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CHAPTER54
Danni had never been so glad to see someone as she was to see Gabe. It surprised her how shaky she’d become after the shooting. Once the threat was neutralized and the suspect secure, her tenseness gave way to some trembles.
The space had been easy to clear since it was so tiny. Off to the left, in the corner, was Leonard White, trussed up like a Thanksgiving Day turkey, Matt would say. Marrs called code4 and requested paramedics. Danni hadn’t even noticed she was hit until she saw the blood dripping off a finger. Once everything was safe and paramedics arrived to take care of Croft, her hands began to shake uncontrollably. She’d leaned against the broken doorframe and prayed to calm herself down. She was fine; Leonard was safe; the emergency was over.
The quaking stopped as she told herself over and over that everything she’d done was justified. She’d hit Croft twice in the shoulder, and the wounds didn’t appear to be life-threatening. She’d done what she’d been trained to do—she’d stopped the threat. Croft was a threat. Her own wound proved it. He had a loaded 9mm and managed to squeeze off one round before she stopped him.
“Thanks for coming, Gabe,” Danni said, realizing how much his presence calmed her. Once she told him what happened, she felt her balance return.
“I’m glad the kid is okay,” she said when she and Gabe were able to take a seat in the command post motor home.
In the midst of the chaos, Gomez had ordered the department’s mobile command post to the scene. He clearly wanted a normal, unrushed investigation. The scene was locked down and would not be unlocked until he was certain they had all the evidence they needed. Right now, Danni and Gabe were waiting on the prosecutor’s shooting team. Gabe made a good peer support officer.
“I’m really curious to see who Madden will send,” Gabe said as he handed Danni some coffee.
“She was shortsighted enough to suspend her best investigator. I’m not sure I’ll have any confidence in second best.”
“Second best will have to do.”
Danni looked to the right. Carolyn Madden stood in the doorway. She felt like saying oops but stayed quiet.
Madden directed her attention to Gabe. “Why am I not surprised to see you here.”
“Private citizen now.”
“I consider him my peer support,” Danni said.
“Hmm.” Madden turned her back on Gabe. “Detective Grace, we need to complete a walk-through of the scene. Are you up to it?”
“Yes, I’m ready.” Danni saw Ponce and Fellows as she and Gabe exited the command post.
“I’ve just heard that the man you shot is stable, in good condition,” Ponce told her.
“Thank you.”
“Where’s my son! I want to see my son!”
Danni, Gabe, and Madden all turned as Mayor White burst into the area, pushing the crime scene tape aside, her security detail on her heels. There were also two other men. One Danni recognized as the mayor’s brother, and the other was an older man. Danni thought it might be HoffmanSr., but she wasn’t certain. The man looked old, beaten, not how she remembered Ira HoffmanSr.
Gomez and Raven met White and led her to where Leonard was.
“The walk-through, Detective Grace?”
Danni turned to Madden and nodded, then headed toward tiny home number4, right past the family reunion. She took Madden, Ponce, and Fellows through the shooting. Madden didn’t ask any questions. Fellows and Ponce did. Danni knew the shooting was justified. But for the first time in her life, she didn’t trust the system, because she didn’t trust Madden.
+++
Gabe listened to Danni as she recounted the shooting. He was in the doorway; the space was way too crowded for him to be in the room with everyone else. While he listened, he watched the reunion between Leonard and his mom, focusing on HoffmanSr., thinking about the tape and the questions still needing answers. Not just from the past, but also from the here and now.
Why hadn’t Mayor White notified the police when Leonard was kidnapped?
He returned his focus to Danni. She seemed fine and was giving a clear, concise accounting of the shooting. She and Marrs had been looking for Jareb Moore and Severino Croft, both with felony warrants, known associates of Jasper Hobbs. Since neither Croft nor Moore were at the other address they had, they decided to check Hobbs’s residence.
When a transient named Revo told them about a fight in the residence, they became concerned that the two felony suspects were in the tiny house and that there was a possible minor in danger. Using exigent circumstances, they breached the door.
Good work,Gabe thought, glad Croft was in custody. He wondered where Moore was now but resolved not to obsess over it. He’d be caught eventually; it was only a matter of time. Now he needed to concentrate on Danni. Shootings were traumatic, no matter the circumstances. It was good that her wound was minor and Croft was stable.
As they wrapped things up, Gabe decided he was taking Danni home. It was time to tell her how he felt, what he wanted, and to ask where she was in terms of their relationship.
