Til Darkness Falls, page 32
There had to be another way.
“Um, thank you both for speaking with me. Let me give you my phone number.” He waited until Heinz said that he was ready before rattling it off. “Please call me anytime.”
“Möge Gott Sie segnen, Brian. Auf Wiedersehen.”
He sat in the dark for a long time after ending the call, his cell phone warm in his hand from the long usage. He didn’t know what Rosamond had said before telling him goodbye, but whatever it was, she was putting a lot of faith in him. He didn’t know if he deserved it.
“I NEED to talk to you.”
Angela looked up to see Brian standing over her. She had just gotten into the precinct herself and honestly hadn’t expected to see him so soon. It didn’t look like his day off had done him any good. He was peaked beneath his brown complexion, and the dark smudges under his eyes told her he hadn’t gotten much sleep. She stood and grabbed her coat. “Sure. Let’s talk in the car.”
The parking lot was mostly deserted. Angela led Brian to their unmarked vehicle and got into the driver’s seat so he could stretch out his longer legs without the pedals getting in his way.
“Alrick is the sniper,” Brian said without preamble as soon as they had closed their doors. His gaze was absent as he looked out the front window.
Angela gaped at him. “What?”
“Along with that information you found about the German army, you also had something about sharpshooters.”
“Yeah, because that’s what we’re dealing with.” Angela didn’t really know what she was saying. She was just making noise to supplant the confusion in her head.
“You were dead on. There was a picture of a medal that’s given to exceptional marksmen. Alrick has a tattoo that’s identical to the image on the medal.”
“Oh my God.” Angela felt her heartbeat skip in her chest from the shock. She wanted to give Brian a hug, but he seemed so distant, she didn’t know how to reach him. “Is that what’s been wrong with you these last couple of days? Sweetie, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to believe it at first, but it was all too much just to be a coincidence. The weapon used in the hits just happens to be commonly used by German army sharpshooters, and he just happens to have a tattoo of a marksmen’s medal?” Brian laughed humorlessly, ruefully shaking his head. “So of course I tried my damnedest to deny it. But then my suspicions were confirmed beyond a doubt.”
“How?” Her stomach clenched as she swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Did you talk to Alrick?”
“No.” Brian shook his head, a sharp laugh jerking his shoulders. “I didn’t have the balls to do that. I tried to find out something about his time in the service, but as you might have guessed, all of the records are confidential. Then I had the bright idea to try and contact his sister.”
“Alrick’s sister? She lives in the States?”
“No, in Potsdam. It was amazingly easy to find her phone number. That should probably be a scary thought, huh?”
Angela ignored his attempt to distract her. “So you spoke to her?”
“Yeah. I called early this morning. Fortunately, her husband speaks fluent English, and between the two of them, they told me everything. Alrick was, indeed, a sharpshooter when he was in the army. He enlisted beyond his compulsory obligation because his father needed help to pay off some heavy debts he’d gotten under. And you’ll never believe who he borrowed money from. The goddamn Russian mafia.”
Angela’s eyes went wide as she blinked at him. “Holy shit.”
“No kidding. Alrick served for a long time, but then he got into an altercation with his superior officer and was dishonorably discharged. The mafia approached him to do a hit to earn some money, and apparently it just snowballed from there.”
“So he’s doing it to help his father?”
“Kind of.” Brian shifted in his seat as though trying to ease his discomfort with the topic. “His father died some years ago, but the debt remains. If the Russian mafia operates anything like the loan sharks around here, the obligation passes on to the original debtor’s relatives. Alrick probably figured it was the only way he could earn enough money to pay them back and keep his sister from having to shoulder any of the burden.”
Angela shook her head. “Brian, you have to take a lot on faith to believe all that.”
He finally turned to look at her, his green-hazel gaze stormy, pleading with her to understand. “His sister wasn’t lying, Angie. She wants me to take him into custody, to stop him before he gets in any deeper. Her English wasn’t great, but I could tell she meant every word.” His face was haggard, his inner conflict heartbreaking to see. “And it makes sense, Angie. I have to believe Alrick wouldn’t do something so terrible without a really good reason.” He reached out and grabbed her hand in an almost painful grip. “I just have to.”
Angela’s heart squeezed in her chest when Brian inhaled unsteadily, clearly fighting to maintain self-control.
“I don’t know what to do, Angie. Even knowing the truth, I still love him.”
She looked at him steadily, holding his hand tightly as she tried to hide her distress for his sake. “Sweetie, what do you want to do?”
Brian’s eyes were bright with barely restrained tears. “What do you mean, what do I want to do? I have to arrest him.”
“That’s not your only option, and you know it.” She returned his shocked stare evenly. “Whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”
“Angela, you can’t. Even if I’m ready to trash my career, I can’t let you throw away yours.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I can and can’t do, Brian Macon.” She held up a finger and pointed it close to his face. “I care about you just as much as I do anyone else in my family. I won’t stand by and watch you give up on something that means so much to you. And Alrick loves you just as much. After watching you two together that night at my house, after seeing how he looks at you, I have absolutely no doubts about that.” She bit her lip, considering the practicalities of committing such a grievous breach of duty. “But obviously, he can’t keep this up. Maybe if you talk to him—” She broke off when he squeezed her hand even tighter, silent gratitude etched on his face.
“His sister said he’s ready to walk away from it all, even without my asking.” Brian placed his other hand on top of the one he already held, as though drawing as much strength from the contact as from her unconditional show of support. “And God help me,” he whispered, “I’d let him. I want to be with him, Angie.” He raised his troubled gaze to hers. “I need him.”
Angela reached across and pulled him awkwardly into her arms. “Then we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”
He slumped against her and released all of the pent up emotion that had been building up over the last two days. Patting his back like she was comforting one of her sons, she just held him and let him cry. She swore to herself that somehow, she would keep her promise.
“FUCKING son of a bitch!”
The receiver slammed against the dashboard as Hayley ripped the earphone out of her ear and sent it flying. “You have got to be fucking kidding me!”
She couldn’t believe what she’d just overheard. She’d planted the bug in Macon and Lovell’s car the first day she’d taken command of Homicide, the opportunity too good to leave unexploited. When she’d noticed them heading out of the office looking grim and serious, she’d hurried to follow. She’d seen that distressed look on Macon’s face too many times over the centuries not to know what it meant. She’d guessed they were going somewhere private to talk, and she was eager to hear how betrayed Macon felt upon learning the German’s true identity.
Only now events were no longer unfolding quite as she had predicted. She’d held up the ballistics reports long enough to keep Macon off track until he and the German had thoroughly fallen for each other. Although she took great pleasure in disparaging their abilities, Macon and his partner were two of her best detectives. Once they had the report, it was only a matter of time before they put the pieces together. She’d watched with barely disguised glee when Macon fell apart after reading the information Lovell had found.
The game was almost finished. She’d figure it wouldn’t be long until he went after the German and one of them ended up killing the other. Her part in their passion play would be over, and she’d be free to live the rest of this incarnation as she pleased.
Only now, it appeared that Macon wasn’t quite ready to give up on his blond fuck buddy. Oh, she knew their souls were destined for each other and all that trite bullshit, but she’d never really believed in such airy-fairy sentiments. No, it had to be the sex that Macon was so reluctant to let go. Was the German really so incredible in bed that Macon was willing to overlook the fact that the man was a killer and potentially ruin his own life in the process?
“Unbelievable. Damn you, Shai, and your twisted sense of humor.” It seemed the god of fate wasn’t quite finished with her yet, but no matter. He hadn’t beaten her in three thousand years, and she’d be damned if she lost to him now. Her features resembled a beautiful yet lifeless statue as she reached for her cell phone. She dialed the number by hand, as it would have been the height of stupidity to keep it stored in her phone.
“Yo, whatdaya want?”
“Remember when you said you’d do anything for me, lover?”
“Hayley?” She could almost see the cocky grin spread across Gio’s face. “Yeah, anything you need, babe.”
“Well, listen carefully.”
Hayley sat back in her seat as she explained what she wanted. When she glanced out through the front windshield, her back stiffened as she saw Matt Roddy watching her. Creepy little bastard. Telling Gio to hold on, she rolled down her window as he approached her car.
“Roddy,” she said abruptly, tacitly urging him to get to the point of his intrusion.
“Morning, Captain. Something the matter?”
“No, everything’s fine,” she answered, a bit perplexed as to why he’d asked. Then she noticed that, unlike usual, he wasn’t looking at her. Rather, he was looking down at the broken remote listening device that lay at her feet. Annoyed at his sudden perceptiveness, she turned on her car, the sound of the engine drawing his attention back up to her face. “I have to run an errand, but I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Okay, Captain. See you.”
Fuck again, she thought darkly. He’d tried to act nonchalant, but his homely mug clearly broadcast his suspicion. Hayley wondered if she’d made a mistake having him help her delay the ballistics report. She’d assumed that he was so enamored of her he’d do whatever she asked without question. A miscalculation, but not one that couldn’t be fixed.
“Hayley, you still there?” Gio sounded impatient and out of breath, the whoosh of the treadmill he was running on audible in the background.
“Yes.” She pulled off, watching Matt as he headed toward the precinct building. He paused at the entrance and turned around to stare after her car as she drove away. “Now, about that favor.”
“MACON, in my office.”
Brian’s confusion was reflected in Angela’s curious gaze as they watched the captain disappear back into her office. It was decidedly unusual for her to call him in alone.
“You might as well go and see what she wants.”
“As if I have a choice?” The quirk smile he threw her was only vaguely reminiscent of his normal demeanor. Brian held his partner’s gaze for another minute. He would never be able to pay her back for the faith she was showing in him.
As if she knew what he was trying to say, she smiled back at him and lifted her chin toward the captain’s office. “Go on. Don’t keep her ladyship waiting.”
“YOU wanted to see me, Captain?” Brian stopped just inside the doorway of Preston’s office, not all that anxious to enter the lioness’s den without Angela’s comforting presence.
“Yes, come in and close the door. Have a seat,” Hayley instructed after he complied. She leaned forward, propping her folded arms on her desk blotter.
Disliking the implied intimacy of her posture, Brian sat back as far as his chair allowed. He’d always found it uncomfortable being the subject of her dark, piercing gaze. Still trying to figure out what she wanted, he struggled to keep his face as blank as possible.
“Oh, relax, Macon. I’m not about to fire you or anything.” She pursed her lips attractively as her expression suddenly became uncharacteristically open. “Dispatch received an anonymous call from someone who claims to have information about our sniper.”
“Oh, really?” Brian felt his heart skip a beat. He forced himself to remain slouched in his chair, projecting disinterest even though something panicked was trying to break out of his chest.
“So they said. It’s probably a complete waste of time, but the taxpayers expect us to be thorough, right?”
He nodded, forcing a corner of his mouth up into a smile. He couldn’t speak past the anxiety that was threatening to choke him.
“Anyway, I want you to check it out. Talk to caller. See if they really know anything useful.”
“Just me? What about Angela?”
Hayley shook her head dismissively. “No. It’s almost the end of shift, and it might take you a while to track the lead down.” She slid a sheet of paper across her desk toward him. “As you can see, the caller was rather sketchy about their location.”
“‘In the club district,’” he read before frowning at her. “That’s all we’ve got to go on?”
“That and the fact that the caller was male. Like I said, I’m sure you won’t mind letting Lovell get home to her family while you run down this lead. No point in both of you going. Consider yourself off-duty once you’ve found them, but don’t spend too much time looking. If you haven’t had any luck after a few hours, just leave it. Okay?”
Brian cursed under his breath. He’d been planning to confront Alrick after he got off of work, hoping to settle things between them for better or worse. Now he had to deal with this crap. “Yeah, sure.” He folded the paper and stuffed it in his back pocket. He got to his feet before realizing that she hadn’t said he could go. “Is there anything else?”
Hayley smirked at him. “So eager to get away from me, Macon? I’m starting to think you don’t like me.” She laughed as he struggled to come up with an answer to that landmine. “Don’t bother. We don’t have to be bosom buddies for you to do your job. Get out of here.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice. Angela’s questioning gaze was on him the minute he stepped out of the captain’s office. He headed toward their paired desks, ignoring the dirty look that Matt was shooting him.
“So what’s up?”
“Hopefully nothing.” He shut down his computer and grabbed his coat. “Someone called in with an anonymous tip about the mob shootings.”
Angela’s eyes narrow searchingly as she looked up at him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s probably just some whack job, but I have to know for sure. If it really is a legitimate tip—”
Angela kept her voice low so they wouldn’t be overheard. “Should I go with you?”
He shook his head. “No. They didn’t say exactly where I could find them, so this might take a while. Go on home. I’ll give you a call if something comes up.”
“You were planning on seeing him tonight, weren’t you?”
Nodding, Brian groaned in defeat. “I swear, it’s like that bitch has ESP for figuring out the best way to screw me over.”
“Nah. She’s probably a witch.” She smiled at her partner when he shot her a confused look. “You know, black magic.”
Her fingers wiggled in manner that had probably done much to amuse her kids when they were little. He chuckled despite his unease at what the tipster might reveal. No matter what he wanted, he couldn’t just ignore a potential lead, especially not since the captain already knew about it.
“Nice one. I’ll catch you later, Angie.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
ANGELA sighed as her partner vanished through the door leading to the main hallway. She hoped that either Brian didn’t find the caller or that it turned out to be a dead end. It had taken him such a long time to open his heart, and he had fallen for Alrick in a big way. She would hate to see their relationship jeopardized before they could figure out what was possible.
“What a mess,” she mumbled. Her cell phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. She frowned when she saw that the number showed up as a blocked ID. “This is Lovell.”
“Detective, how nice to hear your sexy voice again.”
Angela froze as she recognized the caller. She was on her feet, running toward the captain’s office almost before the thought formed itself in her head. Without bothering to knock, she burst in, earning herself a glare from the startled woman sitting at her desk. “Giovanni Rivella? Is that you?”
Hayley stared at her in shock. Seriously? she mouthed. Angela nodded furiously. She held her phone away from her ear and put it on speaker.
“You’ve got it, gorgeous. I was thinking about the generous offer you and your partner made me the other day. I don’t know all of the details about the guy who’s been taking out the Cosminos, but if you can promise me immunity from prosecution for whatever small involvement I may have had, I could be persuaded to talk to you.”
“I can’t promise you anything, Gio, without knowing what you have to offer.” Angela kept her eyes on the other woman. The captain was gesturing with both hands, telling Angela to keep him talking. “Why don’t you throw me a bone, and I’ll let you know if we’ll be willing to bite.”
“Yeah right,” Gio scoffed. “I talk and you drag my ass to jail.”
“No, like I said, we’re just going to talk. Let me know where my partner and I can meet you.” Angela’s forehead wrinkled in confusion when Hayley glowered and shook her head sharply. She furiously mouthed a silent question. You don’t want us to go meet him?
