Page 74 of Risk of a Lifetime
As for him, he needed to focus on the clues. “Come on, Wilson. My gut tells me we don’t have many seconds on this end.”
She twitched. Turned the page. Focused.
His boss cleared his throat. “Okay. Here’s what we’ve got. One case came to a head at 10:38.”
“Which one?” JB walked to the front window, then the side. Peeked through the louvers.
“Job before last. The meth bust. My guys are running the particulars right now.” Shuffled papers sounded through the phone from Wilson’s end. “Hey, before I forget. You were right about Landon. I never should have put him on the robbery case. Crayton Police says he’s a loose cannon.”
“Live and learn, I guess.” JB’s gut clenched tighter and tighter. His bad feeling picked up speed. “I don’t understand why he didn’t call you with the 1038 when Sheriff Davis asked him to. He knew Marcy and I were in danger. Why not ask if you could run a check on the numbers? I’d have done that for my worst enemy if it meant their life.”
“I don’t know. Let’s concentrate on you right now. Take care of him later.” Wilson’s to-the-point mode returned. “Here’s what we’ve got. Date…not even close.”
“What else you got?” he asked.
“Teams ramped into place by10:35 AM. You ordered ‘go’ to your men and broke through the door.” Wilson quieted. “You know, I worked a long time getting that case together to have the glory go to a bunch of others in the Bureau.”
Glory? What glory? JB felt no glory from that bust. People got killed that day. Some guilty. Some innocent. “Let’s talk about that later.”
“Later…yeah, we’ll talk later.” Wilson’s voice kept fading in and out like someone panting as they ran.
What was that noise? A dog? Barking? Where?
“Did I just hear a dog on your end of the line?” JB asked.
“Yeah. The people in the room next door brought their dog on vacation. It’s been a long night.”
“I thought you were back in the office.” He could have sworn Wilson had rattled papers on his desk. Maybe the staff just faxed him the info. Didn’t matter. “What else you got?”
Wilson coughed. Gasped for air. “Explosion in the lab. Time…10:38. Gunfire from both sides. Four casualties in the room. Two men. Two women. Plus our own. Six taken to hospital. Fifteen arrests that day plus three higher-ups two days later. “
“How do we know the exact time?”
Wilson paused, cleared his throat. “Notes say the watch on one of the women victims cracked and stopped at 10:38.”
JB remembered that watch. He’d seen it being numbered for evidence, then a few days later, the watch was gone. He eased his Glock from his shoulder holster. The rest of his armor was in place, but he needed that gun in his hand right now. What had he heard? Sensed? Even with all the new information, why had the conversation made his cop instincts accelerate even higher?
A dog barked outside in the far distance…no, the bark was through the phone. Which? Damn, he couldn’t afford to not be on top of sounds at this point. Had to be Landon.
“I’ll call you right back. I’ve got another call coming in.” JB snapped the phone closed, ignoring the second call from Deputy Evans for a moment. He needed to think. Landon would have already had time to target the cabin from the cell towers. He could be closing in even as JB spoke to Wilson. His insides tensed. “Marcy.”
She stood, shuffled into her coat, and shoved her weapon into her pocket. She didn’t hesitate. “I’m ready.”
“If anything happens, when I tell you to move, don’t stop to think. Just do what I say. Follow our plan.”
“I will.” She pulled her hat onto her head. “JB?”
“Yeah?” He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Please be careful.”
He grinned. “You sound like you care.”
She raced into the crook of his arm, burying her head against him. “I love you, JB. Don’t you dare get yourself killed before I can show you how much.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that, sugar.” He squeezed her against him with one arm and pushed the return call button on the phone.
“Deputy Evans here.”
