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“We’ll ask him when we find him,” Jack said.
I moved aside so the EMTs could get in and we bagged Kirby and put him on the gurney for the trip to the lab. Lily and Sheldon would still be with Steven, so I knew there’d be no point in calling them in for this one. We could still only handle so many bodies at a time considering the size of our operation.
“Lily and Sheldon are at the funeral home,” I told them. “They’ll sign off on the paperwork.”
They nodded and left us next to the blood-spattered steps.
* * *
The news about J.D. Street flooded the airwaves and media. There was a statewide manhunt for him, and there was nothing we could do but wait until he was spotted.
But there was a palpable fear in the air as we drove the streets back to Bloody Mary. People weren’t lingering outside, and when they did have to go out they hurried to their destination as if there was a prize at the end. And the prize was living.
Even knowing that the targets had been only those who’d been part of what had happened in Ukraine didn’t stop me from searching every rooftop as we passed. There was nothing to say J.D. might move to his next act of vigilantism now that he’d completed his first mission.
I could do more good at the funeral home than I could anywhere else, so that’s where Jack was taking me. I had three autopsies and an embalming waiting for me. It was going to be a long night.
We’d just crossed into the Bloody Mary city limits when Jack’s phone rang.
“Sheriff Lawson,” he said.
“Sheriff, this is Alex Denaro. You gave me your number in case I had any information.”
“Sure,” Jack said. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been watching the news about J.D. About all my guys. I just can’t believe it. They were good men. I swear to you I’d never have suspected anything like this. I can spot a con a mile away.”
“It’s okay, Denaro,” Jack said. “I believe they were good men at one time. They just got a little misguided in what they were fighting for.”
“You know how they all worked for Miller Construction?” Denaro asked, but didn’t let Jack get a word in. “I might not have told you, but I’m half owner along with my cousin, and we’re building a new subdivision over on Reformation Street.”
“Yeah, we just passed it about five minutes ago,” Jack said.
“I just got a call from the alarm company that the alarm was triggered a few minutes ago, so I went to check the cameras. We had to start using the cameras a couple years back because some of our subs kept walking off with supplies.”
Jack had already done a U-turn in the middle of the street and was heading back toward Reformation Street while Denaro got to the point of his story.
“Anyway, I checked the cameras and sure enough, J.D. broke the back door and went right on in. It’s our spec house too. It’s already finished.”
“What’s the address?” Jack asked.
“Seventeen thirty-one,” Denaro said. “You can’t miss it. It’s the first house on the left as you turn into the subdivision.”
“Thanks,” Jack said and disconnected. And then he dialed dispatch to ask for backup.
“Umm,” I said as we pulled into the subdivision. “Are we really about to go up against a man who’s been shooting people from a distance rather successfully?”
“We’re going to drive by and assess,” Jack said. “And then we’re going to wait for backup. He can’t kill us all with that rifle before someone rushes him.”
“Comforting,” I said. “I’ve always enjoyed a good game of Russian roulette.”
Jack turned onto Reformation and there was a large two-story house on the left with an American flag waving from the top of a tall pole. There was a Miller Construction sign in the newly landscaped lawn and a black truck in the driveway. Jack drove past and kept going to the end of the street, where he turned around so he could see the house from a distance.
“You think he killed himself like Steven?” I asked.
“It’s a possibility,” Jack said. “What are his options at this point? Prison or death.”
A cacophony of sirens blasted from all directions as cop cars barreled down the main road and turned onto the street. Several peeled off and went around to the alley, blocking all the exits. Jack pulled the Tahoe back into the fray and we got out, moving around to the back.
