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CHAPTER59
Three days had passed since the blowup at the mayor’s house. Evidence was still being sorted through and the entire sequence of events being examined by Ponce, Fellows, and Marrs. Gabe was happy and relieved for Danni’s sake that they’d caught the man who threw the Molotov cocktail into Thomas’s apartment. Another resident from across the courtyard saw it happen and knew thekid. After getting kicked out of his home, he had the courage to tell Ponce and Fellows. Word was, charges would be filed.
On Sunday morning Gabe had taken Danni to brunch at Beans and Bacon after church when his phone rang.
“It’s Ponce. Let’s see what he has to say.”
Since they were in a public place, he didn’t put it on speaker, but he moved closer to Danni so she could hear. Gabe liked that approach better than speakerphone anyway, any excuse to be close to Danni.
“Jareb Moore is ready to be interviewed,” Ponce said. “And we know a little bit more about his prognosis. He’ll live. Your bullet severed his spine just below the chest, though, so he won’t ever walk again.”
“And he’ll still talk?”
“He wants to take Ira Hoffman down with him.”
Danni rolled her eyes. They both knew that despite the shooting day confession, IraJr.—on the advice of his lawyers—had shut up and refused to answer any more questions. Proof of what he confessed to might never appear.
“Actually, we had a stroke of luck.” Marrs jumped on the phone. “We processed Moore’s SUV, and guess what we found?”
“Oh, tell me,” Gabe said.
“Besides pipe bombs and boxes of ammo, he had insurance. Recordings, audio and video. They were all in the back of the vehicle. First recording we viewed was of Moore receiving a hefty amount of cash from Junior. We think these are the recordings from the alley.”
Gabe watched as Danni’s eyes lit up. “Woo-hoo,” she said. “But I’d never say it was luck.”
“Whatever it was, I’m glad for it. And news is brewing that Jess will be back. Civil service found no justification for his firing.”
“Awesome,” Gabe and Danni said together.
“You back to work tomorrow, Danni?”
“I am.”
“Gabe, what about you?”
“Reinstated with no black marks on my record.”
“Great. Both of you have a great weekend.”
Gabe set his phone down and gripped Danni’s hand. “I’m happy and relieved to hear the news. Maybe we’ll even get to see who shot Thomas, but...”
“You really hoped to get to HoffmanSr.”
“I did.”
The cold case story had run in the LaRosa Post. It was picked up by the LA Times as human interest and then by a cable news crime show. The Tribune contained no trace of the story. HoffmanSr.’s lawyers had hit the PD with a warning about a defamation lawsuit, telling them to cease and desist giving out any information on the case. The cassette tape interview could not be held up as proof of anything, they argued, since Sterling couldn’t be cross-examined. Likewise, the mechanics who performed the forensic exam of the car were long gone, and nothing could be corroborated. Everything Gabe had was hearsay and innuendo.
He’d tried to find Curtis to see if the old man had any more information, but the guy had disappeared. Aker had passed peacefully the day of the carnage at the mayor’s home. The case would likely go cold again.
“I hate to think of Senior getting away with murder.”
“He won’t get away with it, Gabe, not in the end.”
“True enough.”
They finished their brunch and then headed to Gabe’s house. They’d planned to spend the afternoon together. Gabe was seriously considering quitting the prosecutor’s office and going back to the PD. It was something he wanted to talk over with Danni. As he came around the corner and turned on his street, he saw an unfamiliar car parked in front of his house.
“Who is this?” he asked as he pulled into the driveway.
