Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #2: Books 5-8 (A Dead Cold Box Set), Blake Banner [readnow TXT] 📗

Anyway, he told me to get lost and stay out of his way. I told him it was he and his friends who were in my way. It was they who should get lost. He took a swing at me. I was in the Marines, detectives, and I still train regularly at the dojo. He is a big man, very tough, but the Good Lord was with me and I laid him out on his back, so he couldn’t get to his feet again. His friends didn’t fancy their chances with me. They just picked him up and put him in their car. But before they drove away, he pointed at me and said, ‘I am going to come back and I am going to kill you.’ Just like that.”

I took Akachukwu’s mug shot from my wallet and showed it to him. “Is this the man?”

He nodded. “That’s him.”

“Did he say anything else to you?”

“Yes, sir. He said plenty. He said if I didn’t like what he was doing then I should take my family and leave, because he was making a claim on that territory, and in time he was going to control Hunts Point and all the territory east of the river. I told him he could do as he pleased, but not in my neighborhood.”

I glanced at Dehan. “The territory east of the river, that could include Jack’s neighborhood.”

“It could. It’s feasible.”

I turned back to Moses. “Please go on.”

“So about a few days later, we are sitting having our dinner, and there is a ring at the doorbell. I go to answer it and it is this man, and he has a gun stuck in my face. And it just flashed into my mind that it could have been Angela who opened the door. Or if God blessed us with a child, there could be a baby in that house right then. And I felt a terrible, righteous anger in that moment. I pushed the gun to one side and I hit him very hard in the face. He staggered back and fell down the stairs. May God forgive me, I prayed in that moment that the Lord should see fit to take that man’s life. But he did not. I slammed the door shut, to protect Angela. But from where he was lying there on the sidewalk, he fired twice through the door. One of the shots missed and hit the wall, the other struck my leg.

“That was when I decided I must find somewhere else to live, until such time as I can afford to get Angela out of there. It never occurred to me that he would go after her, too. But it seems he did. It is hard, sometimes, Detectives, to know what is the right thing to do.”

Dehan sighed. “However skeptical you are of the police, Moses, once shots were fired, he attempted to murder you, you should have reported that.”

He smiled at her. It was a sad smile. “I did, Detective. But no action was taken.”

I glanced at Dehan. “Those slugs must be on file. Call Joe, get him to run a comparison with the slugs taken from Sebastian and Luis.”

She stood, grabbed her cell, and stepped outside. Moses was watching me with humor in his eyes. When he spoke, it was without reproach, but with irony. “If I had been a young doctor, or the son of an attorney, do you think maybe the cops would have listened to me?”

I smiled back. “We are doing our best, Moses. I promise.” I frowned. “Besides, I am having some trouble here, because I can’t see any reason why Akachukwu Oni should go after Sebastian and Luis.”

Moses spread his hands, like the answer was obvious. “The visibility was bad. He thought it was me and Angela in the car.”

I nodded, then shook my head. “That’s what I thought at first, but there are a couple of problems with that. First, that might make sense at six in the evening, maybe even ten at night. But who goes at three in the morning to sit outside somebody’s house waiting for them to come home? Especially a couple like yourselves, who are not exactly party animals.”

He made a face and nodded.

I went on. “The other thing is, he knew you’d gone. He told Angela. That’s why he went to beat her up. He knew you weren’t there. So what was he doing there that night at three AM?”

Eighteen

Dehan came back in, slipping her phone back in her jacket pocket. “He’s on it.”

I nodded and looked back at Moses and Angela, holding hands and watching us, waiting for us to give them a solution.

“Can you stay here?”

“This belongs to my uncle. It is not comfortable. It is not a home. But we can stay here as long as we need to.”

“Then stay. You have been very lucky, Moses. Both of you have. You may not think so, but I have seen what Akachukwu is capable of, with my own eyes. So has Detective Dehan. And believe me when I tell you, you have been lucky. Stay here. Do not go back to your house until this man is convicted and in prison.”

“OK, we agree.”

“Will you testify against this man at trial?”

They both nodded. “Yes, we will.”

I stood. “You have both been more helpful than you can realize. We’ll be in touch very soon.”

Moses stood. “Detective, I have heard from friends that you have already arrested this man, and he is in prison.”

“Pending trial, Moses. Don’t risk it. A smart lawyer could get him bail. Stay away. Stay out of sight.”

He heaved a big, reluctant sigh. “Very well.”

They saw us to the door. Dusk had faded and it was now turning to evening. Streetlamps were coming on and, along the street, the warm