Page 46 of Night Prey
He swept his hands over the guy’s body, surprised when he didn’t find a gun or knife. No weapon at all. Ian didn’t know why the guy had run, but he at least didn’t carry a weapon and make things worse for himself.
Ian drew Snipes to his feet and turned him around to read him his rights.
“We have a warrant for your arrest and one to search your house and vehicles.” Ian took the documents from his pocket and put them in Snipes’s shirt pocket “If there’s anything you’d like to tell us, now would be a good time.”
“Yeah, don’t leave the toilet seat up.” He laughed hard, but it sounded forced.
Ian gestured at the SERT officer who’d been knocked down and was now standing nearby with the commander. “My friends here will be taking you down to county lockup.”
The officer stepped forward and put his hand on Snipes’s shoulder, the other on his cuffed hands, then started him moving forward as Londyn joined them.
“This’s no skin off my nose,” Snipes called over his shoulder. “I’ll be out in a blink of an eye. You’ll see. Back out in a flash.”
“He could be right,” Ian said to Londyn. “Olivo will likely send an attorney to at least try to bail the guy out.”
“I don’t appreciate you going cowboy on me.” The commander marched up to Ian. “We’re here for a reason.”
“He would’ve scaled the fence,” Ian said.
“Then we would’ve scaled it after him.” The commander lifted his face shield. “Know that this will go in my report.”
“You do what you have to do.” Ian made a mental note to tell his LT to expect blowback from this arrest. “Did your men clear the house?”
The commander nodded. “It’s all yours.”
He stormed away.
“You’re going to get a hand slap,” Londyn said.
“As long as that’s all it is, I’m good.” Ian changed his focus to the house. “Let’s see what we can find inside that will make everyone forget about me failing to follow procedure.”
Londyn headed for the door that Snipes had bolted out of, and Ian followed her.
They entered through a tiny kitchen with old cabinets and stained countertops. The room smelled like garlic and onions, and the scent carried through a small dining room and into a hallway.
“I’ll take his bedroom.” Ian pointed down the hallway. “You take the family room.”
They split, and Ian passed a small bedroom and reached another one set up as an office. He paused to step inside and look at the papers on the desk. The usual bills and junk mail were stacked on one end. He put on gloves and flipped through the envelopes but didn’t find anything of interest. He wanted to look at the laptop, but he wouldn’t wake it up and change the state of the machine, which might interfere with evidence. He needed to get the computer techs out there as soon as possible.
The closet was empty, so he moved on, walking past a bathroom straight out of the forties with turquoise wall tile and black and white floor tiles. Next up was a larger, but still small, bedroom at the end of the hall. The king-sized bed took up most of the room, and the covers were rumpled in a bunch at the foot of the mattress.
The room held a tall dresser and an old wooden chair. Clothes were piled on the chair. Ian photographed the pile of clothes, then lifted the top purple shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans to reveal a black shirt and pants. On the floor by the chair, were a pair of leather boots, worn but polished, just as Malone had described.
Ian took pictures again, lifted the pants, and searched the pockets. He found a folded piece of paper. He opened it, and his heart leapt.
“You’ll want to see this, Londyn,” he yelled.
When she arrived in the room, he held out the paper, and she smiled.
“The reunion flyer.” She pointed at the clothing. “Looks like we’ve got the connection to Junior that we need.”
“I’ll call forensics in, and we’ll get these items logged as evidence,” Ian said. “They can process it all for GSR. We really could have enough to put this guy away.”
Ian hadn’t expected Snipes to talk in their interview, but before Ian had even said a word, Snipes asked for an attorney. Snipes had the attorney’s number memorized, forcing Londyn and Ian to step away without even asking a question.
“We need to get an in-person lineup going for Malone to take a look at this guy,” Ian said to Londyn as they approached her desk. “She can’t ID their faces, but we can have them walk for her and say what the shooter said to Junior before he plugged him. Plus, she can look for the birthmark.”
“I’ll talk to the lawyer when he arrives and try to interview Snipes again.” Londyn frowned. “He probably won’t say a word. No use in you wasting your time here. And I’m sure the attorney will drag out scheduling the lineup and make us wait until tomorrow so he can confer with Olivo first.”
