This Girl Who Was A Ghost, page 29
part #2 of Near Future Series
He parked the car at the corner, threw the door open like he was mad, and bounced out. He stopped and stared.
Sammy raised her hands. “I didn’t touch anything.”
Russo raced around to the passenger side and opened the door. “Get in.”
“Couldn’t wait to arrest me, could you?”
Russo waved her in and backed down the block. He flagged an EMT who was standing by the open back doors to the ambulance. “I think she’s been shot.”
Sammy looked around. Who was he talking about?
The lady rushed over and bent down beside Sammy, flashing a penlight on her. “Were you hit in the shoulder?”
“Me? I wasn’t hit anywhere.”
“She’s in shock,” Russo said.
Sammy tugged her shirt. “This? I was fumbling around the kitchen in the dark and something must’ve spilled on me.”
“Honey, this looks like blood.”
“Could be cow’s blood?”
The lady wasn’t buying it. “Can you stand?”
“I’ll take my shirt off and show you, okay?”
The lady held Sammy’s arm. “Let me do it.”
Sammy nodded, gazing up at Russo. “Turn around, Russo.”
He huffed, turning his back to them.
She rolled up Sammy’s shirt from the waist, bunching it up by the neck. “Don’t see a gunshot wound.” She trained the light on the shoulder. “Looks like a cut on the right shoulder.” She pulled the sleeve up gently, leaning in to get a closer look.
Sammy hoped the wound had healed enough so she wouldn’t be hauled into the hospital.
“It’s a cut,” the lady said. “Not deep enough for stitches.”
Sammy pulled the shirt down when Russo turned back. “Told you.”
The lady stood, turning to Russo. “Something could’ve spilled on her like she said.”
Russo stared down at the shirt. “Are you sure?”
“Could take her to the hospital for further tests.”
Sammy hopped out of the seat. “Don’t I have a say?”
“Can’t force her if she doesn’t want to.”
“And I don’t want to.”
The lady nodded to Russo and jogged off to help the other EMT load Boulder into the back of the ambulance.
The cop who’d helped the EMTs strolled up to Russo. “He was working security by the back door when this guy flew out and dropped something.” The cop checked his tablet. “Anthony Delgado is his name. When the guy picked up what he dropped, he told Delgado that there was someone in the club with a knife. When Delgado turned to go back, the guy took Delgado’s gun and shot him.”
“Sounds like something the creep would do,” Sammy said.
Russo turned to her. “What?”
Sammy looked away. “Nothing.”
“Does this,” Russo asked, waving his finger at Sammy’s shirt, “have something to do with that guy?”
“Maybe.”
Russo glared at her. “Maybe?”
“Depends if you’re going to get mad or not. I can tell you’re mad already.”
“This is a police investigation,” Russo said. “There are no maybes.”
“He was going to carve up Linda like a roast. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“That’s when you call the police.”
“She’d be long dead by then.”
The other cop shifted his feet. “It’s pitch black inside, Sarge.”
Russo gave her the dead-eyed look. “Want to try again?”
“Linda had the fire going on the stove.”
Another cop stepped up to them, holding out a bag. “Infrared goggles, high-end shit.”
Russo took the bag and held up the goggles. Shades of green cut through the darkness. He handed the bag back. “Didn’t we have eyes on this place?”
“They thought it was a feed issue.”
“No one thought it was a good idea to send a patrol to check it out?”
The cop shrugged.
“Interview the club patrons,” Russo told the cop with the goggles. “Find out if anyone saw anything.”
“Can’t see shit in there, Sarge.”
“Call the power company, Franklin. Get someone out here.”
The other cop chuckled. “Use the goggles, Franklin.”
Franklin gave him the finger and trudged off.
“Porter, you’re with me. There’s something up the block. Not sure what it was, got diverted.” Russo glanced back at Sammy.
“Don’t blame me.”
“You get in the back. I want to keep my eye on you.”
The three of them piled into the car and stopped behind Bernie’s car.
Sammy followed the two of them and pointed to the mask. “There it is.”
Porter bent over, focusing a light into the broken passenger-side window. “You can see that?” He aimed the light on Sammy’s shirt. “Is that blood?”
“We already went over that, Porter.” Sammy joined Russo on the driver side.
“Who’s the kid, Sarge?”
Russo slid his hand into a latex glove. “A pain in the ass.”
“Better than being a hard-ass.”
Russo opened the door. Dmitri’s hand dropped to his side, the gun hanging by a finger. Russo pulled out a clear plastic bag from his jacket pocket and dropped the gun into it. He offered the gun to Porter. “Check who it’s registered to.”
“He was wearing a dark jacket earlier,” Sammy said. “If you wanted to know.”
Russo trained the light onto the back seat.
“It’s not back there,” Sammy said.
He flashed Sammy a look as if to say, “Did I ask you?”
Sammy folded her arms and looked away.
Russo opened the back door and squatted, then ran his hand under the seats.
“He’s not wearing the same black jacket he pulled the mask out from. The same one he was wearing when he attacked Maria.”
Russo shot up. “You forgot to mention that.”
“I didn’t remember that until later. If you weren’t so busy not believing me and sending me off to jail, I might’ve remembered sooner.”
“Don’t believe for a minute that there won’t be consequences for that little stunt you pulled.”
Russo’s phone rang. “What is it, Franklin?” He held the phone out and put it on speaker.
“The power company sent us this video clip from a nearby substation,” Franklin said.
Sammy stepped in closer. The clip showed the legs of someone stepping down a ladder.
“This guy did something that took out the power. P&S has someone there now.”
The clip showed the rest of the guy on the ladder. He turned. It was Dmitri.
“We’re running his face for any hits.”
“You can stop running. He’s a 10-55 up the block from you.”
“No shit,” Franklin said. “Get this, Rue. After the lights went out, everybody’s phone died. One of the tech guys thinks it might’ve been an EMF pulse.”
“This sounds more and more like he’s ex-military.”
Franklin breathed into the phone. “It doesn’t look like P&S is going to get the power on anytime soon. I’m scrounging for lights from forensics for the interviews.”
The clip showed Dmitri climbing up the ladder, a moment later a flash, then black.
Russo stared at the black screen.
“Going to need help with the interviews, Rue. There’s close to a hundred people here.”
“That’ll be me.”
“About half don’t even know the lights are out, so it might go quick.”
“Quick and useless.” Russo disconnected. “What do you have on the gun, Porter?”
Porter tapped the phone. “It’s coming up now… Anthony Delgado.”
“Call the ME. You know the drill.”
Sammy turned to walk away. “If you won’t be needing me, I’ll head home.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Shit! “I’m just a kid. Ask Porter.”
Russo waved her to follow. “Now you’re a kid.”
“Where we going?”
“Looking to find that dark jacket.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
________________________________________
Sammy expected Russo to talk about the jacket as she followed him down the block, but he kept quiet. “Why do you need me to find the stupid jacket?”
“I’m more interested in the guy wearing it.”
“He’s dead back there with a bullet in his head.”
“He’s not wearing the jacket now.”
“You don’t think Dmitri is the slasher?”
“I have my doubts.”
“But he’s on that video, blowing up the power station.”
“Yes, he is.”
“You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”
“There’s nothing much to tell.” Russo glanced down at her. “But I would like to meet your friend Bernie.”
“What’d you want with him?”
“His driver was killed tonight. Maybe he has some answers.”
“You don’t think it was a suicide?”
“The medical examiner will make that determination.”
“I would’ve seen somebody running away. I ran as soon as I heard the gunshot.”
Russo gave her one of his dead-eye cop stares.
“What should I’ve done? Called you and let him get away?”
“You getting killed isn’t going to help anyone.”
“I was careful.”
“Reckless, you mean.”
Sammy huffed and folded her arms. “I still would’ve seen him. What’d you say about that?”
“Those types don’t just kill themselves.”
He was free and clear.
They jogged across the street. Two cops in uniform were outside talking to the apes. They laughed about something. A light about the size of a space heater sat on the ground next to them, casting everyone’s face into sinister shadows.
The cops got serious when Russo approached. Two apes nodded to Russo.
“Were you two out front when the lights went out?”
Rhino nodded. “We were here all night.”
“You let anyone in after that?”
“We were in lockdown,” Rhino said. “No one in, no one out.”
“Except for her.” The other ape pointed his big fat finger at Sammy and snickered. “She’s like one of those little terriers.”
“How’d you like it if I kick your balls into your chin?”
He laughed. “See what I mean? She’s got Johnny scared.”
Russo gave her a look.
Sammy turned away. “He called me a dog.”
“Don’t forget about the asshole who shot Boulder,” Rhino said. “When you catch him, bring him around. You won’t have to worry about him running anymore.”
Sammy followed Russo inside. The back tables were pushed to the side, leaving two lit tables in the middle. Two lights were on the floor toward the front, illuminating a path. Weary faces sprouted up like sparse mushrooms in the dark, gazing soullessly at them.
Franklin hurried up to Russo. “We’re all set, Rue. The natives are getting restless.”
“Got an extra light?”
“This is it.”
Russo took one from the table. “Make sure no one leaves.”
Sammy followed Russo through the tables, thinking about the video clip and the apes guarding the door, and then it dawned on her. “If they didn’t let anybody in, then it couldn’t have been Dmitri.”
Russo nodded.
“If it isn’t Dmitri, and the slasher went out the back, what am I looking for?”
“Sometimes it’s more important to find out who’s not here than who is.”
“Am I still looking for the dark suit? Because there could be a lot of guys in dark suits here.”
“I’m more interested in finding Bernie, but if you see someone with a matching build in a dark suit, let me know.”
“You think it’s Bernie? He was pretty banged up from the crash.”
Russo strolled to the VIP tables across the room from where Bernie normally sat. He shone the light on the three guys slumped back in their seats.
“He sits on the other side in the front.”
“We’re going through the whole room.”
“Guess you’re not in a hurry.”
“It pays to be thorough.” Russo shone the light on a large guy at the next table. “How about this guy?”
“He’s not Bernie.”
“We’re also looking for the jacket.”
Sammy shook her head. “Too big.”
They zigzagged across and up to the front. Sammy glanced at Bernie’s table every time she had a clear view. She didn’t see him. Maybe he was in the bathroom or hiding under the table.
“How about him?”
“The jacket’s got pinstripes.”
Russo brought the light in closer. “Starting to get bleary-eyed.”
It seemed like a long trudge to Bernie’s table. The light beam cut through the darkness. If Bernie was hiding, he wasn’t under the table.
“Maybe he’s in the bathroom?”
Russo waved over a cop who was standing in front of the stage with a light clipped onto her belt. “Are the restrooms clear?”
She nodded. “It’s not a drinking crowd.”
Sammy looked under the table again, spotting what looked like a napkin. “Can you shine the light underneath there?”
Russo aimed the light where she pointed. “What is it?”
Sammy moved the chair away just to make sure. “It’s Bernie’s arm sling.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
________________________________________
Sammy looked down at the sketch she’d compiled of Bernie with the tablet the cop gave her. She played with the eyes, making them farther apart. That was about as close as she was going to get. She turned and held the tablet out so it would line up to where Bernie normally sat. All he needed was a golden hat.
“Tell me it ain’t true, Bernie.” Sammy dropped the tablet onto the table. “Maybe he has an evil twin.”
The cop marched up to her. “All finished?”
Sammy handed her the tablet, feeling as if she’d betrayed him.
The tables were empty now; just a half a dozen guys were queued up to talk to Franklin or Russo.
Linda felt her way in the darkness to the table. “Are you the one who yelled for me to get down?”
Sammy nodded. “Didn’t want to hit you with a pot.”
Linda slid into the chair next to Sammy. “But why did you risk your life for me? You don’t even know me.”
“Cindy talks about you all the time, so I feel like I know you.”
“You’re Cindy’s friend, the one who doesn’t get along with Johnny?”
“I think we moved on to hating each other.”
Linda giggled as if she were years younger. She wrung her hands. “I haven’t been able to stop shaking.”
Sammy rubbed the warmth back into Linda’s hands. “He’ll never come back here again.”
Linda took in a deep breath and exhaled. It seemed to calm her.
Russo approached, looking as if waiting for them to finish.
Linda backed out of the chair. “Did you want to talk to her?”
Sammy pointed to her. “That’s Linda.”
“Oh my God, I don’t even know your name.”
“Sam.”
Linda reached over and hugged Sammy.
Russo stepped closer, waiting for Linda to join the others. “It’s late, and I still have to interview the staff. Go home and get some sleep.”
“Thought you couldn’t wait to get me to jail.”
“I’m banking on getting this guy before you do. You have carfare?”
Sammy nodded, holding out her phone.
“Get out of here and try not to save anyone else.”
Sammy went out the back way. The staff was bunched along the front of the stage with lighted candles spaced out around the edge, making the stage look solemn. Linda waved, Janine nodded, and Johnny kept his head straight, but his gaze followed her.
One of the apes chuckled. “My shoes weigh more than her, Johnny.”
Johnny looked away. “Shut up.”
A uniformed cop guarded the door with a light clipped to his belt. “Where’re do you think you’re going?”
“Going home. Russo said I can go.”
“No one goes out this door.”
Sammy turned to go inside but spotted someone waving. It was Leo, hands above his head as if he were on an island and needed rescuing.
Sammy pointed to the field by Leo. “I’m going that way. Do I have to go out the front and come back here?”
The cop just stared at her.
“Call Russo. I’m sure it’s fine.”
The cop sighed and pulled out his phone. “There’s a kid who says you told her she can go out the back.”
He held the phone up to her.
Russo’s face popped onto the screen. “Why can’t you go out the front like everyone else?”
“Because I’m a pain in the ass.”
Russo grinned. “Let her through.”
“Guess you’re not such a hard-ass after all.”
“Go home and stay home.”
Sammy waved goodbye and headed toward Leo. She climbed the jumble of bricks, one clinking into another.
Leo turned his head, searching. “Sam?”
“I’m standing two feet away from you.”
“I was hoping to catch you going out the back,” Leo said, his head angled away from her. “It must be extraordinary to see in this darkness.”
“What are you doing out here?”
“One of Johnny’s men escorted me out when they took the injured man to the ambulance. There were too many police to risk going out the front.”
“What do the cops want you for?”
“It’s not the police that I’m worried about, but those who watch the police.”
“We should have a long talk on who they and those are.”
Leo looked down at the ground. “I was making adequate progress until I stumbled on this debris field.”
“You’re standing at the edge of a collapsed building.” Sammy grabbed his hand. “Let’s get out of here before you fall into a basement.”
