Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #1: Books 1-4 (A Dead Cold Box Set), Blake Banner [classic children's novels txt] 📗

Chema. He just shook his head and said, “No, man. That was Mick. We was gonna whack him the next week. Chavez was sending a guy out to do it nice. A clean job.” Then he laughed like we were stupid. “There was half a million bucks of merchandise in there. You think we was gonna leave that there for you guys?”

I stepped out to the parking lot. The sky was turning a pale blue. I wished I still smoked. When you eliminate the impossible…

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Dehan was standing next to me. “Which one is impossible, and which one is improbable—Mick did it, or Carlitos did it?”

She sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Man, I could use a cigarette. I wish I smoked…” Then, “They are both probable, but they are both impossible. Unless Mick was not with Jennifer at the crime scene.”

I nodded, chewing my lip. “I thought of that. But even if he pulled that off—and the risk of exposure by a handful of other cops, plus the ME and the crime scene team would be huge—even if he pulled that off, he needs at least two other guys with him to pull the trigger. The only person who can have done it is Carlitos.” I shook my head. “But I know he didn’t.”

She looked at her watch and slapped me on the shoulder. “We been hungover and on our feet for almost twenty-four hours, Stone. Let’s get a few hours’ sleep and come at this again with rested brains. Whadd’ya say?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I turned to go in, but she said, “Hey, Stone…?”

“What?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“You almost took a bullet for me tonight.”

I was about to dismiss it, but something stopped me. I smiled. “You’d had the same thought, Carmen. I was lucky I was a couple of steps ahead of you.”

She smiled. “You’re okay, Stone. You’re a fucking dinosaur, but you’re okay.”

“Don’t get sentimental on me, Dehan. I’ll think you’re going soft!”

I had to shout the last couple of words, because she was already walking across the lot toward her car.

Sixteen

I slept five hours, then phoned Dehan at lunchtime to tell her to pack a bag and, when she was ready, to go over to my place. We’d be setting out before dawn next morning; it was a twenty-four-hour drive to Shamrock. Then I went over to the precinct and went up to see the captain. I knocked, but I didn’t wait for an answer. I stepped in and closed the door. She stared at me. I sat.

“Using my dinosaur methods, last night we got confessions from two of the leading Sureños. We took down two members of a Mexican cartel, and we gathered sufficient evidence to hand over to the Feds so they can mount a major cross-state operation.”

“Congratulations, Stone, but spare me the sarcasm, please.”

I ignored her. “What we didn’t get was a confession regarding Nelson.”

She shrugged. “It’s a ten-year-old case. If Sam couldn’t…”

“I’ll spare you the sarcasm, if you’ll spare me the bullshit.” She closed her mouth, and her eyes shone with anger. “I have statements from half a dozen people to the effect that Mick was a bent cop taking money from local organized crime, and the Mob and the Triads. I have bank records that show that he transferred a total of four million bucks to Belize in the year before he disappeared. I have evidence that he changed his name and used forged documents to go to Mexico. And I have his fingerprints, under a different name, in Shamrock, Texas, on a drunk and disorderly charge ten years ago, two nights after he disappeared. He disappeared after drinking tequila with somebody the night that Nelson was killed. The night he was on duty with you.”

Throughout my speech, she had been staring out of the window at the trees across the road. Now she shook her head and looked at me like she wanted to hit me.

“Jesus, Stone, you are a pain in my ass.”

“Yeah? A lot of people feel that way about me, Jennifer. But believe me, this is just the beginning. Now, I’m all for keeping the peace and not rocking the boat. That partner you gave me, however, is a bit more aggressive. I have to congratulate you on creating a killer team.”

“What do you want, Stone?”

“I want to know why you are covering for Mick. I want to know what went on—or goes on—between you two. I want to know what happened that night. I want to know if Mick killed Nelson. And last but not least, I want to go to Shamrock and talk to the county sheriff.”

“You are blackmailing me.”

I shook my head. “There is nothing unjustified about the threat I’m making, Jennifer. I am trying to do my job, and if you stand in my way, I will take you down, according to the letter of the law. I’m giving you the opportunity to clear yourself and do the right thing.”

“You son of a bitch.” I went to stand. “Wait!”

I sat. She sighed and looked down at her fingers, like she had memories hanging from them.

“Mick and I had an affair. He was a total son of a bitch. But he had magnetism and that Irish charm. I couldn’t resist him. It lasted, on and off, for about a year, the last year he was here. For him it was just a game, but for me it was a lot more than that. I was in love with him.

“A week or so before he disappeared, his partner, Kirk, called in sick. So Mick suggested to the lieutenant that we could partner up. I was new and he was the most experienced detective on the squad. We worked together for about a week. It was probably