The Night Is Deep (A Liam Dempsey Thriller Book 2) (14 page)

“Charlie, good. There’s been another murder. Gage Rowe is dead. I’m at his house now.”

“Gage Rowe?”

“Yes. You need to scramble the coast guard and get a plane in the air. Whoever killed him is driving a boat in Superior.”

“What type of boat?”

“It’s dark gray and has two outboard motors on the back. A guy dressed completely in black is driving. He’s armed and I think he’s wearing body armor.”

There was the scribbling of a pencil from Charlie’s end. “Okay. I’ll make the call.”

“I need to speak with Perring.”

“Not sure she’ll answer but I’ll patch you through.”

“Thank you.”

The phone went quiet in his hand. He stood in the kitchen, the continual patter of water dripping from his clothing to the floor. He glanced at the counter where a half-eaten sandwich dried out on a plate.

The line opened to a sigh. “This is Perring.”

“Perring, it’s Liam.”

“Liam, I don’t really have time for this.”

“Gage Rowe is dead. He was killed at his home and I traded shots with the murderer.”

“What? What are you doing there?”

“I came here to ask him some questions about Erickson.”

“Liam, I swear—”

“I know, I know, just listen. I showed up here and Rowe was tied down with fishhooks to his dock. He drowned in the rain.”

“What? You’re not making any sense.”

“You have to see it. I can’t explain. But the killer was in a boat on the opposite side of the bay. His motor wouldn’t start and we exchanged fire. I shot the bastard twice but he’s wearing some type of body armor. Before Charlie patched me through I asked him to dispatch the coast guard. If they hurry they can catch whoever it is before he gets ashore.” The faint keen of a siren rose in the distance. “The state police are coming. How soon can you and Sanders get up here?”

There was a pause and Perring sighed again. “Sanders is in the ICU right now. He’s been shot in the chest. They don’t know if he’s going to pull through.”

“What? What happened?”

“Dickson Jenner shot him.”

“Oh God.” He closed his eyes as the siren came closer and closer, and a strobe of blue and red lights began to reflect off the tree line.

“We were walking up to the house when he started shooting. I almost got clipped but Rex was in front of me. Dumb asshole wasn’t wearing his vest.” There was a huskiness to her voice and she sniffed once.

“Why the hell did Jenner do it?”

“We don’t know yet and it might take some time to find out.”

“Why?”

“Because he and his mother are both dead.”

CHAPTER 14

The state police quit questioning him when Perring arrived.

In advance Liam had set his gun and straight razor on the kitchen counter and stood outside the house with his hands on his head. The trooper who came around the side of the house through the rain, gun drawn and pointed at him, was young but professional. He searched Liam and secured him while backup arrived. Three officers guided him to the rear of a cruiser and put him in the back before questioning him. He answered everything except queries that bordered on Valerie’s kidnapping. For these he used an old rerouting tactic he’d picked up from veteran cons, bringing the conversation around full circle before repeating his story. The troopers seemed appeased and when Perring showed up, her hair tied back but soaking, they were happy to release him into her custody.

Liam sat in the front seat of her sedan, the rain having tapered off to a steady drizzle. He watched Perring stand beside the crime scene team on the end of the dock, all of them in yellow rain slickers. After nearly a half hour she trudged up the hill and across the lawn to where he waited. When she climbed in the car a draft of cool air buffeted the interior and she stripped away the slicker, tossing it in the back seat. She stared at him.

He waited.

“You’re a complete asshole, you know that?”

“Yeah.”

“You directly disobeyed a police order.”

“I did.”

“You broke . . . I don’t know how many laws in the last two days.”

“Um hmm.”

“And nearly got yourself killed in the process.”

He nodded.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“Can I have my gun and knife back?”

“No. Forensics needs them to make sure you weren’t in on this whole cluster fuck.”

“You know I wasn’t.”

Perring gave him a long look. “Yeah, I know you weren’t.”

“And you know I didn’t leak anything to the press.”

“Yeah. I just got word on the way here that one of the uniforms was seen talking with a reporter earlier today.” She put the car in reverse and backed out to the driveway before pulling away from the house. “You better start talking and don’t stop until all this makes sense.”

“I figured Rowe would know something about Erickson since they were friends in high school and he was involved in Jenner’s assault. All I wanted to do was ask him some questions. I never expected to find him like that.”

“And when you pulled up, he was . . . where he was?”

“Yeah. One of the damnedest things I’ve ever seen.”

“Tell me about it. What about the guy in the boat? Any ID at all? You didn’t see his face?”

“Nothing. Like I said, we traded shots. I hit him at least twice. It just staggered him, then he bounced right back and took off. You hear anything from the coast guard yet?”

“They sent three boats out and took a plane up, but with the weather it was rough going. They didn’t find anything.”

“Shit.” He touched the side of his neck that was still tacky with sap. They rode in silence for a time, the hiss of the wheels on the slick highway the only sound. He finally glanced at Perring. Her profile was haggard, eyes holding deep bags beneath them. “I’m sorry about Rex.”

Perring seemed to consider something, then nodded. “Thanks. He’s got his family with him now. He’ll pull through.”

Liam gave her a moment. “What happened?”

“SWAT was in place. We were going up the front stairs, Rex was in front of me. There was a dog going nuts on the deck, barking and snapping like he was going to rip us to shreds. Then we heard a shout, I think it was Dickson’s mother. I think she yelled ‘no.’. I heard glass break and then the shot. Rex stumbled but stayed standing in front of me. By then SWAT was moving in and Jenner was standing in the living room window with a gun. I remember our eyes locking and his were so fierce, like he was absolutely crazy. He aimed at me but just then one of the team ran around the side of the house and drew his attention. Someone fired and Dickson jerked but got another round off in our direction. There were a few more shots, I don’t know how many. Everything went so fast. I was holding Rex on the stairs, trying to drag him back and there was so much blood.”

Perring paused and pulled out a deflated pack of gum. She considered it for a second, then exchanged it for a pack of cigarettes in the center console. She pulled one out, lit it, and inhaled deeply.

“Damn that’s good,” she said. She squinted at the cigarette before staring straight ahead. “Jenner and his mother were dead when we got inside. She must’ve been trying to pull him away from the window.”

“He must have been drunk.”

“I think it was kind of a constant state for him.”

“He told me he was at the breaking point when I went to visit him. He said he was tired of cops coming around. Maybe if I would’ve said something . . .”

“Maybe you damn well should have!” He could see the pain outlined in her features. “Maybe it would’ve made a difference!” Perring drew hard on the cigarette and some of the anger seemed to drain from her. “And maybe it wouldn’t have. We were careful; we had the team in place before we ever went up those stairs. It might’ve been unavoidable.”

“You read my file.”

“Yeah.”

“So you know my partner was wounded too.” She nodded once, not looking at him. “I know how it feels, how you wish it were you instead.”

Perring swallowed loudly. “It’s like a nightmare that won’t stop even though I know I’m awake.”

“I’m sorry. I do feel responsible.”

“You shouldn’t have gone to speak to him, but this was how it was going to play out, one way or another. Jenner wasn’t ever going to get over what happened. He was always going to have the suspicion and anger hanging over him. I’m sorry that he and his mother are dead. If he hadn’t shot at us it would’ve ended fine. I don’t see any other route we could’ve taken.”

“This is the only part of the job that I couldn’t stand. The doubt and regret.” Liam brushed his neck again then let his hands fall to his lap.

“I owe you an apology, Liam,” Perring said, surprising him. “You were right about the connection between the cases. I’d be a fool to deny it now after seeing that three carved into Rowe’s face.”

“The countdown has begun.”

She blinked and took another long drag. “This guy’s a fucking psychopath.”

“I don’t think so.”

She shot him a look. “What do you mean? Did you see the same things I did today? Two murders in less than twenty-four hours?”

“But look at the synchronicity of it all,” Liam said. “Valerie is abducted two nights ago. We get a ransom the next day. That night Erickson’s killed. We find him in the morning. This afternoon Rowe gets a visit. Did I hear the trooper correctly saying that Rowe’s family was out of town for the past few days?”

“Yeah.”

“See. Planning. Whatever this guy is, he’s not sporadic and impulsive. This whole thing’s like a clock, each piece working with the next, everything meshing. But what truly worries me is what happens when the clock winds down.”

“The countdown has begun,” Perring said quietly.

Liam’s cell phone rang in his pocket, startling them both. He drew it out, surprised to see the display working again. Dani’s number filled the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Hi. How are you?”

“I’m okay.” There was something in her voice, something that set all his senses alert.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. I just . . . had an encounter at the park.”

“What do you mean ‘encounter’?”

She was quiet for so long he was about to ask the question again when she spoke. “I took Eric to the park today, the one down from the market?”

“Yeah?”

“And there was this guy there. He was sitting on a bench near the street. He watched us come into the park and he just stared for the longest time, but I didn’t think much of it. He didn’t look dangerous or anything. He was just an average guy about our age. He was wearing a red sweatshirt with a yellow circle on the chest, and I remember it looking really small on him, like he was trying to show off how in shape he was. Maybe he noticed me looking. I don’t know. Anyway, after a little while the park started emptying out, but Eric was still playing so I kept reading my book and all of a sudden the guy is sitting next to me on my bench.”

Liam’s insides squirmed. “What happened?”

“He . . . he was nice at first, just making small talk but then he started saying suggestive things, like he didn’t live too far away and I could come to his house for coffee if I wanted and that he had a big TV that Eric could watch while we talked.”

Liam gripped the phone, hearing the plastic squeak under the pressure. “Then what?”

“Then he touched me.”

“What? Where?”

“On the arm. He kind of let his fingers trail up my arm.” Now Dani was beginning to cry. He could hear the tears tightening her voice. “When he did that I stood up to walk away and he ran his hand up my leg and grabbed my ass.”

“Sonofabitch,” Liam breathed. Every muscle in his body trembled. “What did you do?”

“I turned and backed away and the whole time he just sat there smiling and watching me. I went right over and got Eric and we left. I’m sorry, God I’m being so weak,” she said, the tears fully there now. He could hear her wiping at her face. “Thank God Eric didn’t see. He could tell I was shook up but all he asked was if I was all right.”

“I’m coming home right now.”

“No, Liam, I’m fine. It’s not like that’s the first time some guy’s grabbed me.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not the first. It’s going to be the last.”

“It’s okay. He was just some creep. We’ll steer clear of that park from now on. We can go to the one down from Eric’s school.”

“Damn it, it’s not okay, Dani,” Liam said with more vehemence than he meant to. He saw Perring glance at him out of the corner of his eye but he ignored her. “And for God’s sake, it wasn’t your fault because you looked at him.”

Dani sniffled but when she spoke again her voice was stronger. “I know. But I’m fine, Eric’s fine. It shook me up, that’s all.”

“I’m still coming home.”

“Don’t. As much as I’d love to have you here, stay there where there’s a real problem. I just needed to talk to you, to hear your voice.”

He closed his eyes. Sometimes he forgot how much she’d gone through in Tallston the year before. How much she’d endured and how truly strong and resilient she was. But the scars on her legs weren’t the only wounds she carried. There had been nights when she’d woken him with her own nightmares. She hadn’t deserved any of it. And now this. His hands trembled with anger. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

“If you had been, you’d be in jail right now.”

“But more importantly he’d be in the hospital.”

She laughed a little and the sound broke the tension holding him rigid in his seat. “I’m fine,” she repeated. “Eric and I are going to make dinner soon; chicken fettuccine Alfredo.”

“I still think—”

“I just want to forget about it. There’s a million jackasses out there like him but what you’re dealing with there is much worse. Valerie needs you more than I do tonight.”

“You make me feel so wanted.”

She laughed again. “I love you.”

“I love you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

“You did help. A lot. I’d better go, I’ve got a hungry boy here.”

“Give him a hug for me.”

“I will.”

“Call me later tonight.”

“I will.”

He hung up and stared at the phone for a while, the urge to call her back almost too great to resist, but one thing kept him from doing so. Guilt. Where had he been when she really needed him? Gone. Away. Running off on another case, telling himself that he wasn’t doing real police work, while he made every attempt to. He should go home right now, be with the people that truly needed him, simply shut off the inner pull toward any more cases that came across his doorstep. But how would he feel if he left and tomorrow they found Valerie’s body? How could he ever look Owen in the eyes again? Or himself?

Valerie needs you more than I do tonight.

He wished he knew if that was true.

“Trouble on the home front?” Perring had cracked her window and lit another cigarette. Liam looked at his phone for a long moment, then tucked it away.

“No.”

“I’m having one of the forensic assistants drive your truck back tonight. Your possessions should be cleared by then. You can get going after that.”

“I want to stay.” The edge in his voice made her glance at him.

“We went through this.”

“Perring, who do you have to work this with you? You said yourself that you’re understaffed.”

“That’s not the point. You aren’t a cop anymore.”

“Exactly. I can do things that you aren’t allowed to. I can get information. I can help you.”

She made an exasperated sound. “I must be nuts.” She dragged deeply on the last of her cigarette. “What are you thinking? Even though I’m by no means agreeing to anything at all.”

“I think we should try to locate Marshall Davis because I have a feeling his name is the next on the list. We may even be too late but I don’t think so.”

Perring nodded. “I’ll have Charlie check around the office, see what the word is on Davis.”

“There’s something else that’s really irking me.”

“What’s that?”

“The bartender’s new story. It’s off. I didn’t like it from the beginning. There’s no way to prove he’s telling the truth.”

“He was drunk, that much was apparent even to the officer that interviewed him the morning after Valerie’s disappearance.”

“I’m not disputing that,” Liam said. “But there’s something wrong with how he came back and amended his version of what happened. Is he still in custody?”

“No. As far as I know he went back to his bar.”

Liam glanced out the side window at the rain-swept trees. “Then let’s go have a drink.”