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“Had the equipment with him,” Jack said, nodding. “Or maybe hid it up there when he was doing recon. When was the last time the construction crew was up there working?”
“I’ll find out,” Martinez said. “Night guard didn’t know since they’re never there while he’s on duty.”
Jack nodded. “Find anything else?”
“There were a couple of marks on the windowsill where he rested the rifle. It was really just his bad luck and our good fortune about the casing. They removed the floor and laid down plywood and a couple of loose boards for the workers to walk on. There was just the tiniest crack where the casing must have rolled into. Royce actually saw the glint of metal down below while he was on the stairs. I had Royce climb over the rail and risk life and limb for the casing. You don’t get to be a detective without a few perks on the job.”
“Is Royce still alive?” Jack asked.
“Sure, boss,” Martinez said, grinning. “Nothing a little therapy won’t clear up. I figure our shooter didn’t have time to go down and get it himself. It took the three of us a good fifteen minutes, and Plank and I both had to hold on to Royce to keep him steady. One guy wouldn’t have been able to get it by himself.”
“That makes more sense,” Jack said, nodding. “His bad fortune and our good luck. Good work, Martinez. See if forensics can pull a print from the casing too.”
“Sure thing. What’s in the case?” he asked, nodding at the black box we’d retrieved from Sowers’ closet.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Jack said. “It’s a regular combination lock. We just need to get it to the station and get it opened up.”
We all walked together back inside of the Purple Pig. There were a couple of uniform cops talking to Cole, Alex Denaro, and a birdlike man in a blue parka with a clipboard. His black hair was slicked back and his mustache pencil thin. I was assuming he was the insurance guy, but he could’ve been an extra inThe Godfather.
Cole saw us, nodded, and left the uniforms to come over. “We’re about finished here,” he said. “Crime scene techs are packing up. A couple of our guys told Denaro they’d help him board up his windows.” Then he looked down at the case in Jack’s hand and the evidence bags and let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of blow. That wasn’t all on the victim was it?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Jack said. “We found the woman in the red dress. Lily was right again. She has an apartment a block away within walking distance. That’s where the victim kept his stash.”
“She let you come in and take it?” Cole asked, skeptically.
“Yeah,” Jack said, looking down at the evidence haul. “I’m pretty sure we’ve uncovered a hornet’s nest with this one. Turns out the woman is Ukrainian and she’s only been in the United States for a few months, but she’s known Sowers since she was fourteen. She just turned eighteen and he’s got a bill of sale.”
“Ah, hell,” Cole said, rubbing the back of his neck. “He got her fake documents. That’s not easy to do nowadays. Not if she’s traveling internationally.”
“I don’t normally speak ill of the dead,” Martinez said, giving the sign of the cross, “but it sounds to me like this guy needed killing.”
“I can’t say I disagree at this point,” I said.
Jack blew out a breath. He was one of those people who believed in the law and that the justice system worked. He believed in fighting for the innocent, and serving those whose lives had been taken senselessly by another.
I understood Jack, and I knew it was a code he had to live by so he could keep doing the things he did day in and day out. He had to believe in the system and that he was making a difference. Otherwise, I’m not sure he could put on the badge every day.
Personally, I was a little more willing to play fast and loose with varying shades of gray. I believed that there were some people in the world who needed killing. But I also believed in Jack. So I’d keep hunting for a killer, even though it looked like he’d done the world a favor.
“We’ve got a good amount of cocaine and a recreational amount of meth,” Jack said, “Both on the victim and in the apartment where he’s housing Bethany Wildes, a.k.a. Kateryna. It’s enough to get a search warrant for his primary residence and his office. Was next of kin notified?”
“Yeah,” Cole said. “A uniform and the chaplain went to tell her. The media got hold of Sowers’ name just in time to make the evening news.”
“Good,” Jack said. “We’ll serve the search warrants first thing in the morning. Jasmine Taylor said the whole office knew about his drug habit, so that gives us access at his office. And Kateryna told us Sowers purchased her from a woman she calls the house mother back in Ukraine. Who knows how many girls he’s purchased over the years. I want his financials and any other records that might show transactions like that.”
“Ooh, boy,” Cole said. “You were right about the hornet’s nest. I love serving warrants on a den of vipers. I mean, attorneys.”
Jack’s smile was sharp. “We’re just getting started. Jasmine Taylor also mentioned Kateryna wasn’t the only young woman that Sowers brought around on their Friday nights. That sounds to me like Sowers’ friends knew about his creepy pastime, which makes them accessories. I want everyone who was at that table with David Sowers tonight gotten out of bed and brought in. We can hold them long enough to search his law office before they decide to delete or shred any files. We probably won’t find anything,” Jack said. “He’d have to be a moron to keep anything there. But it’s going to make them all really mad, and it’s worth the extra effort.”
“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Cole said.
“Kateryna also mentioned a man named Mr. Kirby,” I said. “We’re not sure if Kirby is first or last name. She said she’d only met the others at the table tonight a couple of times, but she’d met Kirby because he’d traveled with Sowers to Ukraine. He was there when her friend, Anna, was bought.”
Cole was checking the list of names of all the statements that had been taken. “I don’t see anyone named Kirby here.”
“Then he owes us a statement,” Jack said. “Track him down. And take your time bringing them in. You know how things slow down when it’s time for shift change.”
Martinez grinned. “I love this job.”
