AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oh, my God, that’s right! I’ll be alone!
I don’t have time to dwell on the realization because the sergeant barks as he heads to his office, “Come with me, Detective!”
I throw Officer Bertrand a glare as I follow behind the sergeant.
He takes a seat behind his desk. “Shut the door.” Not turning around, my eyes locked with the sergeant’s, I give the door a shove and it slams behind me. “Do you feel better?”
“No.” I fall into the seat across from him, anger rolling off me in waves.
He leans forward as he pushes out a heavy breath. “I know things have been tough on you.” He jerks a finger in the direction of the door behind me. “And that will be dealt with, I assure you. But right now, we’ve got bigger problems to worry about. Tell me something.”
He’s right. I can’t get caught up on a redneck, backwoods jerk. We’ve got a killer on the loose, and the clock is ticking.
Yes, we do.
“I found something different in the symbols from crime number four.” I haven’t told anyone this yet. Not that I’ve had a lot of time considering this last one came right after. I pull out the photos from the file in my satchel and lay out two. I point to one I printed off from a site online. “This is the symbol for The Seventh Deadly Sin, Sloth.” I slide my finger to the evidence photo. “This is from crime scene number four.” I’ve circled the area I want him to focus on. “See this? It’s the same drawing. Nothing like this was found at the other locations.”
His eyes go back and forth from one photo to the next. Finally, he mutters, “Well, I’ll be damned, you were right.”
“Ignatius saw it first, Sergeant. Let him go.”
He leans back in his chair, rests his elbows on the arm rests, and touches his fingertips together as he regards me. “I can’t, as much as I want to ignore this ridiculousness. I cannot let him get away with assaulting an officer in the middle of a precinct. Officer Bertrand would slap the department with a lawsuit so fast, we’ll never get this case closed.”
“But he goaded him!”
He holds up a hand to stop me. “I understand that, and I’ll get it dropped. Let’s just get through this first. Beauchamp will be out in a few hours, no harm done.” He leans forward again. “Back to this,” he taps the photograph. “Good work, Detective. I knew you’d find something. It looks like you were right.”
“We were right. And it appears we were correct with the time frame as well, his deadline being Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent.”
His brows fall and pinch together. “It seems that way. That means he’s got two more in five days.”
I nod once. “Correct. However, I – we – wanted to discuss something with you.”
“What’s that?”
Speak now, or forever hold your peace.
I take a deep breath and rush forward. “It’s obvious Ignatius and I are being targeted. We want to set ourselves up as bait. Immediately. Before the perp takes another life.”
The sergeant eyes me intently, his index finger tapping on the desk. Finally, he breaks the silence. “As much as I hate it, I agree. Surrounding the house with uniforms isn’t going to get him caught. We have to be proactive. When, he gets out, we’ll get a tail on both of you, and have snipers in place on the perimeter of the property. I’ll discuss additional measures with the team.”
I feel a little better knowing there’ll be armed men in place immediately. “Thank you, sir.”
“Why don’t you get something to eat and rest a little, it’s going to be a long few days.”
I slide the strap to my bag up to my shoulder and stand. “Sounds like a good idea. I’ll be back to get him in a few hours.”
I walk to the door and open it.
“Detective?” the sergeant stops me.
I look back at him over my shoulder, my hand clutching the doorknob. “Yes?”
“Don’t trust anyone.” His ominous warning sends shivers all the way down to my bones.
“Definitely not, sir.”
He nods.
I leave his office and go down to booking to get the key fob for the car in Ignatius’ personal effects. The parking lot is full but quiet when I leave the precinct. A sense of being watched whispers over my skin. I look around as I walk quickly to the car, knowing some of my discomfort is from the hell of the past couple of days.
I get in the car and head to Hattie’s. Ignatius’ presence is missed. A lot.
The city seems a little darker and a bit more silent. There’s a stillness in the air, a heaviness New Orleans is not unfamiliar with. Because there are things hiding in the dark, and that’s where the killer is.
