“Must be,” I murmur, even though I know it’s all bullshit. It’s become very clear to me that a man like Kasper Hill can’t possibly have a conscience. “Hey, wait,” I pull Ely to a stop before we head through the front doors of the precinct, pulling him against me to force him to meet my gaze. “Are you okay?” I ask, and Ely nods, a dark shadow crossing over his face.
“I’m ready to bring him down,” he says. “I’m ready for justice.”
I nod, and we walk hand-in-hand into the precinct. Jake is still there, working late apparently, and he glances up as Ely and I come in. He begins to say something, something sarcastic and inappropriate, probably but stops when he sees the look on Ely’s face.
“Holy shit,” he says. “What happened to you two?”
Instead of answering, Ely leads me to his desk where I sit down in the chair, pulling my jacket tighter against me. Autumn in Colorado is always pretty chilly, but I think it’s more the circumstances right now than it is the weather.
“I’m going to go speak to my chief,” Ely says, taking off his own jacket to drape it over me. “Stay here, don’t say anything, okay?”
“I won’t.” My eyes are on Ely’s back as he vanishes down a dimly lit hallway and into the office of the Denver Police Department Chief, Russel Cowden. My eyes fall from the door and I turn to look at Denny, who is staring at me wide-eyed, trying to figure out what in the hell is going on.
“Is Kasper still here?” I breathe out, and Jake nods, brow still furrowed as he stares at me.
“I just saw him a few minutes ago. Why? Is everything okay?”
I shake my head and focus my attention back on the Chief’s closed door, wishing I could tell Jake everything, but I know I have to wait for Ely. I look around the open room of the building but don’t see Kasper anywhere, and that makes me nervous. There’s no way he could know, none at all, and yet I’m still paranoid he’s caught wind of our findings and has managed to escape justice.
After about ten minutes which seems to go on for hours and hours, Ely and Chief Cowden open the door to the office and step out. Chief Cowden is holding a cell phone to his cheek and speaking quietly into it, but I can’t read the expression on Ely’s face. I can’t bring myself to say anything at all as Ely walks towards me and stops at his desk, glancing briefly at Jake who still seems absolutely bewildered.
“The FBI is on the way,” he whispers to me, brushing my ear with his lips. “And a DA with a warrant for his arrest. We’re going to take Kasper Hill down.”
Before I can say anything to this, the devil himself comes around the corner holding a travel mug in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. He stops when he sees Ely and me, eyes narrowing into tiny, dangerous slits that, despite the circumstances, still send a shiver of apprehension down my spine.
“Everything okay here?” he asks, glancing at Chief Cowden, and Ely steps in front of me to approach Kasper. He’s holding himself together well considering the man in front of him has just been found to have killed Ely’s wife and child in cold blood.
“Everything is great,” says Ely, and the tone of his voice is so scary that even I’m glad I’m not about to face his wrath.
“I’m headed out, Chief,” Kasper says, making an attempt to side-step Ely. The attempt is blocked, however, as Ely’s hand flashes out quick as lightning and secures itself around Kasper’s shirt collar.
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere this time, friend,” Ely says with a hiss. Next to me, Jake rises from his chair, on alert, but Chief Cowden is already resting a hand on Ely’s arm to pull him off.
“What in the fuck are you doing?” Kasper roars, shoving Ely back. “Touch me again and fucking pay for it, asshole.”
Before anyone can answer, the front door opens once more and a team of people I don’t really recognize come through the doors. As soon as they see us they flash their badges and rally around the small group of us.
“What in the hell is this?” Kasper asks, wheeling on the Chief, and in all the time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen the guy look as nervous as he does now.
“Do you recognize this, Detective Hill?” Chief Cowden asks, holding up the small, black flash drive for Kasper to see. It seems to take a moment, but then I see it … the moment it dawns on him, and for a second the terror in his eyes is similar to that of an animal about to be hit on the road at seventy-five miles an hour.
“I have no idea, Chief,” he says, and the lie slides off his lips like poison. “Care to explain?”
“Detective Kasper Hill,” someone says behind me, and a well-dressed woman steps up, pulling cuffs from her back pocket. “My name is Agency Marissa Hardy with the FBI, and you’re under arrest for the illegal collaborations with known criminals of Colorado state …” She continues to speak, but I can’t follow anymore. I’m too busy staring at Kasper, frozen at this moment, wondering if this, finally, is really it. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, and when I open them again Kasper is in my face suddenly, having managed to rush past Ely and Agent Hardy to come at me.
“You did this!” he roared. “I ought to kill you right here with my bare hands.” Kasper Hill is in my face suddenly, eyes narrowed, teeth bared like an angry dog ready to attack. An assistant agent closest to me pulls him back, but it doesn’t do much good. He’s mere inches away from me, and I can smell the beer on his breath. “You,” he whispers, dropping his voice so no one can hear him but me. “You did this. When I get out, I swear to God I will fucking kill you.”
I swallow but rise from the desk chair I’ve been sitting in to meet Kasper face-to-face. I don’t take a step back and instead lean in until we’re less than a few inches apart. I know that if looks could kill me alone, I’d be cold, dead, and buried.
“Enjoy prison, Detective,” I say. “I’ve heard they’re not very nice to wife beaters and child murderers.”
Kasper lunges at me, like a rabid dog being held back by a frayed rope, and it takes two more men to pull him back as Agent Hardy helps yank Kasper’s arms behind his back to cuff him.
“I’ll get you for this,” Kasper growls. “I swear it. You messed with the wrong man, bitch.”
“Keep dreaming, asshole,” says Jake, stepping in front of me as a human shield. “You’re going away for a long time it would seem,Detective.”
Kasper opens his mouth to say something more, but Ely joins Jake, placing himself between Kasper and me, a snarl curling on his lip.
