch. Listen, Carlyle wants to see his mom and sister. If you want in on that, you best get your ass up here with them because Red and me don’t think he should wait. I also wanna make sure all is copacetic before we expose him. So Chaos needs to roll out with an escort.”

“I’m in. Does he know the guy’s been arrested?”

“Eddie was talkin’ to you while Hank was talkin’ to me.”

“How is he?”

A beat of silence then, “There’s relief, brother. But with this obstacle out of the way, nothin’ left to hold back grief. Get his mother here.”