Page 85 of Night Moves
“They’re breaching now.” Drake’s heartbeat crept up. “And they’re in.”
The officers flooded into the building shouting words Drake couldn’t make out, but he knew they were identifying themselves as police and telling anyone in the house to show their hands.
He held his breath and waited for gunshots or any sign of an altercation. Nothing. Just the rush of waves hitting the shore and blustery wind coursing in with the water.
“C’mon. C’mon. C’mon, Londyn,” Drake whispered. “Report.”
“This waiting business is almost enough to make you certifiable. If you weren’t already, that is.” Erik chuckled.
Drake didn’t find it humorous. He tapped his foot and started counting.One one thousand. Two one thousand. Three one thousand.
He’d reached one hundred when his phone buzzed. He shoved the binoculars into Erik’s hand and answered the call from Londyn.
“We have Gentry.” She sounded short of breath. “Found him in the living room. Conked out and no resistance. Appears to be under the influence of drugs. I’m sending a picture to have Natalie positively ID him.”
“Send away.” He waited for his phone to ding, and then took a long look at the picture before sliding into the vehicle and holding out the phone to Natalie for a final confirmation. “This him?”
She stared at the screen for a second before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah. He looks out of it though.”
“Londyn said he appears to be under the influence of something.”
Natalie’s eyebrows rose, wrinkling in a way he’d come to associate with her. “In the time I knew him, I had no reason to suspect he was doing drugs, but then it’s clear there are a lot of things I didn’t know about him.”
Drake returned his attention to his call with Londyn. “Identity confirmed. I’d like to see him and the house.”
Silence met his request.
“Come on, Londyn,” Drake said. “This is going to be the arrest of your career. Make you a big shot in your agency, and you wouldn’t have him if it wasn’t for us.”
“We would’ve eventually found the body shop.”
“Yeah, but he could’ve been long gone by then. Just a minute. That’s all I ask.”
“Fine.” She sighed. “Gentry is already out of here, but I’ll open the curtains and give you five minutes to look in the windows. Five minutes only. Got that? It’s the best I can do, and you have to be long gone by the time the feds arrive.”
Drake left Natalie in Erik’s care and hightailed it down the road to the beach house. He double-timed his approach and was winded when he reached the officer dressed in tactical gear and stationed at the door.
Drake identified himself.
“Boss says to meet her at the west side of the building.” The officer handed over a pair of booties but didn’t note Drake’s name on the log.
Drake slipped the paper booties over his boots, wondering if Londyn would get in trouble for letting him look in the window. He couldn’t believe she’d actually agreed to anything. Sure, he’d been instrumental in bringing Gentry to justice, but still. Drake was a civilian, and she could get in trouble for even letting him near the building. But she got it—she understood that he needed to see this through to the end.
He stepped up to a window overlooking the large living room where Londyn said Gentry had been found knocked out. He was now likely in the back of one of the police vehicles on his way to lockup. Or maybe to the ER for evaluation.
Drake peered through the wall of windows covered with checked curtains. Londyn stood in the wide open space with white slipcovered furniture. She spotted him and crossed the room to open the window. A familiar fragrance floated out of the house.
Drake looked at Londyn. “You recognize the smell?”
She nodded. “Either Gentry sprayed his wife’s perfume, or she was here.”
“You thinking she might be alive after all?”
Londyn shrugged. “We don’t have any evidence either way.”
“True, but what’re the odds he didn’t kill her?” Drake continued to look around the room. “A third of all women murdered in the U.S. are killed by their male partners.”
“Just because he murdered other women doesn’t mean he killed his wife. The type of murders we’re investigating usually have far different motives.” Londyn got out her notebook and pen. “Killing a partner is usually done in the heat of passion. It generally involves drugs or alcohol and is motivated by jealousy. Or, in the case of a separation or a breakup, by revenge.”
