“I simply tried out my new camera. It has night vision, a zoom lens, and all sorts of bells and whistles. With people coming and going, I got lots of practice.”
Sticks points a slice of bacon at me as he chews. “You probably took the killer’s picture.”
“Agreed. I assumed that was why the police insisted on taking my fucking memory card.” Yawning, I place my head in my hands. “None of this makes sense.”
Wheels brows furrow as he focuses on me. “Let me get this straight. You followed a guy to a lover’s rendezvous, took some pictures, and a dealer just happened to get murdered while you’re in the building.”
Suds shakes his head. “That’s my Sam. See what I mean?”
Pacing, the other SEAL frowns and ignores the comment. “Did anyone else see you? Maybe someone buying drugs didn’t want it known.”
I grab another slice of toast and down it with some orange juice. “I wondered the same thing but all the street lamps were out. I’m pretty sure no one could see me.”
Suds pulls me onto his lap. “Tell them what happened after you went inside.”
I think hard. “Well, when I saw him move, I tried to catch up, and almost lost him because I didn’t know what level he stopped on. Luckily, I heard a knock on the third floor. This allowed me to snap a picture just as a woman dressed in sexy lingerie opened the door.”
“Did either of them see you?”
“No.” Closing my eyes, the scene sharpens in my head. “I heard this bang and dropped onto my hands and knees.”
“Good move. So, what happened next?” Kind and direct, Wheels reminds me why the FBI fired me. I was nowhere near as good.
“Well, I crawled under the stairwell, pointed my gun, and held my breath as footsteps pounded down the steps.”
Feeling me tense, Suds grips my waist and kisses my head. “Did you get a glimpse of them?”
“No. Their backs were to me. I waited until they were long gone to race upstairs. That’s when I saw the dead dealer. He was lying on the floor with a gun in his hand. Whoever killed him, staged it to look like a suicide but his pistol was missing the silencer.”
“You sure?” Sticks was so silent, I almost forgot he was there.
“Absolutely.”And I’m pretty damned tired of people asking me.“If only I had my pictures…”
“What kind of camera?”
“A Fujazi Super-X50 with telephoto lens. Night vision, too.” I share a warm smile with my partner. “Best gift ever.”
“Sweeeet.” Wheels whistles through his teeth and then both brows shoot up. “Did you know it automatically uploads to the cloud?”
“No shit?. Oh my God. That’s great.” Finally, some good news.
However, the three Patten men frown in unison.
“What? What’s’ wrong?” I study each of their faces but still don’t get it. “Suds?”
“Sugar, why would someone hide the murder of a lowly weed dealer? We’re missing an important piece of the puzzle. And why the hit?”
“Well, I certainly don’t know.” The rest of the day, I nap on and off, stream a couple movies, and eventually head off to bed thinking the worst is over.
A few hours later, the rat-a-tat of rapid fire rifles proves me wrong.
