mid-air and Kerry tumbled to the side. She was definitely dead this time.
Yoko struggled to her feet and sat heavily on the bed. The adrenalin buzzing through her body was making her feel lightheaded and nauseous. She’d heard stories of meth heads keeping going with half-a-dozen bullets pumped into them, but this was the first time she’d witnessed anything like that for herself. Granted, Kerry was running on adrenalin rather than drugs, but the end result was similar enough to make no real difference. And adrenalin could be pretty potent stuff. How many times had she read stories about unlikely heroes performing superhuman feats? Moms lifting up cars to rescue their kid, that sort of thing.
Winter was standing in the middle of the room looking lost and bewildered. Her Glock was hanging from his outstretched arm and he was staring at Kerry Adams’s lifeless body as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
‘Are you okay, Jefferson?’
‘Not really.’
Chapter 17
‘We need to get out of here.’ Winter’s eyes were still glued to Kerry’s lifeless body. He was talking fast, the words tumbling out. ‘I’m figuring you didn’t tell anyone you were coming to meet me. What were you going to say? That you needed to go pick up your drunk colleague? I can’t see that happening. So nobody knows we’re here, which has got to work to our advantage, right? Also, the street’s quiet. I haven’t seen anyone. That means we can slip away and nobody will be any the wiser.’ He paused a second. ‘Except that doesn’t work, does it?’
Yoko shook her head. ‘No, it doesn’t. One look at that wall of photographs and any halfway decent detective will realise they’re dealing with something that goes way outside the ordinary. Maybe they’ll connect this to The Sandman straightaway, maybe they won’t. Whichever way it plays out that connection will get made at some point. So they come into Mary Beth’s bedroom and find Kerry’s body. They’re going to think they’re dealing with a vigilante. So they dig a little deeper and discover that they’re not dealing with one vigilante they’re dealing with two. Our prints are all over the house, our DNA. The bullets came from my service gun. What’s more, the time of death corresponds with the amount of time it would take me to rush over here after receiving a mysterious phonecall, a call that was witnessed by three detectives from Tampa PD’s homicide department.’
Winter rubbed his mouth and let out a long sigh. He laid the gun on the bed, then sat down beside Yoko. His gaze didn’t stray from Kerry.
‘Shit. So what do we do?’
‘First we call Sergeant Dixon. When she gets here we tell her exactly what happened, and I mean everything. I’m talking full disclosure. The only way to make this go away is by being completely honest. Then you’re going to beg for her forgiveness. The good news is that since The Sandman has been taken out of play she probably won’t be too upset.’
‘And what happens to you?’
‘I expect there will be an investigation. I’ll be suspended while this is going on, hopefully on full pay. Again, because there was a happy-ish ending, I should get to keep my job.’
‘And what about me?’
‘That one’s up to you, Jefferson. While the dust is settling, you should give some serious thought to joining the FBI. I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble getting in. You impressed a lot of people with what you did in Maryland last year. Then again, if you think that you’ll be happier playing piano for tourists and old folk, that’s your call.’
She paused a moment, waited until she had his full attention. He kept glancing over at Kerry. She understood his fascination. The first time she saw a dead body she was exactly the same. She’d wanted to look away, but just couldn’t make herself do that. Not for long, at any rate. No sooner had she made herself look away, she was staring again. Winter turned to
Yoko struggled to her feet and sat heavily on the bed. The adrenalin buzzing through her body was making her feel lightheaded and nauseous. She’d heard stories of meth heads keeping going with half-a-dozen bullets pumped into them, but this was the first time she’d witnessed anything like that for herself. Granted, Kerry was running on adrenalin rather than drugs, but the end result was similar enough to make no real difference. And adrenalin could be pretty potent stuff. How many times had she read stories about unlikely heroes performing superhuman feats? Moms lifting up cars to rescue their kid, that sort of thing.
Winter was standing in the middle of the room looking lost and bewildered. Her Glock was hanging from his outstretched arm and he was staring at Kerry Adams’s lifeless body as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
‘Are you okay, Jefferson?’
‘Not really.’
Chapter 17
‘We need to get out of here.’ Winter’s eyes were still glued to Kerry’s lifeless body. He was talking fast, the words tumbling out. ‘I’m figuring you didn’t tell anyone you were coming to meet me. What were you going to say? That you needed to go pick up your drunk colleague? I can’t see that happening. So nobody knows we’re here, which has got to work to our advantage, right? Also, the street’s quiet. I haven’t seen anyone. That means we can slip away and nobody will be any the wiser.’ He paused a second. ‘Except that doesn’t work, does it?’
Yoko shook her head. ‘No, it doesn’t. One look at that wall of photographs and any halfway decent detective will realise they’re dealing with something that goes way outside the ordinary. Maybe they’ll connect this to The Sandman straightaway, maybe they won’t. Whichever way it plays out that connection will get made at some point. So they come into Mary Beth’s bedroom and find Kerry’s body. They’re going to think they’re dealing with a vigilante. So they dig a little deeper and discover that they’re not dealing with one vigilante they’re dealing with two. Our prints are all over the house, our DNA. The bullets came from my service gun. What’s more, the time of death corresponds with the amount of time it would take me to rush over here after receiving a mysterious phonecall, a call that was witnessed by three detectives from Tampa PD’s homicide department.’
Winter rubbed his mouth and let out a long sigh. He laid the gun on the bed, then sat down beside Yoko. His gaze didn’t stray from Kerry.
‘Shit. So what do we do?’
‘First we call Sergeant Dixon. When she gets here we tell her exactly what happened, and I mean everything. I’m talking full disclosure. The only way to make this go away is by being completely honest. Then you’re going to beg for her forgiveness. The good news is that since The Sandman has been taken out of play she probably won’t be too upset.’
‘And what happens to you?’
‘I expect there will be an investigation. I’ll be suspended while this is going on, hopefully on full pay. Again, because there was a happy-ish ending, I should get to keep my job.’
‘And what about me?’
‘That one’s up to you, Jefferson. While the dust is settling, you should give some serious thought to joining the FBI. I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble getting in. You impressed a lot of people with what you did in Maryland last year. Then again, if you think that you’ll be happier playing piano for tourists and old folk, that’s your call.’
She paused a moment, waited until she had his full attention. He kept glancing over at Kerry. She understood his fascination. The first time she saw a dead body she was exactly the same. She’d wanted to look away, but just couldn’t make herself do that. Not for long, at any rate. No sooner had she made herself look away, she was staring again. Winter turned to
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