AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded and followed us to the door, and when we opened it to leave she stood out of the way in case there were neighbors who might see her. Freedom was a concept she’d never experienced.
Neither Jack nor I spoke until we got back down to the street, and he pulled his cell phone out. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the vein in his neck.
“Who are you calling?” I asked.
“Someone who might be able to give that girl a fighting chance.”
CHAPTERFIVE
When I was a kid,I’d liked to pretend that Jack’s mom was my own. She’d practically raised me, and she’d never once looked at me as less than because of who my parents had been or because I’d always been a little bit of an outcast. And she’d never once made me feel like I wasn’t good enough for her son.
Ruth Lawson was tiny and tough as nails, and I couldn’t think of anyone better that Jack could have called to help Kateryna stand on her own two feet.
I listened to Jack explain the situation to his mother, and I could hear her outrage coming through the receiver. I flipped up the collar of my coat since we were walking into the wind, and ducked my head slightly.
I was anxious to get David Sowers on my table and open him up. It must have been pure evil that had kept him alive, because his habits probably should’ve killed him many times over. I was trying to figure out how to get Jack to drop me off at the lab instead of going home for the night.
By the time Jack had hung up we were almost back to the Purple Pig.
“What did she say?” I asked. “I got the gist from her yelling, but what did she say specifically?”
“She’s going to get everything together and come meet with Kateryna first thing in the morning,” Jack said. “Mom and Dad have donated time and money to a couple of different trafficking nonprofits, so they’ll be a big help. Kateryna was obviously given fake legal documents, but if anyone can move through red tape Mom can. I can only imagine how many other girls there are like Kateryna right under my nose. King George is an easy target because we’re isolated. There could be a trafficking nest right under our noses. What is happening to this county?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I miss the days when regular murders were the worst we had to deal with. The big city keeps pushing outward, and we’re getting sucked in. David Sowers is just one guy, and he had more cocaine on him than I’ve seen since I started as coroner here. He’s also somehow at the center of a sex trafficking ring, but we only know about it because he’s dead.”
“Not very comforting,” Jack said. His steps quickened in his anger, and he shoved his hands in his coat pockets. “People like Sowers come here because they think they can fly under the radar. He can join the KC or the Lion’s Club and sponsor a Little League team. I’m sure he pays his country club dues and probably shows up for church every Sunday. But he’s still the kind of bastard who will fly to another country and buy an underage girl. And he’s just arrogant enough to think he can hide her in plain sight, and that law enforcement in a place like this is too stupid to know what to do about it.”
“I personally believe that David Sowers getting a bullet in his head was the easy way out. I know you well. When you take down everyone who is associated with him they’re going to all wish for their own bullet by the time you’re done with them.”
“You’re a good egg,” Jack said affectionately. “Have I ever told you that?”
“Yes,” I said. “But I don’t mind hearing it every so often.”
The paramedics had packed up shop by the time we returned and everyone had finished giving statements, but Martinez and a few uniforms were still on the street. Martinez hustled over as soon as he saw us.
“Found the shell casing,” Martinez said, grinning. He held up the bag for Jack to see.
“Snipers are trained not to leave anything behind,” Jack said, eyes narrowing with thought. “Maybe this guy is an amateur and got off a lucky shot.”
“I don’t know,” Martinez said. “But it’s a hell of a shot. There’s a good clip in the wind tonight, and lots of movement in the periphery. Would’ve been easy to hit someone else in the crowd.”
“Where’d you find the casing?” Jack asked.
“Looks like the shot was taken from the bell tower at the courthouse,” Martinez said. “Night security guard let us in, but he said everything was quiet until the shots were fired. No one in and no one out of the building. He has a list of the last employees out of the building. Said everyone usually clears before too late on a Friday. He’s making a copy of the log for us.”
“Just one security guard on duty?” Jack asked.
“Yeah,” Martinez said. “Says he does rounds every hour on the hour, but he’s an older guy so I can’t see him making those stairs that many times in a night. There are entry points at the front and back, plus a fire escape door on the west side of the building that’s accessed through the stairwell. But opening the door triggers the fire alarm. Then there’s a second-floor entry from the skywalk that leads to the parking garage, but you’ve got to have card access to utilize that door and there’s a record of who goes in and out.”
“We’ll need to get a copy of that information,” Jack said.
“Already on it,” Martinez said. “Someone could’ve been waiting up there all day until the time was right. The clock tower is closed because of construction, and the door is locked leading to the stairwell. It’s not keycard access though. Security guard gave us the key.
“Once we got up there space was a little tight for three of us so Royce hung back on the stairs. It’s just an open railing, so plenty of opportunity to fall to your death if you’re not paying attention.”
I snorted out a laugh and Martinez winked at me.
“It’s a construction zone, so plenty of dust. There was some disturbance of dust on the floor, but it was smeared so not sure if the guys can pick up any partial shoe prints. Shooter cut out the pane of glass instead of breaking it.”
