AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hadn’t seen Jack lose his temper like this in more than a dozen years. He kept a tight rein on it normally, and I knew there was nothing to do but wait it out and let him cool off. Lauren started to open her mouth, to say something to him, and I shook my head. She wisely shut her mouth and left him alone.
“Wallace was number ten,” Jack finally said.
Greer nodded. “And Elliott was eleven. Or one if you want to be technical.”
“So that makes me twelve.”
I realized then who the men in the photographs were, and a fear so sharp and sudden came over me that I almost doubled over. It was nothing like the fear I’d experienced for myself over the last months. It was fear for a man I loved more than life itself—a man who made me a better person—who made me whole.
“Why isn’t he under protection?” I asked Greer, coming to my feet.
“He had to make sure I wasn’t responsible first.” Jack came back to stand beside me. “I’m the last man standing.”
“When was the last time you had contact with any of your men?” Greer asked.
“This is ridiculous,” I said, a cold fury taking root inside of me. “He could be a target and you’re sitting there treating him like he’s responsible.”
“He covered for John Elliott. On record.There could be more he’s hiding.”
“Maybe you need to have an attorney present,” I said to Jack.
He ran his hand down the back of my hair and squeezed my neck. “No, it’s fine, Jaye. These are questions that have to be asked. And bringing a lawyer into it will only slow things down with red tape and bullshit when whoever did this to my men needs to be caught and punished.”
“I think I’m insulted,” Lauren said. “But I agreewith Dr. Graves. You need to protect yourself. I’d advise you to contact your attorney.”
I could see the frustration in Greer’s eyes at the suggestion, but he didn’t reprimand Lauren for speaking out of turn.
“We got together once a year for a weekend the first couple of years,” Jack said, ignoring our suggestion. “Winters, Dreyer, and Price transferred to different cities after the heist. Gonzales retired and opened his own consulting firm. Thompson took a slower paced job in some bayou town in Louisiana. Wallace took the job with Capitol Police. Wolfe became a high level P.I. The rest of the guys stayed on the team under a new commander.”
“After about year three we weren’t able to get together as much. Lives got busier. Some had gotten married and others had started families. We’d stay in touch through email and talk of all of us getting together again, but then things started getting busyfor me over the last few months and that’s been my focus.”
“When was the last time you had contact with any of them?”
“I got an email from Price before Christmas, telling me he and his wife were expecting their first child.” He touched the photo of the man I assumed was Price.
“Where did Price transfer to?” I asked.
“New Orleans.”
“This crime sceneisn’t too old.” Price was one of the men who’d had his throat slit from ear to ear. “See the way the skin at the edge of the wound is crusted? It’s frozen. Dressed in a suit and tie.”
“The last place anyone saw him was at end of shift.New Orleans detectives are required to wear a tie most of the time.”
“He hadn’t even had the chance to loosen itbefore this happened,” I said, noting the crisp knot.
“I heard from Winters’ wife when he died in that car accident in January,” Jack said. “I was able to make it out for the funeral, and most of the guys were there too, but since you’ve got Winters here in your lineup I’m assuming the crash wasn’t an accident.”
“Not an accident,” Greer confirmed.
“What about Dreyer? Was he the first?”
“Who’s Dreyer?” I asked, and Jack pointed to the photograph.
“Yes, we believe Dreyer was the first victim,” Greer confirmed. “He transferred to SWAT in Texas. He always took a couple weeks vacation during hunting season every year. He’s got no family still living and never married, so no one missed him when he didn’t check in. He was hit with a long range rifle right through the heart.”
I looked at the photograph in question and grimaced. The bullet hole was neat and round and the blackness of old blood was visible on the required blazing orange vest that would make him visible to other hunters. But Dreyer hadn’t been found for a long time and the animals had scavenged on him. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
“When he didn’t report back to work, a search party was sent out. You can see by the area that this wasn’t the kill site. The body was dragged and buried under some leaves behind some rocks. It took them two more days to find him after the alert went out. The local police department interviewed everyone who’d checked in and out during that time but didn’t find anyone who clicked. The case is still open but cold. They have no leads or even a hint of a suspect. It’s noted in the file that the investigating officer thinks the killer was never registered at the hunting lodge. The land where they’re allowed to hunt backs up to private property and they found some ATV tracks along the fence line, but there’s no telling who they belong to or how long they’ve been there.”
