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Gabe stifled a groan. He’d been hoping this was clean-cut, a“good shooting” as it were.
“What do you have?” he asked. “Who’s the shooter?”
“Let me show you the scene first.”
Gabe fell in behind Gomez, along with the other part of the shooting team, two homicide detectives, Marrs and Diamond. He knew both men. They were old-timers and good at their jobs. Their blank expressions were set in concrete.
“You might know the deceased,” Gomez said as they approached the cloth barrier used to shield crime scenes from public view.
Gabe glanced left and right before entering the barrier. The growing crowds were kept at bay about half a block down the street on either side of the alley. Aside from the night of the stakeout, Gabe had worked this beat often before he left thePD and knew the area well. Barton Plaza Apartments generally received a lot of attention by patrol officers. There were good people here, but a lot of riffraff as well. Not much changed over time at Barton Plaza. The only change Gabe noticed was that all the windows on the lower level now sported bars.
Once inside the barrier, he could see the dead man’s feet protruding from beneath a yellow tarp. Based on the direction he was lying, it looked as though he had been coming from the alley when he was shot.
The lieutenant pulled back the sheet.
Gabe looked at the body, the side of the face, and recognition dawned—then he felt the ground fall away.
“Thomas Johnston?” The leader of the defund the police protest shot by police?
“It looks like he got two bullets in the back, at least from what I can see. We can’t turn him over yet. The coroner should be here soon.”
Gabe felt the heat rise. This was untenable. Shot in the back.
He turned to Gomez and spoke low. “Who is the shooter?”
“Jess Ramos.”
This just kept getting worse. He knew Jess; Danni had trained him. He’d joined the force after serving four years in the Army. He was a cop’s cop. Gabe swallowed hard.
Gomez spoke into his radio. “Get Ramos out here. We’ll start the walk-through.”
Gabe found himself wanting to hurry. He could hear the crowds getting noisier. They were probably expanding. When he’d seen them, the protesters were all dressed alike in black. Looked like a bunch of gang members. He was certain Madden would disagree. “They’re only expressing frustration.”
Their chanting became clearer. “No cops allowed,” they repeated. “No cops allowed.”
The vivid image of Danni’s bloody face flashed in his mind. The perimeter cops had riot gear, but Gabe didn’t.
Jess came walking up with another officer Gabe knew was acting as a peer support officer. Ramos looked okay, cop face firmly in place.
“I was dispatched here on an unknown trouble call,” Jess said. “I parked—” he pointed in the direction of where Gabe had seen his patrol car—“and walked to the mouth of the alley. At first, I didn’t see anyone, hear anything. I asked dispatch if the complaining party wanted to be contacted. The answer was no, so I was about to leave the area when I heard someone yell, ‘Officer.’ I turned back and saw Johnston running toward me from the other end of the alley.”
Jess looked that direction and Gabe followed his gaze, putting himself in Ramos’s shoes. With a known anti-police agitator running his way, did Ramos panic? Gabe dismissed the thought. Men like Jess didn’t panic.
“You recognized him?”
Ramos gave a mirthless smile. “Hard not to. He’s on TV every night.”
“Did he say anything?” Gabe asked.
“Something like, ‘Hey, I need your help.’ I think that’s what I heard.”
“Did he have a weapon?” one of the homicide guys asked.
“His hands were empty. I heard two gunshots, saw muzzle flash at the back of the alley, and he dropped. I drew my weapon and fired two rounds toward the flash before retreating behind my cruiser.”
“Wait.” Gabe held his hands up. “You didn’t shoot Johnston?”
“I did not. I saw a muzzle flash somewhere behind the dumpster, but not a shooter. I fired down the alley after Johnston fell. It was suppressing fire so I could get to cover. When backup got here, and we were code4, I was able to see if Johnston needed medics or if he could tell me anything, but...” His voice trailed off and he hiked a shoulder. “A little before the command post set up, some agitators came out claiming I’d murdered Johnston. I didn’t.”
