Page 105 of Wild Escape

He’d obviously picked up the scrubs, coat, and mask from a storage area.

Before long, forensic investigators and the medical examiner arrived, along with the sheriff. Dietrich snapped photos of the body.

“I think the son-of-a-bitch got off too easy,” Daniels muttered through a tight jaw.

Levi had killed a cop. One of our own. Nobody in the department was going to cry for the scumbag.

"You’re supposed to be on leave,” the sheriff said.

I gave him a flat look.

“You know the drill.”

I surrendered my duty weapon and was back on leave. “I’ve got a sting operation tonight. Not sitting it out.”

“I’d tell you to try not to kill anybody, but if misfortune should find those scumbags, I’m not going to be upset. I don’t think anyone else in law enforcement would be either.” Daniels put a solemn hand on my shoulder.

JD and Daphne joined us in the hallway.

The staff looked frazzled.

Brenda examined the remains, and her team bagged the body. It took several people to transfer Levi to a gurney. By the time her team wheeled him out of the hospital, Paris Delaney was on the scene with her crew to capture the footage.

Daphne avoided the camera.

"Deputy Wild, what can you tell us about the shooting?"

"No comment at this time."

The sheriff stepped into the frame. "Today, a prisoner killed one of our deputies and attempted to shoot another. The prisoner was shot and killed in the process, and Coconut County is safer because of it.” He wasn't about to put up with this getting spun in the wrong way.

We headed back to the station, and I filled out an after-action report.

Afterward, we drove back to the marina and stopped in Diver Down to grab lunch. Teagan had seen the news broadcast on the flatscreen behind the bar.

I filled her in on all the gory details.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said with concerned eyes. "I've been worried about you guys all day. I got bad vibes this morning, but I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want it to get in your head."

Teagan certainly had a hell of an intuition.

We had wrapped up one case and were pretty close on another. But the day wasn’t over yet.

JD and I took the rest of the day to unwind.

Later that evening, JD and I got into character. We dressed in tattered clothing and dirtied ourselves up to look homeless. It was the easiest way to become invisible.

About 11:30 PM, we headed to the warehouse district. We parked the Porsche several blocks away, then walked to our destination on Union Street. I took a position on the loading dock across from Union Street at another warehouse.

Jack took a position catty-corner from me across the street on Industry.

We both had a good view of the building. I told the sheriff to put patrol units in the area, but far enough away not to be spotted. Tango One kept its distance, but it could be on the scene within moments.

It was hard to dress Daphne down, but we managed. She huddled with me on the loading dock. When the time came, she made a call to Rick at the Dutchman and put it on speaker.

“The Dutchman,” Rick answered after a few rings.

“Dane wanted me to give you a message to give to him.”