“Good job out there. Tell me what happened.” Supervisor Howard crossed his right ankle over his left knee.
Why was he asking for a rundown of what happened? He’d come to the scene and talked with Butler. Either this was his standard practice following an incident like this, or Supervisor Howard suspected there was more to the story than he’d been told.
“Butler and I were in his truck, watching the motel. Vickers stepped out of room twenty-four and retrieved something from his vehicle. Butler positively identified him. I went into the motel office to find out if Vickers had checked in alone. I confirmed he had but under an alias.”
He paused a moment to get names straight in his mind. “Albright and Glover watched the back in case he snuck out. Butler, Stanton, Kennedy, and I knocked on the door and prepared to breach if necessary. He didn’t answer. Albright alerted us that Vickers was sneaking out the back window. He and Glover pursued.
“Butler and I split up, each taking one side of the urban tree lot. I heard Albright yelling and saw movement close to where Iwas. I went into the trees to assist. Albright tackled the fugitive. They tussled on the ground. There was a gunshot. Albright fell back. Vickers stood up and aimed his gun at Glover. Butler shot him before Glover could.”
Supervisor Howard nodded. “As always, there will be an internal investigation into the shooting. In the meantime, Butler is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome.”
“Yes, sir.” It didn’t matter that Liam thought it was a good shoot, it still needed to be investigated properly.
Supervisor Howard opened his suit jacket and produced a piece of paper. “Here’s your password for the computer and all the important phone numbers. You’ve already gotten your key card, so you’re good to go.”
Liam took the paper. “Thank you, sir.”
“Since Butler’s on leave, I’m going to need you to familiarize yourself with his WITSEC cases and be prepared to handle anything else that comes up. We’ve got a guy on our radar, Torres, but he’s still working out the details with the US Attorney, so he’s not in the program yet. I have that file for now.” He handed Liam a manila folder. “That leaves the Williams sisters, Samantha and Isabella. Everything you need to know is in this file. I don’t have to tell you this is for your eyes only as their case officer. You’re on courtroom duty starting tomorrow, so take the rest of today to familiarize yourself with the WITSEC case and the courthouse.”
“Will do, sir.”
Supervisor Howard tapped the desk before standing up and seeing himself out.
Liam used the new credentials to log in to the system. He checked his email and then turned his attention to the manila folder, starting to look into Butler’s witnesses when his stomach rumbled. He tugged over the basket and read the card, a small welcome from Aubrey, the receptionist, and untied the bow.Under the coffee mug and tumbler, both personalized with his name, he found several energy drinks, a box of painkillers, and an assortment of homemade cookies and muffins.
He opened one of the cellophane-wrapped muffins and took a bite. Blueberry spilled over his tongue, and his eyes widened. These were perhaps the best blueberry muffins he had ever tasted. He needed to remember to tell Aubrey thank you.
He turned back to the witnesses. Madison Johanson, now Samantha Williams. Twenty-nine. Her sister Anna Johanson, now Isabella Williams, was fourteen. In the program because Madison/Samantha had been employed as a private nurse for Corvino DeLuca.
Liam blew out a breath. That was a name he’d heard before, and nothing good ever followed it.
Corvino DeLuca was the head of the DeLuca crime family in New York City. DeLuca had ties in guns, drugs, and human trafficking.
He studied the photos in the file.Samantha.Dark-blonde hair and brown eyes. An oval-shaped face, high cheekbones, and full lips.
His heart rate kicked up. She was the attractive firefighter who’d responded to the scene today. He’d had to tear his gaze away from her and focus on what his coworkers had been talking about.
Isabella had brunette hair and brown eyes. A square face with low cheekbones. Despite the differences between the two, there was still a resemblance.
Another knock on the wood frame.
Liam turned and found Butler standing at the door.
“Supervisor Howard said you’re taking over my witnesses. Any questions?” Butler took the seat Supervisor Howard had occupied moments ago.
Liam slid the goodies basket toward Butler. “Want a treat?”
Butler shook his head. “But if I were you, I’d hide the cookies. If the others catch wind, you’re in trouble.”
“That good?” Liam eyed the chocolate chip cookies.
“Better.”
“Noted.” Liam turned back to the folder on his desk. “I see why she’s in WITSEC, and I recognize her as one of the firefighters who responded at the motel earlier. How’d the FBI convince her to testify?”
Butler said, “At first, she refused, scared of retaliation, but her mother got into some trouble, and the FBI offered to go light on her if Madison agreed to testify. The only stipulation Madison had was that the younger sister came with her.”
Liam couldn’t blame her for being reluctant. Anything related to the Mob was dangerous. Some of the torture stories he’d heard about people who’d talked scared him, and he’d seen a lot of things in his career.
