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Danni followed Marrs into the back bedroom. Bits of black clothing were scattered here and there. A mask, the type Danni often saw on protesters, was poking out from under the bed. She spotted a couple photos of a big house on the floor and picked them up. There were also a lot of wire bits and a caustic smell, like gunpowder, in the room. And someone had spilled ball bearings all over the floor. Danni snapped some photos.
“Looks like they may have been making something nasty,” Marrs said. “We need to back out, call a judge, and get a warrant.”
Danni nodded. “You’re right.” The last thing she wanted was a case thrown out on a technicality.
They exited the residence and she phoned Harper to apprise her of the situation. While they waited, Marrs’s phone rang. It was dispatch with the responsible party. Danni only half listened to his side of the conversation. She was trying not to be impatient. But it bothered her that Moore had a photo of the mayor’s kid. Why?
Marrs finished his call. “Owner lives in the Heights. He has several rentals. This house was rented to someone named Severino Croft.”
“Croft?” Danni perked up. “I recognize that name. He’s one of Moore’s known associates.”
“It was supposed to be just him. He paid cash for three months, two months ago now. The owner doesn’t know anyone named Jareb Moore.”
“He was only going to be here three months?”
“According to the owner, Croft told him he had separated from his wife and needed a place to stay until a new job started. He sent me a picture of the rental agreement.” Marrs showed Danni the photo on his phone.
Danni’s phone rang. It was Harper.
“Are you certain this is where Moore stayed?”
“It’s the address he gave.”
“Is he on the rental agreement?”
Danni rolled her eyes. “No.”
“Anything concrete tying him to the house?”
“No.”
“Then it’s a no go on the warrant. Judge doesn’t think you have enough to search the residence. Sorry.”
Danni disconnected and Marrs threw his hands up.
She tried to guess at how many people had been in the duplex by what she’d observed on the quick walk-through. The bed in the master was a queen; in the second smaller bedroom were two twin beds. All the beds looked slept in. Food wrappers and containers in the kitchen said there were several people here at one time. At least three people, but it could have been a lot more. Only three people had chased her into the flood control. Hobbs was dead. Who else was with Moore, and where was he?
“Let’s get back to the car and run Croft.”
Marrs nodded.
Once in the car, Danni logged on to her laptop to check out Croft. On the known associates, she’d seen Croft’s age. Running him would give her a better picture of who they were dealing with.
His record came up right away. Croft was also from New York. He had two warrants out for his arrest, both felony warrants for assault with a deadly weapon. He was considered armed and dangerous. In radio code that was a biggie: 10-29 Frank, Adam and David. If he was the third man with Moore in the flood control the morning she was chased, Danni remembered he was the one who sounded like he wanted to shoot her if he found her. Based on his record, Croft was way more prone to violence than Moore.
She showed Marrs the results and he whistled through his teeth. “Moore might be the boss, but Croft is the muscle.”
“Agreed.” Now Danni was more concerned than ever about the photo of Lenny White in this place.
“Croft is a bad actor. Two 10-29 Franks. I hate to say it, but we need to speak with the mayor, find out if she knew Moore, and if there was any reason for him to have a picture of her kid.”
“I’ll call Harper.”
