His feet stopped moving when he saw Barlow and Captain Casey standing off to the side, deep in conversation. Even from twenty feet away he could sense tension. And pain. Barlow looked like he’d taken a blow.
The two looked up, saw him and exchanged a glance. David got a queasy feeling in his gut. “What’s happened?” David asked. “I need to know. How’s Zell?”
Casey looked old. “I don’t know. I’m waiting to hear. David, there was a shooting tonight. At that residential school.”
The queasiness turned to ice. Oh God. Please. Not her. “Who?”
“Kane,” Barlow said quietly. “He’s dead.”
David felt his knees go weak. “Oh no. How?”
“You know that hearing aid you found in the condo debris? Olivia and Kane were trying to track its owner, looking for an eyewitness at the deaf school. They found a kid who knew something. Somebody tried to snatch the kid tonight.”
“The bomb scare was a fake?”
Barlow nodded. “They did a full sweep and didn’t find anything, but it got the kids evacuated. Kane got there as the kid was being shoved into a van. He saved the kid, but there was a struggle and…” He trailed off. “Poor Liv.”
David fought back panic. “Was she there?”
“No. She got there about ten minutes later. Kane was already gone.”
Sadness settled on his shoulders, even as his body shuddered in relief that she hadn’t been nearby, in danger. Kane had been more than Olivia’s partner. He’d been her friend and, if David’s instincts were right, a father figure as well. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Barlow said. “I’d heard there was an officer down. I didn’t know it was Kane until a little while ago. She might still be at the hospital with Kane’s family, but knowing Liv, she’s gone back to the scene.”
Doing her job. As will I. He wanted to ask Casey for a few hours to go see Olivia, to see Jeff, but there was still hours of work to be done here. And then I’m on shift for the next twenty-four. “I’ll call her.” But what could he say?
“I heard about your partner, Zell,” Barlow said. “I’m sorry.”
Fear, worry, and guilt rushed his mind, and he quickly turned it back. He couldn’t let himself think about Zell now. He shouldn’t let himself think about Olivia either, but that was impossible. She was there, in his mind. She was hurting, and he hurt, too.
“Thanks.” David surveyed the wreckage. “Which house was the arson target?”
“Second from the left,” Barlow said. “No glass ball that we’ve been able to find.”
“Was the gas tank targeted?”
“Doesn’t appear to have been. Folks are just turning on their heat at night. They probably had a leak and didn’t know it. The fire spread from one house to another and… boom.” The last word was said very wearily. “We know two people were home in one of the houses, but the other house was for sale. Neighbors say it was unoccupied.”
“The condo was supposed to have been, too,” David said.
Barlow shrugged. “I know. I thought of that already. I’ve called for a cadaver dog and they’re supposed to be here soon. Then we’ll start searching for remains.”
It was a grim prospect, but part of the job. “They didn’t leave a glass ball. Are we talking the same arsonists?” David asked and Barlow’s eyes narrowed.
“House belonged to Barney Tomlinson’s mistress. What do you think?”
The words hung in the air for a moment. Then Casey met David’s eyes, his kind. “Why don’t you take off? Go see Zell and Detective Sutherland. You’re back on in a few hours and you won’t be able to then.”
David thought of Olivia, grieving alone. She shouldn’t be alone. “Thanks. I’ll need to catch a ride back to the firehouse.”
“I’ll ask one of the cops to drive you back,” Barlow said.
Wednesday, September 22, 2:30 a.m.
Olivia and Noah found Micki at the crime scene, staring at the flattened grass that was stained with blood. Kane’s hat was still on the ground. It looked… lonely. And small. Nothing like the man who’d worn it.
Carry this picture in your mind, Olivia told herself sternly. This is the monster you’re chasing. This is what he took from you. From Jennie.
Beside her, Noah let out a breath. “Goddammit.”
Micki looked up, startled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you coming.”
“Did you find the bullet?” Olivia asked harshly.
“Yes. Hollow-point. I had it sent to ballistics. They’ll have results by morning meeting, but I’m betting it’ll match Weems and Tomlinson.”
“Did he leave anything behind?” she asked. “Did the cameras catch him?”
Micki’s lips twisted bitterly. “He was dressed like a cop. Kane must have knocked off the bastard’s hat.” She pointed to it, flattened in the dirt on the shoulder. “The shooter ran over it with his tires when he was escaping. Then the ambulance ran over it again, but it’s folded over, so hopefully anything he left behind will be trapped inside.”
A hat, Olivia thought. Kane would see the irony in that.
“And the security cameras?” Noah asked.
“We got basic height and weight of the shooter. Angle was wrong for the license plates on the van. We can get a very basic make on the van, but that’s it.”
Olivia pointed to Kane’s hat. “Can I take it?”
Micki shook her head. “Not yet. I’m sorry, Liv.”
Olivia’s nod was crisp even though her heart cracked. Micki was doing her job and she was damn good at it. It’s just that it’s on the ground. It shouldn’t be on the ground. She cleared her throat and when she spoke, her voice was even and strong.
“It’s okay. I just want to make sure Jennie gets it. I’m going to find Kenny Lathem now. Call me if you get anything.”
Micki just nodded, her lips pursed to keep from breaking down. Olivia turned on her heel and made her feet move, Noah at her side.
Oaks was waiting for them in his office. A woman sat in the chair next to his desk. He signed, then pointed at the woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
“He said he thought you’d come back, so he waited,” she said. “I’m Danni Oaks. Principal Oaks is my dad. He asked me to come and interpret for him tonight.”
“Thank you,” Olivia said. She turned to Oaks. “Were any children hurt tonight?”
“No,” he signed. “Kenny is quite upset, as you might expect. We’ve called his parents to come get him.”
“We need to talk to him first,” Olivia said flatly.
Oaks hesitated. “Detective,” he signed, “I cooperated with you yesterday.”
“And we appreciate it,” Olivia interrupted the soft voice of Danni Oaks, not bothering to hide her impatience in her face or her tone. “But my partner is dead, Mr. Oaks.” She watched him flinch. “And Val, the interpreter from yesterday? She’s missing. Somebody wants Kenny real bad. I want to know who and why. And I want to know now.”
“His parents should be here,” Oaks signed tiredly, Danni voicing.
“Kenny could be in danger, Mr. Oaks,” Olivia said. “He knows something that somebody doesn’t want told. I don’t want to have to explain to his parents why somebody murdered him, too.”
Oaks’s shoulders sagged. “I’ll have him brought in.”
Chapter Twenty
Wednesday, September 22, 2:55 a.m.
Kenny shuffled in next to a man Oaks introduced as Roger Court. Roger was the dorm staff who had spoken with Kane’s killer.
When they were all seated, Olivia began. “Kenny, I know you’re scared, but you have to talk to me.”
Kenny closed his eyes. “I want to go back to my room,” he signed, his face stony.
Danni Oaks voiced it with a note of apology, sentiment Olivia knew was Danni’s and not Kenny’s. Olivia tapped the table, but Kenny’s eyes remained stubbornly closed.
Olivia tapped harder, then banged her fist so hard the table jumped and shuddered. Still Kenny’s eyes remained closed. Fury bubbled up, rattling her control and suddenly Olivia saw Kane again, lying on the ground. His blood soaking the ground. Dead. Because this little shit wouldn’t talk. Goddammit, boy, you’ll talk to me.