Page 31 of Night Hawk
“Got it.” She showed him the photo of a guy who looked like his son and slid the phone back into her pocket.
“The mole by his nose should make him easy to ID,” Clay said.
She nodded and put booties over leather loafers the same color as the black suit she’d chosen to wear again today. She continued to dress in work attire, but he’d seen her lock her agency-issued gun in the safe at her apartment and withdraw a different weapon last night.
He drew his gun. “If you’ll wait here, I’ll clear the place.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “I can do it.”
“I know, but would you mind if I do?” He did his best to ask and not demand, but the last thing he wanted right now was to send her into this place before someone cleared it.
She stared at him for a long moment. “I guess not.”
He didn’t wait for her to change her mind but pushed the door all the way open. He hated that she even had to be a part of this horrific scene. He wouldn’t want any person he cared about to view this body, but if he asked her to sit it out, she might think he was treating her differently because she was a woman. Then to prove he wasn’t discriminating against her because of her gender, he’d have to admit the depth of his feelings for her. Neither of them needed to talk about his feelings. Especially since he didn’t actually know what they were.
He stepped inside to find a man lying on his back on the worn linoleum floor near a sagging recliner, flies swarming his body. No pool of blood, but plenty of other body fluids. His face was bloated and discolored, but Clay could still confirm a match to the photo Toni had showed him. The guy was thin with blond hair like his son and had a large mole by his nose.
Clay moved on, clearing a small kitchen and three bedrooms. One held a large birdcage but no bird. Clay didn’t waste any time moving back to the front door. “We’re clear.”
He holstered his weapon, put on his gloves, and took a few pictures in the family room before forcing himself to move closer to the body when everything in him screamed to run the other way. He squatted and got a close-up look at bruises circling Fritz’s neck. “Looks like he was strangled.”
Toni squatted on the other side. “Face is distorted but not too terrible. It’s Fritz Rader all right.”
“Based on the blowflies, it looks like he’s been here a few days.” Clay stood.
“Jason was arrested a few days ago. You think Rader was part of his son’s group? Or the kid killed him?”
“Trent didn’t mention any connection to the trafficking, but if so, someone might have wanted to shut him up. Maybe the two guys working with Jason.”
She tilted her head. “We need to start referring to the son as Jason and to the dad as Rader, or it’ll get confusing.”
Clay nodded. “Wish we could check his pockets for a phone and ID, but I wouldn’t want to have to tell Trent we touched the body.”
A noise sounded behind Clay, and he spun, reaching for his gun. Something white waddled out from behind the couch in the corner. A bird. A big white bird with pink feathers around a black beak.
He looked at Toni. “I saw a cage in the back bedroom.”
“Hello there,” Toni said to the bird.
“Hello,” the bird replied.
“Did you hear that?” Clay shook his head. “It talks.”
“It’s a cockatoo,” Toni said. “A type of parrot, so that makes sense.”
“We should close the door. Don’t want it getting out.”
Toni backed up and pushed the door closed with her foot.
She walked closer to the bird. It ruffled its feathers and backed up. She squatted close to him.
“It’s okay,” she said, her tone soothing. “You must be afraid.”
“Good bye, good bye, good bye,” he said.
“Are you talking about Fritz?”
“Fritz. Fritz. Bird loves Fritz.”
